In what seems like a suspiciously random set of circumstances, Austin has been deemed to have the third coolest street in the world.
Declaring that "it’s only when you veer off down a side street or stumble across a leafy avenue that you really get a glimpse of a city’s true character," Time Out just published its list of the 30 coolest streets in the world.
One Austin road made the cut — not an easy task, considering it was up against a plethora of international greatest hits: East 11th Street.
The central city thoroughfare, part of the Austin African American Cultural Arts District, runs from Congress Avenue through Central East Austin to Northwestern Avenue (with a little off-road gap between Swenson Avenue and Walter Street), but the travel and events site focuses on the blocks between I-35 and Navasota Street. Name-checking Franklin Barbecue, Kenny Dorham's Backyard, Paperboy, Busy Signal, Helm, and the moontower at East 11th and Lydia streets, it notes:
While not constantly vying for the spotlight like other thoroughfares around town, East Eleventh earns its beloved status among locals by packing every square inch with incredible food, excellent coffee, a historic venue, and a backyard stage that evokes the bespoke approach Austinites take to keep the city’s soul alive.
The two streets that outranked that stretch of Austin's historically Black Eastside are Hong Kong's Hollywood Road and High Street in Melbourne, Australia. Other cities with roads on the list are Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur.
