South Congress

South Congress
SoCo
Neighborhood
South Congress Avenue leads directly into downtown Austin.
Country	United States
State	Texas
City	Austin
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	78704
Area code	512, 737

South Congress is a neighborhood located on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a nationally known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues and, more recently, food trucks.

South Congress begins at the Colorado River and Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge and runs due south towards Ben White Boulevard/TX-71. The area bordered by two historic South Austin neighborhoods: Travis Heights to the east and Bouldin Creek to the west.

Since its humble beginnings in the 1850s, South Congress Avenue has been transformed from a rural country road to the capital city gateway and, finally, to the vibrant shopping district that it is today. Many Austinites attribute its enduring popularity to the magnificent and unobstructed view of the Texas State Capitol.

Edwin Waller designed Congress to be Austin's most prominent thoroughfare in the 1830s. However, Congress did not extend south of the Colorado River until 1852 when James Gibson Swisher donated land for a road that was both the postal route to Austin and the main highway to San Antonio. Growth along South Congress slowed during the 19th century; it was not until the completion of a concrete bridge in 1910 that South Austin had reliable transportation over the river. Rapid growth finally came to South Austin in the 1920s, as the streetcar was expended down South Congress. As hundreds of bungalows were built in South Austin, more commercial enterprises began appearing south of the river - especially on South Congress. By 1931, South Congress was finally paved all the way from the river to the railroad at present-day Ben White Boulevard.