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Austin, TX - City Aerials from Jetliner

The following photos were taken on a recent flight from Austin to Los Angeles, in Mid-October 2006. The flight path took us almost directly over downtown Austin, affording us some fantastic views of the city and points westward... So without wasting any time, here ya go...

Taking off from Austin Bergstrom International (Southeast side of the city) ... State Highway 71 passes below us, heading eastward toward Houston.

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120318-vi.jpg

Mueller Airport redevelopment of central Austin. The old Control Tower sits by itself on the right side of the complex. On the far left you can make out the new Dell Childrens Medical Center

http://images19.fotki.com/v353/photo...120332c-vi.jpg

Closer shot of the Dell medical center, with the I-35/290E interchange beyond. You can also make out the new retail center going up immediately to the left of the med center

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...120338b-vi.jpg

http://images15.fotki.com/v338/photo...120339a-vi.jpg

Now the University of Texas Campus is visible

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...1120344-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...120344z-vi.jpg

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...1120346-vi.jpg

The Capitol and UT

http://images15.fotki.com/v337/photo...1120349-vi.jpg

All of Downtown Austin becomes visible

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1203521-vi.jpg

http://images15.fotki.com/v338/photo...1120353-vi.jpg

Frost Tower and neighbors. Town lake at the bottom left

http://images19.fotki.com/v36/photos...120353a-vi.jpg

zoom zoom

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...120353c-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...203541a-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...1120354-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos...1203551-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120355-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos...1203561-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...120356g-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120357-vi.jpg

Downtown, Mopac Expressway, and the Colorado River beyond

http://images19.fotki.com/v34/photos...1120358-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...120359a-vi.jpg

Austin's rapidly densifying West-End district

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...120359c-vi.jpg

Pan out

http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos...1120360-vi.jpg

Winging it

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...1120366-vi.jpg

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...1120368-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v36/photos...120368a-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...120369a-vi.jpg

Zilker Park, Colorado River and Rollingwood/Westlake inner-suburbs

http://images19.fotki.com/v36/photos...1120371-vi.jpg

Mopac Expresway, heads north through the heart of West Austin

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...1120374-vi.jpg

Zilker Park and Mopac Expressway

http://images19.fotki.com/v353/photo...1120377-vi.jpg

Inner suburb of Rollingwood

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...1120380-vi.jpg

Mira Vista development along Bee Cave Rd, at Mopac

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...120380a-vi.jpg

Mopac Expressway office buildings

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...120380b-vi.jpg

Loop 360 and affluent Westlake Hills suburb.

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...1120383-vi.jpg

Closeup of Westlake High School, known regionally as the launching pad for Saints NFL QB Drew Brees.

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...120383c-vi.jpg

More Westlake

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...1120384-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v34/photos...120385a-vi.jpg

Tom Miller Dam and Lake Austin beyond (Colorado River)

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...1120389-vi.jpg

Loop 360 snaking through the pricey suburbs of W Austin

http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...1120393-vi.jpg

Barton Creek Resort

http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos...1120395-vi.jpg

http://images19.fotki.com/v36/photos...1120396-vi.jpg

The village of Bee Cave, rapidly becoming the commercial center for far W Austin and Lake Travis suburbs.

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120416-vi.jpg

Highway 71 and Bee Cave Rd (Hwy 2244)

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...120428a-vi.jpg

The emerging Hill Country Galleria retail center and residential complex in Bee Cave, along TX71, between highways 620 and 2244.

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120434-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...1120435-vi.jpg

Falconhead, Lake Travis High School and Lakeway (along south shore of Lake Travis)

http://images16.fotki.com/v30/photos...1120437-vi.jpg

Lakeway and Lake Travis, with its barren shoreline, beyond (Lake level is very low due to recent drought conditions)

http://images16.fotki.com/v30/photos...1120438-vi.jpg

Lake Austin and Steiner Ranch development beyond

http://images16.fotki.com/v30/photos...1120443-vi.jpg

Winging it some more

http://images16.fotki.com/v29/photos...1120449-vi.jpg

The "Sometimes Islands" in the main basin of Lake Travis have become a peninsula of late. The 'islands' are completely submerged during normal conditions.

http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos...1120455-vi.jpg

And like that, central texas began to disappear behind a thick layer of clouds...

http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos...1120458-vi.jpg

Hope you enjoyed... I'll be posting additonal pics soon, from points westward... including the Guadalupe Mountains, Las Cruses, NM, Phoenix, AZ and LA, in other threads.

awesome pics. i can't wait to get back.

-

Thank You, Thank You.

Great aerial shots! :tup:

Wow, some of the best and clearest photos I've seen from a flight. :tup:

Looks like you got the best side of the jet for your views.

As for the Hillcountry galleria; talk about deforestation!!

Oh!, No shots of Houston?

Gotta love aerials. You must have been snappin' away like a maniac. I like the shots from the river, thru downtown to UT. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing your flight with us.

I guess I expected more from Austin. I guess you can't appreciate from above like some cities. It looked very small. I hear it has the best downtown out of any Texas city though so one day I will make it there to find out for myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by montecarloss (Post 2503840)

The urban core is indeed relatively small for a city of nearly one million. That's changing rapidly, though, with all the new highrises recently permitted.

I love how the aerials show the wooded hills of west Austin. Once you're west of Mopac, the hills are quite high and steep, and the views are absolutely awesome. The eastern and central part of the city are only gently rolling, so the west side of the city is quite a contrast. I have a photo I'll post shortly taken from a hilltop in west Austin (not to upstage these aerial photos, which are the best I've ever seen of this area).

Nice pictures.

Austin likes to model itself around "smart planning" and cities like Portland, but you can tell it's a southern city developed after the invention of the car. It also has beautiful hill country and a well situated downtown within the hill country. Call it a "hip" city, but best downtown, I think it's debateable.

^
I believe the description you're looking for is: sprawltastic ;)

Great shots! You must have had quite a clean window on that plane.

These are freaking awesome, Mopacs. Do post the rest of those aerials.

Interesting observations guys...

West Austin is indeed very sprawly...and partly because of the environmental restrictions in place, there is virtually no density (many acreage homesites), relative to the northern and southern suburbs. Smart growth does not exist in areas such as River Place or Barton Creek Estates. The scenery and the homes are beautiful, but I would not want to live there. Among other things, the traffic is becoming a nightmare, with large subdivisions, with one entrance/exit, emptying onto windy, 2-4 lane hill country roads. For the areas pictured outside the City of Austin's zoning jurisdiction, the developments are subject to the much more lenient Travis county regulations.

As for downtown Austin, the aerials don't do it justice... plus it is changing rapidly. Look at those same views 3-4 years from now, and the changes will be drastic. And as mentioned by DoubleL, as much as Austin aspries to be like Portland, it still has a ways to go. Its still a sunbelt city, and takes on much of those characteristics, outside the central core. As for the hipness factor, that must be experienced from street level, of course

I would never have thought Austin is that hilly. Good stuff. I did wonder about the 3rd pic though. Looks like an imitation of a Mosque. Wassup?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Double L (Post 2504078)

Totally agreed. It took moving away from Austin to realize that.

These pictures are really great! October is a good month to photograph the city because everything's still green, but the air is cleaner and drier and hopefully there's been more rain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan (Post 2504657)

I would never have thought Austin is that hilly. Good stuff. I did wonder about the 3rd pic though. Looks like an imitation of a Mosque. Wassup?

What's interesting is that so many visitors who stay downtown or on I-35 don't get to see the scenery on the west side, and they leave having no idea what they missed. I'm not from here, and after my first visit years ago, I immediately pulled up roots and moved here as fast as I could. Unfortunately, most of us don't get to live in the beautiful part of the city. We have to settle for sightseeing and drives to the lake to see west side. But that's not so bad, really.

What the aerials don't show is the horrendous traffic nightmares in this area. I saw in the paper about a year ago that we have the worst traffic congestion of any mid-sized city in the country. I don't know who did the study, but I can believe the results. And I guess all of us who moved here for the "good life" created the problem!

Those pictures are so great, Mopacs. Thanks for posting them. Guadalupe Mountains. :eek: