[austlar1]

Thanks for clarification, Matt. I think people have been a bit hysterical about this situation. I always understood that the rock wall would remain (unless, of course, it crumbled or toppled down during construction). Cheer Up Charlie's is a relative newcomer at this location, but the site has been a bar for a couple of decades in various iterations. I don't think live music was part of the package until the Club DeVille era The whole notion of a Red River "Cultural" District is fairly recent. For a long time the only real music venue in that immediate area was at a much smaller Stubbs. I don't think the Mohawk (or whatever it used to be called before becoming the Mohawk) was a music venue until sometime post 2000. The heavy metal venue on Red River at 8th behind the Sally did not exist; nor did the club immediately to the south of it. Emo's was actually a 6th St. venue. The bars mid-block on Red River from 6th St on up on to the 7th St. corner were in and out of business with various identities until well past 2000. Only one of those spots regularly featured any live music. There was one other spot on the east side of Red River just north of 7th St. that had live music some nights along with other nights featuring kinky special events for the body modification crowd. I guess 2000 seems like a long, long time ago to most SSP forumers, but for those of us with longer memories, the Red River Cultural District seems like just another bit of real estate branding to give that part of town a more historical lustre. If Waller Creek ever really morphs into a genuine attraction, that whole bit of the planet will quickly assume a River Walk/San Antonio-like flavor that may or may not include space for funky Austin music venues. That is how cities change over time. Austin probably is no exception.