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Art Town: Texas Style Art & Sausage—Only in Elgin
By Deborah | November 16, 2007
Why Elgin? Elgin is known for sausage and brick manufacturing. Of all the cities in Texas, why would anyone pick Elgin as a candidate for an arts destination? The candid answer is we were lost— on our way to find the ideal small town near Austin to live and someday reopen our art gallery.
My husband and I lived in Austin, twenty miles away, for twelve years and never noticed anything special about Elgin. The only impression we had of the town was that of traveling Hwy.290. It looked…well, let’s just say…it didn’t evoke images of a charming little town with lots of cultural potential.
When we turned the corner from Hwy 109 onto Main Street, that’s when it hit us. A brown TxDOT sign with the words “Historical District” flashed in my head like a neon light. We traveled up and down the tree-lined street several times, taking in the historic homes and the charm of the downtown. In less than an hour, our vision of Elgin had been totally transformed.
For all those years traveling from Austin to Houston, we had no idea that Elgin had a gem of a downtown several blocks away. It was charming, architecturally interesting, and bustling with local activity. When we took a closer look, we discovered that Elgin had more elements for success at becoming a great arts destination, than any other city we looked at. We were sold, hook, line, and sinker.
The vision of what Elgin could be haunted us for months before we decided to take up roots here. It was like nothing we had ever experienced. The vision of a culturally vibrant downtown with shops, restaurants, and galleries was crystal clear. The more we researched…the more people we spoke with…the more impassioned we became. We quickly discovered there was no turning back. One meeting led to another and the concept began to take shape. We had embarked, quite unexpectedly, on an adventure that continues to unfold.
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