- Austin was originally, and briefly, known as Waterloo
- Built in 1893 and stretching 1,200 feet across the Colorado River, the Austin Dam was one of the world’s largest concrete dams at the time, and provided the first locally generated electricity for the city to power electric trolley cars and the Moon Towers that illuminated the city at night
- The builders of the Texas State Capitol were given 3 million acres of land, which became the largest cattle ranch in the world, as payment for their work
- An average of 20 million people visit Austin every year, which is more than Rome, Hawaii, or London
- Every summer, more than 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, flying out at night to feast on 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of insects
- Today, there are close to 2,000 food trucks throughout Austin
- On the last Saturday of April, thousands of Austinites come together for Eeyore’s Birthday Party with a mix of costumes, live music, and a drum circle comprised of Winnie-the-Pooh characters
- Austin’s unofficial slogan is “Keep Austin Weird”
- Standing at 308 ft tall, the Texas State Capitol is 19 feet taller than the United States Capitol
