This year we decided to add another great city in our American City category. Please give a warm welcome to the beautiful city of Austin.

The capital of Texas is an attractive and bustling city which keeps on growing every year. Pioneers began to settle in the 1830’s along the Colorado River. The city of Austin was initially named Waterloo but was renamed Austin in 1839 in honor of Stephen F. Austin. Stephen F. Austin was considered the father of Texas and he was also the republic’s first secretary of state. Today Austin is the 11th largest city in the US and also the second largest state capital in the US with a population of 842,592.

As you can imagine, for every calendar we try to choose beautiful and breathtaking images. When it comes down to our American City category, we look for the most popular places, monuments and memorable cityscape scenery.

Pennybacker bridge

The Pennybacker is one of those iconic city monuments. The Pennybacker Bridge spans across Lake Austin to connect the northern and southern sections of the Loop 360 highway, aka the “Capital of Texas Highway.” Lake Austin is very popular for recreational enthusiasts like boaters and water-skiers; therefore the bridge was designed in such a way that no part of the structure touches the water. Driving over this bridge is considered one of the best scenic urban drives in Central Texas; so what are you waiting for?

Zilker Tree

To start the winter holiday season on a joyful note, the city of Austin built the Zilker Tree. The ‘tree’ stands about 155 feet tall and is composed of multicolored lights (3,309 in all!). This unique spiral pattern was created by the electricians of the City of Austin. This custom dates back to 1967, when the first tree was lighted on December 10 by Mayor Pro Tem Mrs. Emma Long. Today the lighting ceremony takes place on December 1st and features local entertainment, food and music. Kick off the Holiday season with this fun event.

We hope you guys are going to love this new addition to our calendar family.

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