Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Drag (Austin, Texas)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Location
  
Austin, Texas

Major cities
  
Austin

Drag (Austin, Texas)


The Drag is a nickname for a portion of Guadalupe Street that runs along the western edge of the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.

The Drag began as a strip of shops which provided vital resources to UT students. Bookstores, restaurants, and clothing stores fulfilled student needs. The proximity to campus, particularly the Main Building and the Union Building, added to the popularity of the street. At the start of each semester The Drag fills with students purchasing textbooks and school supplies.

Past and present buildings on the Drag include the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Raul's, Captain Quackenbush's Intergalactic Espresso and Dessert Company, Record Exchange (later renamed CD Exchange at the NW corner of 21st Street), Hastings Music and Video (directly across from the West Mall and Student Union), Bevo's Bookstore, The Gap (at the SW corner of 24th Street), Al's Formalwear (at 29 1/2 Street), Tower Records, The Bazaar, Texadelphia, Dobie Mall, Goodall Wooten private dormitory, and the University Baptist Church. Also, the Church of Scientology of Texas building is on The Drag.

The Drag is considered an important part of Austin's civic life, but for many years many Austinites avoided it because of congestion. The area had fallen into disrepair, and some felt the area had become undesirable because of the presence of panhandlers known as "Dragworms", or more recently as "Dragrats."

Recently the west side of the Drag between 21st and 24th was reconfigured to accommodate Capital MetroRapid bus rapid transit service.

References

Drag (Austin, Texas) Wikipedia