If it hasn’t been published already, a sharp photographer needs to do a coffee table book about Austin’s neon signs. There are many. Some are striking. Neon’s underrated anyway.

The Austin Motel on South Congress, where we stayed during the first days of July, has a distinctive one.
The hipster coffee shop attached to the Austin Motel has a sign with that mid-century neon vibe. It might even be a rehabbed version of a period sign. Neon was disdained then as commercial light pollution, if I’ve interpreted the likes of “The Sound of Silence” correctly.
The following are more examples of SoCo neon, the only neon zone I took pictures in during this visit. But we saw plenty more elsewhere in Austin.

On the morning of July 4, before the heat cranked up, we went to see the graffiti’d walls on Baylor St. just of Lamar Blvd. in Austin, formally called the Hope Outdoor Gallery. It’s a series of walls and other surfaces on a hillside that have been painted and repainted over the last five years.

The place is an accident of the recession, since the raw space was provided by a failed condo development. A lot of condos failed after 2008, though not so many left behind half-completed walls.

Atlas Obscura tells us that “the failed condo walls were at first a magnet for both street artists and vandals. However, around 2011 Andi Scull Cheatham, with the support of the two primary owners at the time, Vic Ayad of Castle Hill Partners and architect Dick Clark, cleaned the space up and turned it into a semi-official outdoor gallery space.

“Scull Cheatham then enlisted world-famous street artist Shepard Fairey, who posted a number of large pieces on one of the biggest exposed walls for the initial launch. Since then artists from all over the city, and world, continue to cover every inch of exposed concrete…”

Such as this fellow, at work on one of the walls when we were there.

“Currently HOG is organized by the HOPE Campaign, SprATX and, the now sole owner, Vic Ayad,” continues Atlas Obscura. “The art changes quickly and you’ll often get a chance to see artists in action so multiple visits are recommended. Mr. Ayad continues to support HOG, but its long-term future is uncertain so see it while you can.”

The place attracts a lot of photographers, too.
And climbers on the higher walls.
The place has remarkable visual texture, whichever way you look.