Austin is the capital of the U.S state of Texas. Its metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in the state, with 2.5 million people as of 2024. Austin is home to 61 completed buildings taller than 300 feet (91 m), 16 of which are at least 492 ft (150 m) in height. Austin's skyline is one of the largest in the Southern United States. It has the third most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in Texas, after Houston and Dallas. The tallest building in Austin is Sixth and Guadalupe, a 875 ft (267 m) residential skyscraper built in 2023. It is set to be overtaken by Waterline, a supertall skyscraper that is currently topped out at 1,021 ft (311 m), making it the tallest building in Texas.[1]
With a height of 311 ft (95 m) the Texas State Capitol remained the tallest building in Austin long after its construction in 1888, with the city's central Congress Avenue otherwise lined with single-story buildings through the start of the 1900s.[2] The eight-story Scarbrough Building and the nine-story Littlefield Building, built between 1910 and 1912, are considered to be Austin's first high-rises. The tallest building completed in the first half of the 20th century was the Main Building of the University of Texas at Austin, which holds offices as well as library space for the university. The downtown skyline remained predominantly low-rise until the 1960s, with the addition of the 28-story Westgate Tower in 1966 attracting controversy for its proximity to the capitol. The capitol's height was finally surpassed by the Procore Tower and the Bank of America Center in the 1970s. One American Center, completed in 1984, remained the tallest building in the city for two decades.
Since the 2000s, Austin has been undergoing an unprecedented skyscraper boom, concurrent with rapid population growth in the city and its metropolitan area. The Frost Bank Tower was the first building in Austin to exceed a height of 500 ft (152 m) it was completed in 2004. The boom was momentarily halted in the early 2010s due to the Great Recession, and accelerated in the mid-2010s; around two-thirds of high-rises taller than 300 ft (91 m) in Austin were built after 2014. The majority of new skyscrapers are residential, with the title of the city's tallest building changing hands four more times among residential towers between 2008 and 2023. The city's tech boom has also resulted in more office towers, such as Indeed Tower and the sail-shaped Block 185, which is intended to be fully leased by Google.[3]
Most of Austin's tallest buildings are located in Downtown Austin, sitting directly north of the Colorado River. The Texas State Capitol separates the central skyline from residential towers in the West Campus neighborhood, many of which are inhabited by students attending the nearby University of Texas at Austin. Tall buildings are relatively absent on the southern side of the Colorado River, although a number of them are planned in the South Central Waterfront area.[4] There are also a small number of high-rises in The Domain, a commercial and residential center located in the city's north that is referred to as Austin's "second downtown"[5][6] In the 2020s, the boom saw the skyline extend eastwards towards Rainey Street Historic District, transforming the character of the neighborhood.[7][8] Construction on Waterline began there in 2023.[9] When completed, Greater Austin will be the smallest metropolitan area in North America with a supertall skyscraper.
History
Number of buildings by height in Austin by the end of each year, including the Texas State Capitol. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. See or edit chart definition.
Bearing a height of 311ft (95m),[10] The Texas State Capitol remained the tallest structure in Austin long after its construction in the 1880s, with the city's central Congress Avenue otherwise lined with single-story buildings through the start of the 1900s.[2] The eight-story Scarbrough Building and the nine-story Littlefield Building, built between 1910 and 1912, were Austin's first high-rise buildings; the Littlefield Building was the tallest commercial building in the U.S. west of New Orleans and east of San Francisco upon its completion.[11] In 1928, the Austin City Council briefly considered setting a 100ft (30m) height limit for future construction in the city but backed away from the proposal.[12]
After the mid-20th century, Downtown Austin began to transition from being predominantly composed of low-rise buildings to a skyline with high-rises.[13] Beginning with the 26-story Westgate Tower, the addition of new skyscrapers to Downtown Austin between 1967 and 1980 led to an increasing realization that views of the state capitol from certain vantage points could become obscured.[2] The capitol was also no longer the city's tallest building,[14] surpassed in height by the Dobie Center and the Chase Bank Tower.[a] In response, the Texas State Legislature and the City of Austin created 35Texas Capitol View Corridors that would preserve selected views of the capitol.[2]
By the mid-1980s, Austin featured over a dozen skyscrapers,[14] with at least 12buildings built during the decade featuring at least 15floors.[20] Described by the Austin American-Statesman as "the first downtown high-rise wave", the uptick in skyscraper construction that began in the 1980s was mostly characterized by granite and limestone office buildings.[21] More rapid construction of new high-rises in downtown Austin began by the 1990s and continued thereafter,[2] contrasting a concurrent slowdown in the construction of new skyscrapers in Dallas and Houston.[14]
Mark Lamster, an architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News, attributed the emergence of increasingly taller skyscrapers to the small size and high density of Austin, incentivizing vertical growth due to the resultingly high cost of land.[14] The Statesman identified a second wave of new skyscrapers in Austin that began in the early 2000s, including construction of the Frost Bank Tower. By 2010, the construction of new residential buildings and office space for technology companies accounted for most of the city's new skyscrapers.[14] By 2023, the combined height of Austin's high-rises overtook Dallas according to Texas Real Estate Source.[22][23]
Historical skyline appearance
1976
2006
2012
2023
Cityscape
The Austin skyline viewed from across the Colorado River in October 2022 (Use cursor to identify buildings)
Map of tallest buildings
The map below shows the location of buildings taller than 300 feet (91m) in downtown Austin. Each marker is numbered by height and colored by the decade of the building's completion. There is only one building taller than 300 feet (91m) located outside the map, that being The Domain II.
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Buildings taller than 300 feet (91m) in Austin. An asterisk (*) next to the building's name indicates it is located outside the map.
This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Austin that stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This height includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. Unless otherwise noted, heights and floor counts are values assessed by the CTBUH.
Was the tallest building in Austin upon completion
Tallest building in Austin from 1974–1975 until surpassed by Bank of America Center[111][19]
Constructed as American Bank Plaza and formerly known as American Bank Building, MBank Tower, Bank One Tower, and Chase Bank Tower[112][111][113]
A renovation completed in 1994 introduced 40ft (12m) tall roof addition and replaced the formerly gold-tinted glass façade with pewter-colored glass[111][114]
This table lists buildings under construction in Austin that are expected to be at least 300ft (91m) tall, as of 2025. The "Year" column indicates the estimated year of completion. Buildings under construction that have already been topped out are also included. Unless otherwise noted, heights and floor counts are values assessed by CTBUH.
This table lists approved buildings in Austin that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building is unknown or has not been released.
This table lists proposed buildings in Austin that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building is unknown or has not been released.
1 2 The Dobie Center, completed in 1972, has a total height of 328ft (100m) and an architectural height of approximately 307ft (94m).[15][16] The former value is taller than the 311ft (95m) height of the Texas State Capitol while the latter is shorter.[17][18] The Chase Bank Tower, completed in 1974, has an architectural height of around 325ft (99m), making it unambiguously taller than the capitol building.[19]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Height data from SkyscraperPage. CTBUH either lacks information on the building's height or does not list this building.
↑ Sources disagree on the height of Sixth and Guadalupe. CTBUH lists the height of Sixth and Guadalupe as 874ft (266m).[24] SKYDB lists a height of 837ft (255m).[155]SkyscraperPage lists a height of 874ft (266m).[156]
References
General
"Buildings of Austin". Emporis. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
↑ Rambin, James, and James RambinJames. “A Tower's in the Works at Fourth and Brazos in Downtown Austin.” TOWERS, 18 Feb. 2020, austin.towers.net/theres-a-tower-in-the-works-at-fourth-and-brazos-in-downtown-austin/?agent=.
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