There are three main private clubs that I know about in downtown Austin. They are Headliners, The Metropolitan Club* (*gone at Plaza Lofts but coming back elsewhere), and The Austin Club.
The Metropolitan* is was a little different than the other two, in that its more of a spa concept, whereas Headliners and The Austin Club are true private dining clubs, and welcome both men and women.
Both Headliners and The Austin Club have a lot of interesting history. For instance, Headliners used to actually be located at the top of The Westgate Condos in Austin, Texas (and before The Westgate, they were located in The Driskill Hotel. The Club is now on the 21st floor of The Chase Tower at 6th and Lavaca.) The Westgate Condos actually referenced Headliners as part of their request for historic designation.
The Austin Club is currently located at 110 E. 9th Street (two blocks south of the Capitol building, right off of Congress to the East), the club was founded in 1949, and currently has 1,100 members (many of which are associated with the Legislature in some capacity). The Austin Club has been in this location – also known as the historic Millet Opera House, since 1981. The Millet Opera house was built in 1878, and is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. When the Capitol building burned down in late 1881, the building was actually used to host legislative sessions until the new Capitol was built.
However, one of my FAVORITE things about the Austin Club are the murals they have in their main dining room. In 1992, the club commissioned Chicago artist Richard Anderson to paint a series of murals depicting performances that took place at the Millett Opera House in the mid to late 1800s.
Below / After the jump are pictures of the murals with their descriptions. There’s also a “map” at the bottom left of each picture showing [Read more…] about Private Clubs in Downtown Austin: The Austin Club and Its Murals
