From the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge that I featured yesterday, I took a short walk east towards my new favorite area for urban photography — 2nd Street. I’ve featured this area a number of times on the blog. The shiny, tall buildings and curvy bridge are a siren’s song for modern architecture in Austin.

It took many years of planning but the build-out is nearly complete. The last skyscraper is set to start. You can see the construction crane where they are excavating the foundation. The design for this last building is dramatic, a triangular sail-like structure. I read that even before it started construction, Google leased the entire building.

I keep on coming back to the 2nd Street Bridge, which is now my favorite in Austin. The Olympus XZ-1 that I’ve been testing is prone to dramatic star like flares for bright reflections. It’s probably not what serious architectural photographers want to see, but as a fun point and shoot, I think it adds some interesting character.

Looking west from the bridge, you see the new Central Library on the left, with its rather striking interior. Straight ahead, 2nd street connects to the Seaholm Power Plant redevelopment.

I love featuring the 2nd Street bridge along with The Independent, now the tallest building in Austin. The Independent is not on 2nd Street but this is a view of it from 2nd. The wonderful color of the Olympus XZ-1, along with the warm golden hour light has added a rich glow to the buildings.

Finally, here’s looking east towards the heart of downtown. What looks like a small building in the center is actually the second tallest building in Austin, some 6 blocks away at 2nd and Congress Avenue. This Torchy’s, which is a famous hipster taco restaurant chain, is the fanciest that I’ve ever seen.

Reflected above Torchy’s is a silhouette of a construction crane, building the last office building on this span of 2nd street. Already active with pedestrians, I anticipate this area will be quite lively when all the buildings are fully occupied.

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