New Lustre Pearl, Rainey Street – Austin, Texas

I’ve talked about the Rainey Street District for the last three days, showing its quickly rising towers and its last remaining vestiges. But, what makes Rainey Street special, especially as an entertainment district, is the renovated bungalows turned bars.

I’m starting a mini-series, showing a portrait of some of these bars, made after the COVID lockdown started. It gave me a rare opportunity to shoot the unusually packed area, with a minimum of distractions.

The district got its start in 2009 with the Lustre Pearl — it was the trailblazer. The original converted house is gone from Rainey Street, preserved, and moved to East Austin. I remember in the early days of Drink and Click, going there for some social photography. In its place, one of the many high-rise towers.

Today’s featured bar is the new Lustre Pearl. Perhaps not as iconic as the original, but it’s nice to see the progenitor returning.

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