Every morning, we send you a free email packed with Austin news, business, and entertainment. Join 20,000+ readers who wake up to Austonia's newsletter.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed
(Joe Rogan/Instagram)
After just a few months of moving to Austin and getting comfortable in a new podcast studio, The Joe Rogan Experience has a new look.
Fans have been complaining for months about the red room Joe Rogan has been talking to podcast guests in since moving from California. He heard them loud and clear and posted on Instagram that the first podcast recorded in the brand new studio was available Saturday with guest comedian Tommy Segura.
The new studio, complete with the same podcast table and relics, is a well-lit, wood-paneled room with a new sign.
Just like the first time around, he brought in local help to bring the studio to life. Local Elm Construction and Project Management, Soundshed Studios, Wrightsmith Studios, Texavy and Roundhouse Relics all had a part in the new home to JRE podcasts. For Soundshed and Wrightsmith, this was their second time around helping Rogan with a podcast studio.
Joe Rogan has stayed busy in his roughly seven months in the capital city. Tapping into his comedy roots, Rogan has booked local stand-up shows with comedian Dave Chappelle in recent months. And a bigger project in the works, Austonia revealed last week that the podcaster is plans to open up a new comedy club at the location of the One World Theatre.
More on Joe Rogan:
- Joe Rogan is opening new comedy club in austin, texas - austonia ›
- The names behind the Joe Rogan podcast studio - austonia ›
- Joe Rogan's new home is a $14 million mansion on Lake Austin ... ›
- Timeline of Joe Rogan moving to Austin - austonia ›
- Joe Rogan retracts telling young people not to get vaccine - austonia ›
- Steve Adler on homelessness and on Joe Rogan Podcast - austonia ›
- Joe Rogan is reportedly looking for a new Austin home - austonia ›
- 10 local artists from the Austin Studio Tour to watch - austonia ›
- Joe Rogan responds to clip of him saying the N-word - austonia ›
Popular
Historic preservationists, for their part, overwhelmingly support historic zoning, which would preserve the buildings in perpetuity. The Historic Landmark Commission unanimously voted to initiate historic zoning in July, citing architectural significance, landscape features and association to historic figures. City staffers recommend historic zoning, calling both structures one-of-a-kind examples of vernacular architecture.
Tarrytown neighbors have also banded together to stop the demolition. Many have written letters, and a few spoke at the meeting. “How could anyone buy this property with the intent of destroying it?” Ila Falvey said. “I think it’s an architectural treasure.”
Michael Whellan, an attorney representing the property owner, said that the claims made by preservationists are shaky. The buildings are run down, he said, and have had substantial renovations. A structural engineer hired by the owner said any attempt at preservation would involve tearing down and rebuilding – an undertaking Whellan said would likely cost millions.
Whellan also argued that any historical significance derived from the property’s association with Delisle and longtime owner C.H. Slator is dubious. “These men are not noted for any civic, philanthropic or historic impact,” he said.
What’s more, according to Whellan, Slator likely participated in segregation as the owner of the Tavern on North Lamar Boulevard between 1953 and 1960.
A city staffer, however, said she found no evidence to support the claim. “We would never landmark a property where a segregationist lived, or there was a racist person,” Kimberly Collins with the Historic Preservation Office said.
Commissioner Awais Azhar couldn’t support historic zoning in part due to lingering uncertainty about Slator. “Focusing on that factor is not here to disparage an individual or family. It is not about playing the race card. This is an important assertion for us to consider as Planning commissioners,” Azhar said.
Commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido said that allegations of racism should come as no surprise. “We’re talking about white male property owners in the 1950s, in Austin, on the west side – and of course they were racist,” she said. But she argued that allowing the house to be demolished based on these grounds does nothing to help people of color who have been harmed by racism and segregation.
The question of tax breaks was also controversial. Michael Gaudini, representing the property owner, said that the tax breaks associated with historic zoning would exacerbate inequality by shifting property tax burdens to less affluent communities. City staffers estimate that the property, appraised at $3.5 million, would get either a $8,500 or $16,107 property tax break annually, depending on whether a homestead exemption is applied.
Commissioner Grayson Cox preferred the commission focus not on tax breaks but on whether the structures merit preservation. “To me, nothing in the historic preservation criteria lists, is this person deserving of a tax break or not?”
Azhar, on the other hand, said he plans to propose a code amendment getting rid of city property tax breaks for historic properties.
The commission fell one vote short of recommending historic zoning, with six commissioners in support and three opposed. Azhar and commissioners Claire Hempel and Greg Anderson voted against.
The odds of City Council zoning over an owner’s wishes are slim. Nine out of 11 members must vote in favor, and there have only been a handful of such cases over the past several decades.
