Austin, Texas story
From Pecan Street to Sixth Street
Discover how Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for Austin used native trees to name the city's east-west streets, and how the iconic Pecan Street eventually transformed into today's historic Sixth Street.
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Before it was Sixth Street, it was Pecan Street. Back in 1839, Edwin Waller designed Austin’s very first city plan with a beautiful, natural logic. He decided that the north-south streets would carry the names of mighty Texas rivers, while the first fourteen east-west blocks would be named after native trees.
Among those leafy corridors, Pecan Street became a bustling hub. But as Austin grew, its rustic naming system couldn't keep up. In 1884, the expanding city decided to simplify, replacing the trees with numbers, and Pecan Street officially became Sixth Street.
Today, this stretch is recognized as a historic district, where gorgeous late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century commercial buildings still stand proud. As you walk down this legendary avenue, take a moment to look past the modern signs and imagine the shaded canopy of old Pecan Street.
Updated June 2026