Austin is the fourth largest and capital city in Texas. It originated as a riverside village called Waterloo, in a buffalo-hunting region occupied by Comanche and Tonkawa tribes. In 1839, it was selected as the site for the permanent capital of the Republic of Texas and renamed to honor Stephen F. Austin, the father of the republic. In 1840 Austin was incorporated, with 856 residents. When the Mexican invasion threatened Texas in 1842, the government moved to Houston, but Austin's residents, determined to have Austin remain the state capital, staged the "Archive War", forcibly retaining government records. The government returned to Austin in 1845, the same year Texas was admitted to the United States.
The pink granite state Capitol building, located in the heart of downtown Austin, was modeled after the U.S. Capitol building and built in 1888, after an earlier structure was burned. The Texas Capitol building is 302.64 feet tall, 14.64 feet taller than the nation's Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Ways to Refer to Austin:
ATX
Bat City
Silicon Hills
The Live Music Capital of the World
City of the Violet Crown
Waterloo
Capital City
River City
Blueberry in Tomato Soup