Crime and vice plagued Austin after the Civil War, and Guy Town was its red-light resort.

Today’s pleasure-seeking visitors to the Warehouse District walk on top of Guy Town — this uber-trendy neighborhood sits squarely atop the most decadent and deadly area of the city’s past. With the old county courthouse at its core, Guy Town rose from the Colorado River up to Fifth Street and spanned from the back alley of Congress Avenue to Shoal Creek, infesting Austin’s eclectic First Ward neighborhood.

Guy Town was a haven for notorious madams, prostitutes, druggies and drunkards lost to history, as well as names still remembered — Ben Thompson, O. Henry and Johnny Ringo roamed its streets looking for a good time. From murderers to con men, crooked cops and more, you’ll meet some of the characters that gave Guy Town its reputation in Richard Zelade’s illustrated account of the Capital City’s seamy side of life.

Learn more about Guy Town by registering for the Save Texas History Symposium.

About the Speaker

Richard Zelade is a collector and teller of Texas tales — heroes, outlaws, fussin’ and feuds, real tales, tall tales, small tales, music, sex, drugs, rock-and-roll, eccentricities, legends, characters, roadside attractions and tasty grub.

Richard Zelade (left) chewing the fat at Smitty’s Market in Lockhart.

He was born in Brazoria County, “The Cradle of Texas History,” where he began writing about Texas history 50 years ago. He received a BA, with honors and special honors in history, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975.

Zelade began writing professionally in 1976. His work has appeared in Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texas Highways, Texas Monthly, People, Southern Living, American Way and other publications. He has authored several travelogues, including Hill Country and Central Texas, as well as the upcoming Austin in the Jazz Age, and Murder and Mayhem in Austin, from the History Press.

A multidisciplinary historian, Zelade studies Texas geology, weather, geography, folkways, flora, and fauna, including medicinal and food uses of native plants.

About the Symposium

The Save Texas History Symposium: In the Shadow of the Dome: Austin by Day & Night, will take a look at the history of Austin in a whole new light, and examine diverse aspects of Austin’s history in the 19th century. You can register for the symposium here.

Symposium Sponsors & Exhibitors

Sponsors:

Additional Symposium Sponsors:

Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS)

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

Texas School for the Deaf

TCU Press

University of Texas Press

David A. Furlow, P.C.

Hillco Partners

Crinkstuff Vintage Texana & Rare Books

Dorothy Sloan Rare Books, Inc.

The Witte Museum

Exhibitors:

Texas Historical Foundation

Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society

Austin History Center Association

Texas A&M University Press

Brush Square Museums — The City of Austin

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Save Austin’s Cemeteries

Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA)

Austin Genealogical Society