Historic photos of Austin show it was cool to live there before it was cool to live there

Historical photos of Austin before it became the best cities to live in. U.S. News & World Report ranked the best American cities to live in and Austin landed on top, but these photos prove that Austin has always been an incredible city for generations. Continue clicking to see historic photos of Austin before it became the "best." Austin Texas around 1965 less Historical photos of Austin before it became the best cities to live in. U.S. News & World Report ranked the best American cities to live in and Austin landed on top, but these photos prove that Austin has ... more Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone Via Getty Images Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 155 Caption Close Historic photos of Austin show it was cool to live there before it was cool to live there 1 / 155 Back to Gallery

This year, the U.S. News & World Report named Austin as the best American city to live in for 2017. But photos of Austin decades ago prove that the best city in America has always been pretty great.

The Houston neighbor may not be as diverse as the Bayou City, but its history runs just as deep within Texas. The village of Waterloo was established in 1837 and has grown into what modern Americans now know as Austin.

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Quickly after settling, Waterloo changed its name to Austin and in 1839 the city became the capital of Texas (which was formerly Houston - no hard feelings or anything). The name Austin was chosen to honor Stephen F. Austin, who was considered the "Father of Texas" and the republic's first secretary of state.

Photos of these early times don't exist, but there are quite a few from 1900 and beyond. These photos show what Texans have known all along - Austin is weird, but great. From booming economies to extensive political involvement, the Austin of the past looks fairly similar to the Austin of the present. Click through the photos in the gallery above to see the history of Texas' current capital city.

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Heather Leighton is a digital reporter at Chron.com. She considers herself as a Jack(ie) of all trades and covers various topics from entertainment to politics. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @loveheathernoel.