Old Austin looks great in grainy black‑and‑white, but you can’t spot the brick details or storefront signs that way. In this post we test a handful of historical Austin photographs.

I pulled the best old black‑and‑white Austin photos I could find and ran them through my color‑and‑detail Stable Diffusion workflow. The post shows each original next to its AI pass and gives a little detail about the original image.

Thanks to Reddit Texas History as the source of most of the images.

Before After

Looking north up Congress Avenue towards the Capitol (1940s)

Before After

The third Capitol of Texas. Built in 1882 at the corner of 11th Street and Congress. The building burned down in 1899.

Before After

This is a postcard image of firefighters in Austin. Dated 6/10/1812

Before After

Looking east at what is now the intersection of I-35 and highway 290 in Austin. (1950s)

Before After The Drag, looking southward at the west side of Guadalupe St. in Austin. Note that the University Co-op can be seen on the right hand side of the photo. (1928)

Before After A view of downtown Austin. Note that the capitol building in the background is under construction but the dome has yet to be completed. (1886)

Before After

A trolley car wrecked on Dam Boulevard, after a bridge on Shoal Creek fails. (1915)

Before After

Congress Avenue. Original State Capitol building. (1880)

Before After

Congress Avenue looking toward the state capitol. (1890s)

Before After

The Drag?

Before After

Soda fountain/diner at 804 Congress Avenue. (1959)

Before After

Dr Tobin’s Drugstore on Pecan/6th street. (1880)

Before After

View from the Capitol Dome. 1887-1894