From Hangar to HQ: 7121 N Lamar's Life with RED VELVET
Where does the time go? It feels like, just yesterday, we were breaking ground on our headquarters at 7121 N Lamar. Well, that was five years ago.
Since then, our HQ has heard so many stories, met hundreds of clients, and seen the team grow in all different directions. It’s been our place of refuge after event days both in town and abroad. It watched the events industry almost entirely shut down in 2020 and has seen how we’ve stretched into a new normal in 2023. It also won the prestigious Texas Society of Architect 2020 Design Award for Best Design and AIA Austin 2020 Design Award of Excellence. This creative space has become a home.
Even well before our time, 7121 was a pillar in the Austin community, serving as a hangar at University Airport, owned and operated by The University of Texas at Austin, and providing aerial services and training to thousands of student pilots from 1925-1949.
University Airport was evidently closed at some point in 1949, as this aerial view looking west showed the hangars being reused for non-aviation commercial puposes. Photo courtesy of Jeff Morrison via Airfields-Freeman, taken 9/26/1949.
Beginning in 1967, the building was brought back to life by various electric, welding, and automotive businesses. It became home to Goodwill in 1977, then Texas Discount Furniture in 1996, and finally RED VELVET in 2018.
7121 N Lamar as Texas Discount Furniture. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
7121 N Lamar during renovations, before RED VELVET. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Today, our HQ proudly represents everything RED VELVET stands for - a symbol of never-ending transformation and a steadfast commitment to the community and service. Our own Jacky the Jackelope oversees the grounds, greeting all who drive past each day and reminding us of possibility in impossibility.
Jacky the Jackelope standing in front of the RED VELVET HQ at 7121 N Lamar Blvd.
The RED VELVET HQ arches.
All this to share our gratitude for everyone who’s followed us on this journey, move-in date and prior, and to give a special thanks to 7121 for serving as the heart of our big ideas, no matter how far from home we travel.
Need some strategic insight for your next brand activation? We’d love to hear from you.
