NOEL means "birth." So why is it posted on a tombstone?
This old control tower presides over the grave of the deceased Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, which served Austin for the first century of flight. The tower is the only thing left.
Here lies Mueller Airport. 1930-1999. RIP.
The book "Lost Austin" notes that the control tower was built (as the look of it suggests) in 1961, when it was dedicated by Lyndon Johnson. The tower's aesthetic is so retro it's cool again. And it is cool.
I suspect that some old Austinites see that tower as the tombstone of an entire city and "weird" way of life that are passing away. What has become of this old airport is proof of its passing.
But "noel" does mean birth. And the area has been reborn as a massive redevelopment as the quasi-New Urban styled Mueller neighborhood. Just two miles from downtown and now filled with newly constructed homes, it's become one of most desirable areas in the city.
A local resident whose home faces the tower told me the city fends off proposals almost every week to turn the Mueller tower into a bar or club. But its design is - thankfully - too outdated and unsafe to do such a thing. No one deserves to endure the spectacle of hipsters dancing on the city's grave anyway.
Desirability is expensive, by the way. The median price of 86 homes sold in the last six months in Mueller was $515,000. So, good luck buying in there. Invite me over if you do.
Of course the "noel" on this tower was an accidental, ironic commentary on the state of Austin. It's kinda great that what was an intentionally empty and inoffensive "holiday" greeting actually tells a hard truth about a growing city.
It points to the fact that births are painful. So are rebirths. They're really happy, too. And beautiful.
Joyeux noël, Austin.