Roy’s Taxi, Gold Dollar, and The Cloak Room: Glimpses of Austin’s Past

{
  "title": "Roy’s Taxi, Gold Dollar, and The Cloak Room: Glimpses of Austin’s Past",
  "lead": "Exploring the histories of Roy’s Taxi, the Gold Dollar Building, and The Cloak Room through Jim Duncan’s Austin series.",
  "body": "_Jim Duncan, a retired city planner, has written more than 600 short histories of Austin businesses. This week, we sample from his histories of one business from the 19th century, another from the early 20th century, and a third from the late 20th century._\n\n## 1869: Gold Dollar Building\n\nConstructed in 1869 by freedman George Franklin in the then Wheatville freedom colony, the limestone and wooden structure at 2402 San Gabriel St. was a post-Civil War cultural and religious center for Austin’s Black community. From 1875 to 1898, it was the home of Jacob “Jake” Fontaine, a Black grocer, publisher, minister, and political activist, whose community contributions and accomplishments were many. He founded the First (Colored) Baptist Church in 1867 and five other Austin churches. In 1876, Jake published the _Gold Dollar_, one of the first Black weekly newspapers in the South, and in 1881, he was a leading Black advocate for the establishment of UT Austin. Fontaine was also instrumental in founding the St. John Regular Baptist Association, which linked together dozens of mostly rural Black congregations and operated an orphanage and school in what is now the Highland neighborhood.\n\nItalian immigrant Angelo Franzetti purchased the Wheatville building in 1919 for use as a home and grocery store. Angelo’s son, Joseph, ran the store and lived on the second floor until the 1970s. The building was designated a Historic Landmark in 1977. Cuatro Kowalski bought and refurbished the building in 2012 and opened Freedman’s Barbecue and Bar. In 2018, the city approved an eight-story apartment building wrapping around the store. Today, 2402 San Gabriel St. is home to The Cauldron, a coffee shop by day and a bar by night.\n\n## 1931: Roy’s Taxi\n\nEntrepreneurial opportunities for providing private transportation services in Austin have been shaped largely by segregation, regulation, and innovation. Before 1930, taxis were provided primarily by individual vehicle owners, with service limited in East Austin. In 1931, Roy Martines Velasquez founded Roy’s Taxi, which was the first to serve all of Austin and all races. Two more taxi services followed: Harlem and Deluxe. In 1990, it was a Roy’s cab that carried Richard Linklater around Austin in his first film _Slacker_. Roy, also known in the Hispanic community as a patrón, or community and business leader before Latinos held public office, died in 1981.\n\nFrom the 1980s to the 2010s, a series of mergers and new ventures doubled the number of taxi companies to six: Yellow (merged with Roy’s), Austin (merged with Harlem), American, Texas, Lone Star, and Checker. Then came the first game-changer! In 2014, independent rideshare contractors Uber and Lyft came to town and were not subject to the same rules as taxis, such as registration, fixed rates, and service zones. Added to the problem for taxis was the proliferation of pedicabs in Central Austin. Over the next five years, taxi customers plummeted by 90 percent. Today, the sole survivor is Yellow, which uses zTrip to connect with customers online. The next possible game changers, the driverless ride-sharing services of Waymo and Tesla, have recently arrived on Austin streets. Stay tuned.\n\n## 1979: The Cloak Room\n\nWhile not well known to many Austinites, The Cloak Room is a dark subterranean speakeasy without frills that serves as a second home for many politicians, lobbyists, and judges. Located in the basement of the 19th-century Goodman Building, just west of the Capitol, it is difficult to find. Even its sign is often blocked by vegetation. The reward for discovery, however, is a near-private retreat occupied by few patrons, a capable bartender, and one of the best jukeboxes in town. The space is small, so guest lists need to be short. James Raymond “Jim” Le Mond founded the bar and loved telling stories about deal-making in the smoke-filled backroom during the legislative sessions. He shared many stories about the future Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock when he was Comptroller of Public Accounts. Jim sold the bar in 1981.\n\nA Statesman columnist described The Cloak Room as “a very male bar. Men in suspenders and pressed chinos with rumpled hair, customers ribbing each other, the bartender ribbing the customers, beer and hard liquor running up the tab.” Despite its reputation as a political hangout, longtime bartender Beverly Pruitt told no stories because “I hear nothing; I see nothing; I know nothing.” Melissa Pruitt started bartending in 2017 to help her mother. Jim died in 2019. The Pruitts have since left The Cloak Room; Jason Harvey is the new owner.\n\n## More from Jim Duncan's Austin\n\n- _Estrada’s Cleaners, Boggy Creek Farm, Marshall’s Barber Shop_\n- _Peter Pan Mini-Golf, Hofheintz-Reissing Compound, Robinson-Rosner Building_"
}