Stadtluft macht frei

"City air makes you free" is a secular prayer from the Middle Ages. If a serf could evade re-capture for a year and a day, the manor lord's bond was broken. Freedom is the ability to choose; and the city offers a multiplicity of choices. You can make yourself anew in the city. We do not question the fact that in our popular culture, all of the superheroes have secret identities and live in cities: Superman's Metropolis; Bruce Wayne in Gotham; The Green Arrow in Star City; Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen in Keystone City... 

Frost Tower from the Scarbrough Building

Bank of America Building from the Scarbrough Building

The Littlefield Building from the Scarbrough Building.
In 1910 they competed to be the tallest,
though limited by law not to surpass
the State Capitol.  The Littlefield is Beaux Arts.
In 1930 the Scarbrough was updated to an
Art Deco interior.

The German word is Wolkenkratzer: Cloudscraper.

ALSO ON NECESSARY FACTS
Around Austin
Austin at Night
Formulas for Success
South by Southwest 2013
Images from SXSW 2013
South by Southwest 2012