This Holiday Season, Georgetown's Downtown Reaches Past the Square
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
"We want people to go off and enjoy the rest of our downtown, because our downtown is 52 blocks, but most people only think about the nine blocks of the square." Downtown and Tourism Director Kim McAuliffe said that in an October 25 Community Impact report on Georgetown's downtown enhancements.
The timing matters. Over the next six weeks, Georgetown's biggest crowds of the year will gather on those nine blocks. The city plans to finish its first new downtown signs in years just before they arrive, and those signs point away from the courthouse.
Almost every major holiday event in Georgetown is scheduled for the area around the Williamson County Courthouse. Here is the calendar in order:
The Downtown Georgetown Association's Stroll page counts more than 72,000 attendees in 2025. It also lists more than 200 artisan and boutique vendors, Santa's Village, holiday concerts and the Christmas Parade, with the event located around the downtown Square.
According to the city's Lighting of the Square listing, the City of Georgetown supports the lights around the Square, Williamson County provides the courthouse lights, and they stay on every evening through January 1.
On Lighting night itself, getting there is the hard part. Austin Avenue closes between Sixth and Ninth streets from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Austin Avenue bridges north of the Square are already down to one lane each way for construction. The city lists free parking at these spots:
Several of those lots are a block or two off the Square, so you'll likely start and end the evening outside the nine blocks. The city's new signs are meant to help with that walk.
The signs being replaced were installed around 2004, McAuliffe told Community Impact. Installation of the new ones was expected to start in late October, with the final signs in place by mid-to-late November. That puts them up just before the Lighting on Nov. 27.
The new signs use the city's poppy motif and its blue and red branding colors, and they come in three types:
Small gateway signs already mark two districts that sit outside the Square, the Light and Waterworks District and the South Main Arts District. Over the next several years, the city plans to add 25-foot gateway signs on Austin Avenue at Hwy. 29 and near the Austin Avenue bridges.
The two districts with gateway signs are a short walk from the courthouse. Neither has a published street-by-street boundary, but each is built around a few specific addresses.
Light and Waterworks District. The district takes its name from the town's power plant, built in 1911. Its plaza sits between the Georgetown Public Library and that historic Light and Waterworks building. According to the City of Georgetown, the plaza has a performance stage, an event lawn, a shaded pavilion, a food truck area and public art. The project cost $2.25 million, paid for with bond revenue and the Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. It held its ribbon cutting Dec. 12, 2025, and a public opening celebration March 6, 2026. The plaza is listed at the rear of 809 Martin Luther King Jr. St.
The library at 402 W. Eighth St. has the Little Lemon café inside. Nearby, the city's art stroll map lists the Shotgun House Museum at 801 West St. and the City Hall Gallery. The city's mural inventory places the "Preserving History" mural behind City Hall beside the Shotgun House. City Hall also has an indoor "Blue Hole" mural based on photographs of the San Gabriel River.
Rock Street. The "Traditions to the Future" mural at 215 W. Eighth St. faces Rock Street. A short walk away, the Williamson County Art Guild Gallery at 708 Rock St. shows work by resident artists and hosts exhibitions, demonstrations and artist sales. Redeveloping Rock Street is one of the priority projects in the city's 2024 Downtown Master Plan.
South Main Arts District. This district is centered where South Main meets Ninth Street. The Georgetown Art Center is at 816 S. Main St., the Grace Heritage Center is across the street at 817 S. Main, and the South Main Arts District Plaza is on Ninth Street behind Grace. In 2026, the Art Center added a Caleb Crisp mural celebrating the district on the side of its building facing South Main and Ninth. A Ninth Street art walk is also part of the master plan.
Shop Small Saturday may start in this district. The Downtown Georgetown Association's listing puts the 10 a.m. kickoff at the Georgetown Art Center. The city's Visit Georgetown listing starts the morning at the Downtown Development and Special Event Offices, 505 S. Austin Ave., where the first 300 shoppers get a free canvas tote. Check the starting point with the organizers before you go. The city lists these participating businesses so far: Hogaboom Road, Urban Cottage Boutique, The Exchange, Therapie Boutique, Red Horn Coffee House & Tap Room, Blue Corn Harvest, Handcrafts Unlimited and Divine Treasures.
The second change is about where people sit. Some outdoor seating was added under COVID-19 emergency orders. A new two-year pilot program would officially regulate street patios, which use parking spaces, and sidewalk cafes, which use public sidewalks. Businesses in and around the Square could build enclosed seating for dining or shopping outside their storefronts. According to Community Impact, owners can already submit applications for review. The ordinance was scheduled for a first reading Oct. 27, with final adoption targeted for the consent agenda in November, and the city expects the program to take effect that month.
Monument Cafe shows what this can look like. When the restaurant moved to 500 S. Austin Ave. in 2008, the site came with a beer garden. Co-owner Cristy Schuler closed it in 2012 and spent the last two years working to bring it back, Community Impact reported. The beer garden had a soft opening Oct. 5 and opened along with a new market on Oct. 8. It has outdoor seating and craft beer on tap. The market sells grab-and-go food and handles pickup orders from the full menu.
Other changes will take longer. The city has combined its historic Square and Austin Avenue projects, which will widen downtown sidewalks to make room for outdoor seating and make walking easier. Both are in design, with construction expected in the next one to two years.
A second parking garage is planned near Ninth and Main streets with 450 spaces and ground-floor retail and dining. The Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool is moving its headquarters to the former Wesleyan Building downtown. About 200 garage spaces will be reserved for its staff during weekday business hours, and the whole garage will be open to the public on evenings and weekends. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with opening expected in early 2029. For this Stroll and the next two, parking will still mean the existing lots and the garages at Sixth and Main and Fourth and Rock.
If you're downtown this season and wondering how the next few years of changes could affect a home near the Square, YES Realty can walk you through it in plain terms. Schedule a free consultation, and bring your questions about the patios, the garage and the blocks around them.
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