South River City is a community located in Austin, Texas. Also frequently called Travis Heights, the neighborhood is located south of the city's urban core, just below Lake Lady Bird in South Austin. The area encompasses a portion of ZIP code 78704. South River City is bounded to the west by South Congress Avenue and the Bouldin Creek neighborhood, to the south by Oltorf Road and to the east by Interstate 35 and East Riverside-Oltorf Combined Neighborhood Planning Area. To the north, South River City abuts Lake Lady Bird and Riverside Drive. South River City together with the St. Edward's neighborhood located directly to the south, comprise a City of Austin Combined Planning Area called Greater South River City. The area known as South River City developed in the late 19th and early 20th century as Austin's first planned urban communities south of the Colorado River. Swisher's Addition and Fairview Park, the first two attempts at settlement in present-day South River City were troubled by the lack of transportation with Downtown Austin. However, the concrete Congress Avenue Bridge was completed in 1910, thus laying the groundwork for a neighborhood boom in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the homes built were single-family, and some of those that remain are Victorian-era structures with gingerbread trim, Craftsman-influenced bungalows, and housed influenced by the Prairie School style. Many houses have gabled or hipped roofs and deep porches. History The Swisher Addition and birth of South Congress As was the case with other South Austin neighborhoods, the area around present-day South River City was slower to develop. Prior to the late 19th century, transportation to and from Downtown Austin was dependent on ferries and pontoon bridges. James Swisher settled on a bluff in present-day South Austin with his family in 1846, and initially operated a tavern and a hotel. It was Swisher who granted Travis County the right-of-way to begin construction of a highway to San Antonio in 1852. Sensing the commercial opportunities that the new highway would bring, Swisher also began operating a ferry service across the Colorado River that same year. The establishment of Swisher's ferry and the Post Road in the early 1850s encouraged modest settlement in South Austin, particularly along the road, such as the Texas School for the Deaf in 1856. Further growth was halted by the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction. Until a wooden bridge