By Alice Embree / The Rag Blog / April 23, 2026
Inspired by Earth Day and also published in Alice Embree’s Substack.
The Rag, Austin’s beloved underground newspaper, published 374 issues between 10/10/1966 and 5/9/1977. The first 12 issues were in a smaller format with a logo by artist Clelie Moore. Beginning 1/30/1967 The Rag was published as a tabloid with a new logo.
Students at the University of Texas at Austin are now publishing a new incarnation of The Rag as a monthly zine. See “A new Rag for a new generation.”
The Rag continues to stir interest, both in its past incarnation and its contemporary one. Since a 2005 reunion, former Ragstaffers have celebrated its lengthy existence with a movie, courtesy of People’s History in Texas, and a book.
For the record, and in honor of Earth Day, I wanted to identify The Rag’s various addresses on planet Earth. Rag offices were in West Campus houses, and even in Houston, before moving to more prominent places on Guadalupe Street.
The Rag moved into the basement of the 2200 Guadalupe Y on 9/30/1968 and then to the 2330 Guadalupe Y (second floor) in 3/3/1970 where the paper was located until it ceased publication. For a brief period in 1967, The Rag had a Houston address. Both Austin and Houston were on The Rag’s masthead between 7/17/1967 and 6/3/1969.
Here are the addresses. Some of the houses and buildings have been razed, but some are still standing.
- 10/10/1966 – 1/30/1967 / 2506 Nueces, Austin, TX 78705
- 2/13/1967 – 7/17/1967 / 910 West 26th, Austin, TX 78705
- 8/21/1967 – 10/2/1967 / 810 Preston, Houston, TX 77002
- 10/10/1967 – 9/23/1968 / 609 West 23rd, 78705
- 9/30/1968 – 2/24/1970 / 2200 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78705 (University Y Basement)
- 3/3/1970 – 5/9/1977 / 2330 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78705 (University Y 2nd Floor)
Size Doesn’t Matter
The Rag started small. The first 12 issues were printed on a Multilith. It graduated to tabloid size at the beginning of 1967.
- 1/30/1967 – 5/9/1977 (tabloid/second logo)
- 10/10/1966 – 1/9/1967 (zine size/first logo)
Lunar Landing
The latest space mission circled the moon and reminded us that we are earthlings. Those of us who are old enough remember the impact of the 1969 lunar landing. It made the cover of The Rag with artist Jim Franklin’s drawing, July 17, 1969.
