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New sign on trail around Lady Bird Lake
I love this artsy new sign on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. It’s a good reminder of what happens when people push to make what seems like an impossible vision a reality.
Members of The Trail Foundation unveiled the new “The History of Lady Bird Lake and the Trail” piece Tuesday evening.
The sign, a steel tangle of branches and leaves designed by Austin’s Lars Stanley Metalworks, explains a bit about the evolution of the trail around Lady Bird Lake.
Fifty years ago, the banks of the Colorado River through downtown looked nothing like they do today. Repeated flooding had stripped them of vegetation, leaving them stark and uninviting. Dams were built to control the flooding, but there were no trails or benches or trees or flowers so the public could enjoy the area.
In 1971, the Town Lake Beautification Committee was formed. Lady Bird Johnson, Les Gage, Ann Butler, Carolyn Curtis, Emma Long, Jim Pfluger and others, along with Mayor Roy Butler, set out to create a corridor of hiking trails and landscaping that would showcase the river front.
Walk on the trail on a sunny day and you’ll know how successful they were.
The downtown phase of signage was made possible by donations from the MFI Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
What do you think of the sign?
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