July 26, 2007
Town Lake Renamed to Honor Lady Bird Johnson
Town Lake will be officially renamed to "Lady Bird Lake" after the Austin City Council meets this morning.
Sponsored by Mayor Will Wynn, the proposed ordinance comes in response to massive public requests that the City honor Lady Bird Johnson's legacy of environmental advocacy.
"Numerous citizens have contacted my office suggesting ways that the City should honor her memory, including the most obvious of renaming Town Lake," wrote the Mayor in a statement issued after Mrs. Johnson's death on July 11. "It is safe to say that the City Council will take action on recognizing her many contributions to Austin, Texas, and the entire country."
In 1971, the former first lady oversaw the creation of Town Lake's hike and bike trail, and was for most of her life a staunch proponent for public beautification projects.
More:
[Town Lake owes its beauty to Lady Bird]
Photo from the White House archives
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Council usually meets in the evening.
Oh man, those Mexican Freetails are gonna be PISSED. I see a Squatter's Rights lawsuit coming on.
Council meets all day - it just holds public hearings in the evening. This happened around 11am to 1pm today.
thats great and all, but I will always call it Town Lake.
Along with "The Ann Richards Bridge," this will just make it easier to tell the newbies apart from the oldies.
What about 1st St.? I still sometimes call it by that name.
19th Street, on the other hand, I've only heard from people trying to throw off a racist prick vibe (whether mockingly or in earnest).
I'm calling it Lake Claudia from now on.
I thought we already had a Lake LBJ? I guess it's kind of symbolic to have Lady Bird just a little downstream. Lake LBJ: Part 2.
I still call Dean Keeton 26th st. to the confusion of new folks...
Really...must everything be named LBJ?
What the fuck is the Ann Richards Bridge???
Ann W. Richards Congress Ave. is the new name for the Congress bridge (or the whole Ave., I guess). And, for the record it is LBL, not LBJ. She is the main, if not only, reason Town Lake is habitable, recreationally speaking. Lady Bird Lake... has a nice ring. Though, yes, I suspect I will still call it Town Lake, too.
It is just Lady Bird Lake, not Lady Bird Johnson Lake. No LBJ part two, she is her own lake, dad gummit.
Except it's not really a lake.
This naming Town Lake Lady Bird Lake seems a bit of a shortsighted gesture. I bet the city just did it to piss off the Save Town Lake contingency.
God bless 'em.
The Save Town Lake contigency seems pretty happy about the renaming and is gleefully conscripting the late Mrs. Johnson into their movement.
All of the lakes in Texas (except Caddo Lake on the LA border) are dammed up rivers. In Texas, we call a dammed up river a "lake."
Maybe I don't cause I grew up near Uncertain.
And you don't tell me what Texans do. I was born here, goddamnit.
But I do hate how they're "gleefully conscripting the late Mrs. Johnson into their movement."
That's just wrong to wait until a high profile personality dies to say, "She (or he) would have wanted things our way."
I like the sound of "Lakey Bird Johnson"