A Good Time All Around
The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
Standing on an impressive 30-acre site on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas, the Library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photos, and 5,000 hours of recordings from President Johnson's political career, including about 643 hours of his recorded telephone conversations.
Wimberley Glassworks
Texas’ premier handblown glass lighting and art glass studio, creating exclusive vases, sculptures, platters, glassware, gifts, and lighting since 1992. Find them in the beautiful Texas hill country between San Marcos and Wimberley, near Austin and San Antonio.
Texas Military Forces Museum
A 45,000-square foot museum explores the history of the Texas militia and volunteer forces from 1823 (date of the first militia muster in Stephen F. Austin’s colony) to 1903 when Congress created the National Guard. From 1903 to the present the museum tells the story of the Texas Army and Air National Guard, as well as the Texas State Guard, in both peacetime and wartime historical scenarios.
History
For hundreds of years, nomadic tribes of Tonkawas, Comanches, and Lipan Apache camped and hunted along the creeks, including what is now known as Barton Springs. In the late 1700s, the Spanish set up temporary missions in the area. By the 1830s, the first permanent Anglo settlers arrived and called their village Waterloo.
By the 1880s, Austin was becoming a city. In 1888, a grand capital building, advertised as the "7th largest building in the world," was completed on the site originally chosen in the 1839 plan.
Diverse cultural groups have come to Austin throughout history, including immigrants from Europe, Africa, Mexico, and Asia. Each group has enriched Austin's civic and cultural life, including its recent development as a mecca for music fans. Austin's musical rebirth began in the 1970s, when artists such as David Rodriguez and Willie Nelson drew national attention — and more musicians — to the city.
