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Photo: Evelina Monzingo, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bridge decorated with hundreds of mosaic tiles to honor the legacy of beloved Austin radio dj. Designed by artist Stefanie Distefano, the tiles were made to look like radios, cassette tapes, ceramic portraits, and dozens of other representations of Monroe’s life and career, including replicas of his signature ‘’Segway’’ license plate and a replica of the logo featured on his website, designed by artist Sam Hurt. The bridge features tiles depicting vinyl records with names of artists and songs that represent the range of music that Monroe enjoyed as well as tiles containing lyrics by a few of the musicians whose music he played, including a 22-foot musical score from the Townes Van Zandt song "To Live is to Fly". Friends of Larry and guest musicians meet at the bridge annually, near the end of August, the anniversary of Larry's birth, to perform and celebrate his life.
The Larry Monroe Forever Bridge is a bridge mural and memorial to Austin broadcaster and musical scholar Larry Monroe. The bridge's two low walls are decorated with mosaic tiles relating to Monroe and the music he played on Austin radio for more than 30 years. Artist Stefanie Distefano designed and directed the project. The bridge is located on East Side Drive as it crosses Blunn Creek between Stacy Park and Little Stacy Park in the Travis Heights neighborhood in South Austin, Texas.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
Yes, that's right, bats. Austin's Congress Avenue bridge is home to about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. This is the largest urban bat colony in the world and one of the largest Mexican free-tailed bat colonies in North America. The bats are generally active at dusk every evening between March and November. In years when there has been a drought, the bats leave early (when there is still light), and can be a quite impressive sight. In years when there has been plenty of rain, they leave so late it is difficult to see much. Best place to see them is near the Austin American Statesman's parking lot, or you can pay for boat tours to see them from underneath the bridge. Towards the end of bat season, when the colony's young are flying for the first time, pedestrian crowds can become rather dense. Try to arrive at least an hour before dark if you want to have a good, unobstructed view.
Sitting atop a hill with gorgeous views of downtown, this professional Equity house at St. Edward's University allows college students and seasoned actors to work together creating exceptional theatre at a great value.
Zach Scott
Dave Steakley is artistic director. If you are looking for solid musical theatre, this is your venue. They also have a lock on Christmas plays.
Rent a kayak. Zilker Park Boat Rentals is along the Barton Springs Creek. Just paddle down to Lady Bird Lake and see great views of Downtown Austin. Turtles are common in the lake and creek. Paddle over to the southern part of the Congress Ave. Bridge and hear the squeaking noises of the bridge's 1.5 million resident bats (don't hang out under the bridge-- bat guano is a problem).