71°
65º | 77°
The City of Houston unveiled a statue of one of the leaders of the civil rights movement in the U.S., Lyndon B. Johnson.
On Aug. 6, a sculpture of the former president was revealed in downtown's Little Tranquility Park as a testament to the good deeds done by him as president.
Miya Shay, a reporter in the area, tweeted, "On the anniversary of the #VotingRightsAct, Houston today unveiled the Lyndon Baines Johnson statue with his daughters, Mayor @SylvesterTurner and other dignitaries in attendance."
Ground was broken for the monument to the 36th commander in chief in October 2019. A news release issued at the time said the sculpture would give Little Tranquility Park a fresh look in addition to improvements to Bagby Street.
When ground was broken for the monument, Mayor Turner gave a statement, saying, “The LBJ monument and surrounding features will be a tourist attraction, a history lesson, an inspirational gathering place and a testament to how persistence and dedication of one person can change the course of our city, state, nation and the world. In Houston we recognize our debt to great presidents without regard to political affiliation, but we do prize highly respected late presidents who spent formative years right here in our city.”
The monument was made possible due to contributions from a variety of sources. One of the most notable contributions was a $250,000 matching grant from the Brown Foundation of Houston. Several other donors in the area lended their support, as well. The Houston-based global design firm Gensler is the lead architect and designer of the project.
The park also honors Johnson, for whom NASA’s Manned Space Center in the Clear Lake area is named after, with magnolia trees planted in memoriam to the astronauts killed in the two space shuttle disasters, Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003.