The LBJ Plaza

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore Owings and Merrill and opened in the spring of 1971, originally featured a monumental library building clad in Roman travertine and an expansive plaza paved in travertine and terrazzo, with three square fountains. In 2009, after significant deterioration caused by water infiltration, the plaza was rebuilt through work by the Texas Historical Commission, The University of Texas, and the National Archives and Records Administration, which replaced the paving materials with granite and reinterpreted the fountains as planting areas. In collaboration with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, native plants were chosen to make the plaza more hospitable and environmentally responsible. The plaza is now an important feature of the Lady Bird Johnson Center, a tribute to the First Lady, who is remembered as an advocate of education, the mother of the environmental movement, and a person of tremendous charm and grace. The redesigned plaza supports the mission of the Library as a place of education and learning while reflecting Mrs. Johnson's warmth, hospitality, and love of the Texas landscape. A section of the original paving is preserved at the northwest quadrant of the plaza.

Austin, Texas · United States