UT-Austin Public Art / 1966 Tower Shooting - FREE Guided Walking Tour

UT-Austin Public Art / 1966 Tower Shooting – FREE Guided Walking Tour

Saturday, August 2 - 8:45 am. All are welcome.

Meeting Point: Medici Roasting - 2222B Guadalupe Street, Austin.

We invite you to join us for a FREE guided walking tour throughout the University of Texas at Austin. The focus of our tour will be the area’s incredible public art collection and interesting architecture. We’ll also visits sites connected to the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting. The tour will be at casual pace and will cover approximately 1.5 to 2.0 miles.

The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2023, it is also the largest institution in the system.

The university is a major center for academic research, with research expenditures totaling $1.06 billion for the 2023 fiscal year. The university houses seven museums and seventeen libraries, including the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and the Blanton Museum of Art, and operates various auxiliary research facilities, such as the J. J. Pickle Research Campus and McDonald Observatory.

UT Austin's athletics constitute the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns have won four NCAA Division I National Football Championships, six NCAA Division I National Baseball Championships, thirteen NCAA Division I National Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, and the school has claimed more titles in men's and women's sports than any other member in the Big 12.

As of 2020, 13 Nobel Prize winners, 25 Pulitzer Prize winners, 3 Turing Award winners, 2 Fields Medal recipients, 2 Wolf Prize winners, and 3 Abel Prize winners have been affiliated with the school as alumni, faculty members, or researchers. The university has also been affiliated with three Primetime Emmy Award winners, and as of 2021, its students and alumni have earned a total of 155 Olympic medals.

The University of Texas tower shooting was an act of mass M**der that occurred on August 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin. The perpetrator, 25-year-old Marine veteran Charles Whitman, indiscriminately fired at members of the public, both within the Main Building tower and from the tower's observation deck. He shot and killed 15 people, including an unborn child, and injured 31 others before he was killed by two Austin Police Department officers approximately 96 minutes after first opening fire from the observation deck.

Prior to arriving at the University of Texas, Whitman had stabbed his mother and wife to death—in part to spare both women "the embarrassment" he believed his actions would cause them.

At the time, the University of Texas tower shooting was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history.

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Event Details ...

Cost: FREE.

Weather: The tour will take place light rain or shine. If it’s on our calendar then we’re proceeding as planned.

Parking: Many options (free and paid) throughout the area. Please arrive in the area several minutes early so that you have time to find parking and walk to our meeting point.

Before the Event: Socializing and icebreakers from 8:45 am - 9:00 am at Medici Roasting which has beverages, snacks, and a restroom.

Meeting Point: Medici Roasting - 2222B Guadalupe Street, Austin. Look for your hosts Robert (wearing a fedora-style hat) and Michele (also wearing a hat) along with a group of friendly people. We’ll depart on our walking tour at approximately 9:00 am.

Icebreaker Introductions: We should have a good-sized group so instead of everyone introducing themselves to the group we will get to know each other by distributing blank stickers and colored markers and we’ll ask everyone to write down on their sticker: 1). first name. 2). favorite food. 3). dream vacation. Example: “Michele - Strawberries - Kenya” or “Robert - Chocolate - Japan”.

Walking Distance: Approximately 1.5 to 2.0 miles.

Ending Point: Medici Roasters.

After the Event: To-be-determined. Lunch?

Additional Questions: Anything that can't be answered by the event description, Google, or common sense, please let us know.

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Your host for this program is Robert Kelleman, the founder/director of the non-profit community organizations Texas History & Culture and Washington, DC History & Culture.

Austin, Texas History & Culture

A non-profit community organization

Experience the history and culture of Austin, Texas - and the world!

Eventbrite:

https://ATXHistoryAndCulture.Eventbrite.com

Meetup:

https://www.Meetup.com/ATXHistoryAndCulture/

Facebook:

https://www.Facebook.com/ATXHistoryAndCulture/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TexasHistoryAndCulture

We look forward to seeing you - thanks!

Robert Kelleman

[email protected]

202-821-6325 (text only)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertkelleman/

Host or Publisher Austin, Texas History & Culture