HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – A fundraising campaign, kicked off with a $250,000 grant from the Brown Foundation, has started with the goal of creating an 8-foot statue and a monument to honor President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
The monument will be located on a tract, called Little Tranquility Park, on a downtown block bounded by Capitol, Walker, Bagby and Smith.
With the nearby existing monuments for President George H.W. Bush and James A. Baker, the area has the beginnings of a walkable historic area, said CK Pang, formerly of Gensler architecture, which is designing the LBJ monument.
A native Texan, President Johnson is credited as the key force in securing NASA for Houston.
“Great cities are characterized by great public art, including art that memorializes significant historic figures associated with the city,” stated Charles C. Foster, co-chair of the LBJ Presidential Monument Advisory Board. “The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Monument will complement the George Bush Presidential Monument, as they both open on Bagby Street which will become a major thoroughfare with walking and bicycle lanes and enhanced landscaping, according to city plans.”
Further south toward City Hall, the Robert Mosbacher Memorial Bridge that links the Bush and Baker Monuments was the latest addition to the area. Dedicated in 2016, the monument honors the late Robert A. Mosbacher, Sr., former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Artist Willy Wang created the bas-reliefs for both the Bush and Mosbacher monuments.
“We look forward to sharing this vision with Charles and helping link together these historic stories and monuments in a way that can be experienced by Houston residents and visitors for decades to come,” said CK Pang, retired Principal of Gensler’s Houston office. “The historic elements are there, why not create a walkable designated area for visitors to follow and learn about the rich history of Houston?” CK was the Design Principal for the Bush, Baker and Mosbacher monuments and will continue leading the design for the LBJ monument.
