Texas Walk of Stars in Austin
If you’ve been to a convention in Austin and entered the Convention Center from Trinity Street, you’ve probably seen stars in the sidewalk with a name on them. You may have walked over a few faded granite stars in front of the Driskill Hotel, or over Stephen F. Austin’s star at the corner of 6th and Congress. Some of the names are recognizable, some obscure. There are no markers describing what these stars signify, though they can be found in different locations, and for several blocks in front of the convention center. This is the remnants of a project called the Texas Walk of Stars.
For a few years my path walking to my office (or, more importantly, to get to Gus’ Fried Chicken or Flemings!) took me along Trinity Street. Curiosity got the better of me, as it usually does, and I began researching these stars.
History
The Texas Walk of Stars was dedicated in July 1992 (according to an article in the Austin-American Statesman) with 50 initial stars chosen by the Texas Walk of Stars Association and Historical Society. Stars had been installed over the years beforehand – a Statesman article dated March 2, 1989 mentions Stephen F. Austin’s star dedication, another dated November 15, 1989 mentions Elisabet Ney’s star. Other stars that weren’t included in the initial list of 50 were added later – according to an October 17, 1993 article, a star for artist Amado Peña was installed.
The requirements to have a star, based on the above referenced July 8, 1992 Statesman article, “A person must have lived, died or been born in Texas to be eligible.”
At the Austin History Center (an interesting place to visit, once it opens after the pandemic), Mike Miller the city archivist pointed me to a promotional brochure from the same period promoting the walk as “A Walking Galaxy of Texas Luminaries In the Historic Downtown District of Austin, Texas.” It also lists some of the founders who started the project in 1987 (and mentions the last star being laid in 1989, though additional stars are mentioned in the articles cited above) and a proposed structure for moving forward.
Scanned images of three pages from this promotional document are posted below.
There are sketches of how the Walk would look.
And a proposed layout covering Trinity and 6th Street, with several at the intersection of Congress Avenue and 6th street.
I have yet to find out what stopped this expansion of the existing stars, and can only assume that funding was not procured or some other opposition arose that could not be surmounted. Or, perhaps, the team considered the project complete with the installation of the approximately 50 stars to be found.
Current State
While I cannot claim to have walked over all of the sidewalks downtown, this section catalogs all of the stars I’ve found. The main concentration of stars is along Trinity Street between Cesar Chavez and 6th Street, with another set near the Driskill Hotel.
Stars Not Part of the Texas Walk of Stars
There is also a set of stars in front of the Paramount Theatre on Congress Avenue which do not appear to be part of the Texas Stars project. The stars, dates from 2015 to 2019, feature Delbert McClinton, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams (from the “Tuna Texas” plays), Lyle Lovett and Jerry Jeff Walker.
The First Stars in the Texas Walk of Stars
There are some stars that are obviously part of the Texas Walk of Stars project, with the words “Texas Stars” and dates near 1989 (when the original project work was being done, according to the article from the Statesmen newspaper cited above, and documentation from the Austin History Center). These appear to be the original stars in the project, before the document cited above from the archive.
The photo below is of two side-by-side stars at the corner of 6th Street and Congress. The date (March 2, 1989) matches that in the Statesman article, and the star is for Stephen F. Austin. I assume this is the first of the Texas Stars that was installed. It’s in need of a good power-washing by the city. The star on the left reads “Stephen F Austin” across the top of the circle, “Texas Star” across the bottom of the circle and “MAR 2 1989” across the bottom. The right star reads “City of Austin” across the top of the circle, “Star of Texas” across the bottom of the circle, with the same date across the bottom.
There are five stars of a similar design around the Driskill Hotel, running along both 6th street and Brazos Street.
In addition to Willie Nelson (which has no date, probably because he is timeless!!), there are stars around the Driskill for:
- John Henry Faulk (dated July 22, 1989)
- Janis Joplin (dated September 12, 1989)
- Elisabet Ney (November 14, 1989, cited in another Statesman article)
- Kenneth Threadgill (September 12, 1989)
Texas Walk of Stars on Trinity Street
There are forty-two people honored on the Texas Walk of Stars along Trinity Street. They include Presidents, film and television stars, sports figures, authors, Texas historical figures, a few unknowns and some surprises. These star markers, which look quite different than the original ones shown above, are on both sides of Trinity Street, including placements from Cesar Chavez street at the south end of the Convention Center up to the alleyway between the buildings on 5th and 6th street.
KENNETH THREADGILL 
WILLIE NELSON 
OVETA CULP HOBBY 
JAMES FARMER 
DR. DENTON COOLEY 
TOM LANDRY 
SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR 
AMADO M. PEÑA, JR.
As of this writing, three of the stars are covered up by a wooden boardwalk built onto the side of the Michelada Restaurant across from the Convention Center; the sides of the outlines of the three are visible sticking out, but I have not been able to discover their names.
Construction of a the new Marriott hotel across from the Convention Center at the corner of Trinity and Cesar Chavez had obscured four others that, according to Google Street view, were there before construction started. Street View images from January 2017 are below showing the four stars that were there. The first image starts from the corner of Cesar Chavez, and shows the side of the old Christian Science Monitor building.
The second image shows the other stars that are covered up.
To their credit (or perhaps they were following the rules?) the four were replaced in the sidewalk after the Marriott opened in the summer of 2020. Those four are Alan Bean, Tom Mix, Debbie Reynolds and Willie Shoemaker.
That would bring the total to forty-six stars along Trinity Street. There are two stars on Trinity Street that are not listed in the original 50 – the mysterious Tom Neir and the previously mentioned Amado Peña, who was added in 1993. The ones missing from the original fifty are: Larry Hagman, Ima Hogg, Buddy Holly, Byron Nelson, Charles Nimitz, Chief Quanah Parker and Nolan Ryan. Three of these are under the Michelada boardwalk and I have no idea where the other four might be. It’s possible they may have been dug up or covered up with construction since 1992, given what almost happened to the four at the corner of Trinity and Cesar Chavez. Or they may have never been installed if the project ran out of money.
Starting from the corner of Cesar Chavez and Trinity, going north along the Convention Center side of the street:
- Tom L Neir
- Lyndon Baines Johnson (original 50)
- Lady Bird Johnson (original 50)
- Amado M. Peña, Jr.
- Dr. Denton Cooley (original 50)
- Tom Landry (original 50)
Crossing 4th Street
- Sam Houston (original 50)
- Carol Burnett (original 50)
- Judge Roy Bean (original 50)
- George Foreman (original 50)
- O. Henry (original 50)
- Oveta Culp Hobby (original 50)
- Lorenzo De Zavala (original 50)
Side of Trinity Street opposite Convention Center – south from 6th street to Cesar Chavez
- Babe Zaharias (original 50)
- Joan Crawford (original 50)
- J. Frank Dobie (original 50)
- Henry B. Gonzalez (original 50)
Crossing 5th street
- Vikki Carr (original 50)
- John Nance Garner (original 50)
- Sandra Day O’Connor (original 50)
- Mean Joe Greene (original 50)
- Mary Martin (original 50)
- Lee Trevino (original 50)
- Audie Murphy (original 50)
Crossing 4th street
- Liz Smith (original 50)
- Dwight David Eisenhower (original 50)
- Lydia Medoza (original 50)
- James Farmer (original 50)
- Sara T. Hughes (original 50)
- Walter Prescott Webb (original 50)
- Steve Martin (original 50)
Crossing 3rd street
- Scott Joplin (original 50)
- Barbara Jordan (original 50)
- Wiley Post (original 50)
- John Avery Lomax (original 50)
- Miriam A. “Ma” Fergeson (original 50)
- Juan Seguin (original 50)
- Dan Rather (original 50)
Crossing 2nd street
- Unknown 1 (under the Michelada boardwalk)
- Unknown 2 (under the Michelada boardwalk)
- Unknown 3 (under the Michelada boardwalk)
- Sam Rayburn (original 50)
In front of the new Marriott at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Trinity
- Willie Shoemaker (original 50)
- Debbie Reynolds (original 50)
- Tom Mix (original 50)
- Alan Bean (original 50)
The people behind the stars
The table below lists the people who have stars, alphabetically by last name. The location order of their stars are also denoted. Where available a link to the person’s entry in the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)’s Handbook of Texas is shown. Note that the Handbook does not create entries for living people; for those folks a link to a Wiki article is provided if available. If you don’t know what these people have in common with Texas (there were some I had to research!) dive into the links and get lost.
And, if you are interested in becoming a member of the Texas State Historical Association, please see the options here.
| Name | Location of Star | More Info |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen F. Austin | Congress Avenue at 6th street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Gene Autry | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | TSHA Handbook Article |
| “Judge” Roy Bean | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Alan Bean | west side of Trinity at Cesar Chavez | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Carol Burnett | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | Wiki Article |
| Vikki Carr | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | Wiki Article |
| Dr. Denton Cooley | east side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Joan Crawford | east side of Trinity, south of 6th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| J. Frank Dobie | east side of Trinity, south of 6th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| James Farmer | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | The star doesn’t indicate Jr. or Sr. so including articles for both of these distinguished men Sr. – TSHA Handbook Article Jr. – TSHA Handbook Article |
| John Henry Faulk | Brazos Street, in front of the Driskill Hotel | |
| Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| George Foreman | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | Wiki Article |
| John Nance Garner | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Henry B. Gonzalez | east side of Trinity, south of 6th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| “Mean” Joe Greene | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | Wiki Article |
| Larry Hagman | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | Wiki Article |
| O. Henry | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Oveta Culp Hobby | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Ima Hogg | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Buddy Holly | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Sam Houston | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Sarah T. Hughes | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Lady Bird Johnson | east side of Trinity near Cesar Chavez | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | east side of Trinity near Cesar Chavez | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Janis Joplin | Brazos Street, in front of the Driskill Hotel | |
| Scott Joplin | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Barbara Jordan | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Tom Landry | east side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| John Avery Lomax | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Mary Martin | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Steve Martin | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | Wiki Article |
| Lydia Mendoza | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Tom Mix | west side of Trinity at Cesar Chavez | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Audie Murphy | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Tom L Neir | east side of Trinity at Cesar Chavez | I cannot find any information on this gentleman. If anyone has any background on him please post a comment. Not part of original Statesmen article 50 |
| Byron Nelson | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | Wiki Article |
| Willie Nelson | 6th Street, in front of the Driskill Hotel | Wiki Article |
| Elisabet Ney | Brazos Street, in front of the Driskill Hotel | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Chester Nimitz | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Sandra Day O’Connor | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | Wiki Article |
| Chief Quanah Parker | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Amado M. Peña, Jr. | east side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | mentioned in this TSHA Handbook Article Not part of original Statesmen article 50 |
| Wiley Post | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Dan Rather | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | Wiki Article |
| Sam Rayburn | west side of Trinity, south of 2nd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Debbie Reynolds | west side of Trinity at Cesar Chavez | Wiki Article |
| Nolan Ryan | unknown; could be under Michelada boardwalk | Wiki Article |
| Juan Seguin | west side of Trinity, south of 3rd Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Willie Shoemaker | west side of Trinity at Cesar Chavez | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Liz Smith | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | Wiki Article |
| Kenneth Threadgill | Brazos Street, in front of the Driskill Hotel | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Lee Trevino | west side of Trinity, south of 5th Street | Wiki Article |
| Walter Prescott Webb | west side of Trinity, south of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| “Babe” Zaharias | east side of Trinity, south of 6th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
| Lorenzo de Zavala | east side of Trinity, north of 4th Street | TSHA Handbook Article |
Nicely done!
I do hope that they are given enough attention so that they are not covered up in the future. And presumably, the ones covered by that wooden deck could have a transparent square inserted into the deck to let you see what is below.
Ramzi
I don’t remember where. I know for a fact there used to be a Stevie Ray Vaughan star somewhere downtown. I saw it with my own peepers.