City turns page on Bush Literacy Plaza
Council moves forward with plan to renovate memorial honoring matriarch, former first lady
Days after former first lady Barbara Bush was laid to rest, City Council moved forward on the reconstruction of the Central Library plaza that bears her name.
The council approved a $396,582 appropriation to Houston-based landscape architects Lauren Griffith Associates for design and construction at Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza at 500 McKinney St. in downtown.
The funds will cover designs for the reimagined plaza, which includes an area for art exhibits, additional landscaping, two reading areas, a new viewing screen for public movies, a water vapor cooling station and a cafe with outdoor seating.
The item comes three years after the council approved $105,071 for the initial design and construction work on the plaza. That work covered new fencing and gates and added landscaping, among other improvements.
Houston officials have worked for years to improve the plaza, which they believe could be a prime gathering space, given its location between City Hall and the historic Julia Ideson Library.
Mayor Sylvester Turner, in kicking off a $5.5 million fundraising campaign to renovate the plaza in December 2016, announced the space would be renamed for the former first lady
to honor her efforts to boost literacy.
“I think that her passing will in some ways accelerate the fundraising efforts, so it’s a sad note, but I think that it’s going to move things forward more expeditiously,” said Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, who chairs the council’s quality of life committee. “The plaza itself is going to be spectacular when it’s finished and really be a tribute to her and her movements to provide literacy for everyone. It’s a real legacy for her.”
The former first lady started the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy when she was first lady, and in 2013, the Bush family launched the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation to address literacy issues and mobilize volunteers in Houston.
More than 650,000 people already pass through the plaza each year to go to the library, and hundreds of thousands more visit the plaza during special events downtown.