Texas Independence Day : Special Program

This week our regular program will be a field trip to the map collection of the Texas General Land Office. Join your fellow Lions and guests at the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building, 1700 Congress Avenue, for a guided tour of the collection of historic maps of the Lone Star State. Many artifacts in this collection date to the founding of Texas as a Republic, and include the personal map and deed registration book belonging to the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, himself! Take a look back at the art of cartography housed in the current headquarters of the oldest department of Texas State Government, the General Land Office. And bring some spending money, as several of the most popular maps are available as faithful reproductions for sale in the GLO Map Store.

Parking for this event is at your own discretion. The visitor garage at the Bullock History Museum for a small cost is one option. As is the Capitol Visitors garage at 12th and San Jacinto for 2-hours free parking. Though March 2nd is a state holiday and agencies will be on "skeleton crew", meaning fewer people and cars in the area, state office parking garages will continue to be accessible only to vehicles with appropriate permit.

Our tour will begin at 12:30 in the East lobby of the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building, and last approximately 1 hour. If you arrive early and want to join us for lunch, a group will be meeting at 11:45 in the cafe of the William B. Travis building directly east of the SFA building. The cafe is located in the basement level of the Travis building.