Not just a facelift

I knew that the Municipal Auditorium—a venue downtown that's staged shows (we saw Phantom of the Opera there years ago), high school graduations (both of our kids', plus countless others), Fiesta royalty coronations, etc.—is undergoing a renovation. (Controversial to some degree, but, then what isn't when a historical building is involved?)

But I had no idea how extensive the project is...the information was there, but I just hadn't followed the story that closely. 

So imagine my surprise, when I walked from the bus stop to a nearby restaurant for some Texas Public Radio volunteering this weekend, and got a gander at what's happening to the Auditorium's guts! I took this picture from just across the River.

there's just nothing left!

Wow! No wonder the project's not scheduled to be completed until the end of next year. I had wondered why it would take so long. Where are all those kids going to graduate in the meantime?

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By the way, I saw some other interesting sights on the short stroll from bus stop to event venue. (While being so glad I hadn't needed to find a place to park; with the Auditorium construction it's even worse than usual.)

a Texas Mountain Laurel in FULL bloom...these wonderful trees all have
 different blooming schedules most of the others I've noticed are just budding

our wonderful enchilada-red central library across the way (I can't believe I haven't blogged about this amazing structure before...I'll have to pay it a visit and take some pictures for you soon)