Travel Journal
LUBBOCK, TEXAS
A LOOK AT LUBBOCK
From Buddy Holly to Robert Bruno, this West Texas city makes the arts its centerpiece BY KRISTEN K. TUCKER
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recently flew to Lubbock, Texas, to join four travel writers on a press trip. I fell under the spell of the “Hub City” of West Texas: its quirkiness, the high plains (Lubbock sits at 3,256 feet; you can see for miles), its culture, food, and people — not to mention Lubbock is the hometown of rock ’n’ roll pioneer Buddy Holly and the home of Texas Tech University. What do 6.4 million annual visitors to Lubbock, Texas, do when they visit the Hub City? “We don’t have a roller coaster or a whale that does flips in the air, but tourism is very important to us,” John Osborne, president and CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and Visit Lubbock, says as he greeted our group convened in the breezy outdoor space of Lubbock’s newest luxury boutique hotel, the Cotton Court. With daily American Airlines flights from Evansville Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and from Dallas to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, traveling to Lubbock is easy. You will want to rent a car to get out in the wide-open spaces and drive to the Bruno Steel House, among other attractions (like Prairie Dog Town).
LOVING LUBBOCK The Hub City of West Texas offers many surprises. To some, the Bruno Steel House resembles an insect, or a grand piano built on a cliff. Architect and inventor Robert Bruno is shown in a photo from the 1970s. The spiraling design of the grand staircase in the Buddy Holly Hall pays homage to the 1970 Lubbock Tornado. For a memorable meal, dine in the succulent-filled greenhouse at The Nicolett. Opposite, public art is found on a large scale on the campus of Texas Tech University.
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EVANSVILLE LIVING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
P H O T O S O F T H E N I C O L E T T A N D B U D D Y H O L LY H A L L S T A I R C A S E P R O V I D E D B Y V I S I T L U B B O C K . ALL OTHER PHOTOS BY KRISTEN K. TUCKER
