Travel Journal
LUBBOCK, TEXAS
two theaters with an acoustic value of NC15 — an ideal rating on the Noise Criterion scale established to measure indoor sounds — offering musicians, performers, and young, aspiring artists the opportunity to perform on stage in a world-class venue. In June 2014, Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly, granted permission to use her late husband’s name in the title of this performing arts facility, free of royalty. To see the memorabilia and history of Buddy Holly’s brief life and blazing musical career you will want to head to the Buddy Holly Center (as opposed to the aforementioned Buddy Holly Hall). The Buddy Holly Center collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts relevant to Lubbock’s most famous native son, as well as to other performing artists and musicians of West Texas. The West Texas Walk of Fame, featuring a statue of Holly by sculptor Grant Speed, is located inside the Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plaza, just west of the Center, on the corner of Crickets Avenue and 19th Street. Architecture students from around the world make their way to Lubbock to visit the Robert Bruno Steel House. Bruno was a Texas Tech architecture professor, inventor, and artist most widely recognized for his steel house sitting on the edge of the jagged caprock escarpment that overlooks Yellow House Canyon in the residential community of Ransom Canyon a few miles east of Lubbock. The home is inside an established neighborhood; you can drive right by. You won’t find tour tickets for sale on a website; visitors call Henry Martinez, a friend of Bruno’s and the home’s caretaker, to schedule a visit for a small fee. For a complete High Plainsinspired meal, make your reservations at The Nicolett, owned
HIGH PLANS STYLE Lubbock is home to six award-winning wineries, including McPherson Cellars, which offers live music on its patio. Contributing to the ample craft beer scene, Two Docs indeed is owned by two doctors; in October, the brewery celebrates Doktoberfest. Sculptures mark the entrance to the National Ranching Heritage Museum on the Texas Tech campus.
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EVANSVILLE LIVING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
by Lubbock native and world-trained chef Finn Walter. Indulge in four courses featuring local ingredients prepared with European techniques. We enjoyed our dinner under the string lights and succulents in the greenhouse. Lubbock offers a wide array of cultural eats from across the country and around the world, beginning with Latin tapas at La Diosa Cellars, which is known for its house sangria. For a Hub City twist on a southern staple, visit Dirk’s for a plate of tender fried chicken, fresh oysters, and traditional sides. Garry and Suzanne Bailey of Evansville (meet them on page
A TORNADO DISASTER MEMORIALIZED IN LUBBOCK Soon after my arrival in Lubbock, Texas, in the piazza of the Cotton Court Hotel while enjoying a Chilton, the drink of the region, John Osborne, president and CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and Visit Lubbock, welcomed our group with a dramatic story. On May 11, 1970, the Lubbock Tornado struck the city, plowing through downtown and taking the lives of 26 people. It was the first documented F5 tornado in the U.S. “The impact of the infamous 1970 tornado changed the culture of Lubbock forever,” Osborne says. “In a matter of half an hour, the thriving heart of the city turned into ground zero for one of the most devastating natural disasters of its time. Now, Lubbock’s downtown is exhibiting a new birth of activity as revitaliza-
tion efforts continue to shape the downtown of today. As we look back 50 years later and see the effect of the tornado, we are overwhelmed by the strength of the city and find hope in how we move forward together, honoring the past and paving a way forward to the future.” On May 11, 2021, 51 years after the tornado, Lubbock unveiled its Lubbock Tornado Gateway Memorial Project. The memorial uses 20-foot-tall walls inscribed with quotes, facts, and names of the victims to represent the paths of the tornado. On one end of the memorial is a fountain; its roaring waters mimic the sound of the storm that night.
M C P H E R S O N C E L L A R S , B U L L S TAT U E , A N D TO R N A D O M E M O R I A L P H OTO S P R OV I D E D BY VISIT LUBBOCK. ALL OTHER PHOTOS BY KRISTEN K. TUCKER
