Posted Jul 21, 2013, 9:27 AM
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Meh
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Austin <------------> Birmingham?
Posts: 57,338
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http://www.statesman.com/news/news/l...olden-t/nYxTh/
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
Posted: 9:31 p.m. Saturday, July 20, 2013
Austin man who crafted Capitol star earns ‘Golden Texan’ honor
American-Statesman Staff
Sitting at a table in 1957 enjoying a frosty beer at what used to be the Cottage Café on Burnet Road, William “Bill” Williamson picked up a pen and a napkin and began to design what would eventually become one of the most iconic features in the Texas State Capitol Building: the bronze star measuring 8 feet from point-to-point hanging 218 feet above the floor of the rotunda.
Williamson, now 87, was recently named a Golden Texan by the Texas Health Care Association for his commitment and contributions to the state in which he grew up, including the little-known construction of the star that more than 52,000 people walked beneath in May and June alone.
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http://www.utexas.edu/features/2010/...wer_alphabets/
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A Towering Mystery Solved
Why ancient alphabets adorn a university icon
Sept. 6, 2010
When then-Harvard University Professor John Huehnergard and his wife and colleague Jo Ann Hackett first visited The University of Texas at Austin last spring, they couldn’t help but notice the ancient Phoenician and Hebrew letters that adorn the Tower. After all, Hackett, a Hebrew scholar, and Huehnergard, who teaches Semitic linguistics and writing systems, have a natural curiosity for language.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered what generations of students have seen: five different gold-leafed alphabets — Egyptian hieroglyphics (although technically not considered an alphabet), Phoenician, Hebrew, Greek and Latin — totaling 113 letters on the 73-year-old building.
Huehnergard and his students traced the idea to William J. Battle (1870-1955), a well-respected professor whose strong influence on the campus design can still be seen today. It’s hard to find a building or even a tree on campus he didn’t touch in some way during his tenure as Classics professor, dean and interim president. Most notable among them was construction of the Main Building and its Tower, which Battle spearheaded.
Classmate Lewis focused on Cret, the prominent French architect who designed 19 buildings on campus, including the Tower, which was completed in 1937.
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Last edited by KevinFromTexas; Jul 21, 2013 at 9:37 AM.
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