They’re iconic, their historic, they’re movie stars and they exist only in Texas. Locals don’t necessarily always have keg parties under them though …
First built in the late 1800’s, “Moontowers” were the epitome of modern technology, banishing darkness and allowing people to go out and do stuff after the sun went down. They were made incredibly high, lifting the lights about 160 feet, in order to light up large areas with 1 tower rather than a ton of smaller ones on every street or corner.
Today, we have more and better options so “Moontowers” are obsolete. Austin however still has theirs and the National Trust for Historic Preservation says they’re the last ones ;eft anywhere.
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You’ve probably seen one, if not in person, then on the big screen. The keg party scene in Dazed And Confused was filmed under and on one.
That legacy has been preserved at both the state and federal level courtesy a 1970 designation as an official Texas archeological landmark as well as an inducted member to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, according to Texas State Historical Association archives. Back in the early 1990s, approximately 100 years after their construction, Austin underwent a massive restoration effort, taking down each remaining moontower and repairing and painting them before reinstalling them at their original locations. – mysanantonio.com
The most well known one, to Austin-ites anyway, is the Zilker moontower. Head to Austin during the Christmas season when they string around 3,300 lights on it as part of the annual Trail of Lights display. See a pic here.
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