LBJ Presidential Library - Travertine Monument

A stop on UT Austin Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

This massive, nearly windowless building is the presidential library of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president and a Texan through and through. It was dedicated in 1971 with Johnson and President Nixon both on hand. The university paid most of the cost and gave the land; the National Archives runs it.

Architect Gordon Bunshaft wrapped the ten-story building in cream Italian travertine, giving it the solid, timeless look of an ancient monument. Inside are about 45 million documents from Johnson's life and presidency, plus hundreds of thousands of photographs and thousands of hours of recordings, including his telephone calls - a deep record of the civil rights and Great Society years.

The main exhibits were renovated and reopened in March 2026. If you go in, check hours and admission on the library's website. From outside, walk to the plaza and take in the scale, then look west for a view back across the campus toward the Tower.

Getting here: Walk north along San Jacinto Boulevard past the stadium, then east along the campus walkways to the LBJ Library on its raised plaza.

Did you know?: The top floor holds a seven-eighths-scale replica of the Oval Office as it looked in Johnson's day.

Photo op: Stand far enough back on the plaza to fit the whole travertine block in your frame - its blank walls look best against a deep blue sky.

More on Wikipedia: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum · Lyndon B. Johnson · Gordon Bunshaft · Lady Bird Johnson

LBJ Presidential Library - Travertine Monument

Stops on this tour