Texas State History Museum & Other Downtown Austin Attractions

One of the first things I did while visiting Austin was to visit the Texas State History Museum, plus the Blanton Art Museum and the Texas Capitol building, all within walking distance of each other. It makes for a nice day of sightseeing, a little exercise, and is a good introduction to Austin, the capital of Texas.

Texas State History Museum

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is three floors of proud Texas history, from indigenous peoples, Spanish and Mexican rule, border disputes, the development of the Texas identity, and through to the appeal of Texas in the movies and music, and modern industry. It’s a really fun museum with several small theaters and interactive features. I enjoyed visiting very much.

First Floor

When you first walk into the Texas State History Museum, you enter a light-filled three-story lobby with a beautiful mosaic floor. I recommend that once you finish your tour of the museum, you exit down the atrium stairs so you can see the mosaic from above. Plus, there’s an information board on the stairs that describes it. (On the second-floor landing, I think, if you don’t want to take the stairs.)

Walk through the lobby to the ticket desk on the left to purchase your tickets, then continue back toward the museum.

Special Exhibit – Hilos de Tradición: Dresses of Mexico

First, I stopped into the special exhibit gallery, currently hosting Hilos de Tradición: Dresses of Mexico. Examples of women’s traditional dresses from every Mexican state fill the colorful displays. And there are even signs that explain how the outfits are put together – it’s really fascinating! The dresses are just stunning and really colorful and fun. And it’s a unique way to differentiate each state and culture.

Hilos de Tradición: Dresses of Mexico, is on display until February 26, 2023.

Texas Origins

The rest of the first floor is taken up with the origins of Texas. From ancient artifacts to Spanish colonialism, the display wraps around, telling the story of Texas’ deep past. In the middle are the huge remains of a French ship, excavated off the Texas coast. The walls display everything found in the wreck, like cannonballs, plates, and bricks. But the coolest thing is that around the ship are flat-screen kiosks that allow you to see the ship as it was originally, in sort of a virtual reality way. You can point the screen at different parts of the ship to see it whole again, and in different conditions. Plus, there are VR telescopes around the upper floors to get a view of the ship made whole as well. It’s pretty cool technology!

However, one of my favorite spots in the whole museum is on this floor. After you’ve passed all the ancient tools and Spanish weapons, (and shipwrecks), there’s a quiet corner with an extra wide screen and few stools. On this screen, a series of views from all around Texas play out, all quiet nature landscapes. It shows the huge variety of the land in Texas, but it is so dang peaceful. I sat down and got lost for several minutes.

Second Floor

Up the central stairs or via elevator, the second floor deals mostly with Texas becoming a state. Right from the stairs (or left from the elevator), you move through Texas under Mexican rule, then get into the Texas Revolution. Behind an impressive facade of the Alamo, there is a small theater showing a short film about the Mexican Revolution. I watched the whole thing and highly recommend it! It’s very well done. I think it’s about 15-20 minutes long.

Moving clockwise around the central staircase, you get to Texas becoming its own republic, then the 10-year process of joining the US as a state. Which bleeds sort of quickly into the Civil War and ends on an upbeat note about the Texas Centennial. Very notably on this floor is the original statue of the Goddess of Liberty that used to stand on the dome of the capitol building. She has since been replaced with a more stable replica.

Texas Spirit Theater

The Texas Spirit Theater is on this floor, close to the atrium. This 200-seat multi-media theater costs an extra fee and alternates two presentations throughout the day. The original show is the 16-minute Star of Destiny, an emotional story about the history and spirit of Texas and Texans. And the newer show is Shipwrecked, about the French ship La Belle on the first floor, which lasts 26 minutes. It also must have slightly more mature content or scary imagery, since this one is only recommended for kids 10 and up, while the first show is good for all ages.

I saw the Star of Destiny show, and I was very impressed! It’s almost like the American Adventure in Epcot with a lot of moving elements and lighting. During my visit, I was the only person in there, and it took the guy a minute to get it working. Maybe because it’s an extra fee, it’s not as well attended as the rest of the museum, at least not on a weekday. I recommend it, however. It’s a lot of fun!

Third Floor

On the third floor, again moving clockwise around the stairs, you move through contemporary Texas culture. Ranching, agriculture, and the oil industry are covered, and an AT-6A airplane dubbed “The Texan” during WWII hangs from the ceiling. There’s a fun movie theater on this floor that shows clips of Texas cowboys as idealized by Hollywood, set up like an old movie house.

On the atrium side of the stairs is a section dedicated to modern Texas, especially in the arts, pop culture, and science. Another set of Mexican-style outfits is up here, like the traditional dress exhibit on the first floor. And another small theater shows clips from Austin City Limits, the weekly live music show that’s been broadcasting since 1976.

Rotunda Special Gallery

If you go out into the top of the atrium, there is a gallery around the top of the rotunda. During my visit, it was a fantastic photo essay called The Fourth Grade Project. Photos of 4th-grade students from around the world include their comments on what their family is like, their hopes, and what they are afraid of. It was so powerful! There was even a spot to take your own picture in the same style.

Now, the gallery features the Art of Texas State Parks, to celebrate 100 years of the park system. It looks like mostly landscape paintings.

Cafe

There is a cafe in the Texas State History Museum. It may not be the best food you’ll have in Texas, but there is a solid selection of sandwiches, salads, and snacks to be had. It’s just off the atrium on the second floor.

It took me two hours to see the entire museum, so it’s not a terrible idea to visit when the museum opens at 10 am, then end your tour with lunch in the cafe before moving on. You can exit down the atrium steps for a better view of the floor before you leave.

Museum Store

There’s also a store on the bottom floor with every Texas-related item you can think of. Plus there are a lot of cute home items and a good book selection too! You could probably stop in without museum admission just for some Texas souvenirs.

Admission & Hours

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is open from 10-5 daily, except for Mondays and certain holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Easter.

Adult admission to the State History Museum costs just $13. Students, military, and seniors 65+ pay $11, and kids 4-17 get in for $9. The Spirit of Texas shows cost an extra $6 each for adults and $5 for kids, students, military, and seniors.

IMAX

There is an IMAX theater connected to the Texas State History Museum, and you buy your tickets at the same ticket counter. Documentary-style shows run all day, and each costs $9 for adults, $8 for students/military/seniors 65+, and $7 for kids 4-17. The current films include The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness, Dinosaurs of Antarctica, and Serengeti: The IMAX Experience.

They do show feature films in the IMAX theater sometimes, which cost between $12-15.

Parking

There is a paid parking garage connected to the Texas State History Museum. It costs $15 for the day and is a great central place to park for the area. Otherwise, there are other garages downtown and some street parking.

They’ve just opened a grassy pedestrian lawn connecting the Texas State Museum with the Texas State Capitol just a few blocks south. Called the Capitol Mall, it makes it even easier to walk between the two. And once construction is done around the Blanton Museum of Art, the mall will extend a block further to the acclaimed Austin building at the art museum.

Blanton Museum of Art

Speaking of the Blanton Art Museum, it is right next door to the State Museum. Right now there is a lot of construction in the central plaza (see above), but you can still enter, just follow the signs and you’ll find a temporary back entrance.

I don’t want to do a separate post on the Blanton just because so much of it is under construction right now. Not only is there heavy work going on outside, but several of the galleries inside were also being redone, and almost all of the first floor. Plus, the big draw of the museum is the Austin building by Ellsworth Kelly, which I didn’t get to see.

But otherwise, I really enjoyed the Blanton Museum of Art much more than I thought I would! I’m not a big fan of contemporary art, but there are some pieces in here that took my breath away. One of an artist lip-syncing to “Under Pressure” in an airplane bathroom had me in stitches! It’s a stark white interior with a lot of natural light, and bigger than I thought at first, especially upstairs. Overall, it took me a little over an hour to view everything in its current state.

Hours & Admission

The Blanton Museum of Art is open Wednesday-Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 1-5 pm. It’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Admission costs $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65+, $5 for students with ID, and free for University of Texas students (which is right next door), k-12 teachers, and kids 12 and under. Plus, the museum is free for active-duty military from Armed Forces Day to Labor Day, under the Blue Star program. Admission is free for everyone on Thursdays. Parking is available across the street at the Brazos Garage.

Texas State Capitol

Since we’re in the area, we might as well walk down to the Capitol building and take a free tour. Free guided tours are offered daily between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm, or 12:30-3:30 on Saturdays and Sundays. You get a nice explanation of the huge interior dome and all the artwork, see the House and Senate Chambers, and even go into the huge underground structure that houses most of the offices and meeting rooms. The tours last about 30 minutes and depart every 45 minutes. The building itself is very interesting and is (of course) the biggest state capitol building! Only the U.S. Capitol Building in DC is larger.

You can also take a self-guided tour by picking up a brochure at the visitor’s center on the front right corner of the grounds, or inside the Capitol near room “1S.2” which I assume is close to the front. There are also self-guided walking tours of the grounds which explain all the monuments, starting from the visitor’s center. Once you circle around the grounds and back to the front, walk over to the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the block in front of the capitol, to the left.

Touring Plan

I’ve already laid it out a bit above, but if you want to make a day of these three central Austin sites, it’s easy enough to do since they are close together. I’d park at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, tour it when it opens at 10 until lunch in the museum cafe. Then walk north to the Blanton Museum of Art for a couple of hours. Then walk down the new Capitol Mall to the Capitol Building to take a tour before 3:30. Tour the Capitol Grounds and walk over to the Texas Governor’s Mansion (which you can tour, but only by appointment.) Then end your day with dinner somewhere nice in the city. South of the Capitol are several restaurants, mostly between 8th street and the river. (The front of the Capitol grounds is at 11th street.)

That does put you a long way from your car after dinner, so you can walk back in the evening light (which I bet will be nice around the art museum), take a rideshare, or start your day parked where you want to end it and make your long walk in the morning.

Austin

I’m not sure I would call this tour the heart of Austin, but it’s a good place to start a visit to the city. I’m told “old” Austin is more the central area a few miles north of the Capitol (and I do see an area on Google maps called “The Drag.”) There’s also a string of saloons and shops along 6th street around the Museum of the Weird. I liked the area along Barton Springs Road near Zilker Park and the Colorado River/Town Lake. The original Chuy’s is there, and while I didn’t eat there, I did at a food truck park next door, which was fun. There is certainly a lot to see in Austin, and while I gave it a try, I know I didn’t nearly see it all!