Landmark
Congress Avenue Bridge
Concrete beam gaps under a downtown bridge sheltering North America's largest urban bat colony.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin traces how a nineteen eighty highway renovation accidentally built North America's largest urban bat colony, and the panic that followed. It follows the residents who wanted the bats gone, and Merlin Tuttle, the conservationist who moved his nonprofit to Austin in nineteen eighty-six to change their minds. You will hear how a feared pest turned into a bustling local economy of boat tours, kayak trips, and lakeside restaurants. Best heard from the bridge itself as dusk falls over Lady Bird Lake.
This audio guide was created using AI.