Moonlight Towers
Moonlight Towers
4.5
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These seventeen iron towers are part of Austin's first street lighting system and were built in 1895.
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
6 reviews
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mttx0408
San Antonio, TX25 contributions
Sep 2012 • Couples
If you've seen the movie Dazed and Confused, you've seen one of Austin's Moonlight Towers. In the movie, it's simply called "the moontower." The towers themselves do have an interesting history to them, which you can easily find on Wikipedia, as well as on the plaques located on a few of the towers. They are not really a special destination in and of themselves; however, they are spread across the heart of Austin, and a tour to find them all leads you to stumble across many great stops for food, drinks, and sights. We did it on a motorcycle one night, and it took about 3.5 hours with the stops we made for drinks and food trailers. We had a great time. I made a simple map here:
http://goo.gl/maps/RJ2BU
It will get you started, but the fun is in exploring each of the neighborhoods you end up in. This attraction is definitely more about the trip itself than the towers. The neighborhoods east of IH-35 are getting more popular with bars and food trailers, but can be sketchy in some places. Anyone with experience traveling in a larger city would likely find them to be just fine though. Just use good judgment.
http://goo.gl/maps/RJ2BU
It will get you started, but the fun is in exploring each of the neighborhoods you end up in. This attraction is definitely more about the trip itself than the towers. The neighborhoods east of IH-35 are getting more popular with bars and food trailers, but can be sketchy in some places. Anyone with experience traveling in a larger city would likely find them to be just fine though. Just use good judgment.
Written September 6, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary1836
Austin, TX281 contributions
Jun 2015 • Family
In 1894, as a way to provide light to Austin at night, 31 moonlight towers were erected. The towers were 165 feet tall and cast light in a 1500 foot radius so that you could read the time on your watch with the light from the carbon arc lamps. The moon towers were connected to the hydroelectric plant at the dam. The amazing part is that of all the cities where these were first used as street lights, Austin is the only city in the world that has tried to keep as many in good repair as possible. There are supposed to be 17 still standing, but it appears that despite a City Ordinance to protect them, two of them have been taken down for construction projects and it is unclear whether they will be reinstalled, or relocated as some of the others have. But they are landmarks in Austin and it is against the law to mess with them. So just look at them and marvel at how old they are and that you can only see them in Austin, along with latter day hippies, and other weird stuff that Austin is famous for.
Written June 18, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sherry T
Rowlett, Texas90 contributions
Jun 2013 • Friends
This was a great place to hang out, listen to good music and just chill. It's like hanging out on someone's back porch in the country. We had a blast!
Written June 30, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CabbagesandKings2014
Northwood, ND11 contributions
Oct 2013 • Solo
I lived n Austin for some 12 years. A meteorologist friend, Norman Wagner, had recording thermometers installed on a few towers to get the near-surface vertical temperature profiles over 24hr periods for different seasons. These towers created a nuisance in the fall, attracting hordes of crickets that littered storefronts during the night.
Written June 11, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
austex_gringo
Austin, TX166 contributions
Aug 2012
In 1898 I'm sure these were an engineering marvel, but these lights really aren't a destination. You hardly notice if you're standing right next to one.
Written August 6, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
readyandpacked
Austin, Texas205 contributions
At one time Austin and Paris, France were the only cities with these towers. The towers were the source of light at night time in Austin for many years. The city is doing all it can to preserve them.
Written December 22, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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