Events
The Maraca Bench Trail Tour 2025
The Longhorn Dam Pedestrian Bridge will mark a milestone for the Butler Trail, completing the loop so Trail users can enjoy a seamless, traffic-free experience! To celebrate, we are unveiling our new Maraca benches—a first for the Trail. Designed by Austin-based Lemmo Architecture and Design and fabricated by Harvest Lumber Co., these benches honor the neighborhood’s Hispanic roots, history, and culture. A total of 31 benches will be installed along the bridge, set to open in 2026.
We’re taking our first Maraca bench on a trip around the Trail for everyone to see! The “roadshow” bench is the prototype we built to confirm bench height, depth, back angle and supports. Through this process, we decided to reduce the width of the seat by 2-1/2 inches for the 14 benches to be placed on the bridge. The bench plaque will also be slightly smaller than shown at 3 x 10 inches.
From February through the Fall of 2025, catch a prototype of the Maraca bench at three spots on the Trail:
- February – Rainey Street Trailhead
- May – Auditorium Shores
- August – Holly Shores
February
Rainey Street TrailHead
May
Auditorium Shores
August
Holly Shores
The “Maraca” benches will be made of reclaimed/salvaged hardwood from cypress trees, and they will feature light tones that are weatherproofed. Additionally, the benches will be accented with powder-coated steel in shades that honor the neighborhood’s Hispanic roots, history, and culture.
