Hikers and bikers at Lady Bird Lake in Austin have places to go when nature calls, thanks to the first of the Lady Bird Trail restrooms.
Designed by local architects and runners Juan Miró and Miguel Rivera, the first facility was built in 2007 in the shadow of I-35 on the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail near downtown Austin.
A 45-foot lakeside path is lined with rusted steel slabs, planted vertically in the ground at increasing heights. The look is reminiscent of partially buried riverside pilings.
The steel pillars encircle the 70-square-foot lavatory, offering privacy. Air circulates through narrow openings between the overlapping slabs, and natural light shines through small gaps in the single metal plate ceiling.
The Trail Foundation—now known as The Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit steward of the Butler Trail—raised more than $130,000 for the project.
The Miró Rivera restroom has won numerous design awards. It’s an architectural transition between the natural lakeside environment and the towering urban landscape beyond.
It inspired other architects to design more of Austin’s trail toilets in 2013 and 2015.
Lady Bird Lake, created as Town Lake in 1960, is a reservoir on the Colorado River that runs through the center of Austin. It was renamed after the 2007 death of former first lady Claudia Alta Johnson, widely known as Lady Bird.
KERA's“The Shape of Texas” video series explores how our built environment holds our history, reflects our diverse cultures and projects our ambitions for the future. From the glittery, kitschy Beer Can House in Houston to the soaring Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, architecture helps tell the story of who we are in Texas.
Find out more about the first Lady Bird Trail restroom and other unique rest stop architecture along the shores of Lady Bird Lake in Austin.