Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s guitar at Auditorium Shores is the most famous outdoor guitar in Austin. He played Fender guitars; Stevie Ray Strats are still manufactured. An entire Wikipedia article is actually devoted to Stevie’s musical instruments. (I’m sticking to guitars here but I’ll write more about Stevie Ray and Auditorium Shores in the future.)
Back in 2006, Gibson sponsored AustinGuitarTown. Ten-foot guitars were decorated by local artists and celebrities and then auctioned for charity. Lots of cities did something similar…I remember seeing elephants and donkeys in Washington DC a few years earlier. Some of these guitars are still scattered around downtown and several are in the baggage claim area of the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.
A whimsical guitar sculpture, Killer Riffs, sits at the end of Third Street, just outside of Austin Music Hall. This “kinetic sculpure” was created by artist LaPaso. The piece was commissioned when the nearby 360 condos were built.
