Downtown pedestrian tunnels to be lit March 8

MARCH 6, 2023 - After three years of planning, navigating the approval process, and fundraising, the media is invited to witness the lighting of three pedestrian tunnels connecting the Abilene Cultural District to the SoDA district. The lighting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, and it will illuminate the 3D storybook mural of a soaring dragon in the tunnel behind the T&P Depot at 1101 N. 1st. as well as the pedestrian tunnels on the other end of Everman Park on Pine Street.

The Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, in partnership with the City of Abilene, is responsible for lighting the tunnels, which are owned by Union Pacific Railroad. For one tunnel, the ACAC commissioned Abilene’s only 3D mural by international artist Kurt Wenner. The mural was designed in such a way that people can pose on the dragon’s back and appear to be riding it or pose on the castle tower and appear to be stepping off into the storybook city.

The lighting for the three tunnels was funded in part by private donations and by a cultural district grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. The grant also included funds for wayfinding maps downtown and security cameras for the tunnel areas that are monitored by the City of Abilene. The purpose of the new lighting and the dragon mural were to better connect the Abilene Cultural District north of the railroad tracks with the SoDA (South Downtown Abilene) district south of the railroad tracks and to use the arts as a tool for economic growth. The lighting will also enhance walkability and safety between the two districts.

“With the continued growth in both districts, this latest addition of lighting should increase visitor enjoyment of downtown and ease of accessibility,” said Lynn Barnett, who has helped promote the city’s standing as the official Storybook Capital of America® through many projects and events. The ACAC has invested $6 million in the downtown Storybook Capital theme.

Barnett said City Manager Robert Hanna was instrumental in making the tunnel lighting possible throughout the three-year process.

“With the transformation happening throughout downtown with the new hotel and other building projects, the city was happy to play a major role in seeing this project to completion,” Hanna said.

Other major players that helped make this possible are Tim Smith, downtown property owner and SoDA founder, and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.

Tunnel locations: 1) T&P Depot, 1101 N. 1st 2) Everman Park on both sides of Pine St.