New downtown mural part of long-standing initiative in New Braunfels

New Braunfels residents can now count seven murals evoking the city’s history in the downtown area.

Kansas-based muralist Mindy Allen was commissioned by the Historic Outdoor Art Museum, a nonprofit organization, to depict a piece of history from when the railroad opened the town up to the world, specifically from tourism to Landa Park, Allen said.

The backstory

The mural, located at 297 W. San Antonio St., is titled “Connecting New Braunfels to the World” and tells the story of Helen Gould Shepard, the daughter of Gilded Age railroad magnate Jay Gould, who convinced her father to create a spur off of the relatively new railroad through New Braunfels to connect travelers to what is now Landa Park, said Jan Kingsbury, vice president of the HOAM board.

“When [Gould Shepard] saw Landa Park and how beautiful it was, she said to [Harry Landa], ‘You should open this up as a tourist attraction, a place where people would pay to come and picnic and swim. If you're willing to do that, I will talk to my dad,’” Kingsbury said.

Research on the history for the mural was part of an effort with the New Braunfels Railroad Museum, which is located across the street from the mural, Kingsbury said.

What else?

HOAM occasionally offers tours of all its sponsored murals downtown, and the next tour is Dec. 23 and begins at the new mural.

• Dec. 23, 9:30-11 a.m.
• $20
• Corner of San Antonio Street and Hill Avenue, New Braunfels
• www.nbmurals.org