When you go to Waco, and you should, visit these 10 tourist hotspots
WACO — Arguably, no Texas downtown has mutated as much as Waco's during the past five or so years.
To be sure, new glass towers, rising like prairie grass after a spring rain, have effectively obliterated the old Austin skyline of late, but that process has been decades in the making.
Waco's historic downtown, on the other hand, lay practically dormant during those same decades, crushed first by the direct hit of the 1953 tornado, then cleared out under the guise of urban renewal, among other civic casualties.
A new Waco convention center rose up during the 1970s, near the Waco Suspension Bridge over the Brazos River, which was closed for repairs during our recent visit. It was significantly expanded in the 1980s, then again during the early 21st century. Happily, this gleaming center and its attendant hotels are right-sized for Waco and do not overwhelm the civic spaces around them.
Yet aside from a few brave attempts to update abandoned industrial structures — and an effort to supplement student housing for an expanding Baylor University, located on the other side of Interstate 35 — central Waco emptied out at night, and often during the day.
Truth be told, much of downtown still remains barren asphalt. Doing some cocktail-napkin math during a recent four-day Waco weekend, I figured that its downtown will still have more free surface parking than it needs for the foreseeable future.
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Yet thanks in large part to the seven-year-old Magnolia Market at the Silos — more on TV's Chip and Joanna Gaines' transformative project, an extension of their "Fixer Upper" lifestyle empire, in a later column — downtown Waco is now home to hotels, condos, apartments, cafés, bookstores, coffee shops, bakeries, distilleries, breweries, clubs, boutiques, museums, libraries, parks and monuments.
Much of this grassroots activity echoes what we saw during this summer's visit to Corpus Christi's similar central district, although Waco's conversion has reached a more advanced stage.
Much of this fresh street-level activity reflects the Gaines' ongoing aim to preserve the best of the past, while shaping creature comforts to reflect the tastes of today.
I will return to several of the subjects from today's column in the coming weeks, but to give you taste, here are 10 alluring tourist spots.
1. Waco Mammoth National Monument
Although Magnolia Market is Waco's most popular new hot spot, my vote for the city's most memorable tourist attraction is this stunning archeological find. Just northwest of Waco, the first remains of multiple Columbian mammoths were discovered in a ravine by teenagers in 1978. A "nursing herd" of 16 specimens in extraordinarily complete condition — the only such herd yet found — is now under scientific scrutiny at Baylor.
The active dig, however, safe inside a climate-controlled shelter, continues and has exposed older single male mammoths, at least one early camel and a saber-toothed cat. This site is one of just two such designated national monuments in Texas — the other is the Alibates Flint Quarries in the Panhandle — and the tour guides here are top notch. (6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive; www.nps.gov/waco)
2. Magnolia Market
A lifestyle amusement park, Magnolia Market sits on two long blocks of former industrial property not far from the railroad tracks. It is a monumental achievement from a tirelessly creative husband-and-wife team with roots in Waco.
Anchored by two vintage silos, the center includes a large store that sells carefully curated farm-style products, as well as more than a dozen nearby boutiques, eateries and an old church that has been tenderly transported to the site.
Unexpectedly, the beating heart of the center, however, are two playfields. While mostly kids frolic on the greens, adults lounge in the shade, or head to the bevy of food trucks that line the open areas. There is some genius in this: Adult tourists like to shop, eat and drink, but you gotta give the youngsters something active to do. (601 Webster Ave.; magnolia.com)
3. Dr Pepper Museum
Rightfully so, this playful valentine to soda pop has been a Waco favorite since it opened in 1991. Built inside a cluster of historic masonry buildings — including the fanciful old Dr Pepper plant — it is run by a nonprofit, but maintains clear ties to its corporate progenitor, as well as to the Free Enterprise Institute that shares the property.
The first floor of the main building is devoted to the history of medicinal drinks that antedated the invention of Dr Pepper by pharmacist Charles Alderton in the 1880s. There's also a dynamite exhibit on the 1953 tornado. On the second level, find vast displays of Dr Pepper advertising and merchandising. Each sample, including the ear-wormy 1970s ads urging one to "Be a Pepper," reflects the popular culture of its era.
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The top floor is given over to corporate tributes and such, but there's more: A secondary building not only celebrates the histories of subsidiary brands such as 7-Up and Big Red, it offers a functioning soda fountain, and a small but telling exhibit on civil rights efforts to integrate such places.
The gift shop is big and bountiful. Veering away from "Be a Pepper" T-shirts, I bought two local histories by archivist Eric Ames from Baylor. I then contacted Ames, and we met the next day for a history chat at Fabled Bookshop and Cafe, another of downtown Waco's wonders. (300 S. Fifth St.; drpeppermuseum.com)
4. Cameron Park / Cameron Park Zoo
Carved from the rugged land that belonged to visionary lumber baron William Cameron, this urban park is among the state's green gems. From downtown, the park's curving roads lead to spectacular lookouts above the Brazos and Bosque rivers, as well as to sports and picnic areas connected by a well-used trail.
The jewel in this crown, however, is the Cameron Park Zoo, 52 easily walked acres of enclosures and sensitive landscaping created just 30 years ago. The animals are split between selections from ecological regions within the broad Brazos River watershed, and charismatic samplings from around the globe, including lions, tigers, rhinos, elephants, giraffes and lemurs.
Only the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville rivals Cameron Park among small-to-medium Texas zoos. (1701 N. Fourth St.; cameronparkzoo.com)
5. Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
Admittedly, I was afraid that this multi-room tribute to the state's militia-turned-crimefighters would ignore some of the brutality that went along with the famed glory that is known as the Texas Rangers. I was wrong. Tentatively, the curators acknowledge the Porvenir Massacre and other Ranger abuses, albeit without calling attention to them.
There is still much to update. Even now, though, the museum conveys many charms, including a treasury of vintage guns, kid-friendly displays and an enormous amount of visual and textual history to break down and interpret. While you are parked at the museum, amble over to the historic First Street Cemetery, final resting place for many of Waco's pioneers. (100 Texas Ranger Trail; texasranger.org)
6. Masonic museums and archives
Waco's geographic centrality played a part in its startling collection of Masonic museums and archives.
Just ring the doorbell to take a tour of the intimidating Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas. Masons are a lot less secretive than they formerly were. The library and museum inside are vast and informative. The theater, which looks like the United Nations Assembly Hall, holds 3,700 people. (715 Columbus Ave.; grandlodgeoftexas.org)
Just a block away, the York Rite Library and Museum of Texas is under renovation, but Jon and Melissa Spann gave us a thorough tour of its four soaring floors, including separate halls for male and female lodges. (724 Washington Ave.)
We did not learn about two other key Masonic institutions — Lee Lockwood Library and Museum (2801 Waco Ave.) and Red Men Museum (4521 Speight Ave.) — until too late in our trip, but I'll dig into the fascinating subject of Texas Masons in a later column.
7. Historic churches
The old saying that one could find a Baptist church on every other corner in Waco is not far from an exaggeration.
But it's not just Baptists. We documented four commanding Methodist churches, for instance, in downtown and East Waco, the two African American ones no longer in use. Johnny R. Neal Sr. was our historian/guide at Greater Ebenezer Baptist Church, which has gone through at least three incarnations, the last one a necessary move away from expanding Interstate 35.
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Behind the courthouse is the sweet, open-timbered St. Paul Episcopal Church, which we explored just before Sunday service, as well as St. Francis on the Brazos Catholic Church, a handsome homage to the Franciscan missions in San Antonio. It contains some of the most stunning murals I've seen anywhere in the state. On a very hot afternoon, we attended the same parish's Fiesta de la Raza and were grateful for the refreshments and live band.
8. Baylor University sites
Long before Magnolia Market filled downtown Waco hotels, Baylor events were the biggest social draws in town. Especially the big games. Yet we sought out two small sites — one old, one new — on the large, tidy and studious-looking campus, which should be better connected to downtown.
Several sources had recommended the relatively new Black Gospel Archive and Listening Center in the Moody and Jones Libraries. You can not only listen to rare gospel albums there, but also recorded sermons. Most of the collection is already digitized, so you can feel the spirit from home.
The Armstrong Browning Library and Museum is a strange and glorious tribute to poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning established by longtime Baylor English professor A. J. Armstrong. Nothing prepares the visitors for the tall rooms, ornately carved bookcases and richly finished decor. Students do study here in the unsettling quiet, but the whole building is a feast for the eyes.
9. Dark chapters in Waco history
Few cities call attention to their tragedies. Yet they remain part of history. Not just out of ghoulish curiosity, but because the events say things about everyday life in a place. We visited three such spots.
1916 lynching at the courthouse: Thousands crowded around the ornate McLennon County Courthouse to witness the especially brutal lynching of Jesse Washington, a mentally disabled Black man accused of killing a white woman. Photographers composed post cards, which were sent around the country with heartless personal notes. It made news around the world. The county acknowledges the "Waco Horror" inside a side wing of the courthouse, but the place of the murder is bereft of a historical marker.
1982 Lake Waco murders: Documented in detail by Texas Monthly and The New York Times — as well as author Carlton Sowers's "Careless Whispers" — the torture and killing of three youths in Speegleville Park led to a botched investigation and muddled outcomes. Not only is the park hard to find, the locals that we queried believed that the site to be elsewhere on the lake.
1993 Waco siege: The standoff between law enforcement forces and members of the Branch Davidian religious group outside Waco led to a horrific fire and the deaths of 76 Davidians, including 25 children. A weekday museum was not open when we visited, and little about the gently rolling prairie can be ascertained from behind the fenced and gated Mount Carmel Center.
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10. Evolving downtown Waco
My road-trip buddy and I spent more time on foot in Waco than inside our rental car. On many levels, that's a good thing. Yet not everything worked out for us.
We tried to visit the Alico Building, Waco's most commanding downtown structure. Built in 1910 in a Sullivanesque style, the 22-story building survived not only the 1953 tornado, but a misguided attempt to tart up the tower with futuristic cladding and a raised garage in the 1960s. A ruffled security guard would not allow us into the lobby, even to scan the directory of tenants.
Local history and design buffs relate similar Alico rebuffs.
On another sad note: The Waco Hippodrome, a nicely preserved downtown vaudeville house, recently closed after switching over from touring acts to movies, although special events can be booked there. Given the liveliness of this part of Waco now, it seems a shame that such a treasure is no longer contributing to the action. Sources tell me a new chapter is in the works.
Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. He can be reached at mbarnes@statesman.com. Sign up for the free weekly Think, Texas digital newsletter at statesman.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What to see, do, eat and drink in Waco for a weekend road trip
