Texas Museum of History in Austin Scheduled to Open April 21, 2001


03/20/2001

Fort Worth, TX - John Avila, Jr., President and CEO of Fort Worth based Thos. S. Byrne Inc. is pleased to announce the anticipated completion of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin in time for the April 21st Grand Opening. Byrne is the Construction Manager of the $80 Million Project, located at the corner of Congress Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The four story red granite building is topped by a majestic copper dome and features an expansive lobby rotunda furnished with a forty- foot diameter terrazzo tile patterned floor and a dramatic curving granite staircase leading to the upper exhibit floors. The museum will display more than seven hundred objects from more than one hundred individuals and institutions, plus seventeen media and interactive experiences. "It has been a tremendously rewarding project for Byrne, because of the pride we have in our Texas heritage, " said Avila, "Our roots are here, our families helped pioneer this state, and it means a great deal to see our name etched in granite on the Texas State History Museum marker. We are very proud to be a part of this." Thos. S. Byrne, Inc., founded in Fort Worth in 1923, and purchased by John Avila, Jr. seven years ago, has been instrumental in shaping the Fort Worth skyline and much of the D/FW International Airport. Under Avila's leadership, Byrne has opened offices in Austin and Dallas to manage the company's growing project portfolio. "We are a Texas based firm, and our strength lies in our ability to stay geographically anchored", said Avila, "Our interests lie in Texas, and this means a lot to our clients. We have a vested interest in the communities in which we build."