Three friends at Barton Springs.
The early afternoon was sunny and hot but that did not matter to the three friends. They were meeting on their rock at Barton Springs in Austin, TX. No one knows exactly what the discussion was but it was informal and intense. They were authors and professors, but most importantly friends who met and discussed each day beginning in the early 1900s. One of the friends dubbed their meeting place as Philosopher’s Rock.
Today at the entrance to Barton Springs Pool a sculpture depicts these meetings of J. Frank Dobie, Roy Bedichek, and Walter Prescott Webb. The meetings have been called “Austin’s first literary salon”. These men, considered giants of Texas letters, valued friendship as well as conversation and enjoyed both in the beauty of nature at Barton Springs.
The day of our visit, there was a young man whose head was in the sculpture. He appeared to be in conversation with the three giants discussing some unknown topic. Like the young man, we could just imagine what these men discussed on a daily basis in their outdoor “literary salon” and could only wish for their wisdom.
Daily Meetings
Giants of Texas Letters
