City Council approves Texas Legacy in Lights content agreement
Immersive light show could be in operation by July
Texas Legacy in Lights could be reflecting in 3D on the surface of the Gonzales Memorial Museum as soon as this July after getting unanimous support from the Gonzales City Council on Thursday, March 13.
Council members approved a consent agenda which included a performance agreement between the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation and Gonzales Main Street to fund the creative portion of the 24-minute immersive light show to the tune of $370,720.
The council had already voted unanimously back in November to spend up to $303,146 in Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds to pay for the equipment necessary for Texas Legacy in Lights, which is being installed and created by Austin Film Crew founder John Franklin Rinehart.
“I am a proud Texan and have always boasted about the great city that I was raised in,” Rinehart said. “Gonzales, Texas has a legacy like no other city in our country and I want to make locals as proud as I am to share it with whomever will listen.
“My ancestors fought in the Battle of Gonzales, and I want their legacy to live on long after me. This project is a great way to inform people that men gave their lives so they can freely stand there in our great country.”
The 3D canvas of light and illusion — which will be cast on the surface of the museum twice a night for six nights a week — is similar to “San Antonio: The Saga,” a 24-minute projection that is digitally mapped across the surface of the San Fernando Cathedral façade in San Antonio and draws thousands of visitors to the Alamo city every year.
What visitors to the Gonzales Memorial Museum will see is a 32-foot by 96-foot, 3D projection of the city’s history in “augmented reality” as Gonzales will become just the fifth U.S. city to host a digital mapping display — using technology typically seen at only at world-class shows like the ones at Disney’s EPCOT.
The 24-minute presentation will transport visitors back to 1835, when a small group of Texan settlers took their stand against the Mexican army and sparked a revolution. With a sound show designed by a former media engineer for NASA and using speakers and subwoofers buried in the ground and covered by plants, the experience will make visitors feel like they truly are in the midst of the battle. The entire surface area covered by the installation will be more than 90,000 square feet.
Supporters of the project say it has the potential to attract more than 20,000 people annually and generate up to $1 million annually in direct visitor spending on local businesses; $600,000 in annual hotel revenue from increased overnight stays and $80,000 in additional annual sales tax revenue for the city.
Rinehart said the project is aiming for a soft opening in July with a grand opening celebration to take place on Oct. 2, 2025 — the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Gonzales and the day before the annual Come and Take It Celebration which honors the stand made by the “Old 18” to defend the town and its cannon from Santa Anna’s Mexican Army.
He also indicated Texas Legacy in Lights is designed as an educational tool for schools, offering special programming, guided tours, and student-friendly presentations. Teachers and educators will have access to curriculum resources, behind-the-scenes learning opportunities, and field trip discounts to make history more engaging for students.
The money from GEDC, which comes from the half-cent sales tax collected by the Type B economic development organization, will fund the creative rights and licensing for the video from now until 2041, which coincides with the average life expectancy of the projection equipment.
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