Plaza at Old Bakery to be named for Crow

City Council is scheduled to vote to honor Pat Crow, one of the most victorious campaign managers in Austin and Travis County history, at Thursday’s Council meeting. Crow passed away on May 1, 2017, after suffering two strokes. But before her illness, she was instrumental in winning 28 out of 32 political campaigns including the Save Our Springs Initiative in 1992, the creation of the Travis County Hospital District in 2004 and the smoking ban in 2005. Council will name the plaza at 10th and Congress next to the Old Bakery and Emporium building the “Pat Crow Memorial Plaza.” If all goes as planned, the Council vote will take place around 4:30 p.m. and a reception will follow at 5:30 p.m. In a note to friends and supporters, Barbara Rush, Crow’s sister, said, “It’s exactly what Pat would love, her very own plaza on Congress, next to the Old Bakery & Emporium – close to the Paramount and to the Capitol (so she can kick some behinds)!” In addition to helping elect numerous judges, Crow was instrumental in the election of Travis County’s first openly gay legislator as well as the first African-American woman to serve as a district judge in Travis County. The Old Bakery and Emporium Guild’s advisory board voted unanimously to support the naming on April 11. Those sponsoring the resolution to name the plaza after Crow include Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council members Ann Kitchen, Leslie Pool, Ora Houston and Delia Garza.