13The Square That Refused to Leave

You're standing in the ghost of Waco's original town square. For a century, City Hall sat in the middle of it and the whole city traded around it. The 1953 tornado battered the neighborhood, urban renewal finished the job in the '60s — and of everything that stood here, only the 1930 Art Deco City Hall survived. So Keep Waco Beautiful gave the spot back to the public as Heritage Square: pergolas, engraved bricks honoring mayors and schools, and these fountains. The big one, dedicated in 2005 on Keep Waco Beautiful's 25th anniversary, honors Carroll and Frances Sturgis. Frances founded the beautification group itself: a fountain for the woman who made pretty things official city business.

And yes: one morning in 2019 the city woke up to find somebody had dumped soap in it overnight and the whole thing had foamed over like a bubble bath. The city drained it, refilled it, and shrugged — it happens from time to time. No investigation. Waco knows a good prank when it mops one up.