The Day the Crosswalk Music Died: Iconic Buddy Holly Glasses to Be Removed from Hometown Crosswalk, Per Trump Directive
Fans of Buddy Holly’s crosswalk in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, featuring a painted depiction of the rock and roll legend’s iconic glasses, will soon have to say goodbye. It will be a day that might make them cry.
Lubbock City Council members said this week they had no choice but to remove it, to comply with a directive from the Trump administration and Republicans to rid public streets of any political messages or artwork.
Laredo, in South Texas, removed a mural in October protesting the border wall along the southern border with Mexico. In August, Florida authorities removed a rainbow-colored crosswalk in front of the Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were shot.
The Lubbock crosswalk was first installed in 2020 and is near the Buddy Holly Center, a downtown museum with exhibits honoring Lubbock’s most famous native son.
“It’s a very tasteful cross-section and people like it. But what do you do?” said City Council member Christy Martinez-Garcia, who was among those questioning why it had to be scrapped.
Lubbock received a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation with “harsh language” that threatened possible loss of state or federal funding for highway projects if those artworks were not removed, David Bragg, interim director of Lubbock’s public works division, told council members Tuesday.
“It was a very broad letter. I don’t think it was intended to go after, for example, Buddy Holly glasses. Unfortunately, it did,” Bragg said.
Mayor Mark McBrayer said the city had no choice but to comply.
“Probably everyone here has received communications from people wishing this wasn’t the case,” McBrayer said. “But I don’t really feel like we have the means to do anything about it without trying to litigate and I don’t think there’s any appetite here anyway.” Bragg said the removal would take place during normal maintenance next year.
On October 8, Abbott directed the department to ensure that all Texas cities and counties comply with federal and state traffic safety guidelines and that symbols, flags and other markings that convey social or political messages are prohibited, as well as any signs and signage that do not directly support traffic control or safety.
“Texans expect their tax dollars to be used wisely, not to advance political agendas on Texas roads,” Abbott said in a statement.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.
Abbott’s directive came after Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, sent letters to all U.S. governors in July, saying intersections and crosswalks should remain free of distractions.
“Roads are for safety, not political messaging or artwork,” Duffy’s statement said.
Holly was born and raised in Lubbock, located in northwest Texas. He decided to play rock and roll after seeing Elvis Presley perform in 1955. His best-known songs include “That’ll Be the Day”, “Rave On” and “Peggy Sue”.
Holly was just 22 years old when he died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 near Clear Lake, Iowa, that also killed Ritchie Valens and JP “Big Bopper” Richardson. The deaths of the three rockers were immortalized in Don McLean’s 1971 song “American Pie” and became known as “the day the music died.”
