First mayor lives on in Austin streets

"Austin does not honor Edwin Waller adequately. We've named a creek, a park, a street and a tunnel - our own "Big Dig"

• after Austin's first mayor. Yet Waller's most enduring contribution, which deserves more commemoration, is the city's master plan. The plantation owner, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and veteran of the battles of Velasco and Plum Creek is responsible for the fairly disciplined grid of streets that delineate downtown Austin."