Texas Bank and Trust joins Longview’s sesquicentennial celebration this week with the long-awaited unveiling of its special addition to the city’s metal balloon sculpture displays.
The bank’s unveiling, dubbed The BIG REVEAL, will take off at 10:45 am, Tuesday, February 11, at the front doors of the bank’s Green Street entrance at its Main Bank complex. TBT Vice Chairman and CEO Rogers Pope, Jr. will lead the unveiling with comments on behalf of the bank. The public is invited to attend.
Seven months in planning, the 6’ metal sculpture was installed, under wraps February 4, at the bank’s largest branch location at the corner of Green and Whaley Streets. Once uncovered, the metal art display will be visible from all four corners of the downtown intersection.
Chief Marketing Officer Karen Partee hinted that the design chosen for the display will be familiar to many and is an artistic nod to both the bank’s presence in the city’s new culture district and the central image in the bank’s brand.
All those in attendance will be invited to enjoy lite refreshments following the reveal. Guests are also invited to view the bank’s historic flagpole base on the front of the property. Fully restored for the city’s 150th anniversary, the hexagonal limestone base with six high relief bronze panels was originally designed by Longview sculptor Henry Wedemeyer in 1982. The cast bronze panels depict Longview’s history from its beginning as a rural town in the heart of East Texas cotton and timber belts, through the oil boom, to its present status as a regional center for commerce and culture. The bank first unveiled the historic monument, which holds its iconic 103-foot flagpole, at TBT’s 25th anniversary in 1983.
A rain date for Tuesday’s balloon unveiling has been scheduled for Thursday, February 13, if necessary. For more information on TBT’s Big Balloon Reveal, contact Texas Bank and Trust’s Community Relations Department at 903.232.2681.