Discover Port Aransas at Civic Center

Residents and visitors view the new displays in the foyer of the Civic Center located on W. Avenue A. In a spring renovation worth tens of thousands of dollars, the Port Aransas Civic Center foyer now is filled with slick new displays that profile some of the features and organizations that make this town special.

The civic center is part of the city hall complex, 710 W. Avenue A. Longtime Port Aransas resident Jo Leta Gavit spearheaded the project to give the foyer an updated look and a more effective visual introduction to Port Aransas for visitors.

The foyer includes displays with photos, video and written material describing organizations including the Port Aransas Independent School District, the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, the Port Aransas Museum and the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce-Tourist Bureau.

Also in the foyer is a marsh bird exhibit that was donated by Gavit and her sons, Bill and Brad, in memory of their husband and father, Lynn Gavit, an avid fisherman, pharmacist and realtor in Port Aransas for many years.

The exhibit, featuring birds indigenous to this area, depicts a scientifically accurate simulated marsh/mangrove environment. Taxidermic birds on display include scaup, sanderling, sandpiper, dunlin, little green heron, common loon, snowy egret, common tern, black-bellied whistling (tree) duck, rail and a ring-billed gull.

The foyer is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.