Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In France, Bastille Day is a national holiday commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison and the start of the French Revolution. In Texas, it is a celebration of the state's French roots. (The six flags of Texas include France, after all.) Multiple cities host annual cultural events, from the Bastille on Bishop street festival in Dallas to cheese tastings at the French Legation in Austin, but nowhere is perhaps more appropriate to salute the French motto of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité than Paris. The Tour de Paris Bicycle Rally began in 1984. Six years later, the city unveiled a 44-foot Eiffel Tower donated by hobby carpenter Herb Gifford, as documented in this 1991 episode of The Eyes of Texas.
Watch the full video at: tinyurl.com/7j7vbp42
Explore the web exhibit, Festival Season, at: bit.ly/4pUGtjE
Contributed to the Texas Moving Image Archive Program by KPRC-TV.
#bastilleday #paristexas
In France, Bastille Day is a national holiday commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison and the start of the French Revolution. In Texas, it is a celebration of the state's French roots. (The six flags of Texas include France, after all.) Multiple cities host annual cultural events, from the Bastille on Bishop street festival in Dallas to cheese tastings at the French Legation in Austin, but nowhere is perhaps more appropriate to salute the French motto of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité than Paris. The Tour de Paris Bicycle Rally began in 1984. Six years later, the city unveiled a 44-foot Eiffel Tower donated by hobby carpenter Herb Gifford, as documented in this 1991 episode of The Eyes of Texas.
Watch the full video at: tinyurl.com/7j7vbp42
Explore the web exhibit, Festival Season, at: bit.ly/4pUGtjE
Contributed to the Texas Moving Image Archive Program by KPRC-TV.
#bastilleday #paristexas
