The first two of 10 bat houses can now be seen hanging in downtown Cleburne. Plans call for hanging the houses on buildings throughout downtown in preparation for the return of thousands of bats to the area in about a month.
Tom Burkett, owner of Action Signs, donated his time and lift truck to install two of the bat houses on the front of the Garza Plaza Building, located at the corner of Chambers and Anglin streets, on Wednesday.
It was there last year that Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael discovered bats roosting in the building’s walls. Bats were subsequently discovered in other downtown buildings.
Garza Plaza owner Frank Garza initiated the project to install bat houses with help from the community. Garza hosted Jam4Bats last year, a concert that raised money to build the houses. Home Depot jumped in soon after and donated supplies. Cleburne High School principals of architecture and construction teacher Jim Lewis and his students built the first 10 houses.
Each house will hold about 500 bats.
The two houses Burkett hung Wednesday sport painted scenes on the front, one depicting bats flying over a barn to reflect Johnson County’s agricultural heritage, the second bats flying over a fire truck.
The other eight houses remain unpainted, something Garza hopes to change.
“I’ll pay for the paint,” Garza said. “I just need someone who can paint.”
Garza said he hopes to find local artists interested in painting scenes of local historic events or places on the front of the houses. Time is of the essence though as the houses need to be affixed to buildings in the next several weeks before the bats return.
Citing the benefits bats bring to the environment, Garza said he wants to welcome them back and added he believes they may become a tourist draw. More bat houses may be on the horizon. That all depends on how well the bats take to the first batch, Garza said.
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Action Signs owner Tom Burkett mounts a bat house to the front of the Garza Plaza Building in downtown Cleburne. Each of the houses will hold about 500 bats. Burkett donated his time and equipment to hang the houses. Matt Smith/Times-Review
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First two bat houses hung in downtown
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