This short tour of Unit Three of Sid Richardson Hall (SRH 3) should give you a head start in navigating the LBJ School facilities. At a glance, the nondescript nature of SRH architecture hides many a useful space behind black iron doors. Take this written tour with you as you explore the ins and outs of SRH 3.

Starting on the first floor, you’ll find the lobby of the LBJ School. There is a stairway down to Bass Lecture Hall and the LBJ Auditorium. However, you may have trouble in accessing this floor. It is currently closed for renovation.

Returning to the lobby, you’ll find two doors (one on either side of the stairway) behind which lies the LBJ School Student Lounge. A comfortable place to spend lunch hours, the lounge hosts many student meetings, has a kitchen for warming up your lunch, lockers for storing books and student mailboxes (where’s that memo I turned in to Professor Greenberg last week?!). The lounge is also the site of the famed LBJ “Coffee Co-op”...be ready to assist so we can continue to feed the caffeine addictions of LBJers. Don’t forget to bring a jacket to the lounge no matter what season because the thermostat is set at “icy”.

Down the hall from the lobby you’ll find the ten or so classrooms and offices of OSAP and the Dean. The second floor is taken up by Wasserman Library and professors’ offices. The third floor study lounge is a haven, a home to many a procrastinating student writing their final draft of that ten- or twenty-page paper due in just a few hours. (Don’t worry, there are several soft sofas for a midnight nap.) You should mosey up there before the semester starts to soak in the atmosphere in preparation for the race ahead….

When you forget to bring your lunch and you’re hungry, but don’t have time to run home, there are a few places to fuel up so you can get back to studying. The nearest place, open during business hours, is the Thompson Conference Center cafeteria, just northwest of SRH 3. If cafeterias aren’t your style, you can find coffee at Lava Java, coffee and sandwiches at George’s in the Law School, or sandwiches and falafel at the adjacent Longhorn Po Boy’s, across from Coop East. Further down Medical Arts is the Red River Café, with reasonable lunch specials and a nice little patio with ceiling fans. Across IH35 on Manor (pronounced “may-ner” for you nonlocals) Road you’ll find several restaurants (10-minutes walk from SRH 3) including Mueller’s BBQ, Hoover’s Kitchen (southern, not Texan, cooking), and Mi Madre’s (arguably the best breakfast tacos in town).

Finally, for the much-needed break from SRH 3, there are a few nice little spots to chill out in the warm outdoors. Just out the lobby doors and to your right, in front of the Presidential Library, you’ll find a wide lawn and a big fountain, good for staring at when you’ve thought about policy implications for too long. And don’t forget to check out the Boozer Bench, also under live oaks but on the east (parking lot) side of SRH 3, where you can sit and gaze at the traffic jam you aren’t stuck in on IH35. As you ponder life, you face the parking lot, considering when and how you can get home after another long day of policy wonking.