Start your tour at 906 Jewell Street, where Whitman lived with his wife, Kathy. The house is located in South Austin, between South Lamar and South First. On the night of July 31, 1966, Whitman wrote out his suicide note in this house. Later on, he picked up his wife from her night job as a telephone operator--possibly at the old Southwestern Bell building downtown on Colorado Street--and took her home, after which she went to bed.
Go on to The Penthouse high-rise apartment building at 1212 Guadalupe. Whitman's mother, Margaret, lived in apartment 505. In the wee hours of August 1, Whitman knocked his mother unconscious, stabbed her in the heart and shot her in the head, then left a "Do Not Disturb" note on her front door. Whitman returned to 906 Jewell Street and stabbed Kathy to death in her sleep. He claimed in his suicide note that he killed his wife and mother to spare them from the embarrassment he was about to bring to his family with his impending shooting spree.
Head now to 900 West Tenth Street. This location has been home to several restaurants in recent years, but in 1966 it was the site of Austin Rental Company, the first stop Whitman made early on August 1. He rented a dolly there.
Proceed down to Fifth and Congress, where Whitman cashed some checks at Austin National Bank. From there go to the 4900 block of Burnet Road. That was the address of Charles Davis Hardware, where Whitman bought another rifle and some ammo. That site now has the address of 4902, however, and is the first building on the left hand side of this block. It houses Top Drawer Thrift Shop. Whitman's next stop was Chuck's Gun Shop, where he bought even more ammunition. Chuck's was located at 3707 East Avenue, but East Avenue was later replaced by IH-35. Continue on to the Sears store at 1000 East 41st at Hancock Center, where Whitman bought yet another gun.
Drive from Sears over to the UT campus. Whitman turned from 24th Street into the circle just north of the Main Building. He was wearing coveralls and passed himself off to a guard as a maintenance man. He was then able to park close to the tower and haul in all his gear on the dolly, and took the elevator to the 27th floor at 11:30 a.m. He took the stairs up to the 28th floor, killed the receptionist and some tourists, barricaded himself on the Observation Deck and started shooting. His shots hit people in all directions of the tower, as far north as 25th and Guadalupe and as far south as 20th and University--1,000 yards from his perch. Several professors and students hurried home to get their own hunting rifles so they could shoot back at Whitman. One policeman got some rifles at the Everett Hardware Company at 2820 Guadalupe--now Ken's Donuts.Eventually Austin policemen Ramiro Martinez and Jerry Day, along with Allen Crum, Head of Security at the University Co-op bookstore, made it up the Tower, got through the barricade and killed Whitman, ninety minutes into his attack.
Finish the tour at the Austin State Hospital at 4110 Guadalupe, where Whitman's body was taken for an autopsy. Whitman was suffering from a fatal brain tumor, and some medical experts have speculated that this is what caused him to fly into a homicidal frenzy.
