R.I.P. Lady Bird Johnson

Among the many accomplishments of Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady of the United States who died this afternoon at the age of 94: helping to beautify the American landscape, including highways.

While her husband, Lyndon B.  Johnson, was president, she pushed for the passage of the Highway Beautification Act to help clear roadsides of proliferating billboards.

As a result of compromises with the outdoor advertising industry, critics say the bill was watered down by the time it passed. Still, she fought the good fight—to beautify highways, the National Mall in Washington DC and her home state of Texas.

“Ugliness is so grim,” she once said. “A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions.”

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