We are delighted to announce Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) as the inaugural recipient of Texas Historical Foundation’s Annual Grants program. The nonprofit group has operated since 2003 conserving all manner of Texas film media and making it available to researchers, educators, students, and the interested public at no cost. The $25,000 grant will support their Preserving KPRC: The Eyes of Texas Pilot Project.

The effort began when the group recovered a trove of KPRC-TV Houston video footage, including the long-running and beloved The Eyes of Texas, bound for the landfill. While the footage was saved, the clock was already ticking to preserve its contents. “With the life of videotape being estimated at 50 years, the KPRC tapes are nearing their end” explained TAMI Managing Director Elizabeth Hansen, “we truly are on borrowed time to salvage important stories from Texas’ 20th century.”  

Debuting in 1969, The Eyes of Texas shone a light on daily life and culture in communities across the state with episodes that created a distinct and at times colorful portrait of Texas and Texans. Host Ray Miller became a de-facto tour guide, ferrying viewers to far-flung parts of the state from the comfort of their living room and putting little-known heritage sites on the proverbial map. Its slice of life approach quickly won over audiences, and the show was syndicated across the state. 

The Eyes of Texas completed its original run in 1999, documenting thousands of hours of Texas life, culture, and events in the process. Footage captured includes the raising of the La Belle shipwreck, scenes of the Civil Rights Movement, and footage of NASA events unavailable anywhere else.  Recognizing the discarded film represented not only a treasure trove of Texas life suspended in amber, but at times the sole extant footage of historical events, TAMI has tackled the urgent work of conserving it for future generations. No small task, considering the time-sensitive nature of securing footage from obsolete formats.

The Texas Historical Foundation is thrilled to support this project, which will preserve and make available to the public a vast archive of footage spanning decades of Texas life. To learn more about the outstanding work of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and view their extensive catalog of historic video, visit them online at texasarchive.org.  

“A 1968 behind-the-scenes look at KPRC-TV Houston narrated by Eyes of Texas Host Ray Miller, courtesy of TAMI.”  View video