AUSTIN, Texas — Austinites are remembering actor Robert Redford, who died in Utah on Tuesday morning at the age of 89.

While the Hollywood legend grew up in Southern California, he had deep ties to Central Texas.

Redford learned to swim at Barton Springs during childhood summers spent visiting his mother’s side of the family in Austin and San Marcos.

“I remember very clearly the first time I went in, about five years old,” recalled Redford, speaking to reporters outside of Barton Springs during the early 1990s. “I think I had a subliminal understanding of what cardiac arrest was. I certainly knew what cold was.”

At that time, Redford was campaigning in support of the Save Our Springs Alliance’s efforts to limit harmful development.

“One of the things he always said was, ‘You have to m

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