Hermann Park
Encyclopedia
Hermann Park is one of Houston's most-visited public parks. Situated between Fannin Street and Cambridge Street, it is within walking distance from the Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research...

, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

, and the Museum District
Houston Museum District
The Houston Museum District commonly known as, “The Museum District,” is an association of museums, galleries, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting the arts, sciences, and cultural amenities of the area.The Houston Museum District currently...

, and within a few miles of the Third Ward, the historic Astrodome and Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....

 (home stadium for the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

). The land which it occupies was presented to the City of Houston by George H. Hermann in 1914.

This historic 445 acres (180.1 ha) park space is home to numerous cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 institutions including the Houston Zoo
Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo is a zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. Housing over 6,000 animals belonging to over 900 species, the zoo receives 1.6 million visitors each year and is the seventh most visited zoo in the nation...

, Houston Garden Center, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a science museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, USA. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston...

, and the Hermann Park Golf Course, which was the first desegregated
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

 public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...

 golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

  • 1899 – Mayor Sam Brashear selected and purchased a site that would later on become the city’s first park in June 1899. The size of the land was 20.43 acres (8.3 ha) for $26,000. Prior to the purchase of the park, he formed the first park committee who oversaw the purchase and would later become Sam Houston Park.
  • 1907 – The Houston Civic Club placed The Browner Statue donated to the City of Houston in Sam Houston Park. Over the years it has been stolen and recovered several times before finally residing in front of Miller Outdoor Theatre.
  • 1914 – George E. Kessler designed the entrance of Hermann Park.
  • 1924 – Hermann Park grew to 133.5 acres (54 ha) with the addition of the Golf Course in 1922, which completed construction in 1924. Its main feature that it had grass greens as opposed to the more commonly used sand in other cities and was well received by golfers.
  • 1936 – for the City’s 100th anniversary, the Daughters of Republic of Texas had a log cabin constructed in Hermann Park as a memorial to pioneer men and women.
  • 1957 – Southern Pacific steam engine #982 was dedicated at Hermann Park and the Mini-train service was established. The locomotive would later be relocated to Minute Maid Park.

The Hermann Park Conservancy

Hermann Park was presented to the City of Houston by George Hermann in 1914, and is now Houston's most historically significant public green space. Over the years, the Houston Zoo
Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo is a zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. Housing over 6,000 animals belonging to over 900 species, the zoo receives 1.6 million visitors each year and is the seventh most visited zoo in the nation...

, Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a science museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, USA. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston...

, and one of the first desegregated public golf courses in the United States all have added to the Park's importance as a recreational destination.

By the late 1980s however, due to insufficient public resources and very high public attendance, the park became rundown and entered a state of disrepair. In response, a group of committed and visionary Houstonians formed the nonprofit organization known as the Friends of Hermann Park (FHP) to encourage the development of more attractive, usable green space in Hermann Park and to promote the restoration of the Park to its originally intended standards of beauty.

Creating the Conservancy, Transforming the Park

In 1993, FHP commissioned a master plan for Hermann Park from Hanna/Olin Partnership of Philadelphia, a landscape architectural group recognized internationally for the excellence of its work in public parks around the United States and Europe. This Master Plan, created in consultation with the City of Houston and various stakeholders, was adopted in 1997 by Houston City Council. In 1995, Friends of Hermann Park adopted a master plan for Hermann Park that has provided a “blueprint” for all subsequent renovations and enhancements to the Park. In 2004, Friends of Hermann Park changed its name to the Hermann Park Conservancy (HPC) to reflect an institutional and permanent commitment to stewardship of Hermann Park’s natural resources and physical infrastructure.

In an international competition, the Rice Design Alliance invited designers to set the tone and revitalize the main entry and reflecting pool that formed a key axis for Hermann Park, “The Heart of the Park”, and to create a contemporary update to the park's earliest plans by George Kessler and a subsequent, more formal Hare & Hare plan in 1936.
SWA Group, an international landscape and urban design firm working in conjunction with W.O. Neuhaus Architects and other consultants, was selected over 100 respondents. The most striking of the changes to the 18 acres (7.3 ha) project area was a narrower, more inviting 80 feet (24.4 m) by 740 feet (225.6 m) reflection pool. It establishes the formal central axis for the space and its slight narrower design afforded elegant pedestrian promenades as well as a double-row of mature Live Oak trees – one row that had been planted in the 1920s to honor veterans of WW I, and a second row that was added as part of the project.
Noted in a winning entry for the 2005 National Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the “Heart of the Park” reflecting pool utilized a biofiltration system of gravel beds and perforated pipes to trap organics so that they naturally decompose. Porous paving systems and decomposed granite also limit potential damage from increased water run-off from the site.

Ongoing projects

The Hermann Park Conservancy continues working in partnership with the City of Houston to secure funds and manage the design of projects to be undertaken in the Park:
  • Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool
  • Molly Ann Smith and Sara H. and John H. Lindsey Plazas
  • Enlargement, renovation and beautification of McGovern Lake (including three new islands as well as bird and wetland habitat area.)
  • The West Entrance facility and plaza for the Houston Zoo.
  • Beautification and re-alignment of North MacGregor Street to improve access and circulation in and around the Park and the Texas Medical Center.
  • Acquisition of additional land and capital improvements to Bayou Parkland, an 80 acres (32.4 ha) area in Hermann Park along Brays Bayou being "reclaimed" for healthier activities and used extensively for stewardship programs.
  • Creation and implementation of extensive stewardship programs, including Field Studies 101, Natural Guard, and Scouting Around Hermann Park.
  • Completion of the expansion and renovation of Miller Outdoor Theatre.
  • Coordination of the comprehensive renovation of the Hermann Park Golf Course (completed by BSL Golf Corporation).
  • Coordination of the Hermann Park Miniature Train track expansion.
  • Planting of over 2,400 new trees.
  • The park-wide installation of new park furnishings such as light fixtures, benches and trash cans.


The Conservancy also developed a Maintenance and Operations Master Plan Study for Hermann Park - the first such comprehensive study ever for this flagship park of Houston. The study identified many concerns for preserving and protecting Hermann Park, including a gap of 20,000 maintenance hours for the Park. In response, the Conservancy hired a Manager of Volunteer Programs. In 2004 over 1,200 volunteers provided over 14,000 hours of volunteer service in the park.

Hermann Park Attractions

  • Houston Zoo
    Houston Zoo
    The Houston Zoo is a zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. Housing over 6,000 animals belonging to over 900 species, the zoo receives 1.6 million visitors each year and is the seventh most visited zoo in the nation...

  • Hermann Park Jogging Trail
  • McGovern Lake
  • Miller Outdoor Theatre
    Miller Outdoor Theatre
    The Miller Outdoor Theatre is the premier outdoor theater for the performing arts in Houston, Texas. It is located on approximately of land in Hermann Park, at 6000 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, Texas 77030...

  • Hermann Park Railroad
  • Hermann Park Pedal Boats
  • Bayou Parkland
  • Brays Bayou
  • Hermann Park Golf Course
  • Stand at the dock of McGovern Lake plaza and get sprayed by the geyser
  • Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
  • Buddy Carruth Playground for All Children
  • Japanese Garden
  • Sam Houston monument
  • Houston Garden Center
  • Fragrance Garden
  • Lake Overlook
  • Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool
  • Marvin Taylor Exercise Station
  • Urban Forest in Bayou Parkland (the paths are wheelchair accessible)
  • Mecom-Rockwell Fountain and Colonnade
  • Pioneer Memorial Log House Museum
  • Bloch Plaza Cancer Survivor's Plaza
  • Four interactive fountains at the Molly Ann Smith Plaza
  • Fishing at Bob's Fishing Pier on McGovern Lake (If under 12 years old or over 65 years old fishing is restricted and equipment is not supplied)
  • Judson Robinson, Jr. community center
  • Chinese Pagoda
  • Arbor in the Pines
  • Pioneer Monument Obelisk

External links


See also

  • George E. Kessler
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