Williams Waterwall
Encyclopedia
The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, also known as the Williams Waterwall, is a multi-story sculptural fountain which sits at the south end of Williams Tower
in the Uptown
District of Houston. It and its surrounding park were built as an architectural amenity to the adjacent tower. Both the fountain and tower were designed by Pritzker Prize
winning architect Philip Johnson
. The fountain is currently operating between 11 am and 4 pm.
, in coordination with developer Gerald D. Hines
began working on the Transco Tower complex in 1982, and completed construction 18 months later in 1983. The Waterwall was fully and regularly operational in 1985.
Construction and maintenance cost figures were never released, but at the time of completion, Johnson and Hines made public vital statistics about the wall, including measurements and water volume.
Water cascades in vast channeled sheets from the narrower top rim of the circle to the wider base below, both on the convex side and on the rear side. This creates a visually striking urban waterfall that can be viewed from various buildings around the district.
46500 square feet (4,320 m²) of water cover the interior, while 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) cover the exterior. The main building material of the fountain is St. Joe brick. However, the Romanesque arches are made of Indiana Buss limestone, while the wall's base is black granite. The entire fountain's water supply, consisting of 78,500 gallons is recycled by an internal mechanism every three hours and two minutes.
, the Waterwall is considered a central part of the Houston landscape and is often host to picnics and concerts.
In 1987, former Oiler quarterback Dan Pastorini
married Dena Kindred at a private ceremony at the wall. 40 people attended the ceremony, which was held during the night on September 23.
Though the Waterwall technically sits on private property, only open to the public daily from 10 am to 10 pm, it is often touted as a popular tourist spot, and was an 'official sight' during the 1992 Republican National Convention.
In 2001, the made-for-TV movie The Way She Moves was filmed in Houston and contained scenes shot in front of the Waterwall.
The Bollywood
song "Dilbar Dilbar" from the film Sirf Tum
was shot here.
Williams Tower
The Williams Tower is a skyscraper located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas. It was designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, in association with Houston-based Morris Architects , and erected in 1983. The tower is among Houston's most visible buildings...
in the Uptown
Uptown Houston
The Uptown District of Houston is located 6.2 miles west of downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard, Westheimer Road , and the Galleria...
District of Houston. It and its surrounding park were built as an architectural amenity to the adjacent tower. Both the fountain and tower were designed by Pritzker Prize
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
winning architect Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
. The fountain is currently operating between 11 am and 4 pm.
Construction of the Williams Waterwall
Philip Johnson and John BurgeeJohn Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...
, in coordination with developer Gerald D. Hines
Gerald D. Hines
Gerald D. Hines is the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its U.S. headquarters located in Houston, Texas, and its European headquarters located in London....
began working on the Transco Tower complex in 1982, and completed construction 18 months later in 1983. The Waterwall was fully and regularly operational in 1985.
Construction and maintenance cost figures were never released, but at the time of completion, Johnson and Hines made public vital statistics about the wall, including measurements and water volume.
Physical attributes of the wall
Johnson's design for the water wall was to be a "horseshoe of rushing water" opposite of the Transco (now Williams) Tower. The semi-circular fountain is 64 feet (19.5 m) tall, to symbolize the 64 stories of the tower, and sits among 118 Texas live oak trees. The concave portion of the circle – which faces north toward the tower – is fronted by a "proscenium arch" shorter than the fountain itself. The convex portion, its backside, faces south onto Hidalgo Street.Water cascades in vast channeled sheets from the narrower top rim of the circle to the wider base below, both on the convex side and on the rear side. This creates a visually striking urban waterfall that can be viewed from various buildings around the district.
46500 square feet (4,320 m²) of water cover the interior, while 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) cover the exterior. The main building material of the fountain is St. Joe brick. However, the Romanesque arches are made of Indiana Buss limestone, while the wall's base is black granite. The entire fountain's water supply, consisting of 78,500 gallons is recycled by an internal mechanism every three hours and two minutes.
Waterwall lore
Known simply as "The Waterwall" or even still as the "Transco Waterwall" to locals, the fountain is a popular backdrop for tourists and locals alike. Though located outside of the LoopInterstate 610 (Texas)
Interstate 610 is a freeway that forms a forty-two-mile loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as "The Loop", "Loop 610", "The 610 Loop", or just "610", traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston and its surrounding areas...
, the Waterwall is considered a central part of the Houston landscape and is often host to picnics and concerts.
In 1987, former Oiler quarterback Dan Pastorini
Dan Pastorini
Dante "Dan" Anthony Pastorini is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles.-NFL career:...
married Dena Kindred at a private ceremony at the wall. 40 people attended the ceremony, which was held during the night on September 23.
Though the Waterwall technically sits on private property, only open to the public daily from 10 am to 10 pm, it is often touted as a popular tourist spot, and was an 'official sight' during the 1992 Republican National Convention.
In 2001, the made-for-TV movie The Way She Moves was filmed in Houston and contained scenes shot in front of the Waterwall.
The Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
song "Dilbar Dilbar" from the film Sirf Tum
Sirf Tum
Sirf Tum is a Bollywood film directed by Agathian. It was released on 11 June 1999. The film features Sanjay Kapoor, Priya Gill, Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, Simran Bagga and Jackie Shroff. It is a remake of the National award winning Tamil film Kadhal Kottai, which starred Ajith Kumar and Devayani...
was shot here.