News

Oct 30

Construction Updates – Buffalo Bayou Park

With cooler weather comes a desire to get outdoors. As you enjoy Buffalo Bayou Park this fall, you’ll see the following construction projects “in the works”:

The dam at Lost Lake is installed, and work continues on the visitor center which will house a canoe and kayak rental facility, Grab and Go food service and Clark Cooper Concepts’ private event space, The Dunlavy.
Harris County Flood Control District’s contractor has completed most of its channel work, with only some erosion work below the Beth Yeshurun Cemetery remaining. Tree planting and silt removal at the open flood benches will begin soon.

Work at the Johnny Steele Dog Park at Montrose and Allen Parkway is progressing nicely. Two dog ponds are nearly complete. Plumbing for dog washing stations and shade structures has gone in, and fencing will be installed shortly. Stay tuned for information on a public grand opening celebration in January 2015.
Fine grading and installation of decomposed granite at the Wortham Fountain is underway. All construction at the fountain is expected to be complete by November.

Lighting has been installed along the North Bank from Sabine to Shepherd. Site clearing, footpath work and installation of trail lights west to Shepherd continues. The lights west of Montrose should be operational around the new year.
The Nau Family Pavilion and Sabine Overlook will be complete within the month.
Piers and the slab for the Wortham Insurance Visitor Center at The Water Works have been installed. Work on the Hobby Family Pavilion and Sky Lawn has begun.

Oct 30

Your Questions, Answered

Will flooding wash away any of the new landscaping, lighting and features from the park? – Tyler, park user

No. All elements added to the park including plants, vegetation, lighting and construction enhancements have been selected because they are able to withstand periods of time submerged by water, as demonstrated by earlier Buffalo Bayou Partnership projects along the bayou.

Aug 19

Your Questions, Answered

Why is this area at Dunlavy and Allen Parkway called “Lost Lake?”

In the 1970s, a pond was lost in the western end of the park. Buffalo Bayou Partnership is restoring this body of water to include a cascading water feature and adding landscaping including a robust variety of trees, shrubbery and wetland plants thanks to a generous donation from The Garden Club of Houston.

Aug 19

Construction Updates – Buffalo Bayou Park

As you explore Buffalo Bayou Park this summer, you will see construction progressing nicely.

Construction at Lost Lake continues (pictured in the masthead above). The building’s lower level, which will ultimately house a canoe and kayak rental facility, is complete. Work on the main level of the building and site work around Lost Lake continue. Read about The Dunlavy here.
Silt removal by Harris County Flood Control District’s contractor is now concentrated solely upstream of Waugh on the north bank and should be completed soon.
Major construction at the dog park (pictured below) and Wortham Fountain continues and is expected to be complete by mid-Fall. At the dog park, the main entrance, dog ponds, bridges and overlooks are now visible, and at the Wortham Fountain, work on the seating around the fountain has begun.

Phase II work (from Sabine to Montrose on the south bank) will be complete at the end of August.
Lighting at the Carruth Bridge and below two other footbridges at Glenwood Cemetery and Tapley Tributary is complete and contractors have begun site clearing, footpath work and installing trail lights west to Shepherd.
Since early July, the main lawn at Eleanor Tinsley Park has been fenced off to allow the new grass planted after Summer Fest and Freedom Over Texas to establish itself. The Nau Family Pavilion within Eleanor Tinsley Park is nearing completion. The parking lot will reopen once all construction is complete around Labor Day.
Construction at The Water Works is underway and perimeter walls for the Sky Lawn are being formed. The Nature Playground’s site walls and features have begun (pictured below.)

Runners, walkers and cyclists traveling along the south bank between Sabine and Montrose can enjoy newly-planted landscaping adjacent to the concrete trails. The landscapes along Allen Parkway are interspersed with the first two of four gardens.

Jul 29

The Dunlavy to Open in Buffalo Bayou Park

Clark Cooper Concepts and Buffalo Bayou Partnership Plan Private Event Space and Grab and Go Service

Clark Cooper Concepts and Buffalo Bayou Partnership have announced plans to develop a multi-purpose private event space in Houston. The Dunlavy, overlooking the banks of Buffalo Bayou and Lost Lake, will be a private event and dining space, showcasing the different cuisines of the Clark Cooper restaurants – including Ibiza Food & Wine Bar, Brasserie 19, Coppa Ristorante, Coppa Osteria and Punk’s Simple Southern Food.

Slated to open Summer 2015, The Dunlavy will offer full-service event space and coordination. The venue is ideally suited to its location at the western end of Buffalo Bayou Park. The 160-acre, 2.3 mile park located between Shepherd Drive and Sabine Street, is currently undergoing a $58 million renovation by Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Grab and Go @ The Dunlavy will provide counter service breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Patio chairs and complimentary Wi-Fi will be available. Additionally, the building will house a park visitor center and a canoe and kayak rental facility, operated by Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Designed by Page, the sleek aesthetic of The Dunlavy will offer lakeside, bayou and downtown skyline views. The clean, modern 3,800 square foot indoor space will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, crisp gallery-like interiors and a large wraparound 850 square foot outdoor patio, and will serve as a blank slate with stunning views and lush green outdoor vegetation serving as the backdrop likened to a jewel box suspended over the bayou.

lg_buffalobayoupark_lost_lake_blog4 by Page

“Buffalo Bayou Partnership was fortunate to secure Clark Cooper Concepts to represent us to execute the vision for the Lost Lake event concept,” said Sis Johnson, board chair of Buffalo Bayou Partnership. “As one of the main gateways into Buffalo Bayou Park, this area overall will offer something for every park user, whether a picnicker getting a quick bite to eat, a cyclist picking up a park map, an adventure-seeker renting a kayak, or an event planner looking for an idyllic venue to host a gathering.”

With a restaurant-grade kitchen on site, patrons booking The Dunlavy can choose menus from any of the Clark Cooper Concept restaurants or have the culinary team create custom menus and wine pairings. The Dunlavy is also expected to become the setting for high-profile events, such as product launches, art installations, pop-up retail, weddings, gallery show and filmmaking.

“The Dunlavy will be a space that defines our city: bold, innovative and unique,” said Grant Cooper, principal of Clark Cooper Concepts. “The fact you can go from fine dining to BBQ is what will set The Dunlavy apart. It can serve as the location for a national retail product launch, wedding or film shoot. It will be a really cool, functional space where people can get creative.”

Aug 12

Enhancements Underway at Eleanor Tinsley Park; Generous $2M from Silver Eagle Distributors

After the busy summer festival season, Buffalo Bayou Partnership is beginning construction in Eleanor Tinsley Park that will improve the overall visitor experience.

Left: Eleanor Tinsley Park during a special event. Right: The park during every day use.

The changes in the area between Taft Street and Sabine Street will include upgraded infrastructure for special events at the park, trails and stairs for easier pedestrian access, as well as upgraded landscaping.

BBP has received a generous gift of $2 million from Silver Eagle Distributors, a Houston-based company with a longtime commitment as a community partner and generous supporter of citywide festivals along Buffalo Bayou. With this funding, changes such as a Skyline Overlook, redesigned parking spaces and an improved garden area will be added. In honor of this gift, the Skyline Overlook will be named the Nau Family Pavilion and the event meadow will be named the Bud Light Amphitheater. Read or listen to this KUHF story.

Jul 11

The Water Works Underground “Cistern”: A Historic Houston Space with Enormous Potential

Update (2018):

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is accessible through a street-level entrance to the right of our Visitor Center located at 105 Sabine Street.
Tours of the Cistern are now available. Tickets must be purchased in advance. View the schedule and purchase tickets here.

This post was originally published on July 11, 2013. Some information may be out of date.

As the Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine project began in 2010, an amazing structure was rediscovered below the lawn that is to become the signature Sky Lawn at The Water Works (north of the existing Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark). The “Cistern,” as it has been dubbed, was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Built in 1927, it provided decades of service until it was drained when it sprang a leak that couldn’t be located or contained.

photo by Katya Horner/SlightClutter Photography

Unused for years, the 87,500-square-foot expanse includes 25-foot tall, slender concrete columns set row upon row, hovering over two inches of water on the reservoir’s floor. Buffalo Bayou Park designers recognized immediately that this highly unusual space brimmed with potential for new life as a public space with light flooding in from the entrance hatches – a dramatic, almost artful expanse is created. Read this Houston Chronicle article.

The space is only accessible via small hatches that open to 14-foot ladders creating enormous logistical difficulties in viewing and navigating the area.

Inspired by the space and challenge was Douglas Smith with SmartGeoMetrics, a Houston-based company with more than 30 years of combined experience providing 3D high definition laser services to industries such as petrochemical, civil engineering and architecture. Smith was so excited about the space that he and his team volunteered to acquire 3D imaging data of the cavernous space to document its as-is condition. This data can be used in software like AutoCAD and Revit as well as to create 3D fly-throughs and even autosteroscopic holograms. See a 3D fly-through.

Laser scan point cloud showing the inside of The Cistern, photo by SmartGeometrics

Houston-based digital marketing company FuelFX also donated a specialized mobile and tablet APP to the project. The APP creates an interactive 3D augmented reality model of the “Cistern” that enables developers to better visualize the space in the palm of their hand. The APP debuted on August 29th at the “An Update on the Cistern Project” presentation at AIA Houston.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership received a $1.2 million grant from The Brown Foundation to make the necessary enhancements to bring the site up to code and will eventually turn it into a temporary art space.

May 31

Meet Our Partner, Katy Prairie Conservancy!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC) are collaborating to increase Houston’s prairies. Twice monthly, KPC and its volunteers comb through some of the most pristine prairies left in the area including College Park Prairie, Nash Prairie and, of course, Katy Prairie for the best wildflower and native grass seeds that will be planted in a dozen acres of “pocket prairies” in Buffalo Bayou Park.

Once completed, these prairies will be a magnet for wildlife, a boon for photographers, and a reminder of Houston’s rich ecological and cultural history. Collectively, they will be one of the largest and most publicly accessible urban grasslands in the country.

May 31

Connect with Us

Did you know you can connect with Buffalo Bayou Partnership at virtually every corner of the internet? Post your favorite photos of the bayou on our Facebook page, chat with us on Twitter, or visit our website for the latest information on events and to learn more about what we do.

On the go? We are launching a Buffalo Bayou Partnership mobile app in late summer. You’ll be able to access the new trail map, find information on major destinations, view photo galleries, make a donation to Buffalo Bayou Partnership and more! Many thanks to all who participated in our app development survey shared in the March/April In the Works.

May 24

More About Parking and Accessibility

While encouraging people to take transit, ride their bikes or walk to Buffalo Bayou Park, Buffalo Bayou Partnership worked very hard to accommodate more parking spaces while not jeopardizing the park’s green spaces. Our plan for Buffalo Bayou Park includes increased parking at the following major destinations:

The Water Works area: 50 new spaces

Eleanor Tinsley Park: 20 redesigned spaces

Dog Park: 17 new parallel parking spaces

Lost Lake: 81 new parking spaces

Additionally, over 400 parking spaces are located at Lot H, off Memorial and Houston Avenue, which the City intends to convert to public parking on weekends. Buffalo Bayou Partnership is seeking other opportunities for shared parking with adjacent properties.

Of course, the two new pedestrian bridges will greatly improve access to the park, and due to the strong development taking place in neighborhoods north and south of the bayou, we anticipate many park visitors will walk and ride their bikes along our improved trails and footpaths.

The Rosemont Bridge with its related access trails to adjacent neighborhoods on the north side of Memorial is a major enhancement to the park’s accessibility, but access must also be improved to the neighborhoods south of Allen Parkway. In chapter 3, page 41 of the Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine master plan, Buffalo Bayou Partnership recommends access improvements like signalized intersections and crosswalks (at Taft and at Dunlavy) and an extension of the Rosemont Bridge across Allen Parkway, though these improvements are outside the scope of our project. Currently, recommendations are being considered by the City of Houston.

The intersection of Taft Street at Allen Parkwary.

For press inquiries, email Karen Farber, BBP VP of External Affairs, or call 713.752.0314 ext. 353.

News Coverage

Walk with us through Houston's new - but very short - East Downtown Trail Houston Chronicle, June 17, 2022
Beat the heat with bee crafts and mud art Houston Chronicle Preview, June 15, 2022
Saving a Texan Bayou, ‘16 Bottles’ at a Time The New York Times, June 14, 2022
2021 Was . . . ? These Works of Art Help Make Sense of It. Texas Monthly, December 22, 2021
Six Art Galleries in Unexpected Places Smithsonian Magazine, December 15, 2021
Houston's best runs: 8 beautiful places to get fit and enjoy nature Houston Chronicle, December 9, 2021
Single for the holidays? Celebrate in style at these 13 Houston events Houston Chronicle, December 3, 2021
Texas bats eat thousands of pounds of insects nightly Victoria Advocate, November 18, 2021
These Simple Design Schemes Can Help Combat Climate Change for Coastal Cities Architectural Digest, November 18, 2021
On Crisp Fall Night, Friends of Buffalo Bayou Gather Outdoors to Toast Riverside Development Houston City Book, November 16, 2021

Light Up the Night Along Buffalo Bayou East March 15, 2022
Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s Time No Longer Wins International Art Award September 22, 2021
Three Houston Parks Team Up to Celebrate the Legacy of Jazz in Houston with Free Concerts and a Series Spectacular Featuring Mavis Staples August 6, 2021
Houston Endowment Awards Buffalo Bayou Partnership $10M Grant December 9, 2020
Immersive Installation by Anri Sala in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern November 23, 2020
Houston Celebrates Texas Arbor Day by planting 600 trees at Buffalo Bend Nature Center November 10, 2020
Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales (En Español) September 28, 2020
A “musical scavenger hunt” with ROCO and Buffalo Bayou Partnership September 21, 2020
Artful Anniversary: A series of virtual and visual arts events through the month of October to celebrate 5 Years of Buffalo Bayou Park September 10, 2020
Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales September 3, 2020

Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - June 2022 June 2, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - May 2022 May 4, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - April 2022 April 6, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - March 2022 March 2, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - February 2022 February 2, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - January 2022 January 11, 2022
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - December 2021 December 2, 2021
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - November 2021 November 1, 2021
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - October 2021 October 8, 2021
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - September 2021 September 1, 2021

Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2021 June 2021
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2020 January 2020
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2019 May 2019
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2019 January 2019
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2018 July 2018
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2017 August 2017
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2017 March 2017
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2016 December 2016
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2016 July 2016
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2016 March 2016

Construction Updates – Buffalo Bayou Park

Your Questions, Answered

Your Questions, Answered

Construction Updates – Buffalo Bayou Park

The Dunlavy to Open in Buffalo Bayou Park

Enhancements Underway at Eleanor Tinsley Park; Generous $2M from Silver Eagle Distributors

The Water Works Underground “Cistern”: A Historic Houston Space with Enormous Potential

Meet Our Partner, Katy Prairie Conservancy!

Connect with Us

More About Parking and Accessibility

News Coverage

Press Releases

Monthly Newsletters

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

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