News

Feb 01

Plans Include Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is also planning for several additions to Buffalo Bayou Park that will make exercising along the bayou a family affair.

Thanks to the Ray C. Fish Foundation’s recent $1 million grant for Buffalo Bayou Park’s Nature Playground, children will explore their environment in a new playground designed around natural features. Given its location along the slopes near the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark, parents will have easy access to parking, restrooms, park staff and the option of renting the playground’s picnic pavilion.

The Nature Playground will include elements from these playgrounds.

Fido and Sparky can also enjoy the great outdoors at the planned dog park located at Montrose and Allen Parkway. The already-popular gathering area will become an “official” dog park, with an added fence, two new swimming ponds and a shaded rest shelter for dog owners. At both the “official” dog park and along the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail, dogs can rehydrate at water fountains with special spigots just their height!

These amenities will be part of construction phase three which will be complete in early 2015.

Feb 01

Stretch Your Legs on the New Trails and Footpaths

Soon, runners, walkers and cyclists will have new and upgraded trails on which to enjoy nature and the bayou. The Texas Department of Transportation and City of Houston continue construction on the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail between Waugh and Sabine. We are happy to report that this work has not discouraged trail users, who are navigating the detours quite well. Runners and trail users should use the trails on the north side of the bayou until construction along Allen Parkway is complete in Spring 2013.

This year, Buffalo Bayou Partnership will also start construction on a series of five-footwide asphalt footpaths closer to the bayou banks. This network of trails will provide visitors safer options to enjoy nature and stroll leisurely through the park.

New drinking fountains and benches will be conveniently located along the new trails, and park users will have access to other amenities, including restrooms and bike rental facilities.

Yellow lines indicate planned footpaths; red lines indicate upgraded hike and bike trails.

Feb 01

2013 Chevron Houston Marathon

Many Houstonians started the new year off with a 26.2-mile marathon or 13.1-mile half marathon. Participants in the 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon had a bayou view as they ran the final stretch of the 41st event on Allen Parkway between Shepherd and Sabine. Despite the rain, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s “Hoopla Station” gave runners at the 24th mile a boost with encouraging banners, noisemakers and signs. Despite the rain, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s “Hoopla Station” gave runners at the 24th mile a boost with encouraging banners, noisemakers and signs.

Congratulations to all runners – including BBP Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator Jessalyn Giacona and Bayou Buddies Steering Committee members Josh Ibarra, Cara Merriman, Claire Smith and Chair Mary Catherine White – on your tremendous accomplishment! (Read our Behind the Scenes article, below, for more Houston Marathon news.)

Nov 30

Accolades and Attention-Grabbing Headlines

In its fall issue, Philanthropy Magazine featured Nancy and Rich Kinder, Buffalo Bayou Park’s $30 million catalyst funders, in an article focused on park philanthropy.

In October, Buffalo Bayou was named one of the nation’s “10 Great Public Spaces” by the American Planning Association. Read about the announcement press conference with Mayor Annise Parker in the Houston Chronicle and see a photo gallery in USA Today.

Thank you to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department Director, Joe Turner, for nominating Buffalo Bayou for this prestigious honor.

Also in October, Buffalo Bayou Partnership received the 2012 Civic Vision Award from AIA Houston. This award is presented to individuals or groups who have consistently and courageously demonstrated civic leadership in improving Houston’s quality of life through architecture, architecture education, landscape architecture, or urban planning. Thank you, AIA!

Nov 30

Welcome, Leigh McBurnett!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is pleased to welcome Leigh McBurnett as our new Director of Development. Leigh has 17 years of development and non-profit management experience. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, she served in numerous fundraising capacities — Assistant Development Director, Senior Annual Giving Coordinator, and Development Assistant. In these positions, she worked to develop and implement the annual giving program for the MFAH, including Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, Rienzi and the Glassell School of Art. She also worked on the capital campaign that raised $127 million for the MFAH’s Audrey Jones Beck Building. Leigh most recently served as Executive Director of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. Welcome Leigh!

Nov 28

Many thanks!

As 2012 comes to a close, we celebrate the significant progress made at Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine and recognize the generosity of Houston’s leading foundations and corporations.

The vision for Buffalo Bayou Park has inspired numerous record-setting gifts including the following:

Kinder Foundation’s catalyst $30 million gift, the largest in the history of Houston’s park system
The Wortham Foundation provided a $5 million challenge grant with a 2:1 matching requirement. The foundation’s gift served as an early catalyst for BBP to raise additional funds and reach out to new donors, and we are happy to announce that BBP has raised more than $10 million to fulfill this challenge
Ray C. Fish Foundation’s recent $1 million grant for Buffalo Bayou Park’s exciting Nature Playground
Carruth Foundation’s $1 million sponsorship of the pedestrian bridge connecting Buffalo Bayou Park to the Police Memorial – the largest gift in the foundation’s history
The Garden Club of Houston’s $250,000 contribution, the largest in the club’s 80-year history, for the park’s Lost Lake perennial gardens

Thanks to these additional Buffalo Bayou Park donors of $50,000+ (as of November 28, 2012):

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
Houston Endowment Inc.
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
The Fondren Foundation
The Cullen Foundation
The Elkins Foundation
Susan Vaughan Foundation
Scurlock Foundation
Brady Carruth
Apache Corporation
River Oaks Garden Club

We are honored that these and other gifts will allow us to develop major park features.

Nov 28

Buffalo Bayou Park – Your Park. Our Park.

Eleanor Tinsley Park

Equally important are the donations that will fund an array of park amenities along the park’s hike and bike trails and at high profile destinations such as The Water Works and Dog Park. Shade pavilions, small foot bridges, meadows and tributaries offer opportunities for all Houstonians to support the park.

Dog Park

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is in the final stage of raising an additional $20 million needed to complete the $55 million Buffalo Bayou Partnership project. With your help, Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine will be a destination full of activity, energy and natural beauty, as well as a place for quiet reflection and contemplation.

Jackson Hill Bridge is a major naming opportunity.

As you consider giving to a number of worthy organizations this holiday season, please join us in making this significant civic project a reality. Major naming opportunities are still available in addition to opportunities to fund trees, shade pavilions, and pedestrian bridges.

Naming opportunities at Lost Lake.

For more information about supporting the project, please contact Leigh McBurnett, Director of Development, at 713.752.0314 ext. 105, or make an online donation today!

Nov 28

A Room with a View

Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s November 1st gala “Sensational” raised a record-breaking $500,000. Again this year, Sabine Promenade offered guests incredible views of Buffalo Bayou and the downtown skyline. But even more spectacular views are in store for gala-goers when the annual fundraising event is moved to the Sky Lawn at Buffalo Bayou Park in 2015.

Click here for CultureMap’s coverage of the successful 2012 event.

Click here for additional photos by Katya Horner and here for PaperCity/Black Tie photos.

The Sky Lawn, a grassy plateau sitting 15 feet above street level, will be the premier vantage point for bayou and downtown skyline viewing.

Nov 28

Construction Updates: November 2012

We are pleased to report progress on two new bridges, providing Buffalo Bayou Park users with easier and safer access.

Shepherd Drive Bridge

A long-awaited pedestrian bridge is being installed under the Shepherd Drive overpass. The bridge is a tremendous asset for Buffalo Bayou Park joggers, bikers and runners who previously used the very busy and dangerous sidewalk along Shepherd Drive.

Crosby Outfall Bridge

Millis Construction is putting the finishing touches on the 53-foot long Crosby Outfall Bridge at the intersection of Sabine Street and Allen Parkway. Part of Phase I park improvements, the bridge will provide a continuous route on the south side of Buffalo Bayou under Sabine Bridge.

Waterway Closure at Montrose

Harris County Flood Control District continues to conduct channel realignment work near the Police Memorial. Therefore, the waterway will be closed thru December. For your safety, please observe all posted signs and remove all watercraft at Montrose Boulevard. Click here to read the press release sent out by the Harris County Flood Control District.

Sep 28

Millis

Chris Ward, Superintendent, with Jack Christison, Project Manager at Millis Development & Construction, Inc. are currently working on the Crosby Bridge, located just west of Sabine Street (on the south bank). This bridge will be completed in December 2012.

Houston-based construction company Millis has long been part of the enhancements to Buffalo Bayou. Millis recently completed the TIRZ 5-funded Rosemont Bridge and several hike & bike trail segments in 2011. The Houston-based construction company recently was the low bidder for Phase One of Buffalo Bayou Park, which includes the Jackson Hill Bridge, the Carruth Foundation Bridge (Police Memorial Bridge), a footbridge linking Buffalo Bayou Park to the Sabine Promenade under the Sabine Bridge, and several other important trail segments. Millis began Phase One construction in July and it is scheduled to be completed in one year.

For press inquiries, email Trudi Smith, Director of PR and Events, or call 713.752.0314 ext. 103.

News Coverage

Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s East Sector Plans Get a $10 Million Boost Houstonia Mag, December 9, 2020
What’s next for Buffalo Bayou? $10 million grant accelerates master plan's 3 key projects Houston Chronicle, December 9, 2020
Here's the next show coming to the Cistern. Imagine a turntable. Houston Chronicle, November 24, 2020
Houstonians toast Buffalo Bayou Park's birthday with picnic under the stars Culture Map, November 11, 2020
Houston’s Beloved $58 Million Park Celebrates a Milestone With the Ultimate Starry Night Paper City, November 9, 2020
Picnic celebrates Buffalo Bayou Park Houston Chronicle, November 6, 2020
Check Out Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales, an Exhibition 50 Years in the Making Houstonia Mag, October 28, 2020
El parque Buffalo Bayou celebra su quinto aniversario Univision, October 26, 2020
Buffalo Bayou’s new soundtrack is heard in landscape thanks to ROCO Houston Chronicle, October 22, 2020
The story behind the new sculptures at Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park Houston Chronicle, October 20, 2020

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
Harris County Flood Control District and Buffalo Bayou Partnership Making Repairs along Buffalo Bayou as part of the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Program August 20, 2019
Carlos Cruz-Diez at the Cistern: Spatial Chromointerference April 11, 2018
Encounter: Meeting Points on Buffalo Bayou March 5, 2018

Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - January 2021 January 13, 2021
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - December 2020 December 10, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - November 2020 November 10, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - October 2020 October 1, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - September 2020 September 9, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - August 2020 August 12, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - July 2020 July 17, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 9 May 28, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 8 May 20, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 7 May 13, 2020

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
Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Fall 2015 December 2015

Plans Include Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family

Stretch Your Legs on the New Trails and Footpaths

2013 Chevron Houston Marathon

Accolades and Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Welcome, Leigh McBurnett!

Many thanks!

Buffalo Bayou Park – Your Park. Our Park.

A Room with a View

Construction Updates: November 2012

Millis

News Coverage

Press Releases

Monthly Newsletters

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

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