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News

Find the latest news about Buffalo Bayou Partnership and all the doings along Buffalo Bayou.

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 Some information may be out of date.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.

BBPCistern_03_Katya Horner

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.

smart geo

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.

 

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

News Coverage

  • 15 Major Developments Headed for Houston in 2023 and Beyond Houston Chronicle, January 24, 2023
  • Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern Offers Inspiration and Reflection Beneath Houston Texas Highways Magazine, January 24, 2023
  • 36 Hours in Houston: Things to Do and See The New York Times, January 19, 2023
  • 11 Things You Must Do at Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park Chron.com, January 14, 2023
  • Rising in Houston: Projects to Look Forward to in 2023 and Beyond Greater Houston Partnership, January 4, 2023
  • Year in Review: Kinder Foundation Giving $100 Million to Buffalo Bayou Project was a Deal of the Week Houston Business Journal, December 22, 2022
  • Texas 100 List: Influential Professionals to Watch in 2023 Houston Business Journal, December 21, 2022
  • Top Exhibits in Houston This Month: December 2022 365 Things to Do, December 8, 2022
  • Listen: Buffalo Bayou East will transform East End. Why affordable housing is the first step. Looped In Podcast, December 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou East breaks ground with affordable housing project Houston Chronicle, December 1, 2022
more

Press Releases

  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership Announces Kinder Foundation’s $100M Catalyst Gift to Accelerate Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan September 26, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership Unveils New Cleanup Boat August 3, 2022
  • East Downtown Trail Opens to the Public June 14, 2022
  • 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
more

Monthly Newsletters

  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - January 2023 January 12, 2023
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - December 2022 December 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - November 2022 November 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - October 2022 October 6, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - September 2022 August 31, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - August 2022 August 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - July 2022 July 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - June 2022 June 2, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - May 2022 May 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - April 2022 April 6, 2022
more

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

  • 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
more

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