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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 Some information may be out of date.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 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
more

Press Releases

  • 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
more

Monthly Newsletters

  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - February 2021 February 10, 2021
  • 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
more

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

  • 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
more

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