Grab your DEET and get ya Gold Bond ready because H-town's newest city park opens this weekend.
The City of Houston spent $1.7 million to bring an abandoned concrete hole-in-the-ground up to code and make it accessible to the public (so long as you got $2, make a online reservation, are over the age of 9 and strictly comply with the rules copied below).
The idea for converting an filthy abandoned water storage tank into a city park started in 2010 when the City hired consultants to find a vendor to demolish the underground reservoir. Nope.
Instead of doing what they were hired to do, the consultants wondered whether they might be able to use the space instead as underground parking, maybe, or to store mulch. However, the 2-inches of stagnant water which covered the bottom of the concrete hole was problematic.
Nothing some public funds can't solve though. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership (read City of Houston) got wind of it. With a $58 million slush fund to burn a giant concrete hole in the ground was f'ing iresistable!
No expenditure of public funds would be complete without plans for a public art program for the space. The City plans on a rotating cadre of artists "to play with light and sound in the cavernous space."
So while you are working away on this Friday afternoon in your office tower, or posting on texags like most of us, rest assured that some taxpayer funded millenial is "playing with light and sound" in a giant concrete hole.
Here are the park rules copied off the parks website. Sounds like a blast!
Rules & Regulations
* No eating, drinking, or gum-chewing in the Cistern
* Littering is prohibited. Please use trash receptacles.
* No sitting, standing, or climbing on the railing, stairways, or ladders.
* Running and excessive noise are not permitted.
* All visitors must comply with instructions or requests from the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern attendants and staff and must be respectful of others.
* Strollers, roller skates, inline skates, and bicycles are not permitted.
* Backpacks, purses, fanny packs and other bags need to be zipped and closed while inside the Cistern.
* Animals are not permitted.
* Destroying public property is prohibited by Title 19, Chapter 191 of the Government Code of Texas.
* No smoking allowed.
* No children under the age of 9.
* Photography is allowed, however no tripods or stands.
* Full participation in the tour requires walking a distance of one quarter mile. If you require assistance or are unable to walk this distance, please notify the Cistern Attendant upon arrival.
* The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is a dim space with no windows. The environment may be challenging for some. If you experience any difficulties, please proceed directly to the nearest exit.
The City of Houston spent $1.7 million to bring an abandoned concrete hole-in-the-ground up to code and make it accessible to the public (so long as you got $2, make a online reservation, are over the age of 9 and strictly comply with the rules copied below).
The idea for converting an filthy abandoned water storage tank into a city park started in 2010 when the City hired consultants to find a vendor to demolish the underground reservoir. Nope.
Instead of doing what they were hired to do, the consultants wondered whether they might be able to use the space instead as underground parking, maybe, or to store mulch. However, the 2-inches of stagnant water which covered the bottom of the concrete hole was problematic.
Nothing some public funds can't solve though. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership (read City of Houston) got wind of it. With a $58 million slush fund to burn a giant concrete hole in the ground was f'ing iresistable!
No expenditure of public funds would be complete without plans for a public art program for the space. The City plans on a rotating cadre of artists "to play with light and sound in the cavernous space."
So while you are working away on this Friday afternoon in your office tower, or posting on texags like most of us, rest assured that some taxpayer funded millenial is "playing with light and sound" in a giant concrete hole.
Here are the park rules copied off the parks website. Sounds like a blast!
Rules & Regulations
* No eating, drinking, or gum-chewing in the Cistern
* Littering is prohibited. Please use trash receptacles.
* No sitting, standing, or climbing on the railing, stairways, or ladders.
* Running and excessive noise are not permitted.
* All visitors must comply with instructions or requests from the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern attendants and staff and must be respectful of others.
* Strollers, roller skates, inline skates, and bicycles are not permitted.
* Backpacks, purses, fanny packs and other bags need to be zipped and closed while inside the Cistern.
* Animals are not permitted.
* Destroying public property is prohibited by Title 19, Chapter 191 of the Government Code of Texas.
* No smoking allowed.
* No children under the age of 9.
* Photography is allowed, however no tripods or stands.
* Full participation in the tour requires walking a distance of one quarter mile. If you require assistance or are unable to walk this distance, please notify the Cistern Attendant upon arrival.
* The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is a dim space with no windows. The environment may be challenging for some. If you experience any difficulties, please proceed directly to the nearest exit.
