GENERAL FUN FACTS

• 55th largest urban park in the U.S.
  
• Larger than Central Park by nearly double the acreage
  
• Encompasses over 1500 wooded acres near the southeastern intersection of IH-10 and IH-610 
  
• Bounded by Buffalo Bayou on its southern edge,  Memorial Park is unique among urban parks in its size, location and quality of natural features
  
• Comprises approximately 7% of Houston’s 24,900+ acres of park land
  
• Valued at $1 billion or priceless
  
• Four million users per year (2004)
  
• Widely recognized for its wooded character, highly regarded golf course of national prominence
  
• Premier running facility in Houston
  
• Active tennis, swimming, walking, bird watching, cycling, baseball, softball, soccer, croquet, dog walking fitness and sports communities

HISTORICAL FUN FACTS

• Originally the site of Camp Logan, a training camp for the soldiers of WWI, the property was purchased at cost by the Hogg family
  
• Established in 1925; its 1,503 acres were deeded at cost to City of Houston in May, 1924 by Mike & Will Hogg, sons of James Stephen Hogg, former governor of Texas (1891-95), a native of Rusk, Texas
  
• Articles written by Houston Chronicle writer Ilona Benda influenced Catherine Mary Emmott who in turn, wrote a letter to the editor, asked the city to consider a park in tribute to the soldiers who trained at Camp Logan and the many who died in WWI
  
• Philanthropist Ima Hogg (and sister to the two donors), charged several stalwart protectors of park lands  (Terry Hershey, Frank C. Smith, Jr.; Sadie Gwin Blackburn, Dr. John D. Staub) with protecting Memorial Park from hundreds of various encroachments and development concepts ranging from a fish hatchery to a university to oil drilling - they became known as the Memorial Park Advisory Committee
  
•  Under the transfer agreement, the land must be used for park purposes only or it will revert to the Daughter of the Republic of Texas
  

GOLF FUN FACTS

• Golf course established in 1934 for $184K; of that amount the city would contribute $29K and the Texas Relief Commission paid the balance
  
• Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the country’s foremost woman golfer in 1939 played wrestler Lou Plummer in a celeb match (Babe won easily)
  
• Johnny Weismuller, Bob Hope, Jimmy Demaret, Byron Nelson and Bing Crosby also played Memorial Park Golf Course in 1943
  
• The 18-hole Memorial Park Golf Course is Texas’s top-rated municipal golf course
  
• The course has a course rating of 73 and a slope rating of 122
  
• The golf course was designed by John Bredemus
  
• The course was renovated at the cost of $7 million in 1995
  

NEIGHBORHOOD FUN FACTS

• Houston Arboretum & Nature Center was established in 1967 through the vision of founder Susan McAshan who convinced her mother-in-law Aline McAshan to fund the project
  
• Nature Center building built by William Neuhaus, renovation which tripled the size of the building, completed in 1994
  
• Army Emmott, husband of author Sarah Emmott, author of Memorial Park: A Priceless Legacy, built the original benches in Emmott Circle which was named for his mother, Cathery Mary Emmott

RUNNERS FUN FACTS

• Seymour Lieberman Exer-Trail established 1978-1981 in memory of one of Houston’s first running enthusiasts
  
• First Houston Marathon - 1975
  
• 3-mile Memorial Loop Trail first measured by Tom McBrayer
  
• Lights on trail - July 13, 1984 (Larry Nettles helped raise $100K)
  

MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY FUN FACTS

• Memorial Park Conservancy and HPARD work cooperatively to enhance, protect and preserve Memorial Park according to the donor's wishes
  
• In 2000, the enlarged Memorial Park Advisory Committee became Memorial Park Conservancy, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit which includes representative park users
  
• Because the development of the park has been guided primarily by an original plan from the 1930’s and the expressed wishes of the donor family, the need for a clearly documented up-to-date approach for managing future use and development of the facility became apparent.
  
• Houston’s City Council in 2004 approved the 25 Year Master Conservation Plan (Wallace, Roberts & Todd) which includes among many other improvements: 
   -Bicycle/Pedestrain bridge over Memorial Drive
  -New and enhanced trails
  -Relocation of Forestry Offices
  -Habitat Assessment/Plan
  -Preliminary Canoe Launch Plan to replace old archery range on northwest corner of Loop 610 and Woodway
  
• Memorial Park Conservancy received a 2006 Mayor’s Proud Partner award for significant trails improvements thanks to numerous volunteer groups (REI, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, IBC Bank, Student Conservation of America, Kinkaid School, Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, Moss Landscaping)
  
• Deemed Houston’s "breathing space" in the Houston Chronicle (c. 1940’s), Memorial Park is a natural retreat; peaceful retreat and sustainable greenspace for future generations to enjoy
  
• Needs the support of Houston's citizens