Rice Design Alliance Partners 2007 Charrette
Bridging the Park Winners Announced
Presented in collaboration with Houston Parks & Recreation Department and Memorial Park Conservancy, Inc. (Go to www.memorialparkconservancy.org to see the winning design or stop by our office!)
Best in Show: Team 3 (Clark Condon Associates)
Paul Weathers
Jamie Hendrixson
Rebecca Bailey
Brian D. Roth
Lindsay Landers
Chris Golden
Honorable Mention for Buildability: Team 12 (PGAL)
Jeff Talbott
J.R. Garcia
Chris Casey
Jane Holden
Jeanette DiCorcia
Honorable Mention for Creative Idea: Team 16
Jasleen Sarai
Fizza Hasan
Preetal Shah
Laura Vargas
Honorable Mention for Creative Idea: Team 18
Chris Evans
Maksim Koloskov
Angelique Nossa
Bernardo Rios
Anja Majkic
Adam Lowry
On Saturday, August 4, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the University of Houston School of Architecture, 28 teams (the most ever) of well over 90 professional and student architects and engineers met at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture to prepare their pedestrian/bicycle bridge design for Memorial Park Drive. In collaboration with the Rice Design Alliance, Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Memorial Park Conservancy, participants were challenged to propose a design to unite the north and south parts of Memorial Park, Houston's largest urban park, via a pedestrian bridge. Participants were asked to design a bridge that will serve as a landmark for the city and connect an existing bike path along Memorial Drive. The bridge will provide a measure of safety for pedestrians crossing the park, and shift pedestrian traffic away from ecologically sensitive areas. In addition to the disjointed trail system, mobility and parking are major issues during peak times; weekday evenings and weekends. Parking facilities located south of Memorial Drive are under-utilized primarily due to inaccessibility and users having to cross Memorial Drive at grade to access park facilities on the north side. At grade crossings create safety concerns for pedestrians particularly along Memorial Drive due to travel speeds and site distance at the west entrance where Memorial Drive and Woodway merge traveling eastbound.
Mulch ado about Something!
DeloitteTouche Volunteers Mulch Wescott Esplanade
Sara Gates, DeloitteTouche, joins Brad Hendricks, Superintendent, Urban Forestry DeloitteTouche Volunteers Mulch Westcott Esplanade 105 Degrees in the Shade
Our sincere thanks and wave of the fan to the DeloitteTouch summer interns and HPARD who joined forces on one of the hottest work days of the summer
to mulch just one of the Westcott Esplanades! Thank you very mulch!
Save-the-Date - The Green Gala - Wednesday, October 17
Memorial Park Conservancy will celebrate the present by honoring the memory of Miss Ima Hogg, Life Members Terry Hershey, Sadie Gwin Blackburn, Frank Smith and Claire Caudill, on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 7:00 p.m. The event will be held at the River Oaks Country Club; cocktails and dinner will be served. Gaye Lovett Davis and John Wilson Kelsey, Kate and Steve Gibson will co-chair the event.
Tables are available for $20,000 (Benefactor), $10,000 (Sponsor), and $5,000 (Patron). Individual tickets are $500 per person. Funds raised by the Gala will benefit the ongoing programs and enhancement efforts of Memorial Park Conservancy in cooperation with Houston Parks & Recreation Department.
Memorial Park Conservancy’s mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Memorial Park in accordance with the wishes of the donor, Ima Hogg. This 1503-acre park is located in central Houston and is among the largest urban parks in the state. For more information, please contact Sally Tyler, 713-863-8403 or www.memorialparkconservancy.org.
A Word from a Memorial Park Neighbor
Rice Military Civic Club Neighborhood Night Out
Hundreds of neighbors poured into the streets to enjoy a dinner feast provided by local restaurateurs. Arts and environmental organizations joined in the mix to share what's happening with their groups with the neighborhood. Our thanks to President Patrick McIlhenny for a well-run, well-attended event that put neighbors in touch with each other!
If you have an interesting story or memory of Memorial Park, please e-mail us at styler@memorialparkconservancy.org.
Special Thanks
The Houston Parks and Recreation Department is service-oriented and responsive to citizens. A great example is a recent answer to a citizen concern about
access for people with disabilities at Memorial Park. The concern expressed was that parking spaces on the west side of the jogging trail by the
Memorial Park Tennis Center were not well marked, the walkways were difficult to access for people with disabilities, and low ground along the trails created mud
when it rained making it difficult for wheelchairs to maneuver around this area. The department responded quickly to this inquiry.
They repaired and repainted the parking spaces to make sure that people with disabilities had access to Memorial Park. Thanks to the Houston
Parks and Recreation Department!
Michelle Colvard, MPH
Executive Director
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
(713) 837-9072
Fax: (713) 837-9060
michelle.colvard@cityofhouston.net
The Housing and Employment Resources Expo for People with Disabilities will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Saturday, September 22nd from 9:00 a.m.4:30 p.m. for more information, please visit the H.E.R.E. Expo website at: http://www.cohdisabilitiesexpo.com
Recycling Now in Memorial Park - Hooray!
Look for the bin by the Tennis Center and at the 1/2 mi. marker on the Seymour-Lieberman Exer-Trail!
Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
Upcoming Activities:
August 24 & 25 - Tadpole Troopers for 3-5 yrs.- "Summer Insect Sounds"
August 25 - EcoTrackers - "Take Flight"
August 29 & September 5 - Birding 201 Beyond the Basics (field trip on Sept. 15)
Nature Story Time - enjoy a story about a Texas animal and then make a fun animal craft. Offered on the first Sunday of each month.
Animal feedings Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. - Meet an Arboretum naturalist and learn about the animals in the Discovery Room. Then enjoy a guided nature walk starting at 2 p.m.
Birding classes take flight at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
The Houston Arboretum & Nature Center and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory are collaborating to offer a "Beginning Bird Watching" course as well as a
"Birding 201 - Beyond the Basics" course this fall. Both programs consist of two evening classes at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center,
located in the southwest corner of Memorial Park, from 7 to 9 p.m., followed by an all-day field trip to practice birding skills.
The "Beginning Bird Watching" course will focus on the proper use of binoculars and spotting scopes as well as methods of identifying birds by noting
field marks and using field guides and checklists of local species. Class dates are October 3 and 11 with a field trip slated for Saturday, October 20. "
Birding 201-Beyond the Basics" will focus on more challenging bird identification, such as distinguishing species of shorebirds, gulls, terns, and hawks.
Class dates are August 29 and September 5 with a field trip Saturday, September 15.
Bill Eley, Conservation Science Director of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory will be the instructor for both courses.
Over 623 species of birds have been documented in Texas. Each spring and fall the Gulf Coast area is witness to the migration of millions of neo-tropical birds
which pass through. Memorial Park is an important "rest-stop" on these migrating flyways. For more information visit www.houstonarboretum.org or call 713-681-8433.
Thank you!
We would like to thank our generous donors for supporting our efforts in community building and preserving Houston's premier green space.
$20,000 and above
Mr. and Mrs. William P. Hobby, Jr.
$5,000-19,999
Mr. Alfred C. Glassell, III
Mr. and Mrs. Reed Morian
Mr. John Poindexter
$2,500-4,999
Ms. Claire P. Caudill
$1,000-2,499
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Spickelmeier
$35-999
Ms. Donna Glick Lewis
Ms. Phebe Grace
Minor Design Group
Ms. Mary E. Sandoval
(These gifts have been received between July 23-August 15, 2007. Our gratitude to those who have contributed since that date.)
What's New?
Check out HARRA's new website at www.harra.org!
The Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA, pronounced "hurrah") is a nonprofit association founded in 1993 to
promote running as a competitive sport and a healthful exercise in the greater Houston area.
HARRA provides a wide variety of benefits and services and also serves as the umbrella organization for individual running clubs in the Houston area.
HARRA currently has about 1,500 members ranging in ability from competitive runners who have participated in the US Olympic Trials to those who run for fitness only. Membership in HARRA is open to all regardless of age or ability, and our programs and services are designed for runners of all abilities.
TENNIS ANYONE?
Summer Tennis Program may be over, but keep practicing!
Tennis courts are open daily; Monday-Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
and Sunday from 8:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Tennis pros are available for lessons.
For lessons or to reserve a court up to 7 days in advance, call 713-867-0440.
Ahhhh.....Last swim!
The Summer Swim Season runs from May 26 to August 17, 2007.
All Municipal Pools are FREE to the public and are open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday through Sunday. So don't miss out on your last free swim this summer!
Park Points
- Memorial Park is among the largest urban parks in Texas
- 55th largest city park in U.S. (larger than New York’s Central Park)*
- Comprises 7% of Houston’s total park land (1,503 of 24,943 acres)
- Valued at $1 billion
- Approx. 4,000,000 people use Memorial Park annually
- Approx. 10,000 runners use the Seymour-Leiberman Exer-Trail daily
- Approx. 64,000 rounds of golf played annually
- Approx. 42,000 matches of tennis played annually
- Approx. 30 miles of trails
- Road bike training loop and mountain bike tails
- Fitness center with a 33-meter lap pool
- Recreational sports fields including: 4 sand volleyball courts, 3 softball fields, 2 baseball diamonds, 2 rugby/soccer fields and 1 croquet court
- Five playgrounds, including the Vale-Asche Foundation Playground
- Memorial Park was established as a city park 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), native of Rusk, Texas
- Golf course established in 1934 for $184K; COH paid $29K and the Texas Relief Commission paid the balance; renovated in 1995 for $5M
- Houston Arboretum & Nature Center established in 1967
- Seymour Lieberman Exer-Trail established 1978-1981
- In 2000, the enlarged Memorial Park Advisory Committee became Memorial Park Conservancy, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit including numerous representative park users and "green" agencies
- Houston’s City Council in 2004 approved the 25 Year Master Plan (Wallace, Roberts & Todd), Philadelphia, PA, which includes among many other improvements:
-Relocation of Forestry Complex
-Re-location of HPD Mounted Patrol Complex
-Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge over Memorial Drive
-Trail maps and improved user signage
-Renovation of Greenhouses
-New and enhanced trails; low maintenance surfacing
-Canoe/Kayak Launch to replace old archery range on northwest corner of Loop 610 and Woodway
*Trust for Public Land’s 100 Largest City Parks, 2007
Thank you for your support of Memorial Park!
