Hermann Park is Getting a Major New Addition From the Minds Behind the Heralded Brooklyn Bridge Park

A major new feature at Hermann Park is taking shape. Preliminary sketches of the upcoming addition to one of Houston’s most vital parks have been revealed.

Steps away from Rice University, the Houston Zoo and the Texas Medical Center, the Commons at Hermann Park is set to be a welcome gathering space that’s big on greenery. It is located at the corner of Cambridge and Fannin.

Expect a space for public art and food, an expansive lawn and an innovative playground from landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. The firm’s notable designs include the landscaping for the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

You could even say Houston, we have a playground. The new vision shown in sketches, all in shades of greens, whites, blacks, grays and blues, includes a kids’ play structure shaped like a rocket ship, complete with a little jetway on the hill.

Other outdoor features may be a collection of fountains, judging by the images. The plan’s sketches also features a pavilion, a seating area with picnic tables and “The Live Oaks Deck.”

The area that’s set to be revitalized currently houses Sharon Engelstein’s sculpture Dilladiidae and the bronze statue of George Hermann by Lonnie Edwards.

But while pen’s been put to paper, it’s not all set in stone. Hermann Park Conservancy invites Houstonians to give their ideas and feedback on the Commons at Hermann Park at a public meeting on Thursday, February 7th from 6 to 8 pm at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion at the McGovern Centennial Gardens.

It’s your chance to weigh in on the ways Hermann Park can improve as part of its updated master plan and what the community needs. It’s a time to see what ideas Houstonians have in common when it comes to these all-new Commons.