Unspecified/General

Spread across twelve acres in the heart of downtown Houston, Discovery Green is the city's flagship urban park and a transformative piece of recent civic design. The park opened on 13 April 2008 in what had previously been a sea of surface parking lots opposite the George R. Brown Convention Center, the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and several local foundations that invested more than 125 million dollars in the project. The park is densely programmed for an urban green space of its size. A central great lawn hosts large events, concerts and outdoor screenings, while a model boat basin, a children's playground, two interactive splash fountains, an off-leash dog park, public lawn-game equipment and a regular weekly programme of free fitness classes, live music and family activities draw an extraordinary one and a quarter million visitors a year. Two restaurants on the grounds offer sit-down dining and casual coffee, while a small art installation programme places rotating public sculptures throughout the park. In the winter months, a small ice-skating rink opens at the centre of the lawn, drawing crowds of Houston families who rarely otherwise get to skate, while in summer the splash fountains are typically alive with children cooling off in the relentless Texas heat. The park's landscape design was informed by sustainability throughout. A 500,000-gallon underground rainwater cistern feeds the park's irrigation system, the buildings on the grounds were among the first LEED-certified urban park structures in the country, and the planting palette is heavily weighted toward native and drought-tolerant species. Free and open from dawn until late, Discovery Green has become a beloved daily gathering place for downtown residents and workers and a refreshing, instantly memorable introduction to a city that, for many visitors, has long been associated more with freeways than with public spaces. Free wifi, generous shaded seating, a wider network of bike-share docks and on-site parking add to the park's practicality, while several of the city's major sports venues and the convention centre are within easy walking distance. For visitors staying downtown, the park offers a refreshingly green pivot point for a day of exploration.

Type: Outdoors

Address: 1500 McKinney Street, Houston, TX, United States

Telephone: 713-400-7336

Website: discoverygreen.com

Opening Date: 13/04/2008