Unspecified/General

In the heart of Houston's Uptown district, near the Galleria shopping centre, the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park is a 2.8-acre urban park whose unmistakable centrepiece is a soaring sixty-four-foot semicircular sculpted concrete wall down whose face an extraordinary 11,000 gallons of recirculated water cascade every minute, producing a powerful, almost theatrical roar audible across the surrounding plaza. The waterwall was designed by the celebrated firm Philip Johnson and John Burgee Architects and dedicated in 1985 as a private complement to the adjacent 65-storey Williams Tower, also by Johnson and Burgee, which still rises directly behind it. The intent was to create a moment of contemplative outdoor sculpture within the otherwise commercial fabric of the Uptown district, and the park has succeeded enduringly in becoming a much-loved public gathering place rather than merely a corporate ornament. The wall itself is curved into a near-180-degree horseshoe, with water cascading from a great open lip at the top down its inner face and over a separately textured outer face, the noise of the falling water increasing as visitors step inside the structure and become enveloped by the falling sheets. The water is recirculated continuously and the flow can be adjusted for events, fireworks displays or simply for quieter moments. Surrounding the wall, a small park of 186 mature live oaks planted in a grid arrangement provides shade and an open lawn, while curving walkways and benches encourage strollers, photographers and brides and grooms, who frequently arrange wedding photographs against the dramatic backdrop. The park was purchased by the City of Houston in 2008 and is now a public space, free and open from dawn until late. Free street parking is available nearby, with additional paid parking at the surrounding Uptown garages. The park is at its most photogenic in the late afternoon, when the western sun catches the falling water, and during the evening hours, when the wall is dramatically illuminated against the dark, soaring outline of the Williams Tower behind. It has become one of the most popular wedding-photograph backdrops in Houston.

Type: Outdoors

Address: 2800 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, TX, United States

Website: uptown-houston.com/waterwall

Opening Date: 01/01/1985