• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Houston's New Park Space

    Houston unveils a new park space: Vision for city's Green game changer dates back to 1924

    Joel Luks
    Oct 17, 2014 | 1:37 pm
    Houston unveils a new park space: Vision for city's Green game changer dates back to 1924
    play icon

    Although it's been roughly more than one year since construction of the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park began, the vision for this new focal point has been nearly 100 years in the making.

     

    The original 1924 master plan designed by Hare and Hare included a beautiful garden center that was never realized. On Saturday, Hermann Park Conservancy will inaugurate the McGovern Centennial Gardens, the park's largest and most ambitious improvement project, with a public dedication and celebration during which visitors will enjoy talks with the creative team, garden and art tours and kid activities.

     

    "I really believe that this garden is going to be the kind of place that is so beloved by Houstonians that when you have family coming from out of town, the first thing you are going to want to do is come here," Doreen Stoller, Hermann Park Conservancy executive director, says.

     

    Located just northwest of Miller Outdoor Theatre on grounds that previously accommodated a semi-circular parking lot, this 15-acre parcel's transformation into a remarkable destination that offers many types of experiences is a month away from total completion.

     

    "What's great about this garden is that it isn't a one-trick pony," Jane Curtis, director of horticulture, says. "There are private rooms where you can be shaded and secluded and sit alone on a bench and read, and there are very active areas with interactive and educational components."

     
     

    "This garden is going to be the kind of place that is so beloved by Houstonians."

     

     

     Impressive design

     

    Adjacent to a young crape myrtle-lined, 300-space parking lot accessible from the intersection of Hermann Drive and Crawford Street, the Cherie Flores Entry Pavilion spans the width of the gardens as a modern gateway into a distinctive environment imagined by ​Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects with ​White Oak Studio Landscape Architecture.

     

    Architect Peter Bohlin of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, known for his glass cubed Apple stores, designed this soft contemporary indoor/outdoor pavilion as a reflection of the times, to contrast the period architecture found in the surrounding neighborhoods that are dotted with historic Mediterranean and Colonial homes. Materials such as wide siding and dark gray stone dissolve into a reflection pool that leads into a 350-foot-long — about a football field and a third in length — formal lawn fringed by 16-foot-wide perennial beds and steel arbors.

     

    "The whole function of the pavilion is to be a portal," Curtis explains. "As you walk through this portal, the roof sweeps away to the sky and the walls sweep to the sides to frame a panoramic view of the formal lawn."

     

    Wind up the gently rising trails of the 30-foot garden mount that has a trickling waterfall to indulge in a bird's eye view of the overall plan. This impressive feature, inspired by the architectural aesthetics of the Renaissance era, is crowned by a small circular landing area from which one can bask in the complexity of this $31 million project — $7.5 million of which have been set aside for a maintenance fund.

     

     Themed garden rooms

     
     

      The Tudor Family Pine Hill Walk is an homage to East Texas and to the roots of Hermann Park.

     
     

    "We've created a series of themed horticulture rooms," Curtis says. "This isn't a botanical garden and this isn't a garden where you will see one of everything that grows in Houston. Rather, we wanted to offer cohesive experiences for park guests."

     

    Among these six areas is a family vegetable garden teeming with raised beds that will host education programs for children and adults. An arid garden, inspired by the northern plains of Mexico, serves as an example of beautiful landscape design with plants that don't require much irrigation — aloes, agaves, yuccas and nolinas — a complement to the adjacent rose garden that will eventually bloom with heirloom and modern-day varieties.

     

    The Tudor Family Pine Hill Walk is an homage to East Texas and to the roots of Hermann Park, the conifers recalling what the arboreal life might have looked like when George H. Hermann gifted the land to the city in 1914.

     

     A new wedding destination?

     

    "One of the things we get asked a lot is: Can I get married in Hermann Park?" Stoller says. "We haven't really had a place suitable for weddings because we don't want to close off the Japanese Gardens or the Reflection Pool."

     

    The Celebration Gardens was designed with weddings and private events in mind. Alongside an indoor space in the Cherie Flores Entry Pavilion, expect this new addition to Hermann Park to be a favorite for love birds that want to tie the knot in a charming al fresco setting.

     

    The west side of the gardens, still under construction, will include a rose garden, an arid garden and the Tudor Family Pine Hill Walk.

    McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park
      
    Photo by Joel Luks
    The west side of the gardens, still under construction, will include a rose garden, an arid garden and the Tudor Family Pine Hill Walk.
    unspecified
    news/city-life

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Shaq surprises Houston restaurant with $1,000 tip and more top stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 12, 2025 | 11:00 am
    Shaquille O'Neal Ninfa's Uptown
    Courtesy of Ninfa's
    Shaquille O'Neal had lunch at Ninfa's Uptown.

    Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston news of the week, starting with a surprise visit — and big tip — from Shaq. Plus, Houston ranks among America's most overpriced cities, and rents rise in Sugar Land. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then find the best things to do this weekend here.

    1. Shaquille O'Neal leaves $1,000 tip at Houston Tex-Mex institution. NBA Hall of Famer and media personality Shaquille O’Neal surprised the crowd at The Original Ninfa’s Uptown when he stopped by for lunch, posing for pics and leaving a very big tip.

    2. Veteran Houston bartender shakes up the Heights with new tropical bar. The woman behind your favorite bartender’s favorite bar has quietly opened a new cocktail spot in the Heights. Called Berwick’s Birds of Paradise, it’s the latest project from Double Trouble owner Robin Berwick.

     Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar Robin Berwick Owner Robin Berwick took inspiration from hotel bars for BBOP.  Photo by Vivian Leba  

    3. Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds. In what may come as a surprise to some local residents, a new study ranks Houston among the 10 most overpriced cities in America.

    4. This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June. Apartment rent prices in June were more expensive in Sugar Land than anywhere else in Houston, according to the latest monthly rent report from Zumper.

    5. Houston influencer opens an antiques-filled boutique hotel in Montrose. 109 Stratford Street in Historic East Avondale has recently opened as a nine-room boutique hotel, The Marlene Inn, from owner and Instagram influencer Lily Barfield.

    most popular storiesshaquille o'nealcelebritiesopeningsrentreportsexpensiveinfluencershotelstop stories
    news/city-life
    Loading...