Hermann Park celebrates centennial with new gardens

By Molly Chiu     11/15/12 6:00pm

While Rice University's Centennial celebration may have already passed, the centennial of Hermann Park is just around the corner in 2014. A 15-acre area of the park will be transformed into the Centennial Gardens to commemorate the occasion.

The gardens are part of the Centennial Campaign, an effort started in 1992 by the Hermann Park Conservancy to revive the park and to finish the original plan for the park, according to a Hermann Park Conservancy brochure.  

Hermann Park Conservancy Executive Director Doreen Stoller said the Centennial Gardens will feature interactive experiences for families, like how to grow vegetables in a container, how to grow roses without harsh chemicals and how to maintain an arid garden. Additionally, a family garden will provide an opportunity for organizations focused on healthy eating and lifestyles to partner with the park.

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"Children need to know that food comes from the ground," Stoller said.

Another element of the gardens will be an area for hosting special events. According to Stoller, the park receives calls daily from people interested in a place to hold a wedding.

Groundbreaking on the Centennial Gardens will begin summer 2013, and projects are scheduled to be finished by 2014. Most of the funding for the gardens will come from individual gifts or institutional foundations, such as a recent grant for $3 million from the Houston Endowment. The city of Houston has contributed $1.5 million, Stoller said.

"What's really fun about Hermann Park is that there's a richness to the park," Stoller said. "Whatever you're interested in, if you're with a small family group or a big group visiting from out of town, each person can find something to be excited about."

Rice is also getting involved in celebrating Hermann Park's centennial. Today, 28 undergraduate students, 25 university faculty and staff, 10 community neighbors, seven alumni and six graduate students are partaking in a tree planting at Hermann Park, according to Community Involvement Center Director Mac Griswold. The park has dedicated a reforestation area on the south side of Miller Outdoor Theatre near the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Bridge and the Pioneer Obelisk for the project, according to Stoller.

Volunteers will plant 100 trees: oaks, bald cypresses and other native trees. The day will consist of a groundbreaking ceremony, lunch and two planting sessions, Griswold, who is coordinating the planting, said.

"Hermann Park and Rice University have 'grown up' together in Houston, celebrating each other's successes, and the Centennial Grove is one example of the ways we have come together for our joint centennials," Griswold said.

Griswold said the park serves as an important resource for Houston.

"Quality of life is one of the major considerations for people moving to Houston, and Hermann Park plays a significant role by providing enjoyable and accessible green space for area residents and employees," Griswold said. "Hermann Park is a place for recreation, fitness, culture and the arts, and has also served as a quiet sanctuary for many students and residents from adjoining neighborhoods."

Stoller said she is excited to be celebrating the Hermann Park centennial with its neighbors.

"There was a remarkable time about 100 years ago where the visionaries for this city started thinking about what was going to make Houston great," Stoller said. "Rice University, the Museum of Fine Arts and Hermann Park were all part of that vision. It's really fun to celebrate those institutions now 100 years            

later."

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