A decommissioned 1926-built cistern near Houston's Buffalo Bayou has become a one-of-a-kind venue for site-specific art installations, a tourism destination, a draw for infrastructure geeks or those seeking a meditative venue—and a very cool place to go, whether to be trendy or to escape the city's tropical temperatures.
With proportions equal to 1.5 football fields, the renovated reservoir at Buffalo Bayou Park—just west of downtown Houston—has 221 slender concrete columns rising 25 feet. Since its opening in 2016, the space has often been compared to the Roman-era version in Istanbul, though less lacy in its design. Still, its effect is both powerful and peaceful.
Back in the day, the underground tank supported fire suppression (as in water pressure) and stored 15 million gallons of drinking water. Today, a shallow pool in the base boosts the reflection of strategic lighting and provides a nod to its usage history. The cavern's reverb, meanwhile, delivers a 17-second echo, echo, echo.
This weekend, the site will launch its second art installation: "Carlos Cruz-Diez at the Cistern: Spatial Chromointerference." The artist is known for his kinetic and optical art. (Wear light-colored clothing to become part of the projected interplay of color and light on the columns and interior surfaces, the announcement says.)
The cistern is a component of Buffalo Bayou Park, a $58 million reimagining of 160 acres lining a section of Buffalo Bayou. The collaborative undertaking involved Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP), the Kinder Foundation, the City of Houston through Houston Parks & Recreation Department, and Harris County Flood Control District.
Funding for the cistern's transformation was separate, through a $1.7 million grant from the Brown Foundation to make the space accessible to the public and add lighting and a venting system. Page, the Houston-based A&E firm, added an interior perimeter walkway of about a quarter-mile and a ground-level entrance, versus access through the original hatches and ladders that are still visible inside.
Prior to its repurposing, the cistern had been decommissioned in the 2000s due to a leak and pretty much ignored until it was time for the city to seek bids to demolish it to make way for parking for the park amenities. Not only were the columns too close together to accommodate parking, but the "Wow" factor quickly changed its fate, BBP sources say.
More Raw Space, Rebooting Ahead
Buffalo Bayou Partnership's 2002 master plan addresses a 10-mile section of the waterway, which culminates at the turning basin of the Port of Houston. With the park segment west of downtown up and running, the more river-like stretch east of downtown is next up for a renaissance.
Conditions differ between the two segments, says BBP President Anne Olson. East of downtown, the bayou is wider. Its banks are steeper. The adjacent land has been "the industrial heart of the city" and much of it remains privately owned. There is also a socioeconomic mix of communities involved in the process, she says: "We are very sensitive to how parks can affect redevelopment."
Several public meetings have been held, with participants' ideas and concerns being reviewed as BBP refines the master plan, and an outcome expected toward the end of the summer.
Over the past 15 years, BBP has acquired about 50 acres of property in the 140-acre project area, she says, including several industrial sites left behind as companies moved farther east toward the Houston Ship Channel. That means there's potential to celebrate the area's industrial legacy, Olson says. "We use what we have."
For example, earlier this year, a former barge company's site (with wharves, gantries and a tunnel to the water) on an oxbow called Turkey Bend joined the inventory of BBP's raw industrial spaces. Others include a four-pack of former gravel silos and an old wastewater plant. Olson says the structural collection holds potential to find new uses, interest and support, like the cistern did.
BBP, a non-profit organization, is a member of the High Line Network. The group's infrastructure re-use efforts are adding to their urban landscapes.
Earlier this year, a former barge company's facility on an oxbow of Buffalo Bayou in Houston was added to the properties that Buffalo Bayou Partnership has purchased as it works on long-term plans for the 140 acres of parkland it will develop east of downtown.
