Celebrate Hermann Park’s biggest and most important addition at a grand opening party for the McGovern Centennial Gardens on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 9:30am to 5pm.
Houston’s beloved 445-acre urban oasis is about to become even more stunning, with the debut of the McGovern Centennial Gardens. The new addition will transform the 15-acre Garden Center site into a spectacular new attraction for Hermann Park visitors.
Grand Opening Schedule
The Grand Opening will kick off at 9:30am with a dedication ceremony led by Mayor Annise Parker and Hermann Park Conservancy Executive Director Doreen Stoller and other officials involved in the park’s historic expansion. The event will happen rain or shine and is completely free and open to the public.
- Dedication ceremony – 9:30pm.
- Children’s art and educational activities – 10am to 5pm
- Talk with Peter Bohlin, Cherie Flores Pavilion architect, of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson – 11am
- Talk with Doug Hoerr, landscape designer of the McGovern Centennial Gardens, of Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects – 12:30pm
- Art talk and tour with artist Randy Twaddle – 1:30pm
- Sculpture Talk and Tour with Jimmy Castillo, Houston Arts Alliance – 2:30pm
The Grand Opening is really a preview. Due to all the heavy rains, the final touches on the gardens are not yet complete. After the Grand Opening, they will close again and re-open in mid-November. At that time they will be open seven days a week and be free to visit.
About the McGovern Centennial Gardens
The Gardens will feature a Family Garden, Centennial Green, 30’ Garden Mount, Celebration Garden, Rose Garden, and the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion, designed by architect Peter Bohlin of Bohlin Cynwinski Jackson, noted for his designs of glass Apple stores around the world. The gardens were designed by Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects with White Oak Studio Landscape Architecture.
As you explore the Gardens you will come across 490+ new trees of over 50 different species, 760 hedge shrubs, 350 new roses in the Rose Garden, 106,875 other shrubs and perennials of 199 varieties, 115 new camellias and 650 new azaleas in the Woodland Garden and so much more.
About Hermann Park
Presented to the City of Houston by George Hermann in 1914, Hermann Park is one of Houston’s most popular and historically significant public green spaces. Since its inception, the Park has served as a tranquil refuge from the day-to-day bustle of city life. A hundred years later, the original vision for the Park is finally being realized thanks to a Master Plan and a $123 million Centennial Capital Campaign conceived and executed by the Hermann Park Conservancy, a public/private partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. The money raised has gone not only into making McGovern Centennial Gardens and Cherie Flores Pavilion a reality, but also into the rebirth of the beautiful Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool; the renovation and expansion of Lake Plaza and Hermann Park Railroad; and the restoration of the Parks’s exercise trails along with many other improvements that have transformed the Park into one of the most idyllic public green spaces in the country.
Grand Opening of Hermann Park’s McGovern Centennial Gardens
- Date: Saturday, October 18, 2014
- Times: 9:30am to 5pm; Dedication ceremony at 9:30am
- Location: McGovern Centennial Gardens, Hermann Park, 6000 Hermann Park Dr Houston, TX 77030
- Admission: Free
