Discovery Green's mission is to operate an urban park that serves as a village green, a source of health and happiness for our citizens, and a window into the diverse talents and traditions that enrich life in Houston.

Before	After

Discovery Green is a 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the non-profit Discovery Green Conservancy. In its first three years, the park welcomed more than three million visitors and hosted more than 800 public and private events. The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present three dynamic seasons each year. Most of the events at Discovery Green are FREE and open to the public. The Conservancy raises all the funds needed for the programming and ensures that the park remains an accessible and incomparable public gathering space.

Discovery Green was conceived not only as a public park, but as a landmark to attract convention revenue to the City, and as an anchor for downtown development.  By all accounts, the park is meeting its goals. In less than four years, the site that became Discovery Green was transformed from an undeveloped, concrete eyesore into one of the most beautiful and vibrant destinations in the City of Houston.  

Watch a Houston Chronicle video of the making of Discovery Green:

History of Discovery Green Site

Vision of City Park Inspired by Land Sales

Creating Discovery Green

Present and Future Impact of Discovery Green

History of Discovery Green Site

The current site of Discovery Green was originally a high-end residential neighborhood in the late 19^th century. However, the area was radically altered with the construction of a railroad station in the early 20^th century along the eastern border of downtown. The railroad access spawned construction of several industrial operations nearby, and the area remained industrial for most of the 20^th century.

During the 1970’s, Texas Eastern, a gas pipeline company, acquired 32 blocks of downtown, extending from one block east of Main Street to U.S. 59 on the east.  On the blocks closest to Main Street, Texas Eastern developed Houston Center, an expansive, mixed-use commercial complex, which included large office buildings, a shopping complex, and a luxury hotel. The remaining blocks became surface parking lots to service the development. 

Houston Center struggled to entice businesses to move to the “edge” of downtown.  In the early 1980’s, Texas Eastern offered the easternmost four blocks of the site—directly adjacent to U.S. 59—to the City of Houston for development of a convention center, with hopes of driving business to Houston Center.  The George R. Brown Convention Center (affectionately known as the “GRB” to locals) opened in 1987, and was named for the owner of Texas Eastern. George and his brother Herman, a co-owner of Texas Eastern, also established The Brown Foundation, which has come full circle as one of the earliest and most significant supporters of Discovery Green.

Vision of City Park Inspired by Land Sales

In 2002, two large parking lots, located directly in front of the GRB and situated on either side of Houston Center Gardens (a small strip of green space built by Texas Eastern to connect Houston Center with the GRB) were sold to the City as part of an unrelated legal settlement. Originally, the city planned to redevelop these parking lots into a large entertainment complex to enhance convention activity. However, Houston Center Gardens remained a privately held green space.

In early 2004, then-owners of the Houston Center, a REIT named Crescent, announced that they would be selling the Houston Center along with the rest of the undeveloped property they owned – which included the Houston Center Gardens green space. When it became clear that the green space could be sold and converted to a parking garage or some other private use, the community response was dramatic. 

A group of philanthropists led by The Brown Foundation and the Kinder Foundation approached then-Mayor Bill White with an idea—acquire the Houston Center Gardens property to create a permanent downtown green space and public park.  The Mayor agreed, and became a strong advocate of this public-private partnership. Several other philanthropic foundations joined the effort, including the Wortham Foundation and the Houston Endowment, Inc. Crescent agreed to postpone the sale of the property until the end of 2004, giving the City and the foundations an opportunity to make an offer. 

Eventually, the City contributed the two large parking lots that surrounded Houston Center Gardens (about 5.5 acres), and the City closed a section of Crawford Street which ran through the site, adding another acre of land.  In addition, the City and the foundations contributed cash to acquire the remainder of the site that would become Discovery Green, which is just under twelve acres in total. The land acquisition was completed in mid-December 2004. The City and the foundations also developed the framework for the park’s creation and operations, including the creation of the Discovery Green Conservancy, the private non-profit organization that now operates and cares for the park.

Creating Discovery Green

The Houston City Council mandated that the “public at large” be engaged . . .

When the Houston City Council approved the contracts, it also mandated that the “public at large” be engaged in the design and development of the park. However, to Houston’s “public at large,” the existing green space and its surrounding surface parking were essentially a blank spot on the Houston map.  Thus, the challenge to engage the Houston public was a tall order.

The Conservancy approached the task in earnest.  With the guidance of Project for Public Spaces, the Conservancy mounted an intensive public process, which included both large public meetings and smaller focus groups to solicit public feedback. This feedback became the basis for the park’s programming. In addition, the Conservancy engaged Elmore PR—a public relations firm—early in the redevelopment process to ensure a high level of ongoing communication and engagement with the public. 

Hargreaves Associates, an internationally renowned landscape architecture firm based in San Francisco, oversaw the design effort. The lead designer, Mary Margaret Jones, grew up in Baytown before achieving international stature as a landscape architect. The firm of Page Southerland Page designed the park's architecture. Larry Speck, former dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, was their lead architect. Lauren Griffith, an experienced local landscape architect, provided landscape and horticultural design services. Artists Margo Sawyer and Doug Hollis were integral members of the design team and produced three works of art for the park. A large team of local and international engineers and specialists supported the core design team.

The next hurdle in the park’s development was remediation. Because much of the land had been used for industrial purposes, there were environmental issues that had to be addressed before construction on the park could begin in earnest. The Conservancy engaged TGE Resources to oversee the process, and the site was voluntarily entered into the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s “Voluntary Cleanup Program.” Eventually, the City and Conservancy’s goal of complete remediation was achieved.

Present and Future Impact of Discovery Green

The total cost to acquire the land that became Discovery Green was approximately $57 million, and the total cost to build and outfit Discovery Green was an estimated $125 million. However, beyond just driving convention activity, the park has become an anchor for $500 million in downtown development.  Two significant projects have chosen locations on the east side of downtown largely due to the Discovery Green project:

1. One Park Place, a high-end residential tower with 346 units and
2. Hess Tower, an office development that has already leased all of its space.  A third project, an Embassy Suites Hotel, is currently under construction.

Discovery Green has helped Houstonians re-conceive downtown as a destination for play as well as work.  During the planning phase, attendance was projected at an ambitious 500,000 a year, which was actually achieved in the first six months.  As a public park, Discovery Green plays an important role in the City: it has engendered a level of ownership by all residents in the downtown core and throughout the region, and instilled a renewed sense of civic pride in the city. 

Ultimately, the most compelling part of Discovery Green’s history is like the story of Houston itself. Many of the city’s great institutions can be attributed to the partnership and shared vision among Houston’s philanthropic community, its business leaders, its public officials, and Houstonians themselves.

  Discovery Green Milestones