McGovern Centennial Gardens

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McGovern Centennial Gardens
Mcgoverncentennial0.jpg
Entrance signage
USA Texas location map.svg
Red pog.svg
TypeGardens
Location Houston, TX
Coordinates 29°43′16″N95°23′13″W / 29.721°N 95.387°W / 29.721; -95.387
Created2014
Operated byHermann Park Conservancy
StatusOpen year-round, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day [1]
Plants650 azaleas, 490 trees of over 50 species, 55,000 perennial bulbs, 760 hedge shrubs & 4.5-acre (1.8 ha) of grass [1]
Collections'Earth-Kind' designated antique roses [2]
Parking Street or HMNS's parking garage
Website McGovern Centennial Gardens

McGovern Centennial Gardens is a collection of gardens in Hermann Park, in Houston, Texas, United States. [3]

Contents

Description and history

The 15-acre (6.1 ha) park cost $31 million and took approximately eight years to complete, officially opening in December 2014. [4] The gardens consist of the Arid Garden, the Celebration Garden, the Family Garden, the Rose Garden and the Woodland Garden. [1]

The park includes a 30-foot (9.1 m) Garden Mount. [5]

Public art

The Hawkins Sculpture Walk features sculptures of notable figures, [6] including busts of Simón Bolívar (1977), [7] Robert Burns (2002), [8] Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, [9] Ramón Castilla, [10] [11] José Martí, [12] [13] Bernardo O'Higgins (1992), José Rizal (2006), [14] Vicente Rocafuerte, [15] Benito Juárez, [16] [17] and José de San Martín (1983) [18] [19]

McGovern also features Dawn (1971), which was previously installed inside the entrance to the Houston Garden Center, [20] as well as statues of Confucius, Mahatma Gandhi (2004), [21] and Martin Luther King Jr. (2007). [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Park</span> Park in Texas, United States of America, United States of America

Hermann Park is a 445-acre (180-hectare) urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Third Ward. Hermann Park is home to numerous cultural institutions including the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Hermann Park Golf Course, which became one of the first desegregated public golf courses in the United States in 1954. The park also features the Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool, numerous gardens, picnic areas, and McGovern Lake, an 8-acre (32,000 m2) recreational lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of Benito Juárez</span> Pair of sculptures by Julian Martinez

A bronze bust of Mexican president Benito Juárez by Julian Martinez is installed in Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens, in Houston, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca</span> Sculpture by Pilar Cortella de Rubin in Houston, Texas, U.S.

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca is an outdoor sculpture of the Spanish explorer of the same name by Pilar Cortella de Rubin, installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The bronze bust rests on a granite pedestal and was acquired by the City of Houston in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of José Rizal</span> Sculpture in Houston, Texas, U.S.

Dr. José P. Rizal is an outdoor sculpture of the Filipino nationalist of the same name by Lorena Toritch, installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The bust was acquired by the City of Houston in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of José de San Martín (Houston)</span> Sculpture in Houston, Texas, U.S.

An outdoor sculpture of José de San Martín by Pedro Buigues is installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The memorial, acquired in 1983, has bronze bust and a granite pedestal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of Ramón Castilla</span> Sculpture in Houston, Texas, U.S.

Ramón Castilla, also known as Field Marshal Ramón Castilla or Ramón Castilla y Marquesado, is an outdoor bronze sculpture of the Peruvian caudillo and President of the same name by an unknown artist, installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The bust had been installed in Hermann Park's International Sculpture Garden since 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of José Martí</span> Sculpture by Tony Lopez in Houston, Texas, U.S.

An outdoor bust of José Martí by Cuban artist Tony Lopez is installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, United States. The bust was acquired by the City of Houston in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of Robert Burns (Houston)</span> Sculpture in Houston, Texas, U.S.

An outdoor bronze sculpture of the poet Robert Burns by Hungarian-American artist Ferenc Varga is installed in Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, United States. The bust was placed in Hermann Park in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bust of Simón Bolívar (Houston)</span> Sculpture in Houston, Texas, U.S.

An outdoor 1977 bronze sculpture of the Simón Bolívar by C. Talacca is installed in Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, United States. The bust was dedicated in 1978.

An outdoor bronze bust of Vicente Rocafuerte by Amadeus Palacio Collmann is installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States.

Confucius, also known as Bronze Statue of Confucius, Confucius Bronze Statue, Confucius Statue, and Great Confucius, is an outdoor 2009 bronze sculpture of the Chinese editor, philosopher, politician, and teacher of the same name by Willy Wang, installed in Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, United States.

An outdoor 2007 bronze sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. by American artist Ed Dwight is installed in Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, United States. The sculpture was vandalized with white paint in August 2017. John D. Harden, Margaret Kadifa, Mike Morris, and Brooke A. Lewis of the Houston Chronicle noted that the vandalism occurred around the same time that protesters demanded the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in Houston, and the same day that the city's statue of Christopher Columbus was vandalized with red paint.

Mahatma Gandhi is an outdoor sculpture of the Indian independence movement leader of the same name, installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The statue was dedicated in Hermann Park on October 2, 2004.

Dawn is an outdoor 1971 bronze sculpture by Helen Journeay, installed at Hermann Park's McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States. It depicts a nude woman and a fawn, and rests on brick pedestal. The statue was previously installed inside the entrance to the Houston Garden Center.

<i>Houstons Hermann Park</i>

Houston's Hermann Park: A Century of Community is a 2014 book by Barrie Scardino Bradley, published by the Texas A&M University Press. It discusses Hermann Park in Houston, Texas. The book is a part of the John Lindsey Series in Arts and the Humanities. The book, commissioned by the Hermann Park Conservancy, was scheduled for a release on December 18, 2013. Stephen Fox, an architectural historian; and Doreen Stoller, a conservancy director, wrote the foreword and afterword, respectively. It was released to celebrate the park's centennial anniversary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGovern Lake</span> Lake in Houston, Texas

McGovern Lake is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) lake in Houston's Hermann Park, in the U.S. state of Texas.

The Hermann Park Railroad is a 2-mile railroad in Houston's Hermann Park, in the U.S. state of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese Garden (Houston)</span> Japanese garden in Houston,, Texas, U.S.

Houston's Japanese Garden is a 5.5-acre (2.2 ha) Japanese garden in Hermann Park, in the U.S. state of Texas. The garden was designed by Tokyo landscape designer Ken Nakajima and opened in 1992.

<i>Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool</i> Reflecting pool in Houston, Texas, U.S.

The Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool is a reflecting pool in Houston's Hermann Park, in the U.S. state of Texas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "McCovern Centennial Gardens & Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion". Hermann Park Conservancy. Retrieved 11 August 2023. To commemorate Hermann Park's centennial in 2014, Hermann Park Conservancy transformed the former Houston Garden Center site into the eight-acre McGovern Centennial Gardens. The Gardens were custom-made for Hermann Park and add a new dimension to Houston's garden attractions.
  2. ↑ "Rose Garden". Hermann Park Conservancy. Retrieved 11 August 2023. These re-designed rose beds feature a broad range of antique roses: found garden roses, polyanthas, Chinas, Bourbons, teas, climbers, and roses which have received the coveted 'Earth-kind' designation. Earth-kind roses, tested by the Texas AgriLife Extension service, have demonstrated superior pest tolerance along with outstanding landscape performance and reduced maintenance.
  3. ↑ "McGovern Centennial Gardens and Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hasan, Syeda (17 October 2014). "McGovern Centennial Gardens Debut at Hermann Park". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 11 August 2023. The 15-acre site is the park's largest improvement project ever. It cost $31 million and took about eight years to complete.
  5. ↑ Huber, Kathy (16 January 2015). "McGovern Centennial Gardens a sensory experience". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2023. A park visitor is dwarfed by the 30-foot-tall Garden Mount, a focal point of the McGovern Centennial Gardens in Hermann Park.
  6. 1 2 "Hawkins Sculpture Walk". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Points of Interest: Simon Bolivar". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Points of Interest: Robert Burns". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Points of Interest: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Field Marshal Ramon Castilla". City of Houston. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2023. The bronze bust of Field Marshall Ramon Castilla has been part of the International Sculpture Garden since 1991. There is no record of the artist. Ramon Castilla y Marquesado served as president of Peru four times. In his early years, he fought as a lieutenant in the Spanish army against revolutionary forces, then switched sides and joined General Jose Francisco de San Martin in the struggle for independence from Spain. As president, he is credited with ending slavery in Peru.
  11. ↑ "Points of Interest: Ramon Castilla y Marquesado". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Art In Parks, City of Houston (Texas)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  13. ↑ "Points of Interest: Jose Marti". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Points of Interest: Dr. Jose P. Rizal". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Points of Interest: Vicente Rocafuerte". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Civic Art: Benito Juarez". City of Houston. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Benito Juarez". City of Houston. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Points of Interest: Jose de San Martin". Hermann Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Jose de San Martin". City of Houston. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Dawn". City of Houston. Archived from the original on October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  21. ↑ Hegstrom, Edward (October 2, 2004). "Statue dedicated to pacifist, leader Gandhi". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved August 12, 2023. At a downtown Houston peace rally in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, Krishna Vavilala invoked the name of Mahatma Gandhi as an example to follow. Vavilala, a native of India, even suggested that the people of Houston build a statue to remember the pacifist Indian leader. One thing led to another, and today a statue of Gandhi will be dedicated at Hermann Park.


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