Lake Plaza at Hermann Park

My wife and I went to Hermann Park this Sunday to check out the new Lake Plaza. The facilities officially opened April 18, though I imagine that due to the weather there was a much bigger crowd on the 19th (which is when we went). I took a few pictures, which you can check out in the gallery below.

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The new stuff is pretty cool! I’m not a huge fan of the toy train, but it’s definitely popular. The paddle boats area has been significantly improved, and the “Tiffany & Co. Bridge” is a very nice addition. The biggest improvement overall has to be the connection between the park and the zoo. Whereas before this seemed an afterthought, there’s now a prominent, well designed gateway that links the two.

The only thing that I think is missing is better food options. There are some food-courts in the Zoo, but there are no restaurants in or directly adjacent to the main park (I’m not sure about what’s on the far edge of the golf course). Taking a cue from Discovery Green, Hermann Park should open it’s own version of “The Lake House” and “The Grove”, a mid-price and a high-end restaurant.

I’m really impressed with the work the Hermann Park Conservancy has done to transform Hermann into a world class urban park. As I was walking around I couldn’t help but think how much of an impact a facility like Hermann Park begins to have on raising Houston’s profile in the world. It may not seem that important, but having excellent parks that are visible to business travelers in the urban core leaves a lasting impression of a city. Every business in Houston benefits when people from other cities come here and leave with a good impression. This raises our ability to attract national level corporations and events, and helps define the ‘image’ of the city.

Major kudos to the folks at Hermann Park, they’ve made a tremendous improvement to the park, and are adding value to the entire city.