Saturday, March 7 – We met up with Carrie and her friend, Holly, to visit one of Houston's historical sites. Located near the edge of downtown on the Buffalo Bayou is the “Cistern”. The “Cistern,” as it has been dubbed, was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Built in 1927, it provided decades of service until it was drained when it sprang a leak that couldn’t be located or contained. This huge concrete structure is hidden within the multi-use Buffalo Bayou Park, right next to the skateboard track. If you weren't looking for it, you would never know it was there.
Bike rentals are everywhere in Houston.
On top of the Cistern is a beautiful lawn area, stage, and a patio area with a gorgeous view of the downtown skyline. We have visited this area several times in the past and had no idea there was a hidden gem below our feet.
Down Periscope was built in 2015 to let visitors take a peek into the Cistern. It is being repair after the recent hurricane.
Carrie and Holly check the periscope out.
There are still signs of recent Hurricane Harvey flood that buried this area under more than 50 feet of roaring water. The city is coming back but will take time and tons of money to completely rebound from that disaster.
The Buffalo Bayou is still brown. In the next two photos you can see how it took out so many trees along the water.
The visit to the Cistern begins with a stop at the Visitor Center where we picked up our passes for the tour. The tour costs $5. You can make reservations online. We then proceeded to an inconspicuous door in the wall off to the side of the Visitor's Center. Once opened, we passed through the door down a short walkway into a cool underground waiting room. After a brief explanation and review of safety instructions, our guide asked us to follow her down another walkway into the Cistern.
Our wonderful, informative guide.
We think our guide memorized everything and anything knowable about the Cistern. Marsha had to go back to the Internet to refresh her memory on the facts. Unused for years, the 87,500-square-foot expanse includes 25-foot tall, slender concrete columns set row upon row, hovering over two inches of water on the reservoir’s floor. The space, which was only very minimally renovated to make it safe for the public to access, feels like a work of art in itself. The size of one-and-a-half football fields.
Oh My Gosh! This place is awesome. 421 enormous columns.
The guide explained that several inches of water is constantly pumped through the Cistern system and onto the floor to keep the concrete moist, and the air damp in order to maintain the environment that has existed in the Cistern for nearly 80+ years. The walkway around the perimeter, safety railings, emergency exits, and LED lighting are the only additions added to the Cistern since opening to the public.
The space is also accessible via small hatches that open to 14-foot ladders used before the public access tunnel was constructed.
The spillway back when the Cistern was used as a water source.
Remember the photo of the Down Periscope…here is what it looks like under ground.
The guide asked us to join in on an experiment to illustrate the echo effect inside the Cistern. She counted to three and had us all yell at the top of our lungs for several seconds then stop. The echo lasted for about 17 seconds. We did this several times. Amazing!
We were then treated to an acapella rendition by our guide of God Bless America to show off the acoustics of the Cistern. She did a beautiful job with the song convincing us that with our ability to sing we would be turned down if we volunteered as a guide here at the Cistern.
Before we left the Cistern, our guide gave us one last illustration of the beauty of the Cistern…a light show. Using a high powered lantern, she directed the light beam across the Cistern to illustrate an optical illusion that made the pillars double in height and appear to travel infinitely across the dark expanse of the Cistern. Very cool!
We took photos but they don’t do it justice. It is so amazing.
That concluded our ¼ mile walk around the perimeter of the Cistern, one that our guide made walking backwards the entire time so she could talk to the group. We were lead back up the ramp to the surface.
Our happy guide. Great job!
The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is located at 105 Sabine Street, Houston, TX, 77007, and tours are offered Thursday through Sunday. Access is limited to guided tours. Reservations required. Tours are free on Thursday but still require a reservation. In addition to tours highlighting the history and architecture of this unique industrial site, the Cistern houses periodic art installations. If you want to see a short video on the Cistern, please click here. What an exciting tour! Now we can say to others...”You won't believe what's hidden among the trees at Buffalo Bayou Park!”
If that wasn’t enough excitement, we all headed to the Beer Market for some eats and drinks. We all had a great time talking about what we just saw, watching some basketball and filling our stomachs.
In case you didn’t know, it is crawfish season here in Houston.
Peddle Parties are in order every weekend.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
