As part of our 25th anniversary campaign to showcase past project successes, M2L Associates celebrates Emancipation Park and our role in its revitalization. Located just south of downtown in the Third Ward, Emancipation Park is Houston’s oldest city park, the oldest park in Texas, and also the only public park in the area open to African Americans during racial segregation.
Established 150 years ago by four former slaves as a place to celebrate freedom and hope for the future, the 10-acre park was donated to the city in 1916 and endured a long and storied history of both prosperity and decline. By the 1970s the park had fallen into serious neglect as development efforts and gentrification took resources to newer areas, and by the turn of this century even Juneteenth celebrations had moved elsewhere.
Fortunately, numerous Third Ward stakeholders and “Friends of Emancipation Park” worked tirelessly to save and restore the park as a central gathering place, including the important milestone in 2007 of having the park declared a historic landmark — a distinction that helped pave the way for continuing funding efforts.
In 2010 the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority and Houston Parks and Recreation chose North Carolina-based Perkins & Will and internationally recognized African American architect Phil Freelon to renovate the park. M2L Associates was selected as the landscape architect and local design team leader, largely for the firm’s rich parks experience, long history with the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority, and successes in the Third Ward.
Unveiled in 2017 and rededicated during Juneteenth celebrations, the $33.6 million renovated Emancipation Park now includes fully refurbished landscapes and playgrounds, renovation of the historic community center and bath house, and the addition of a recreation center, swimming pool and entry plaza, parking areas, and more.
The collective vision for the park was focused on promoting a neighborhood renaissance, providing a central area where health, recreation, social interaction and engagement could radiate out to the surrounding community, according to Perkins & Will, calling Emancipation Park “a site with national significance as a revitalized living monument to African American history, [offering] individuals daily inspiration and connection to the culture of their own community.”
Michael Mauer, M2L principal and lead landscape architect for the long-running project, said the team’s vision led the way in every aspect of the project: “The renovations were a rich tapestry of cultural influences, brought out in every element of the site’s building, pavement pattern and landscape design. The very history of the neighborhood comes to life in the designs, even as the park is viewed from overhead. No detail was left out.”
The results were exceptional, garnering numerous design awards including the 2019 Urban Land Institute Development of Distinction Award. “We were really impressed by the amount of community engagement that went into envisioning the park and ultimately designing a facility that really served the needs of the existing community,” ULI Awards Judge Amanda Rhein, executive director of the Atlanta Land Trust, said. “This huge public investment in what historically had been an underserved community really signals to people that they matter, that they’re important residents of the city and deserving of that level of public investment.”
ULI Awards Judge Bob Springer, senior vice president of commercial real estate for Bank of America, said, “The project was extremely well thought out, in terms of incorporating more for the community, celebrating the past, celebrating the history, allowing for more people to engage in facilities, and they did it all in a sustainable way. Not only is the place and the story really inspirational, and very special, the execution of the project … was top notch.”
We couldn’t agree more, or have more pride in this jewel of the Houston Parks system. Today, against a backdrop of the country’s racial reckoning, Emancipation Park is enjoying renewed popularity as a gathering place for neighbors of all ages and backgrounds, not just around Juneteenth celebrations but all year long.
“It’s one of highest honors of our 25 years in business to be associated with Emancipation Park and play a role in the neighborhood’s revitalization,” Mauer said. “More people than ever, not just Third Ward residents and African American residents, are embracing the history and importance of this park as a neighborhood and cultural center honoring the past, improving the present life for as many people as possible, and also paving the way for a reimagined future for this important Houston neighborhood.”
To that end, M2L is not done working on Emancipation Park and the surrounding area. The next phase of urban planning work re-envisions the Emancipation Avenue corridor, a 2-mile stretch between I-45 and Southmore Blvd. Once a thriving business district, like the park itself this part of Emancipation Avenue fell into decline over the years as residents moved out and businesses shuttered.
Thanks to a $30-plus million in funding by the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority and the collaboration of numerous stakeholders seeking to restore the area and bring people and businesses back, the corridor improvements will play an important role in these larger efforts.
In fact, the Emancipation Avenue corridor has been selected as one of three pilot areas for the Walkable Places Program, a City of Houston effort to explore ways to create more vibrant, walkable streetscapes that are tailored to the needs and feedback of each neighborhood.
Community engagement is key to every successful project, Mauer said, but especially in culturally rich neighborhoods like the Third Ward and Emancipation Park. That means soliciting and incorporating feedback in more and creative ways, including partnering with a noted historian to reflect on the area’s rich history and bring rich detail and content at every step of the process.
“After more than a decade of planning and design work in and around Emancipation Park, I’m always mindful of the rich history, enduring culture and continuing story of this place,” he said. “It’s not our story to tell, so it’s important to let the people of the area tell it through our designs and efforts.”