On Monday, March 22, 2021, Discovery Green, the 12-acre park in the heart of downtown Houston, will unveil its renovated John P. McGovern Playground. The $2.3 million playground area completes improvements to the park’s northwest corner, an area bordered by La Branch and McKinney Streets, as part of the Discovery Green Conservancy’s $13.3 million park-wide master plan improvement project. The new facilities give families double the amount of play space and feature ample seating, improved energy-efficient lighting for safer evening play and more shade thanks to 31 new trees. Hargreaves Jones Associates designed the new John P. McGovern Playground, with consultation by landscape architect Lauren Griffith and Gandy2 Lighting Design and construction by Forney Construction LLC.
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“Discovery Green is vital to Houston as a vibrant and centrally located meeting space where visitors from inside—and outside—the beltway can interact with one another and learn about the diverse traditions that coexist in the city,” said Discovery Green Conservancy President Barry Mandel. “We are very excited that our littlest patrons will now have this improved play space to explore and enjoy.”
For the youngest visitors, ages 2 to 5, the new Mendez Play Space—named for David Mendez, former chair of the Houston Endowment board of directors and VP at JPMorgan Chase—features nearly 15 pieces of equipment to encourage fitness and creativity, a play hill, as well as a concrete bench that serves as containment and seating for caregivers. For children ages 5 to 12, a section near the park’s popular interactive Gateway Fountain features a ropes course with innovative and age-appropriate equipment to improve strength and agility.
Since opening in 2008, Discovery Green has welcomed more than 15 million people and spurred more than $1.2 billion in development in downtown Houston. At the time of its opening, the northwest corner was considered a back corner of the park, but it is now a key gateway to Discovery Green. The newly designed playground and other master plan improvements—including expanded restrooms that rolled out in May 2018 and the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Allée that opened in August 2020—address the needs of the growing population of people who live, work and play downtown while positioning the park to meet the demands of the future.
Construction of the new playground started in August 2019 and was completed in August 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the completed project remained behind construction fencing as playgrounds across the city were closed to limit the spread of the disease. Beginning March 22, the playground will be open every day during normal park hours, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Completion of the project was made possible by grants from the John P. McGovern Foundation, The Elkins Foundation and the Houston Endowment Inc. in honor of David Mendez. Discovery Green Conservancy’s master plan project is funded by Houston Endowment Inc., Kinder Foundation, The Brown Foundation Inc., The Wortham Foundation Inc., The Cullen Foundation and the Sterling-Turner Foundation.
ABOUT DISCOVERY GREEN
Discovery Green is a highly acclaimed 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the nonprofit Discovery Green Conservancy in downtown Houston, Texas. Since opening in April 2008, the park has welcomed more than 15 million visitors. Discovery Green features sprawling lawns, a one-acre lake, an interactive fountain, a playground, public art installations, gardens and an allée of century-old live oaks. The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present free artistic, musical, educational, family-friendly and health-focused events. The park also features two on-site restaurants, the award-winning destination restaurant The Grove and the fast-casual The Lake House, providing visitors with an array of dining options. As a nonprofit organization, the Conservancy raises all the funds needed for the programming that Houstonians enjoy through contributions from park users, foundations and sponsors. For more information, please visit www.discoverygreen.com.
