Transformative 100-Acre project honoring the Park’s origins on track to break ground in 2026
Memorial Park Conservancy (MPC) unveiled new details and renderings for Memorial Groves. A poetic re-imagining of the 100 acres along West Memorial Loop Drive, Memorial Groves will honor the original vision of the Park as a greenspace that pays tribute to Houston’s World War I (WWI) history, while adding new parking, restrooms, recreational amenities, play areas and educational opportunities that will enhance the everyday experience of Park visitors.
Earlier it was announced that the Jerold B. Katz Foundation is donating $7.5 million toward Memorial Groves. Accelerated by generous support from Kinder Foundation ($10 million), John L. Nau III ($7.5 million), Brown Foundation ($7.5 million) and now the Katz Foundation ($7.5 million), this $50.5 million project is the latest of several transformative improvements envisioned by the Memorial Park Master Plan for the revitalization of Houston’s largest greenspace.
“We are deeply honored to be a part of this landmark project that will help bring Houston’s extraordinary history to life,” said Evan H. Katz, President of the Jerold B. Katz Foundation. “Memorial Groves will offer a powerful place of reflection and learning – one that thoughtfully connects past and present, honoring service and sacrifice while strengthening the Park’s role as a resilient, vibrant public space for generations to come.”
A Living Memorial
Established in 1924, Houston’s Memorial Park was named to honor the 70,000 soldiers who served at Camp Logan, a U.S. Army training camp during WWI. Now, more than a century later, Memorial Groves will honor all who contributed to the war effort at Camp Logan.
Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), Memorial Groves will create a place-based, interactive experience that not only honors Houston’s WWI history but also serves everyday park users.
Seymour Lieberman Trail Enhancements
Chris Ballard, President & CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy, announced an additional update on Memorial Groves with MPC’s commitment to improve the Seymour Lieberman Trail (SLT). “Significant enhancements will be made to the SLT within the Memorial Groves project area while maintaining the overall distance of the 3-mile loop,” Ballard said. “This is one of the nation’s most popular running trails and one of Memorial Park’s top amenities. The upgrades we’re making will be enjoyed by the nearly 10,000 people who use this trail daily.”
Approximately .7 miles (3,600 ft.) of the SLT will be moved further away from West Memorial Loop Drive, creating space for new trees to be planted between the trail and the roadway. As these trees mature, they will provide a more scenic and shaded route for trail users, enhancing comfort and natural beauty along the trail. Across West Memorial Loop Drive, the Camp Logan Historic Street Lawns – a new feature of the Memorial Groves – will extend to provide new grassy areas along the trail, ideal for gathering, stretching, or resting. These areas will also feature new fitness stations, giving park users additional opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.
Camp Logan Playground
The new playground within Memorial Groves will offer a one-of-a-kind experience where all ages and abilities can engage directly with the history of the Park through a series of unique play features, detailed by Earthscape, a custom playground company. Kids can climb up and into oversized soldiers’ helmets, army crates, and an enormous loaf of ‘hard bread’ each inscribed with insignias from WWI era. Another series of features includes a large bugle that appears to have blown over the adjacent log scramble and doubles as a talk tube for audio play. The playground is located near the new picnic pavilion and restroom, convenient to the new south parking lot, and nestled within existing trees for shade and comfort.
Memorial Groves Playground and Pavilion, north view. (Rendering courtesy of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects)
Memorial Groves Visitor Center
The new visitor center will anchor the primary entrance to the memorial landscape and will educate visitors on the story of WWI, Camp Logan and Memorial Groves. Designed by Moody Nolan, the structure creates a generous breezeway between the main exhibit space and new MPC offices, providing a welcoming threshold to the Groves beyond. The architectural materials and forms are shaped by the local climate, the Park’s architectural traditions, and a desire to bring in natural light and views to the landscape, allowing visitors to feel part of the environment indoors and out. Interpretive design and content of the interior space is spearheaded by Gallagher & Associates, in collaboration with project design lead Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW). New Camp Logan historic markers at select entry points to Memorial Groves and the Park will be provided by Texas Historical Commission and included in THC’s official statewide marker database.
Timeline
Construction for Memorial Groves is slated to begin in 2026, with target completion in late 2027. Work on SLT enhancements will begin following the 2026 Chevron Houston Marathon. As with other major Memorial Park Master Plan projects, the SLT will remain open during construction and will be completed in conjunction with the opening of Memorial Groves in 2027.
About Memorial Park’s Ten-Year Plan
Memorial Groves is among a subset of accelerated projects of the Memorial Park Master Plan made possible by the Ten-Year Plan. The Ten-Year Plan enables the design and construction of significant components of the Memorial Park Master Plan and was made possible by a catalyst gift from Kinder Foundation and support from other generous donors. Together, these projects promote connectivity and resilience, restore damaged ecologies to provide higher function for the Park and city, help manage storm water, provide new cultural and recreational amenities, and tell the historical narratives of the people and the land through landscape design.
Memorial Park Conservancy is delivering the Ten-Year Plan projects with its project partners: Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Uptown Houston, and Kinder Foundation. Completed Ten-Year Plan projects include the Clay Family Eastern Glades (opened July 2020); the Sports Complex (opened October 2020); a one-mile segment of the Seymour Lieberman Trail that is now off of Memorial Drive and is an exciting run through the trees and over ravines (opened October 2022); the Kinder Land Bridge and Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff Prairie (opened February 2023); and the Running Complex (opened November 2023).