Sesquicentennial Park

I’ve usually on ride through Sesquicentennial Park on my bike a few times a week. It’s actually a little hidden treasure within downtown.
You get a different perspective of downtown when you visit here. An up close and personal look at the sky scrapers, plus a fresh view of the aquarium.
I’m most cases, you’ll find photographers snapping shots throughout different spots. It’s not your typical park, but that’s what makes it unique. Words don’t really do it any justice, the pictures speak for themselves.

Beautiful park, and great place to take engagement photos.
However, as I’ve heeded before in my other reviews, please watch all of your valuables. I hate to stereotype the buffalo bayou, but due to my personal experiences as well as family and friends experiences it’s a hot spot for theft.
While taking pictures, my bag was stolen (literally a few feet in front of me.) I tracked my phone and it seemed like the thief was running away, following the bayou path. U won’t hold my misfortune on this park’s ratings, however please be very aware of your surroundings.

If you’re looking for the typical photograph of Houston’s downtown skyline you need to search no further. Stand where George Bush SENIOR stands and look out and you will see Houston.

Pretty view of the city, near the bayou, great for taking photos. I’ve seen so many engagement photos being planned here. The grass patch is really well kept. It has a big hill to sit on, or roll down. Of course there are the wonderful steps to also sit on.
Really cool place in the middle of the city.

Sesquicentennial Park is along the banks of Buffalo Bayou in the theatre district of downtown. It was developed to commemorate Houston and Texas’s 150^th birthday and was completed in 1989. This park is a little hidden gem in downtown. It has a fountain that leads down to a walkway that stretches in between the Wortham and the bayou. The most prominent feature of the park is the set of seven metal pillars, Seven Wonders. The pillars are a collage of drawings by children all born in the sesquicentennial year, 1986. Each pillar represents a theme: agriculture, energy, manufacturing, medicine, philanthropy, technology, and transportation. I wish I was taller or that the city put some sort of viewing area so you could see the pillars better. I’m stuck just looking at the metal squares at the bottom of each 70 foot tall pillar.
At the far end of the park is the common, a large sloping grassy circle. More recently, the city erected a bronze statue of James Baker III and some information about him in the Baker Common at the top of the grassy area. If you look closely in the direction he is gazing, you can see President Bush on the other side of the bayou looking back.
The coolest thing about this park, BY FAR, is The Big Bubble. If you look below the second of the seven pillars, the pillar actually on the Preston street bridge, you will find a mysterious red button. The button has no directions or even a warning. If you are brave enough to push it, quickly look over the edge of the bridge to see a large bubble of air breaking the surface of the bayou. The city commissioned this interactive piece by Dean Ruck to help aerate the slow moving bayou.
It’s not the biggest or best known of the parks downtown, but it packs a lot in a little space.