Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

Built in 1926 as an underground reservoir for the city of Houston, the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern was used to store drinking water for the municipal water system. After serving the city for many decades, it was decommissioned in 2007 due to an irreparable leak. The four-acre city water works site sat vacant until it was "rediscovered" by the non-profit Buffalo Bayou Partnership during planning for the Buffalo Bayou Park. In 2010, a restoration of the cistern commenced. The subterranean structure was converted into a public space for tours, events, and artistic programming, and a new Water Works pavilion was constructed above ground. The site opened in 2016, with public tours of the cistern highlighting its architecture and history. Artists have also created unique art installations on site to further showcase its history.

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is comprised of a water retention basin the size of 1.5 football fields, with 221 concrete columns surrounded by a viewing walkway that extends around the perimeter. At its base, there are approximately three feet of standing water in which the columns are reflected, creating a dramatic visual effect. The standing water gives visitors a sense of the decommissioned cistern's original function, which was to store water for Houston's municipal drinking water supply. Originally built in 1926, this reservoir also served as a water supply for the city in case of fire. When the cistern was operating at its peak capacity in the twentieth century, it held fifteen million gallons of water. An irreparable leak in 2004 led to its eventual decommissioning in 2007.

While planning for the redevelopment of Buffalo Bayou Park in 2010, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership stumbled upon the largely forgotten underground cistern. They hired the Houston-based architecture and engineering firm, Page, to reimagine this subterranean space, which is steeped in the city's history. Restoring the cistern entailed building a new entrance and passageway to allow for easier access, while upgrading the existing 'shelf' around the basin to create a six-foot-wide accessible walkway with safety guardrails. The path is ADA-compliant and also provides a viewing platform. Above the cistern, a new Water Works Pavilion serves as a Visitors Center for the previously abandoned four-acre city water system site. With funding from the Brown Foundation, the 87,500-square foot cistern was opened to the public in 2016.

In addition to offering historical and architectural tours, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership hosts art installations, custom light shows, musical performances, and other special events at the site. Current programs include meditation and sound healing at the cistern. In sound healing, objects such as wind chimes and singing bowls are used to create a calming effect, while encouraging mindfulness and connection. The cistern's acoustics are among its most significant and memorable features. Voices carry across the water within the cavernous space and echo for as long as seventeen seconds, as the sound bounces off the many columns. The landscape architect Kevin Shanley first called this underground reservoir "the cistern," because it reminded him of the ancient Roman cisterns that he observed in Istanbul, Turkey.

In 2016, the artist Donald Lipski created the permanent art installation, "Down Periscope!" which allows visitors to stand at ground level in the park and peer down the periscope into the cistern through a moveable lens. The periscope is surrounded by a decorative arbor filled with fragrant jasmine. A previous art installation within the cistern featured a simulation of abstract rainfall, designed by the Venezuelan artist Magdalena Fernandez. Her water-themed installation included music from Perpetuum jazzile performing an acapella cover of Toto's "Africa" and other songs. In December 2022, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership launched a special event, "Cistern Illuminated." Music was provided by the Schola Cantorum of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, with custom lighting by Kelly O'Brien, a visual artist and engineer. During the event, the cistern was illuminated in shades of orange, yellow, pink, and purple to resemble flickering candlelight.

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"Buffalo Bayou Park," Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://buffalobayou.org/location/buffalo-bayou-park/.

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Kinney, Jen. "Forgotten Cistern Under Houston Park Opens for Tours, and Soon for Art", Next City. May 20th, 2016. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/cistern-under-houston-buffalo-bayou-park-open-tours-art-show?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh5znv5H6_gIVJ8jjBx2RRg0JEAAYAiAAEgLSa_D_BwE.

Knox, Lawrence Elizabeth. "Houston’s magical underground Cistern gets illuminated for the holidays", Houston Chronicle. November 28th, 2022. Accessed May 17th, 2023. https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/families/cistern-illuminated-17614030.

Schilcutt, Katherine. "The Cistern Welcomes an Art Installation That’s a Force of Nature", November 1st, 2016. Accessed May 17th, 2023. https://www.houstoniamag.com/arts-and-culture/2016/11/the-cistern-welcomes-an-art-installation-that-s-a-force-of-nature.