Officials break ground on 100-acre Memorial Groves project to honor WWI history

Construction on Memorial Groves at Memorial Park has begun, the Memorial Park Conservancy announced in a March 6 news release.

Zooming in

Officials broke ground on the 100-acre project, which will honor Houston's World War I history, March 5, according to the release. Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the grove will be an interactive landscape and include:

• Nearly 3,000 bald cypress trees
• A visitor center
• Trails
• New parking
• Restrooms
• Recreational amenities
• Play areas
• Educational opportunities
• Spaces for reflection and recreation

“Today is a defining moment for Memorial Park,” Chris Ballard, president and CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy, said in the release. “We are proud to realize Memorial Groves as a project that honors the Park’s historic roots while creating vibrant new spaces for reflection, recreation and learning that will inspire and serve Houstonians for generations to come.”

Some background

Memorial Park was established in 1924 in honor of the 70,000 soldiers who served at Camp Logan, a Houston-based U.S. Army training camp, during the war, per the release.

The grove will be located on a stretch of land between the Union Pacific rail line and West Memorial Loop Drive, chosen for having the greatest amount of archaeological remnants from the camp, according to the park's website.

What's next

The project, part of the park's Ten-Year Plan, is targeted for completion in late 2027, per the release.

Completed Ten-Year Plan projects include:

• The Clay Family Eastern Glades
• The Sports Complex
• A 1-mile segment of the Seymour Lieberman Trail
• The Kinder Land Bridge and Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie
• The Running Complex