Hermann Park is a popular place during Memorial Day with many attractions to offer visitors, including the Houston Zoo and the Museum of Natural Science. Please note that large crowds and heavy traffic are expected at Hermann Park during the Memorial Day period. Traffic will be slow in the area, and parking will be at a premium.
To help make your trip to Hermann Park a pleasant one, we would like to remind you to be patient and consider alternate transportation methods to the park, including the METRORail line, which runs right past Hermann Park, and the METRO bus system. You can catch the METRORail line from numerous stations in downtown Houston or at the Fannin South Park & Ride lot.
The paid garage at the Museum of Natural Science has space for almost 400 cars, and additional parking is available at the Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza Garage, located at 6400 Fannin. The current weekday rate at Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza varies by the hour, and the maximum weekend rate is $6.00 (subject to change by Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza). Visitors have the option of paying by cash or credit card. While cashiers are not on duty during weekends or holidays, the building has an automated pay station in the main building lobby. Cash customers will need to take their parking ticket with them and use the pay station before exiting. Credit card customers can take their ticket with them and pay at the pay station or wait and pay at the exit gate.
Hermann Park
Hermann Park is located in one of the most picturesque areas of Houston. Nestled in between the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center and Rice University Hermann Park provides Houstonians with plenty of greenspace to enjoy Houston's temperate climate. Hermann Park is one of Houston's first parks and is one of the premiere parks in the department's inventory of parks.
In 1914 Board of Parks Commissioner, George H. Hermann, donated 285 acres of land for the creation of a park. A year later, in 1915, Houston Mayor Ben Campbell encouraged the city to add to the acreage by purchasing an additional 122 acres.
The entrance to the park is at the intersection of Main St. and Montrose Blvd. a statue of one of Houston's founders, General Sam Houston, points the way into the park and its many amenities.
Entertainment Venues and Park Facilities
The park has a number of entertainment options and venues for visitors including the Hermann Park Golf course, the Miller Outdoor Theatre, a jogging track, the Houston Garden Center with its rose garden, the Houston Zoo, the Museum of Natural Science with the Cockrell Butterfly Exhibit, the Buddy Carruth Playground For All Children, the Japanese Garden, McGovern Lake with its paddle boats, the ever popular Hermann Park Mini-Train and the Judson Robinson, Jr. Community Center.
Hermann Park Mini Train and Lake Plaza Construction
After 50 years making memories for countless Houstonians, the Hermann Park train is receiving an update. The construction of the
new train ride will be completed in 2 phases. Phase I, completed in March of 2008, expanded the train route to 1.8 miles and introduced the new larger 24 gauge train, accessible to riders with wheel chairs and parents with strollers, to the public. The first public rides began March 8.
Phase II construction began on March 25, 2008. This construction is part of a $15 million renovation of Lake Plaza undertaken by the Hermann Park Conservancy in partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and is expected to be finished in March 2009.
The Lake Plaza construction project will almost double the size of the plaza and will bring improved access to the Houston Zoo while providing a new depot and satellite stations around the park for the Hermann Park Mini-Train. Additional improvements will include a renovated pedal boat facility with a new boathouse, a new food pavilion featuring a shaded terrace for dining and conversation, a restroom facility, and a new bridge across the McGovern Lake. The lake and pedal boats will remain open during construction.
The Buddy Carruth Playground for All Children offers fun for children of all abilities. Most equipment at the playground is handicap accessible, and the interactive water playground will keep kids cool in hot weather. The playground is near the METRORail Line on Fannin Street and the newly-expanded Hermann Park mini-train. Built in 1995 for $1.3 million, development of the playground was planned and financed through the Houston Parks Board.
The original Houston Garden Center was erected in 1941 and was managed by the Houston Federation of Garden Clubs.
In 1961, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department took over the management of the center.
The Japanese Garden Japanese Garden is an island of serenity nestled in a pine grove near the Sam Houston Monument. Designed by world-renowned Japanese landscape architect, Ken Nakajima, the garden was built to symbolize the friendship between the United States and Japan, and to recognize Houston's thriving Japanese community. Mr. Nakajima based his design in Zen philosophy stating, "We must work with nature, to create a new space and a sense of beauty." The garden is built on 5 acres and combines a traditional Japanese Garden design with a touch of Texas.
Art and Statues in the Park
A monument to Dr. Mahatma Gandhi was installed in the Houston Garden Center on October 2, 2003. The statue was donated by the Government of India and the local Indian community and was dedicated on Dr. Gandhi's birthday. It honors his non-violent revolution against British colonialism.
On December 9, 2007, a monument to Dr. Martin Luther King joined the Mahatma Gandhi statue already in place at the Garden Center as a visible reminder to all who visit of their shared belief in nonviolence, community service and social justice. Denver artist Ed Dwight was commissioned to design and create the statue. He has designed and installed over 35 major memorials across the nation. He's been recently commissioned to create the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, for the National Mall in Washington. Other works have included the MLK Memorial in Denver, the Underground Railroad Memorial in Detroit, the Harold Washington Memorial Sculpture in Chicago's blues district and other permanent works on display in the Smithsonian.
Nearby, the International Sculpture Garden displays a series of busts representing other heroes of independence and democracy, including the Great Liberator of South America, Simon Bolivar.
See the sculpture garden collection via www.houstonmunicipalart.org.
Nearby Venues of Interest
There are a number of venues surrounding Hermann Park that add to its popularity ... Including:
The Houston Museum of Natural Science, founded in 1909, is one of the most visited museums in the country. Located inside of Hermann Park, adjacent to the Sam Houston Monument, the museum is a 5-venue complex. It houses the Challenger Center, the Wortham IMAX Theater, the Burke Baker Planetarium and the Cockrell Butterfly Exhibit. An additional 4 floors of natural science halls and exhibition space allow the museum to serve its mission to "Preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain and promote a museum of the first class."
The Miller Outdoor Theatre is an open-air theatre where you can watch a concert or play while picnicking in one of Houston's most popular parks.
The theatre opened in 1969 and has played host to a variety of multi-cultural events. The theater was renovated in 2000 and holds a wide variety of family-friendly performances each year rain or shine, including Cinco de Mayo and Fourth of July festivities.
You can also catch Shakespeare in the Park, the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera performances at Miller. For a complete listing of these events navigate to the Miller Outdoor Theater Calendar of Events.
The Houston Zoo transports park visitors to lands beyond Houston's city limits with its menagerie of animals that include lions, tigers and bears as well as reptiles, primates and elephants.
Founded in 1922, this exciting recreational destination serves 1.4 million guests annually and is set in a lush 55-acre landscape right in the middle of Hermann Park. The Houston Zoo is home to more than 3,100 exotic animals representing more than 500 species.
It is one of the largest collections in the nation and is considered one of the best-maintained zoos in the country.
After 50 years making memories for countless Houstonians, the Hermann Park train is receiving an update. The construction of the 
The Buddy Carruth Playground for All Children offers fun for children of all abilities. Most equipment at the playground is handicap accessible, and the interactive water playground will keep kids cool in hot weather. The playground is near the METRORail Line on Fannin Street and the newly-expanded Hermann Park mini-train. Built in 1995 for $1.3 million, development of the playground was planned and financed through the Houston Parks Board.
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A monument to Dr. Mahatma Gandhi was installed in the Houston Garden Center on October 2, 2003. The statue was donated by the Government of India and the local Indian community and was dedicated on Dr. Gandhi's birthday. It honors his non-violent revolution against British colonialism.
There are a number of venues surrounding Hermann Park that add to its popularity ... Including:
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