Emancipation Park and Emancipation Community Center are located at 3018 Emancipation Ave in the Third Ward area of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It is the oldest park in Houston, and the oldest in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In portions of the

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

period it was the sole public park in the area available to African-Americans.

History

In 1872, Richard Allen, Richard Brock, Jack Yates, and Elias Dibble together bought of parkland with $800 ($ in 2013 inflation-adjusted dollars). The men, led by Yates, were members of the

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Antioch Missionary Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church at 313 Robin Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. It was historically a part of the Fourth Ward.Davis, Rod.Houston's really good idea Bus tour celebrates communities that forged a c ...

and the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church.Wood, Roger. '' Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues''.

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

. , 9780292786639. p
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They did this to commemorate the end of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

.Turner, Allan.
UH exhibit focuses on Third Ward history, people
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Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. March 23, 2011. Retrieved on March 24, 2011. As the owners lacked funds to keep the park open year-round, it was originally solely used for

Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...

celebrations. The park received its current name in 1872. The City of Houston received the park in 1916 as part of a donation; the city converted it into a municipal park in 1918. From 1922 to 1940 it was Houston's sole park for African-Americans, since the city government had declared its parks racially segregated in 1922. Many concerts, musical performances, and

celebrations were held in Emancipation Park. During this period, the park constructed a recreation center, swimming pool, and bathhouse, designed by prominent Houston architect

William Ward Watkin William Ward Watkin (January 21, 1886 – June 24, 1952) was an architect primarily practicing in Houston, Texas. He was the founder of the Architecture Department of Rice University in 1912, and remained on the Rice faculty until his death ...

. The buildings have been used for after-school and summer programs for children, community meetings, and classes for youth and adults. The park fell into disrepair in the 1970s after wealthier blacks left the Third Ward during the integration process. By 2007 it had stopped hosting Juneteenth celebrations. In 2006, Carol Parrott Blue and Bill Milligan, natives of the Third Ward, formed "Friends of Emancipation Park" in order to revitalize the park. The board was established in March 2007. On November 7, 2007 the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

declared the park a historic landmark after it voted unanimously to do so.

Carol Alvarado Carol Alvarado (born October 26, 1967) is the state senator for Texas's 6th state senate district. The district includes southeast Houston, and portions of Pasadena. She is a member of the Democratic Party. On December 11, 2018, Alvarado won a spe ...

introduced the resolution. In 2011, the city government planned to establish a capital campaign to install new facilities at the park. It spent $2 million in its own money and secured $4 million in funding from the local government corporation OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority as well as $1 million in funding from the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

. In 2012,

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...

Annise Parker Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller fro ...

made requests for donations in order to secure additional funding. The renovation project had a cost of $33 million. Groundbreaking occurred on Saturday, October 26, 2013. In 2016, the City of Houston Planning Commission passed a resolution to have Dowling Avenue, a street bordering Emancipation Park named after Confederate soldier

Richard W. Dowling Richard William "Dick" Dowling (baptized 14 January 1837 – 23 September 1867) was an Irish-born artillery officer of the Confederate States Army who achieved distinction as commander at the battle of Sabine Pass (1863), the most one-side ...

, renamed to Emancipation Avenue. In January 2017, Houston City Council voted unanimously to legally designate Emancipation Avenue. In 2017, $33.6 million worth of renovations and new developments were completed to modernize the park. Also, Juneteenth and other black-centric celebrations were brought back to the park. In 2019 it became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Slave Route Project site.

Composition

The community center includes an indoor gymnasium, a weight room, and meeting rooms. The park has an outdoor basketball pavilion, lighted sports fields, lighted tennis courts, a swimming pool, a playground, and picnic areas. A swimming and recreation complex with an attached bathhouse was built in 1938 and 1939. William Ward Watkin designed the structure. The basketball court was added in the 1970s. The 2010s renovated facilities were designed by a North Carolina black architect, Phil Freelon. Mimi Swartz of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' described him as "arguably" the "most prominent" American black architect. The new facilities include a playground, a swimming pool, and a performance hall. There is a historical marker that was dedicated in 2009.

References

* Blue, Carroll Parrott.

Reference notes

Note

* Some content is derived from

Third Ward, Houston Third Ward is an area of Houston, Texas, United States, that evolved from one of the six historic wards of the same name. It is located in the southeast Houston management district. Third Ward, located inside the 610 Loop is immediately southe ...

External links

Official Emancipation Park website
* *
Scenes from Emancipation Park
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''. {{coord, 29, 44, 09, N, 95, 21, 55, W, type:landmark_region:US-TX, display=title 1872 establishments in Texas African-American history in Houston Parks in Houston Third Ward, Houston