MacGregor Monument at MacGregor Park in Houston

MacGregor Park-Neagle Field is a park and baseball venue in the Third Ward,

Houston, TX 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 ...

and the home field of the Texas Southern Tigers baseball team. The Tigers are a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. A 42-acre section of the park is owned by the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. Riverside Terrace is adjacent to the park.Fairchild, Harwell, and MacDougal, p. 17.

History

It was named after Henry Frederick MacGregor, who was from Derry, New Hampshire and had ancestry from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. MacGregor conceptualized a park in the area, with the Brays Bayou being used as a path from

Hermann Park Hermann Park is a urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Th ...

to his new park; he died in 1923 before he could see the park completed. His estate gave the city government the money to establish the park,Fairchild, Harwell, and MacDougal, p. 15. and his widow, Elizabeth "Peggy" MacGregor, donated the land.Fairchild, Harwell, and MacDougal, p. 16. Will Hogg donated trees to form a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial, the War Mothers Memorial. The 1926 land survey was done by Howe & Wise, Engineers employee R. O. Bosworth. Hare & Hare developed the park throughout the mid-20th century. The current park has a focus on recreational activities while MacGregor's original vision emphasized it being a space for nature. Due to demographic changes in the mid-20th century, the surrounding areas became majority African-American. MacGregor Park was a popular gathering spot for African-American youth in the late 1980s and the early 1990s,O'Hare, Peggy.
Police try to limit cruising on MLK / Some in area dislike the traffic; others say it fosters community
" ''

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 i ...

''. Monday April 16, 2001. A17. Retrieved on May 27, 2012. and they typically pursued recreation on Sundays. The police closed the park temporarily after a 1992 shooting. Andrew Dansby of the ''

'' wrote in 2016 that "Those big Sundays never returned in quite the same way, though MacGregor remained a neighborhood touchstone." A hip hop show occurred in 2001.

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 ...

gave a $1 million grant that resulted in a 2005 renovation. In 2009 the Parks To Standards program of the city government resulted in $600,000 worth of enhancements.Fairchild, Harwell, and MacDougal, p. 18. A car parade ending at MacGregor, called the SLAB parade, began in 2013.

Features

The park has of land.MacGregor Park
" City of Houston. Retrieved on April 22, 2018. It has an outdoor basketball court, a disc-style golf course with 18 holes, a hike and bicycle trail that is long, a meeting room, a sports field with lighting, a swimming pool, and a weight room.

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 ...

designed a memorial stone for MacGregor, located at the park. A statue of Peggy MacGregor as a young woman, made by

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Mountain in Geo ...

and commissioned by Henry MacGregor, was created in 1927; it was moved to the park and restored by the city government's Municipal Art Commission in 1997. John Wilkerson established the MacGregor Park Junior Tennis Program.

Transportation

The

METRORail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

station MacGregor Park/Martin Luther King Jr. is in proximity to the park.

Cultural legacy

Andrew Dansby of the ''

'' wrote that due to the park's use by sports figures and in hip-hop culture, "MacGregor Park has a storied place in Houston culture." Songs about MacGregor Park include the 1985 song "MacGregor Park" with writing attribution to Robert Harlan and by "the L.A. Rapper," as well as the 2015 song "MacGregor Park" by Fat Tony.

References

* Fairchild, John, Debbie Harwell, and Steph McDougal.
MacGregor Park, a Gift to Houston
" '' Houston History Magazine''. Volume 11, No. 3. pp. 15–19.

Notes

External links

MacGregor Park
- City of Houston {{- Parks in Houston Third Ward, Houston Baseball venues in Houston Texas Southern University Texas Southern Tigers baseball