OnTheOtherHand

For the roof of the GRB, the issue is what loads could be supported. There could be access by elevators inside/outside the GRB and from a bridge to a sculptural tower with elevators/spiraling ramp/stairs at the edge of Discovery Green. Possible ideas are: Restaurants/bars around a lawn area with patios overlooking Discovery Green Jogging, rollerblading, and kids’ bike loops Dog park Kite park Mini golf and disk golf (probably not big enough for Top Golf) Amusements, climbing walls, and parkour course Sculptures and murals Shade structures {perhaps solar panels - I think there are already a few) I also think the general area would be great for a series of urban zip lines spanning between buildings over Discovery Green. Possible end points (and elevations) are: One Park Place (500 ft) Hess Tower (460 ft) - maybe using the old wind turbine cells Skanska 1550 on the Green (410 ft and lower heights) Marriott Marquis (395 ft) 5 Houston Center (360 ft) Hilton Americas (320 ft and 300 ft) Partnership Tower (130 ft) George R. Brown (about 100 ft) Marriott Marquis Pool Deck (about 1 00 ft) Final landing on roof of building in Discovery Green - (30 ft) Perhaps an existing company that operates zip lines could assess the feasibility. It would be a unique attraction for Houston.

I envision a park that would attract locals and tourists of all ages for walking, people watching, exploring, exercise, thrill seeking, relaxing, birthday parties, weddings, festivals, etc. with the following features: A great lawn for events, picnics, and kids playing. A lake fed by waterfalls connected to a circular river with small rental boats. Trees and plants throughout including butterfly gardens. A Grand Promenade that circles the park and smaller winding trails. A playground, splash park, and carousel for kids. A large climbing wall on a “cliff” at the edge of the park. A mini railroad loop. A large amphitheater and smaller amphitheater. Shelters/areas that can be reserved for weddings, birthday parties, meetings, etc. Loads of unreserved picnic tables and benches. “Buttes” rising from the floor of the park with tunnels within and “caves” overlooking the park. Rope bridges and zip lines connecting the tops of the buttes to the cliffs at the edge of the park. A main plaza area with commercial shops. Food and drink shops (restaurants, ice cream, snacks, smoothies, bars, etc.). A bike loop and separate running loop around upper level outer perimeter walkways. General park admission (and parking) should be free. Revenues for park upkeep would be partially generated by fees for reserved areas and fees from park businesses such as restaurants, shops, railroad rides, boat rentals, carousel, rock climbing, zip lines, amphitheater events, locker rooms, etc. The park would be a great place to host large events and festivals up to once a month with music in the amphitheaters and booth areas located all around the Grand Promenade. A fountain and light show could be developed with water spraying out of islands and buttes into the lake combined with colored lights and projectors for shows visible from many areas in the park.

Several years ago, I saw another lock on the Brazos further upstream. It's visible just north of the FM 485 bridge across the Brazos just west of Hearne, and was built around the same time as the other locks. There was a community on the bluff just north of the lock called Port Sullivan. It grew and prospered in the mid 1800s but then died when railroads were built to neighboring towns but not to Port Sullivan. It had disappeared even before the lock was built. Here are some links discussing the dam, Port Sullivan, and navigation on the Brazos: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrp52 http://books.google.com/books?id=-OxnaXdxjgkC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=lock+hearne+brazos+army+corps&source=bl&ots=M_5e_YifZu&sig=juYK0p8Y9lhvh0Xbk3trgPKDgN0&hl=en&ei=pxlqTojHLum2sQK67bSqBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false http://www.forttumbleweed.net/steamboats.html

Would it be possible for the city to acquire weekend rights to part of the parking lot? I assume that these lots make most of their money during the weekdays. If the city bought weekend rights to the 1/3 of the parking lot closest to the park, they could make some simple improvements (like brick paving and a few trees), and use this area for weekend events such as a farmer's market or occasional festivals. Preston could be temporarily closed during these weekend events and possibly even be used as a location for marker/festival booths. The rest of the parking lot would still be parking, and it might even make more money when there were weekend events at the park. The whole lot would still be used for parking during weekdays. One flaw with this is that I assume that most downtown parking lot owners would sell their lots immediately if a buyer offered the right price. I don't know how they would arrange a lease to the city while still maintaining this sales flexibility. Of course, with the current market, they might take a little short-term lease money from the city rather than holding out for a big sale. This also would involve the city either spending money or figuring out some other way to fund the project. Does anyone know the owner of the parking lot? Is there any chance that something like this (with pretty minimal up-front costs) could be financed privately? The city could arrange to close the street during events, provide security, and maybe accept some liability, and the owner would organize events that allow him to get some return on any improvements or time invested. Just a thought.