Allen's Landing
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In August 1836, just months after the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
won its independence from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, two brothers (and real estate developers) from New York—John Kirby Allen
John Kirby Allen
John Kirby Allen was born in Canasareaugh, near Syracuse in the U.S. state of New York. He, along with his older brother, Augustus Chapman Allen, founded Houston, Texas in 1836. John Kirby Allen was never married...
and Augustus Chapman Allen
Augustus Chapman Allen
Augustus Chapman Allen , along with his younger brother, John Kirby Allen, founded the City of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. He was born on July 4, 1806, in Canasareaugh, New York, to Sarah and Roland Allen.- Early years :...
—purchased 6,642 acres (27 km²) in the area and settled there on the banks of Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
. The campus of the University of Houston–Downtown
University of Houston–Downtown
The University of Houston–Downtown is a four-year state university, and is a distinct component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 20-acre in Downtown Houston, with a satellite location in northwestern Harris County...
sits atop Allen's Landing.
History
Allen's Landing is at the confluenceConfluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of White Oak Bayou
White Oak Bayou
White Oak Bayou is one of the several waterways that give Houston, Texas, USA, its popular nickname, "The Bayou City." The Bayou originates northwest of FM 1960, near Highway 6 and U.S...
and Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
and serves as a natural turning basin. A dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
was quickly opened on the site, and the steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
Laura was the first ship to anchor at the landing on January 26, 1837. The landing was officially named a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in 1841—the original Port of Houston
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...
. In 1910, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government approved funding for the dredging of a ship channel from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to the present turning basin four miles (6 km) to the east of Allen's Landing.
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine ("Love Street"), where bands with names like Bubble Puppy
Bubble Puppy
-Origins:The group was formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas by Rod Prince and Roy Cox. Looking to form a "top gun rock band" based on the concept of dual lead guitars, a staple of southern rock that was highly unusual on the psychedelic music scene, Prince and Cox recruited Todd Potter: a gymnast,...
, Neurotic Sheep and American Blues
American Blues
American Blues were a 1960s Texas-based garage band who played a psychedelic style of blues rock music influenced by the 13th Floor Elevators. They are most famous for including two future members of the band ZZ Top in their ranks, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard...
performed mind-expanding music accented with strobe lights and pastel projections. The historic Sunset Coffee Building on Commerce at Main Street, which housed the nightclub on its third floor, is still standing. Love Street's last show was on June 6, 1970.
Once the focal point of downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
, a small historical park was dedicated at the site in 1967. The Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
donated 4,000 square feet (400 m²) of land to the park project, which was to be developed and maintained by the Houston Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, the City of Houston, and the Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
Navigation District. In addition, a marker was placed at the park to indicate where, in 1837, townspeople erected a liberty pole
Liberty pole
A liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap. They are associated with the Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century.-American Revolution:...
to commemorate Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
's victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...
the previous year.
For a brief period in the 1990s, Allen's Landing was once again the docking site for the Laura, a sightseeing boat that was a namesake of the 19th century vessel.
The very name, Allen’s Landing, however, was not found in any historical document during the first 131 years of Houston’s history but was a late 20th century invention, according to an article by Lisa Gray published in the Houston Chronicle August 20, 2008. According to the article, the assertion that name was the 1967 invention of the Houston Chamber of Commerce (now part of the Greater Houston Partnership) was made by Charlie Lansden (died 2001), longtime director of the Houston Chamber of Commerce's "Community Betterment Division," to Janet Wagner, owner of the investigative firm, J. K.Wagner & Co. The name, however, appears in a mural of Houston commissioned by the Houston Club in the late 1950s.
Revitalization
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
, designed to replicate the original port; a trail/walkway; a promenade; and a terrace
Terrace (gardening)
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hard materials of the architecture and softer ones of the garden.-History:...
overlooking Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
.
The campus of the University of Houston–Downtown
University of Houston–Downtown
The University of Houston–Downtown is a four-year state university, and is a distinct component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 20-acre in Downtown Houston, with a satellite location in northwestern Harris County...
(UHD) straddles Allen's Landing. The university's One Main Building, which is housed in the former Merchants and Manufacturers Building
Merchants and Manufacturers Building
The One Main Building, formerly the Merchants and Manufacturers Building , is a building on the campus of the University of Houston–Downtown...
(renovated in the 1980s), is just across the bayou at One Main Street, and UHD's 95000 square feet (8,825.8 m²) Commerce Street Building, which was completed in May 2005, sits adjacent to the park at Main Street and Commerce.
Since 2001, in a celebration of Houston's Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
community, the Texas Dragon Boat Association has held an annual spring festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
at Allen's Landing, where teams of paddlers race dragon boats throughout the day and enjoy colorful entertainment, as well as some Asian cultural
Culture of Asia
The culture of Asia is human civilization in Asia. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia...
and cuisine
Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several tiny regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial China and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian...
. In addition, the landing is a popular ingress/egress spot for canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
and kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
enthusiasts traveling up and down Buffalo Bayou.
In 2006, Houston Endowment, Inc., a philanthropic foundation dedicated to improving life for the people of the greater Houston area, approved a $600,000 grant to be used by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership toward restoring and converting the 1930s Sunset Coffee Building into usable space and further improving Allen's Landing Park.
External links
- Buffalo Bayou Partnership
- 174 Years of Historic Houston a Chronology of Houston From 1836 to Present Day