Mandell Park, Houston

Now we all know what was going on behind the curtained fence at Richmond Avenue and Mandell for the past nine months.

The 1 ¼ acre Mandell Park with (Urban Harvest) Meredith Park underwent a complete renovation. For years Friends of Mandell Park worked to raise $1 million for the project.

The following is an excerpt from the Manny Chronicles, a journal project that I did in 2010 while caring for the infant Evan Rosette:

February 19, 2010

Evan and I had an interesting walk today.  We Four Wheeled it down Bonnie Brae Boulevard to the Mandell Park.  Bonnie Brae is a community in Montrose with an incongruous mix of 1930s bungalows, vintage duplexes, 1960s apartments, and strange new construction.  The boulevard is a mess and has been as long as I’ve known the street.  The locals seem to pick portions of the boulevard and cram it with motley landscaping, normally looking overgrown and slapdash.  The street also seems to be continually under construction.

Evan Rosette and Katie Scarlett in Meredith Garden, 2010

Years back the city of Houston used their powers of imminent domain to confiscate and demolish homes and buildings in order to build a new library.  But with the Montrose branch existing in a lovely old remodeled church, the property was forgotten by the city.  It became overgrown and a dumping ground for trash, mattresses, and furniture. The land was taken over by Bonnie Brae residents and has become a park, an inner-city oasis designed to enhance the neighborhood through cooperation and community spirit.  At the least it is a wonderful green buffer between the residential area and busy Richmond.

In the park is an organic urban garden called Meredith Garden, a project of Urban Harvest.  The garden is a myriad of mulch footpaths meandering through curved beds of herbs, vegetables, and flowers (especially those to attract butterflies and bees).  Looking like a hippy dream, the beds are constructed with reclaimed materials, cinder blocks, architectural fragments, broken sculptures, tiles, and the like.  Throughout the garden are benches, birdbaths, trellises, and sculptures.  At present the winter crop is in full fruition with broccoli, beets, cabbage, turnips, collard greens, and hearty herbs.

Evan and I chose a bench in the center of the garden and looked at the flowers, plants, and pigeons.

I dug the aforementioned passage up for a reason—to illustrate the condition and ambiance of the park as we experienced it 4 ½ years ago.

In the time between then and now the space continued as an urban garden, which I guess kept the local homeless population in fresh vegetables, and on Sundays served as a battle field for LARPers wearing trash bag capes, plastic armor, and cardboard swords.

A few years ago a sign went up with depictions of proposed renovations and solicitation of donations. It revealed a radical overhaul. Asakura Robinson, landscape architects and urban planners, worked with Friends of Mandell Park and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department on the redevelopment. The result is quite lovely, somewhat formal, but still true to the roots of the green space.

Meredith Gardens was completely revamped with raised beds sectioned off by limestone retaining walls. The meandering foot path through the garden is handicap accessible. Plants to attract butterflies remains a feature and the centerpiece, donated by River Oaks Garden Club, is a fabulous “herb spiral”.

The main focus from Richmond is a raised meadow surrounded by a curvilinear seating wall. A prairie garden exhibits indigenous plants from the region and rain gardens filter pollutants from storm water. Sculptural installations will also be a feature.

Over 90% of the vegetation is new—the park needs lots of time for maturation. But in my opinion they have done a marvelous job and, with all of the growth in that part of Richmond, is a great asset to the community. All the saplings will be fully grown by the time Evan brings his own kids to the park… or about the time construction concludes in that area.

Friends of Mandell Park