Previously planned to be demolished, a former water reservoir in Houston, Texas–built in 1926–has found new life as a public art space.
As the Buffalo Bayou Park‘s Shepherd to Sabine project began in 2010, an amazing structure was rediscovered below the lawn that is to become the signature Sky Lawn at The Water Works.
The “Cistern,” as it has been dubbed, was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Built in 1927, it provided decades of service until it was drained when it sprang a leak that couldn’t be located or contained.
The reservoir’s rebirth is the latest example of efforts by cities around the U.S. to reuse and repurpose abandoned and dilapidated pieces of infrastructure as public spaces.
Image by SmartGeometrics.