9Bill Baldwind, Gene Locke, Matt Burrus, Michael Pearce
Photo by: Kim Coffman
10Bill Baldwind, Gene Locke, Matt Burrus, Michael Pearce
Photo by: Kim Coffman
11Bruce Padilla, Shelby Kibodeaux
Photo by: Kim Coffman
12Bruce Padilla, Shelby Kibodeaux
Photo by: Kim Coffman
13Claudia & Roberto Contreras
Photo by: Kim Coffman
14Claudia & Roberto Contreras
Photo by: Kim Coffman
15Commissioner Gene Locke & Joe Turner
Photo by: Kim Coffman
16Commissioner Gene Locke & Joe Turner
Photo by: Kim Coffman
17Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Photo by: Kim Coffman
18Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Photo by: Kim Coffman
19Council Member Jerry Davis & Terence Fontaine
Photo by: Kim Coffman
20Council Member Jerry Davis & Terence Fontaine
Photo by: Kim Coffman
21Crowd Reaction
Photo by: Kim Coffman
22Crowd Reaction
Photo by: Kim Coffman
23Dancing to the Period Band
Photo by: Kim Coffman
24Dancing to the Period Band
Photo by: Kim Coffman
25Deborah Duncan, Mathew Knowles & Alicia Smith
Photo by: Kim Coffman
26Deborah Duncan, Mathew Knowles & Alicia Smith
Photo by: Kim Coffman
27Diana Cumbow, Gary & Caroline Kenney
Photo by: Kim Coffman
28Diana Cumbow, Gary & Caroline Kenney
Photo by: Kim Coffman
29Estella Espinoza, Cynthia Cisneros
Photo by: Kim Coffman
30Estella Espinoza, Cynthia Cisneros
Photo by: Kim Coffman
31Gail Brown, Lynn Zarr, Meredith McCord
Photo by: Kim Coffman
32Gail Brown, Lynn Zarr, Meredith McCord
Photo by: Kim Coffman
33Gene Locke, Sheila Jackson Lee, Joe Turner
Photo by: Kim Coffman
34Gene Locke, Sheila Jackson Lee, Joe Turner
Photo by: Kim Coffman
35Joe Turner, Mindy Hildebrand
Photo by: Kim Coffman
36Joe Turner, Mindy Hildebrand
Photo by: Kim Coffman
37Mayor Sylvester Turner and Deborah Duncan
Photo by: Kim Coffman
38Mayor Sylvester Turner and Deborah Duncan
Photo by: Kim Coffman
39Michael, Lucia and David Cordua
Photo by: Kim Coffman
40Michael, Lucia and David Cordua
Photo by: Kim Coffman
41Period Band
Photo by: Kim Coffman
42Period Band
Photo by: Kim Coffman
43Pictures of past parks over the years
44Pictures of past parks over the years
45Stephen & Betty Newton, Andrea & Bill White
Photo by: Kim Coffman
46Stephen & Betty Newton, Andrea & Bill White
Photo by: Kim Coffman
47Suzy Bergner, Roy Marsh
Photo by: Kim Coffman
48Suzy Bergner, Roy Marsh
Photo by: Kim Coffman
2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, which has been marking the occasion with several events over the last couple of months. The final event took place May 21, with the Grand Opening of Gragg Park. Co-chairs Alicia Smith and Deborah Duncan led the reception, held at the McGovern Centennial Gardens and Cherie Flores Pavilion at Hermann Park. Over 200 supporters attended, including Mayor Sylvester Turner and Commissioner Gene Locke.
The Commissioner read aloud a letter he’d written to Turner to celebrate 100 years of parks in Houston, pledging to meet one-on-one with Turner to find ways to develop existing tax delinquent properties into additional parks for the constituents of Harris County Precinct 1.
In addition, Mayor Turner (no relation to Joe Turner despite both suggesting they are brothers) announced—to thunderous applause—that he would not be cutting the budgets of the Houston Library or the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
For more information about the Grand Opening of Gragg Park, click here.
