General Information
Allen's Landing is the officially recognized birthplace of the city of Houston, Texas. Located in Downtown Houston between the Main Street and Fannin Street viaducts, the landing encompasses the southern bank of Buffalo Bayou, the city's principal river, at its confluence with White Oak Bayou, a major tributary. Allen's Landing is located south of the University of Houston-Downtown Commerce Street Building.
In August 1836, just months after the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico, two New York real estate developers, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, purchased 6,642 acres (26.88 km2) of coastal prairie and settled the town of Houston on the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The present-day landing area was advertised as the head of navigation of the bayou and served as the city's first wharf.
Once the focal point of downtown Houston, a small historical park was dedicated at the site in 1967. The Southern Pacific Railroad donated 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of land to the park project, which was to be developed and maintained by the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the City of Houston, and the Harris County Navigation District. In addition, a marker was placed at the park to indicate where, in 1837, townspeople erected a liberty pole to commemorate Sam Houston's victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto the previous year.
The name Allen's Landing is a 20th-century creation not found in any historical document. According to a 2008 Houston Chronicle article, the name was the invention of the Houston Chamber of Commerce. Charlie Lansden, longtime director of the chamber's Community Betterment Division, made this claim to Janet Wagner, a local historian.
After years of neglect and deterioration, Allen's Landing, as part of Houston's Waterfront District, has undergone major revitalization and rejuvenation, much like the rest of historic downtown Houston. The first phase of the Allen's Landing revitalization project was completed in 2001. Special features of the park, located at 1001 Commerce Street, now include: a concrete-paved wharf, designed to replicate the original port; a trail/walkway; a promenade; and a terrace overlooking Buffalo Bayou.
The campus of the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) straddles Allen's Landing. The university's One Main Building, which is housed in the former Merchants and Manufacturers Building (renovated in the 1980s), is just across the bayou at One Main Street, and UHD's 95,000-square-foot (8,800 m2) Commerce Street Building, which was completed in May 2005, sits adjacent to the park at Main Street and Commerce.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Allen's Landing", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
