Historic waterfront park featuring public art, scenic bayou views, walking paths, and the site recognized as the birthplace of Houston.
Lighted areas: 6am to 11pm
How to Get There
From Houston (0 mi): Travel into Downtown Houston via I-45 or I-69, follow signs toward the historic district along Buffalo Bayou, and continue to Commerce Street where the park sits at the confluence of Buffalo and White Oak bayous.
Overview
Allen's Landing marks the birthplace of Houston, sitting on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou where it meets White Oak Bayou in Downtown Houston, just south of the University of Houston-Downtown. In August 1836, brothers John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen purchased land along the bayou and founded the city here, making this stretch of waterfront the city's original wharf and head of navigation.
A small park was first dedicated at the site in 1967, and a marker there recalls the liberty pole townspeople raised in 1837 to celebrate Sam Houston's victory at San Jacinto the year before. Since then, Allen's Landing has undergone major revitalization as part of Houston's Waterfront District, adding a concrete-paved wharf that echoes the original port, a walking trail, a promenade, and a terrace overlooking the bayou.
Things to Do
Walk the Historic Wharf
Stroll the reconstructed wharf and promenade along Buffalo Bayou, close to where Houston's founders first landed in 1836.
Take in Skyline Views
The terrace overlooking the bayou offers views of Downtown Houston and the University of Houston-Downtown campus just across the water.
Learn Houston's Founding Story
Markers throughout the small park explain the site's role as the birthplace of the city and its connection to the Texas Revolution.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Allen's Landing", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
