What we’re about
City Walks Houston is a walking group that offers members an up close view of the city with 6-7 mile hikes exploring the parks, neighborhoods, and bayous around us. In addition to hikes, City Walks Houston arranges occasional tours of the parts of our community that you never see from behind the steering wheel. City Walks Houston is for active people who want to see more of this place and meet others so inclined.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- City Walk Bungalow Style II: Hermann Park, 6.0 MilesCentennial Park (Lot C), Houston, TX
More domestic architecture as today's walk takes us through the Museum District and Lower Montrose to see more of the dwelling that many of us lived in at one time or another: the bungalow. Originally derived from British-Indian and Japanese forms featured in the 1904 World's Fair in Chicago, the bungalow was immediately popular with its simple and practical proportions and combined well with the Arts and Crafts and Craftsman styles emerging at the time.
From 1905 on the American bungalow swept the country with the help of three abundant resources: a seemingly endless supply of wood, the mercantile simplicity of the Sears catalogue, and the inspiration of architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and the Greene brothers of Pasadena California. The basic bungalow could be selected from the catalogue and would arrive by train as a kit to build on your lot, and local builders modified the designs to meet the local conditions and from 1905 into the 1930s the bungalow with it's broad porchs, shady overhanging eaves, and decorative rafter tails and knee braces were the picture of domestic architecture.
Our walk will take us through the Museum District, Lower Midtown, Westmoreland, Audubon Place, and the beautiful gray bungalows that are part of Mme. De Menil's collection.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style Bungalows
Pasadena's Gamble House, not that Pasadena....
Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing, comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water. The heat in Texas is always a concern so let someone know if you are having a hard time. For more information about hiking check out this very useful hiking website: https://www.hatsandmore.org/
Our organizers are not guides nor do we have any special training. We are here to come up with hiking ideas and get the hike started. Take the same precautions you would if hiking alone, including the fitness needed to make long hikes. Then enjoy the hike among friends.
COVID PRECAUTIONS:
Bring and wear a mask when not hiking and follow the best practices to prevent the transmission of COVID.Gathering Place and Parking:
We will assemble in front of the McGovern Centennial Gardens by Parking Lot C. Directions to McGovern Centennial Gardens
Call or text Alan at 713 863 8038 if you need help.The Walk:
The walk is mostly paved and is a mix of sun and shade.Weather Forecast:
Downtown weather forecastHike map is in the photos.
Optional After Hike Event:
Bodega's Tacos
1200 Binz St #160, Houston, TX 77004, Caroline Street@Binz
Bodega's - City Walk Holiday Lights Downtown, 6.9 milesPlatypus Brewing, Houston, TX
Holiday Lights Downtown! Walk starts at 4:00pm!!
Parking:
There is plenty of free parking around the Platypus. It is the Holidays so DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR CAR.Wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water. The heat in Texas is always a concern so let someone know if you are having a hard time. For more information about hiking check out this very useful hiking website: https://www.hatsandmore.org/
Our organizers are not guides nor do we have any special training. We are here to come up with hiking ideas and get the hike started. Take the same precautions you would if hiking alone, including the fitness needed to make long hikes. Then enjoy the hike among friends.
Gathering Place:
Platypus Brewing
1902 Washington Ave Suite E · Houston, TXCall or text Alan at 713 863 8038 if you need help.
The Hike:
The walk is over paved sidewalks and is a mix of dark and urban shadows.Weather Forecast:
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=29.7591&lon=-95.3629Hike map is in the photos.
After Hike Event:
Platypus Brewing
1902 Washington Ave Suite E · Houston, TX - City Walk Twilight Epiphany about the Winter Solstice, indeterminate distanceMcGovern Centennial Gardens, Houston, TX
A quiet and thoughtful walk on the eve of a big holiday, this walk is considerably unspecified but could be a unique experience because of the sheer lack of people out in the middle of a busy part of the city. Come on out, we will have a nice outing one way or another.
Twilight Epiphany is an installation by James Turrell, "the veteran wizard of installations that involve illusory effects of light, both natural and artificial."(New Yorker). Though currently closed because of construction, we will just have to see what we can see.
Many meetup events have visited here and if you have seen it before, there is never a better time to see it again than now. If you haven't then it will be a special treat of abstraction. Because we are a walking group, we may also find that the experience of the walk through the natural and constructed environments of Hermann Park and Rice University will provide an interesting lead in to the abstraction of Twilight Epiphany.
All the rest of the details to come.
