A Downtown Houston Place to Visit

(Pictured above, January 2025, an unlikely view of Allen’s Landing.)

Allen’s Landing saved my sanity during the pandemic.

During the dark days of the pandemic, when the other places I normally went to were closed, while our loft got smaller everyday, the outdoor space, that is Allen’s Landing, saved my sanity. Because of that, it became a downtown Houston place to visit. Allen’s Landing sits on the south side of Buffalo Bayou, just north of Commerce Street. In case you have not been there before, it has a grass lawn sloping down from Commerce Street. There are areas at its base where canoes and kayaks enter and exit the bayou. At one point on that slope, about halfway down, there is a flat grassy lawn area. This flat area is significant for reasons later discussed. Across the bayou to the left looking north is UH downtown. I refer to Allen’s Landing as a hidden gem of downtown as it is a great downtown space that is underutilized. Unknown by even those that live downtown, a few blocks away.

April 2020

It started out for me with a lawn chair and a book in April of 2020. I had the whole place to myself. I eventually spent time on the north side of the bayou on the cake layer style steps. Near where the Main Street Bridge meets the train tracks going under the University of Houston Downtown(“UHD”). From there, you will find the White Oak bike trail heading north towards the Heights intersecting with other trails. These trails wind their way all the way to the 610 North Loop. Other trails lead down both sides of the bayou to Shepherd along Memorial Drive and Allen Parkway. Early on, it was like a major storm was on its way and everyone else had left town. Over time, other neighbors joined me on the area of the lawn of Allen’s Landing near the Sunset Coffee House. It became a gathering place with our circle of lawn chairs, outside, providing a such needed break from the pandemic.

Allen’s Landing – Summer 2020

The empty hiking and bicycling paths in March of 2020 that line both sides of Buffalo Bayou later became as busy as I10 West by the summer of 2020. Leading to the introduction of many Houstonians to the parks and trails along both bayous. Flash forward to today, and the community built during the pandemic continues today. If you see a group of people down by Allen’s Landing throwing sticks to knock over other sticks, it is us. We are playing the game of Kubb, also referred to as Viking chess. The game we are playing is irrelevant. It could be horseshoes, bean bag toss or bingo. The key word is community.

Recent efforts by the City of Houston Mayor’s office have improved the area laying the groundwork for its renaissance. This past holiday season, The Snow Glow on the Bayou was presented by the Downtown Houston + organization. It was the first year of this event. The DowntownHouston.org website describes it as “… a digital, immersive light and sound spectacular. Reflecting in the water and projected onto a four-story tall, six-story wide water screen.” I was able to enjoy the relaxing music each night of the show through my open balcony door with a glimpse of the water wall over the trees. There are other events during the year at Allen’s Landing including the charity rubber duck race, the Buffalo Bayou regatta (canoes and kayaks) and the Houston Dragon Boat Festival to name a few. Collectively, these events and others make it a downtown Houston place to visit.

The History – the Julia Idelson Library

Before I discuss the present-day state of Allen’s Landing and consider the opportunities going forward, I first want to reflect on its history. It is the birthplace of Houston. When I want to research history specific to Houston, I go to the Julia Idelson library. The library is next door to the Main Downtown Library across from City Hall. The interior of the building alone is worth the trip. The research area for Houston topics is on the back side of the first floor through the glass doors. I went there and asked for anything they had on Allen’s Landing. They handed me a manila folder full of copies of old newspaper articles and other historical documents. It is a wonderful place to research Houston history with a friendly and helpful staff.

The 16th Century and Allen’s Landing

I started my research with a Houston Post article “The Landing: 1971” (January 14, 1971). If you are new to Houston, for a time, the city had two newspapers, The Post and The Chronicle. The article notes that “It was the Allen Brothers Augustus and John, who found it (referring to Allen’s Landing) in 1836.” The article also notes that John Harris had previously considered the location in 1826, “…but instead built a trading post about 20 miles from Galveston on Buffalo Bayou and founded Harrisburg.” Furthermore, the article noted that “Cabeza Devaca came close to it in 1528”. A quick internet search tells me Devaca was a Spanish Explorer who traveled across what is the now the Southwest US in the early 16th century, returning to Spain.

The Allen brothers settled at this location and named the new city “Houston” after General Sam Houston. After that, Allen’s Landing served a world economy based on the exchange of commodities eventually displaced by the Industrial Revolution, locomotives, the telegraph, and the automobile. Today, down along the waters edge, you can see the names of the commodities trading during those early years embedded in the concrete, like coffee and cotton seed. The Port of Houston would replace it and become a major port in the world.

Early Learnings – Buffalo and White Oak Bayou

When I started my review of its history, two things that should have been obvious to me, became clear in my early research. First off, Buffalo Bayou has the name it has as apparently, buffalo once roamed its banks. Secondly, it is no coincidence that “Main” street intersects with the bayou at the convergence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou. In the book, “Vanished Houston Landmarks” (Mark Lardas, 2020), “The brothers declared that piece of land was the true head of navigation and claimed the intersection of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou offered a natural turning basis.” Even today, the intersection of these two bayous is used as a turning basin for the yachts that make their way up to Allen’s Landing from the Kemah area for a weekend each year. From what I could tell, after the Port of Houston replaced Allen’s Landing as the hub of commerce, things went quiet at Allen’s Landing.

1960s

That is until the next active period. In the late 1960s, Allen’s Landing became somewhat of a hangout for “hippies.” In an independent written article by Catherine Essinger in the summer of 2010, “Hippie Landing, Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine” it notes that the building now called the Sunset Coffee House was celebrating its centennial (original building date of 1910). At the time, the Sunset Coffee House was called the International Coffee Building. In 1967, the Love Street Light Circus on the top floor of that building was a psychedelic rock club with a liquid light show, dances, and rock bands. Flash forward to today, and the updated Sunset Coffee House is used for various events including weddings. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership offices in the building today.

In the article from the “The City Hall Mark” publication titled “Allen’s Landing Park Planned,” date June 24, 1966, reports of the groundbreaking of the $50,000 plan to develop the area. The article includes a picture of the then Mayor, Louis Welch, performing the ceremonial groundbreaking with a shovel in hand. A brochure appearing to date in 1967 announces the beginning of boat tours at the site of Allen’s Landing in a 100-passenger paddle-wheel excursion boat. An adult ticket was $2, and a child ticket was $1. In June of 1989, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership issued the “Allen’s Landing Plan” with one of the stated goals being “attract people to the waterfront,” make it a downtown Houston place to visit.

The Present

That is where my paper trail ended as things got quiet after that. Today, Allen’s Landing area serves as the the intersection of the White Oak and Buffalo Bayous vast bike trails. It hosts the various events I noted above adding added a new one during this past holiday season.

Given its location and proximity to the downtown business community, I see many opportunities for the area. To the leaders of this community, I encourage you to undercover this hidden gem with all its possibilities. The birthplace of the city, the intersection of a vast bike path network and the place that ushered some of us through the pandemic. A downtown Houston place to visit.

Viking chess anyone?

A Downtown Houston Place to Visit, a Hidden Gem, Allen’s Landing