“Jack, what do you think I should do as President of the RDA?”

He paused, and then said, “Fix Hermann Park.”

“That sounds like a big job,” I replied.

“Yeah, Jay, but you can do it.”

– Conversation between Jay Baker and O. Jack Mitchell, Jan 1992

Jay Baker Interview with Doreen Stoller, President of Hermann Park Conservancy

DS: How did you get involved in Hermann Park?
JB: In January of 1992, I was in my 4th year of teaching at the Rice University School of Architecture, and had become a colleague of Jack Mitchell’s. Furthermore, I was six months away from becoming President of the Rice Design Alliance (RDA), an outreach wing of the school that Mitchell had expanded to address community affairs. I asked him to meet with me to discuss the school and the RDA. We agreed to get together for dinner. Midway through, I said, “Jack, what do you think I should do as President of the RDA?” He paused, and then said, “Fix Hermann Park.” “That sounds like a big job,” I replied. “Yeah, but you can do it.”

That does sound like a big job. Did he give you any direction?
He went on to predict that making progress in the park would involve working with public and private entities, further telling me that there was no current consensus regarding the next best step. He did say that the ‘heart of the park’ might be an obvious place to start. As the convivial meeting concluded, I promised him I’d give it some thought. Not ten days later I received a call from a colleague. He was contacting me to extend his condolences. Confused, I asked him why, and he told me that Jack Mitchell had passed away unexpectedly that morning. He was 60 years old.

That must have been shocking. I know he was a mentor to many young architects.
It was then that I decided to pursue the idea of a design competition to improve Hermann Park. I could think of no better way to commemorate Jack’s great gifts to Rice and the City of Houston than to use design ideas to effect built change in Hermann Park. So, I began by seeking allies. When presented with the idea, a growing list of people discovered that they were like-minded. The Heart of the Park competition was initiated and officially underway within weeks. Eight months later, the winner was announced from a list of 117 entrants.

The competition was a great success and a wonderful way to honor Jack. But it took herculean efforts to realize the vision. What motivated you to sign up for the hard work to make it happen?
I come from a civic-minded family. Both my parents and my brother have been involved in volunteer efforts. When I was given the challenge to “fix Hermann Park,” I realized that I didn’t know the first thing about the park. In the 14 years I’d lived in Houston, I had probably stepped foot in the park less than a dozen times. When Jack Mitchell passed and I spent some time in the park, I was, frankly, embarrassed. But, the downtrodden conditions were motivating. The Heart of the Park competition was the spark. Initial resistance fell away as we built a team of accomplished and devoted volunteers. I am happy to have had a hand in making that spark. That experience guided me in subsequent years in efforts to improve Hermann Park.

How long did it take to get the Heart of the Park constructed?
Almost ten years. Once the winners of the Heart of the Park competition were announced, it was up to Hermann Park Conservancy (formerly The Friends of Hermann Park) to raise the funds necessary to build the winning entry. Very quickly, HPC discovered that it would be tantamount to impossible to raise money for a very limited part of a 445 acre park without a Master Plan. The RDA, HPC and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) could never have undertaken a competition for a master plan for that kind of effort as it would have been far too political.

Hermann Park Reflection Pool aggregate base

Hermann Park Reflection Pool over Sam Houston

“Jay Baker stands out as one of the most principled, hard-working, patient, and effective individuals I have met in the thirty years I have been trying to improve American cities.”

— Laurie Olin, FASLA, Master Planner for Hermann Park

Hermann Park Sam Houston shadow w flowers

The public wasn’t clamoring for a Master Plan?
No, the ultimate accomplishment of the Heart of the Park competition was to raise awareness of Hermann Park as a whole. Over the years, the park had been known for the institutional destinations within its borders; The Museum of Natural Science, The Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and the Hermann Park Golf Course. However, the spaces in between and adjacent to those institutions, indeed the park itself, had never benefited from public or private advocacy. As I met with friends and colleagues to review what might be ahead, I realized that public space had no value in Houston. Nobody cared about public space because there was no local example of it and most had their own back yard to play in anyway. Initially, the public perception of fixing Hermann Park was met with indifference.

Laurie Olin (then of Hanna/Olin, now OLIN) was selected for the Master Plan and he stayed involved to provide oversight for the next 20 years. What was it like to work with Laurie?
Laurie is just as articulate with his words as he is with his pen. Or vice versa, you pick. Many of us spent a good deal of time with him on his trips to Houston, trying to figure this or that out. I remember a lot of those times, but I’ll tell you about one here. We were working on the pesky problem of parking in the park. As his drawing developed, Laurie was talking about Roman aqueducts. Then he was talking about chairs and benches in Paris parks. Then he was talking about teaching in China. His drawing was finished. He said, “There, that should do it.” Fascinating, to say the least.

Laurie was also insightful and diplomatic while shepherding the work of local consultants into the guiding principles of the master plan. The built projects are unquestionably the result of his ambitious and collaborative vision.

Laurie wasn’t the only one who stayed involved with the park for 20 years. You are at 25 years and counting since the Heart of the Park competition.
My involvement has been as Board Member of HPC since 1995, Chairman of the Board 1998 – 2000 and Chair of the Projects Committee 1998 – present. The Projects Committee determines the scope of each project to be undertaken, selects the design consultants for those projects and assists in project management from schematic design through completion.

The Master Plan was adopted by Houston’s City Council in 1997 and that was the beginning of a public/private partnership with the City that has often been cited as a model. The projects committee has played a great role in ensuring the success of the projects. Why has this partnership been so successful?
Over the years we’ve had real estate developers, architects, attorneys, contractors, landscape architects and public office holders. And for the large majority of those years, we’ve had excellent project management provided by the conservancy. As a result, the project’s committee process has been linear, anchored by an abundance of patience and persistence. We define scope, hire the best consultants for each project, and won’t build anything until funding is complete; funding for something to last 100 years.

Did you dream that those early grass roots efforts would result in $120 million in park improvements by the Park’s Centennial in 2014?
What we have accomplished with community engagement has been extraordinary. But the Park is not finished and we are currently working on the master plan for the next 20 years.

You must have lots of key memories from working on the Park. What really stands out?
Given the lack of investment in public spaces at the time, the fact that the Jones Reflection was actually realized still seems a miracle to me. I was asked to be host for its groundbreaking, and as acting director of the conservancy, I got to sign the contract for its construction.