KHOU 11's Hidden Gems
From a Chinese amusement park to places to secure your love, the Houston area is loaded with hidden gems. KHOU 11 spotlights one each Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Houston area is full of amazing places you've probably never checked out or maybe never even heard about. Each Thursday at 6 p.m., KHOU 11 spotlights one of these locations!
The Chinese amusement park features a Panda Village, Kung Fu statues, a garden of happy Buddhas, as well as models of the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army. Lucky Land Amusement Park
It’s easy to tell that Lucky Land, a Chinese amusement park in North Houston, is Nida Lee's passion.
"We started about 2014," she says.
That's when she and her husband began assembling her dream. What used to be Forbidden Gardens in Katy was shutting down.
"I just said, ‘This is a treasure. I have to save it,'" says Lee.
The pedestrian bridge that connects to Eleanor Tinsley Park is loaded with hundreds of locks, securing declarations of love. Love Lock Bridge
If you are looking for some place unique to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your special someone, how the Love Lock Bridge right over Allen Parkway in Eleanor Tinsley Park.
"The feeling that you get when you get on the bridge is just blissful," describes Unique Tripplett. "I could actually feel the love of other people that have been there prior to me going there."
Tucked in between metal recycling yards, you'll find a small creek-based park that connects Fifth Ward with the wilderness of Buffalo Bayou. Japhet Creek Park
Unless you know to look out for it, chances are, you've driven right past one of Houston's hidden gems on the east side.
"Japhet Creek is a little tributary that heads up from Buffalo Bayou into the Fifth Ward neighborhood," says Karen Farber, vice president of external affairs for Buffalo Bayou Partnership. "So it’s special because it’s really one of the only places where the Fifth Ward can really connect with Buffalo Bayou right now."
Opened in 1912, the Houston campus is loaded with details like a recipe for gold, a resting spaceship and a building that croaks like a frog. Rice University campus secrets
Where in Houston can you find a recipe for gold, a resting spaceship and a building that croaks like a frog? Believe it or not, all of that and so much more is at Rice University.
"We hear a lot of people say, ‘This is what I thought a college should look like,’" shared Greg Marshall.
"He was just a guy doing something in his spare time," The Orange Show's Pete Gershon says of John Milkovisch, who created the iconic can-covered house. Beer Can House
Right in the middle of Houston’s Rice Military neighborhood, in between new townhomes, you’ll find a 1930s home covered in aluminum. This is Houston's Beer Can House.
"This is the work of a man named John Milkovisch. He was a working class dude. He was an upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad," shares The Orange Show's Pete Gershon. "(He was a) precision craftsperson, as you might guess from the artwork behind me, and this is what he did as a pastime."
The pendulum, which is a visual demonstration of the Earth's rotation, is a permanent exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Foucault's Pendulum
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is most assuredly a gem, but it's far from hidden. Instead, we're talking about a feature hidden in plain sight: Foucault's Pendulum.
Dropped right in the middle of the hallway off the exhibit hall's second entrance, the bob travels back and forth at all hours, knocking down a circle of pins near the outer rim of its swing. At any given time, you'll catch people hovering around its railing, staring at it intently.
It's one of the most popular running trails in the country, but most folks who visit have no idea they’re running and walking by Houston history every day. Memorial Park History
"Prior to being Memorial Park, this had been a military training facility to serve while World War I," shared Shellye Arnold, president and CEO of the Memorial Park Conservancy.
Camp Logan stretched across more than 7,000 acres in Houston and served as home to thousands of soldiers training to fight abroad. When the war ended and the camp shut down, the City of Houston opted to turn 1,500 acres of its footprint into a park.
The tree is loaded with locks, all symbols of a special moment or relationship. Love Locks Tree
It started off as something to make people smile, but a hidden gem in Spring is having a much deeper impact. KHOU 11 viewer Valeria let us know about the Love Locks Tree.
"It just was a crazy idea. After seeing love locks put on the strangest places in different art shows we go to, I just thought, ‘We’ve got to have something in Spring,'" says Kelly Speer, who owns the Lana Williams Gallery in Old Town. "We didn’t have a bridge. We didn’t have a river."
Artist James Turrell uses art as his medium in this publicly accessible art on the Rice campus. Twilight Epiphany Skyspace
This year, one of the most prominent pieces of public art on the Rice University campus celebrates a big milestone. Artist James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyspace opened 10 years ago.
"Some artists might work with paint on canvas, others with bronze and sculpture, James Turrell’s innovation is that he perceives light as the medium of the artwork," explains Alison Weaver, director of the Moody Center of the Arts at Rice University. "It’s ineffable, it’s not tangible, but it’s visible and it’s really interesting in terms of thinking about how we perceive our environment and the natural world."
The one-of-a-kind gallery mixes more traditional fine at with the kind on wheels. Art Car Museum
When Ann and Jim Harithas opened Houston's Art Car Museum in 1998, they wanted to offer a place where you could see art cars year-round. The result is a gallery that mixes more traditional fine art with the kind on wheels.
"Art cars are a uniquely new American art form and they should be shown with fine art because they are fine art," says Alicia Duplan.
Pearland bridge is home to colony of Mexican free-tail bats Fite Bridge bat colony
The Waugh Bridge bat colony is probably the best known in the Houston area, but did you know we have another prominent one? It’s in Pearland.
"These guys are such an important part of our environment," says Suzanne Jurek, a volunteer with the Houston Area Bat Team, gesturing toward Fite Bridge. "This bridge has a colony of Mexican free-tail bats. Previously, we’ve had up to 10,000 bats in this bridge. We’re not up to that size right now, but it will rebuild and we’ll have that size again at some point."
For many migrating songbirds, their last stop before High Island is the Yucatan Peninsula. That's about 600 miles. Smith Oaks Sanctuary
March, April and May make up peak migration season for birds in Texas. If you want to catch a glimpse of the more than 100 species flying through, we know just the place: Smith Oaks Sanctuary in High Island.
"It’s not an actual island," explains Pete Deichmann, Houston Audubon's land director. "It is not surrounded by water. It’s surrounded by marsh and coastal prairie."
Built in 1926, the reservoir could hold up to 15 million gallons of Houston's drinking water. Buffalo Bayou Cistern
What we now call the Buffalo Bayou Cistern was built about 100 years ago, but it just opened to the public in 2016, which means you can take a walk through Houston history.
"This is just one of those places where you can learn about Houston’s water system," says Dwendol Nelson, Buffalo Bayou Park Visitor Services Coordinator. "Most people don’t think about where their water came from."
The Montgomery park includes a waterfall, a pond stocked with koi and turtles, a Little Free Library and more. Memory Park
The name of Memory Park in the town of Montgomery has two meanings. While it is a place to memorialize loved ones, it is also a place where you can make new memories.
"I think to come out and walk this park shows so many things to so many different people," says Don Carter, who serves on the Memory Park Executive Committee.
What was once a 178-acre golf course now provides flood protection and green space for Clear Lake neighbors Exploration Green
Exploration Green is a community project in Clear Lake that serves two purposes. When the weather is nice, it’s a place where neighbors can connect with nature. When storms hit, it keeps nature away from neighbors.
"This is really a resilience project," says John Branch, Clear Lake City Water Authority board member.
This MFAH house museum was built as a home for Harris and Carroll Sterling Masterson in 1952. Rienzi
The home at 1406 Kirby looks like so many of its River Oaks neighbors with its gated driveway, sprawling garden and breathtaking façade. But this house has a name: Rienzi.
"I’m deeply fond of it," says Christine Gervais, the Fredricka Crain Director of Rienzi and Curator of Decorative Arts at MFAH. "When people come here, it’s this sort of quick trip to Europe, which I think is a really wonderful thing to give to Houstonians."
This former municipal pool is now a massive attraction with more than a dozen heart-pumping rides. Splashway Waterpark and Campground
KHOU 11 News viewer Kristen answered our call for hidden gems in the greater Houston area, suggesting we drive about 90 minutes west of Houston to Sheridan, Texas, to check out Splashway Waterpark & Campground.
"I love Splashway. My family’s been coming here for more than 10 years," said Ivy Frazier, a Katy mom who has season passes. "We love that it’s such, a family-oriented park. I can let my kids go, they feel completely safe here."
Thousands of mosaic pieces decorate Houston's first art park. Smither Park
Chances are, even if you’ve never been to this week’s Hidden Gem, you’ve seen pictures of it on social media. Smither Park is one of the most photographed places in Houston.
"It’s Houston’s first art park," shares Jonathan Beitler with The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art.
The university's 700+-piece collection that began in 1969 includes several paintings by Texas-born Dorothy Hood and innovative artwork from Carlos Cruz-Diez. UH public art
Even during the summer months, the main campus of the University of Houston is buzzing with activity. Students and staff walk the trails through tree-lined courtyards, sometimes not even acknowledging the public art they pass.
"It’s accessible to everybody and there is no barrier. It’s about having encounters with art wherever you are," says Maria Gaztambide, executive director and chief curator for Public Art University of Houston System.
Have a picnic. Go fishing. Do some birdwatching. Take a walk. Just unplug. You can do it all at this Sugar Land park. Cullinan Park
If you love the outdoors and haven’t been yet, add Cullinan Park to your to-do list.
"It’s a 750-acre nature park that is just a gem in our community," says Robbin Mallett, president of the Cullinan Park Conservancy.
The story of early English-speaking settlers is told through four generations of a real Texas family by interpreters who interact with visitors. George Ranch Historical Park
If modern living is getting you, take a trip back in time at the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond.
"Our mission is to teach students about Texas history really in about a 100-year timeframe from the 1830s to the 1930s," says site director Adrienne Barker.
The third-tallest building in Houston stretches 64 stories up and that top bit is where you can spot the cats. Cats hidden in Williams Tower
Without dispute, Williams Tower is one of the most recognizable buildings in the Houston skyline. But in all the times you drove by it, have you ever noticed the cats tucked in each corner?