I love Third Ward, especially its history rooted in Emancipation Park. The recent Juneteenth Festival held there was overflowing with Black joy, much like many of the other events I've attended there on there (Jazzy Sundays, Zydeco Festival, etc.). The nearby street parking makes it easy to access and the plentiful grassy areas, shaded huts, and even splash zone and well-maintained playground makes it an ideal family-friendly community gathering space. There was a full-on food cookoff and I got to meet some incredible chefs serving navy beans and rice, crawfish cornbread (a first for me!), and hands down the most tender barbecue I've tasted in all of Houston courtesy of Chef G. What I loved most was that even with the crowd and all the community and vendor booths, it never felt packed.Each community booth spotlighted a different historically Black neighborhood in Houston, and the live performances on stage kept the vibe going. To learn the deep history of Emancipation Park, there's a clean, beautiful mosaic pillar with biographical info on Richard Allen, serving as a reminder that this isn't just a park, but moreso a monument to freedom, resilience, and celebration. read more

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Emancipation park is a local gem for 3rd ward. It's our local park. So we regularly walk the park, use the playground and have gone swimming a few times during the summer. Poll hours can be hard to nail down, but it's fun when you can take a dip. Recently, hosted Jazzy Sundays in the park, which was a lot of fun. The community really came out for those Sunday evening concerts! read more

Emancipation park is 3rd wards city supported park... The park brings a great green space for 3rd ward... The layout and architecture of the park is beautiful... lots of amenities for the community to use... The park does host various events as well for the community and surrounding area to enjoy... This park is such a gem for the area.... read more

I'm thankful for the Rec Center. It has a small gym with basic equipment. It is perfect for getting started. My FAVORITE step class is on Mondays and Wednesdays taught by Sade. She's an amazing teacher and you will break a good sweat and feel like you have WORKED out! All the staff I have interacted with are very nice! read more

This is a great park to take the family and your dog to walk around while in Houston. The facilities are a little dated and there isn't a bathroom available. There are baseball fields, tennis courts, and a playground for kids. Check this park out if you are in the neighborhood. read more

This review is strictly about the indoor gym. Glad I came to this one. The architectural design on the outside is very nice and modern. The weight room is decent. Has 3 treadmills, 3 ellipticals, leg press, and a number of varying strength training equipments. Not huge or a large variety of equipment like YMCA or other gyms but it's good enough to do some strength training and cardio. You do need to check-in with a badge every time you come in. It's never busy the times I've been there but I've seen roughly from 1 to 6 people there at a time. Unfortunately, there are no showers or lockers. But at least this is free and the hours are reasonable minus the 2-3 pm "cleaning time". read more

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When the pandemic started and I wasn't able to travel, my sense of adventure suffered. I found an outlet by exploring parks and sculptures in Houston. Mini adventures as I call them. I took the day off on a Thursday and stopped by Emancipation Park after lunch in the area. Emancipation Park is located in Third Ward and is a really nice park. There's a playground, basketball courts, tennis courts, an indoor gym, and plenty of greenery. Beyond park stuff, I also appreciated the focus on history. There are several signs that talk about the history of the park. There are sculptures in all four corners of the park of influential Blacks in the neighborhood. There are some cool sculptures in the center of the park. You can see it all in 30 minutes or so. read more

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I love bringing the kids here to the park. It's never too crowded. It's a futuristic type newer playground. The splash pad is a huge plus on the many hot days. We've also gone to some outdoor events here that we're open and spacious. Looking forward to trying the indoor facilities. Such a nice addition to the neighborhood. read more

Emancipation Park - Parks Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great historical park, lovely amenities and nice lawn. Today Creole Celebration great music, Whorting band, pop-ups and a lot of food vendors. The weather was grand and the police friendly. read more

Emancipation Park - Parks Near Me - Houston, Texas

Emancipation Park is a nice inner city park located in the third ward. There's a lot of open fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, and a free recreation center. We spent about 30 minutes walking through the park (~10 acres in size). The park is unique for its history - In 1872, African-American populations in Houston pooled $1,000 to put down on ten acres of land to host annual Juneteenth celebrations, and named it Emancipation Park in honor of their freedom. In the twentieth century, Emancipation Park was actually the only municipal park African-Americans could use during this period of racial segregation. Into the twenty-first century, many renovations have occurred, most recently in 2017. read more

Nice Tennis Court, Baseball Field and Basketball Court. They are open throughout the day (Refer to Park Hours) Have other amenities like Pool and Gym open to the public which is nice. Very nice and chill park and not at all crowded during the day so I will go more often. read more

Look into the history of this little gem of a landmark and you will be amazed at the vision that these founding gentleman had for this gift for us to enjoy. read more

Beautiful park, safe and welcoming to kids of all ages. Any random weekend may have an event or concert here. I love this park. read more

Emancipation Park - Emancipation park - Parks Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Nice park. Enjoyed watching Frankie Beverly & Maze during this year's Juneteenth celebration. Stepped out after the sun went down of course to avoid the blazing hot heat. The view of the fireworks was also nice. read more

We took our students here before touring a college close by, and we are so happy we did. This is a must-see place. The history and how this park came to be should be taught to all. I truly enjoy this park and know that my students were just as happy to visit and take in the history of this park as much as I was. read more

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This is such a beautiful park filled with a ton of history. It's gorgeous and has so much to offer. The lawn space is huge so you could have a picnic, workout, etc. They've also got a couple great sitting spaces that are shaded. I walked around and listened to a guided audio tour on the GeoTourist app. I highly recommend doing the tour so you can learn the background of the place. read more

Emancipation Park is one of the coolest inner-city parks in Houston. This newly renovated green space sits on the edge of Third Ward with a sweet view of the skyline. I'm buying a home in the area, so I stopped by to inquire about the recreation center. To my surprise, the entire facility is free of charge with a valid DL. The recreation center has a weight room and indoor basketball court. Also on the property: Indoor/outdoor pool, outdoor basketball court, tennis courts, baseball field, water park and a playground. The city of Houston did a great job with Emancipation Park, I'll definitely be a regular in the area. read more

The evening for the neighborhood night out was beautiful in Houston. Music, lots of families wanting to know how to eat better. At the Peaceful Planet Foundation table we had over 20 people taking Vegan StarterKits pamphlets plus an apple, orange, or banana. Should do this more that once a year. read more

This isn't my neighborhood but I checked out the park's grand opening and it's pretty good. They have a swimming pool outside, small basketball court outside, indoor weight room, and indoor basketball court. There are also meeting areas and such indoors though I'm not sure how you can use them. If you live in the area, you should take pride in the park and enjoy it. read more

Gorgeous views. Clean. The park has a lot of different areas and that makes it interesting. Love it!

One of the worst experiences I have ever had trying to rent a venue. I booked online and sent all required paper work and payments in. I was advised my event was double booked with someone else's and my event was canceled upon calling to confirm the rental. I had spoken with an employee at least 4 times prior to completing the rental online to advise I would be booking the date. Employee was unapologetic and did not offer any alternative options. Exercise extreme when booking and make sure you speak with someone after booking online! read more

I absolutely love this park and its history. I used to frequent the community center gym and for a free gym you can get a good workout in. I especially enjoyed the women's night on Mondays. The park itself is beautiful and offers many amenities. It's kid friendly with an updated park that my niece and nephew must visit whenever they're with me. read more

Emancipation Park - After a walk around the trail - Parks Near Me - Houston, Texas

So, I attended the Robert Glasper Jazzy Sunday event and the resteoom situation was completely degrading. While attending the Juneteenth festivities, I thought how nice the restroom facilities at this park were. But here we are with 5 porta potties and the building with the nice restrooms has a sign that says VIP. RIDICULOUS! read more

The park looks beautiful than it did before and better workout setting. It has a basketball court, free gym, a swimming pool, and a huge field. My friends and i tried to play soccer but we were confronted by a horrible security guard. He was shouting over and over to make it clear that this park costed millions and its too valuable to play in it. Whats the point os spending millions on a park that we cant play? All i know is that i miss the old emancipation park read more

I recently moved to 3rd ward and found myself with the new rescue pup and a three storey townhouse with no yard lol. My new rescue Mastiff and I spend a lot of time in Emancipation Park these days. It's a great park with lots of history... It has a nice variety of features from a playground to a baseball diamond, to tennis courts, to a track and a pool. read more

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Hannah dead empty and depressing. There's a nice history but other than that. It's boring as hell. Honestly regret driving there.

Simply Amazon... I use to play tennis in the park back in the day... I am really impressed with the renovation... Pool, gym area, softball field, basketball court, outside stage area, splash pad, covered outside table area, community center, and the beautiful landscape... I look forward to many happy times for the community use of Emancipation park... read more

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This is the best place to take your family on a nice sunny day. It's super clean, and they also have free gym membership.

Love all the activities they have here. Baseball field, playground for the kids or adults, basketball courts, tennis courts, picnic areas with bbq pits. Large open field to play games. Glad this community Center is here and the community using the park. read more

Over the past 2 years I've fell more and more in love with this park. I'm so glad 3rd Ward has this gem. I visit here weekly and love all this it offers FOR FREE! I've been to numerous events, rallies, classes, etc and I'm never disappointed. I love it. I really should cancel my private gym membership lol I encourage everyone to give participate in something. My husband loves the Wednesday night men's basketball and my favorite is Hip hop step aerobics with Coach Gee. The pool is also super nice. 5 stars for this much needed historic, renovated community center that caters towards the overall health of the black community read more

This park is a great park to go workout or to just relax. It's a great place in Third Ward! This park is always clean and safe! There's a lot of space to workout and there's a tennis court and play area for the kids. After running or partaking in any activity at this park, there are so many restaurants and other businesses you can visit in the nearby area. read more

I will NEVER!!!! support the Crawfish Festival event ever again!!.. paid $19( 5 plus service fee) for three people..only to stand in a damn line for crawfish for a hour and 1/2 to not get none because they sold out!!!.. while the music was nice and the park was nice... The organization of this event was AWFUL!!! Not enough vendors... and to have one line was ridiculous with 1 person taking orders..just HORRIBLE!!..never again will I go.. I rather Kemah crawfish festival or the one in Spring TX.. #TimeWasted...#MoneyWasted read more