Millions of Houstonians and visitors alike visit Memorial Park for community, exercise and wildlife watching. But beneath the treetops lies a remarkable story — this park was once part of Camp Logan, the World War I training site for 70,000 soldiers.
Today, Memorial Park is reimagining cemetery space with a new balance of formalism and nature. Read on to learn more about this trend and why it’s gaining popularity.
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Peace of Mind
Peace of mind is a state where you feel calm and clear-headed. It means that you can handle the challenges and difficulties that come your way, without feeling overwhelmed or stressed. It’s also a feeling where you can be content with your life and your relationships.
High-end memorial parks offer a peaceful environment for loved ones to visit and reflect on their memories in a natural setting. Their design features include serene surroundings, quality craftsmanship and personalization options to create a unique tribute.
They also provide enhanced perpetual care, which includes regular landscaping, cleaning and maintenance to keep the grounds in pristine condition. This level of service is often not available in public cemeteries, where budget constraints and other factors may result in overgrowth or unattended plots. This can give families peace of mind knowing that their loved ones’ final resting place will be well-maintained for generations to come. A decision like this is an act of foresight that offers financial savings, relieves family members of unnecessary stress and ensures that your wishes are respected in the future.
Serene Setting
A memorial park’s focus on nature provides a serene setting that calms and comforts visitors. This environment is often compared to a cemetery in the countryside, with grassy lawns and trees dotted by simple sculptures or monuments.
Unlike traditional cemeteries, memorial parks don’t use competing headstones to mark graves. Instead, they utilize flat flush markers on landscaped plots. This allows family members to visit the burial grounds without distractions and focus on their memories and reflections.
One such example is the Memorial Groves, designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz as a living remembrance for the men who trained at Camp Logan and sacrificed their lives in the Great War. The project includes a forest of more than 2,000 bald cypress, symbolizing soldiers standing in formation. A contemplative earthwork inspired by WWI trenches will be situated within the forest.
The Memorial Groves are part of a larger suite of projects to enhance Memorial Park’s connectivity and resiliency, restore damaged ecologies to provide higher function for the park and city, provide new cultural and recreational amenities, and tell historic narratives through landscape design. These projects are being accelerated through the Memorial Park Conservancy’s Ten-Year Plan initiated in 2018.
Natural Beauty
Memorial parks offer a greener, more natural alternative to traditional cemeteries. They focus on creating beautiful spaces that are a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They also promote reforestation and provide habitats for wildlife. These environmentally friendly initiatives align with many families’ changing attitudes toward death and mourning.
For example, the Eastern Glades is a natural oasis located within the park that features scenic trails and wetlands. It offers a serene place for picnicking and family strolls, as well as an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. YBC’s timber boardwalks are an integral part of this natural attraction.
As one of the nation’s largest urban parks, Memorial Park is a unique natural destination that replenishes the body, mind and soul. Located in the heart of Houston, it provides a serene sanctuary for neighbors and visitors to play sports, discover nature or simply unwind.