Within the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, my fiancée and I would take walks through the streets of Second Ward where we lived and the trails that run through the East End and East Downtown. We even nicknamed the first stretch of the Columbia Tap Rail Trail that runs from Emancipation Ave. to the Third Ward the “WALD Walk” because of the defunct WALD sign that acts as an unofficial billboard for this neighborhood and somehow still sits atop its original home on Live Oak St.
During one of these Covid strolls, we decided to keep walking to the Houston International Promenade that almost, but doesn’t quite connect to the Columbia Tap Rail Trail at Bastrop and McKinney St behind PNC (Dynamo) Stadium. In 2011, the Sister Cities of Houston (SCH) stated that this promenade would “…provide greenery, mini-plazas, terraces and gardens of Sister Cities, along with space for exhibits, festivals and other cultural, international and art-related events with inter-active, educational activities featuring Houston’s international community.”
As we walked down the promenade, we noticed new patches of grass and recently planted trees, but a lack of “mini-plazas”, “terraces”, and a place to “showcase Houston as a multi-cultural international city” as the plan originally intended.
However, as we crossed Polk St. and walked just beyond EaDog Park toward Bell St. where the promenade trail starts, we noticed a large vacant concrete structure. This crumbling chunk of concrete quickly became an ongoing DIY project during the pandemic that supports the original vision from the Sisters Cities of Houston and programming efforts from the Project for Public Spaces (PPS).
What better way to showcase Houston’s diversity and originality than by flipping a dilapidated concrete structure into a public court for the world’s game at the starting point of an International Promenade that just so happens to end at the rear entrance of the home to Houston’s professional men and women’s soccer teams?
At the time of our discovery, this land looked more like an illegal dumping site with piles of trash and debris that consisted of everything from old furniture and broken glass to used needles and broken electronic parts.
After researching online, seeing marketing material that seems to be showing the unmarked land where this 50’ x 100’ concrete structure sits as a “COH right-of-way”, and communication outreach attempts with no response, we decided to take action as part of an initiative we call “Ball-A-Block”.
In short, think the Adopt-A-Block program but in the process of picking up litter, we are also creating park space for public use where Houstonians can play small-sided soccer.
With the help of friends and members of Houston Town Futsal, we volunteered many weekend hours to turn this run-down space into a DIY street soccer court for the public and where members of our group meet to play each Saturday. We continue to use funds from weekly indoor soccer pickups to maintain and enhance the space with line markings, art installations, trash clean-up, temporary fencing, and more.
During a Saturday pickup session, an artist from Colombia dropped in to play a few games with our group. Resting in the shade and sipping a few drinks, we started talking afterwards about an art component for The Block that would help inspire people to think more creatively about space in their communities while also highlighting work from local artists in the neighborhood. Under his leadership and with members volunteering to paint, we were able to add an art installation to The Block that helped bring visibility and show what’s possible for the space.
In the future, we’d love to work with the city and local artists to enhance The Block with large-scale murals to build on the original mission of showcasing Houston as the diverse, multi-cultural city that it is. We’ve been inspired seeing court renovation projects done by organizations like Project Backboard that install large works of art on the actual playing surface that would be perfect for this space since it fits right in with the current street art culture in Houston’s East End.
Our hope is that local leaders and city officials support this vision by safely converting The Block to a public soccer court as part of their “Bastrop Greenspace” plans as seen in the East Downtown Redevelopment Authority / TIRZ 15 active projects.
Weather permitting, our group currently meets at The Block on Saturdays to play soccer, socialize, and pick-up the various trash that seems to accumulate here on a weekly basis. We invite you to join us in hopes that one day soon The Block will be a city recognized soccer court that all Houstonians walking the trail can enjoy as free entertainment, exercise, and inspiration.
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