Hermann Park is home to numerous cultural institutions including the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Hermann Park Golf Course, which became one of the first desegregated public golf courses in the United States in 1954.

[2] The opening of the Houston Zoo in 1922[3] and the requisition of a large southern portion of the park for the establishment of the Texas Medical Center in 1943[3] fundamentally altered the scope and configuration of the space, though significant elements of the Kessler plan—such as the north-south axis extending from Montrose Boulevard—remain and have been expanded upon.

[4] Following the recommendation of a 1913 report which identified the then-rural area between Main Street and Brays Bayou as ideal for a large urban park, real estate investor and entrepreneur George H. Hermann, who owned most of the area and served on the city's parks board, bequeathed his estate to Houston for use as a public green space in 1914.

Cullinan chose the site for Shadyside knowing that it would be adjacent to the large swath of land dedicated to the development of public amenities, including Hermann Park.

Not only would Kessler ensure that similar aesthetic choices would be implemented at Shadyside and Hermann Park, this coordination prevented commercial development from encroaching on the common sides of the properties.

[9] As with the neighboring development of Shadyside, Kessler devised his plan for Hermann Park with knowledge of other adjacent land tracts dedicated to public use.

[10] By 1916, famed landscape architect George Kessler had completed a master plan for the park which was gradually implemented throughout the following decades.

Noted in a winning entry for the 2005 National Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the “Heart of the Park” reflecting pool utilized a biofiltration system of gravel beds and perforated pipes to trap organics so that they naturally decompose.

Porous paving systems and decomposed granite also limit potential damage from increased water run-off from the site.