Day Trips: Buffalo Bayou Cistern, Houston
Cistern Illuminated sends a tsunami of light through the former underground drinking water reservoir
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Dec. 8, 2023
The Buffalo Bayou Cistern in Houston has done it again, this time with a special winter light show that immerses the visitor in an underground dreamscape of light and sound even more exciting than the last show.
When the lights go off in the cavern, patrons are engulfed in an inky darkness until the lights begin washing around the 221 25-foot-high concrete columns in waves of colors. The spaces between the rows of pillars become tunnels of flashing light, creating a feeling of weightlessness.
This light show surrounds you as you stand on the observation deck that encircles the giant tank looking in. At the end of the choreographed light show, when visitors clap or make a loud noise, the echo sends a tsunami of light washing over the space.
This is the second annual Cistern Illuminated, a winter light installation created by Houston artist and engineer Kelly O'Brien. For his second art piece in the Cistern, O'Brien has expanded the audio and visual effects.
The Cistern is an 87,500-square-foot reinforced steel underground reservoir built in 1926. From the inside, it looks somewhat like a buried flying saucer. It held 15 million gallons of water to supplement the city's drinking water system.
After springing a leak, the tank was decommissioned in 2007. Plans were to dig it up and turn the area into a parking lot. That is until the Buffalo Bayou Partnership rediscovered the Cistern in 2010, when the organization was developing a 160-acre park west of downtown, along the waterway. The unique space opened to the public in 2016 and has hosted several site-specific light shows.
Cistern Illuminated is at 105 Sabine St. in Houston. The winter light show is on display through Jan. 7, 2024. Tours last 30 minutes on Wednesday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Information and the $12 tickets are available at buffalobayou.org.
1,681st in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
