Downtown Houston in Harris County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Market Square Park Timeline
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 20, 2026
1. Market Square Park Timeline Marker
2009
Dismantling the porcelain enamel panels after the removal of the sculpture for restoration, December 2009 prior to demolition of the old park and the construction of the new design in 2010
2007
Market Square Park visitors warming in the sun, February 2007
1992
Gospel singers performing during lunch, December 1992
Protests during the Republican National Convention, August 1992
Laying the grass in the new Market Square Park designed by a team of artists selected by Diverse Works
The Public Landscape
We must bear in mind that the public space can assume many different forms; in many communities the public square is the market place. The nineteenth century transformed many places of public assembly into parks; elsewhere they have been pre-empted by public buildings and parking lots, or playgrounds for children. All of these are necessary functions, but they are not functions appropriate to a gathering place which is, in terms of the public landscape, an area where we are particularly aware of our identity as citizens. The question is, of course, what form the public gathering place should assume.
There is one final feature of the public landscape: the monument. We usually think of the monument as a permanent construction designed to keep alive the memory of a person or an event, and we give it a public character and a public location. It is a reminder of the past, it is a symbol of another community to which we belong: the community of those who have died. If the public square is a reminder of the present, the monument is a reminder of promises made, or origins which we are inclined to forget.
Each culture has its own concept of that invisible community to which it owes loyalty and from which it draws inspiration; but all these are reminders of ancient obligations. The designing and locating
this page online
J.B. Jackson
1990
The rejection of history led to the unthinking destruction of the historic urban heritage and the symbols and landmarks that anchor us to meaning and place; it dehumanized the environment and denied the continuity of culture.
Ada Louise Huxtable
View of City Hall & Market Square Park from the roof of the Rice Hotel 1925 by Cecil Thomson Courtesy of the San Jacinto Museum of History
1990 by Paul Hester
1925
History is never-ending; we are always inside history, never outside it. Gunter Grass
Looking south on Travis Street from Congress Avenue.
1925 by Cecil Thomson, Courtesy of the San Jacinto Museum of History
1990 by Paul Hester
1987
View from the roof of the State National Bank Building, 412 Main Street, looking at Market Square Park in February 1987, as it appeared with funding by the Junior League of Houston
1961
Public Park Urged for Site of Old City Hall
Rich
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 20, 2026
2. Market Square Park Timeline Marker
The post with this marker is in the background on the right.
A group of four persons met yesterday at the home of Mrs Whitfield Marshall to discuss plans for the park. Others attend-ing were Hamilton Brown, C, Cabanne Smith, and Mrs Charles Bybee.
"We feel the people of Houston do not want that old block sold at auction. It was the historical hub of the city," said Mrs. Bybee.
The Houston Press, January 20, 1961
Shops Around Square Hinge on Action by City Council
Councilman Johnny Goyen thinks a park there would be a "haven for winos."
Councilman Lee McLemore opposes a park on just this one square, although he would like to see this block and several others cleared and converted into a spectacular mall that would run east and west across the north of the downtown business district. One block is entirely too little, he said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Cutrer said he will urge the development of a small lake on Buffalo Bayou near Sam Houston Coliseum if it is at all feasible. The lake would provide for small boat recreation, he said.
The Houston Post, May 2, 1961
Old City Hall Issue Began Slowly, Built Up
Mayor
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 20, 2026
3. Market Square Park
The post with this marker can be seen on the right side of the photo.
"A park would be just a tombstone for a dead and forgotten area--a gathering place for soap box orators and crackpots," he said.
Mrs. Charles Bybee take a vigorous opposite view. The city has a moral obligation to retain the first piece of ground ever given to it, she said.
The Houston Post, July 17, 1961
Accusations Fly as Vote on Square Sale Nears
Issues on Old City Hall Site: Sell Land or Hold for Park
Irvin M. Schlenkler, chairman of the board of the Houston National Bank, said that he "emphatically recommended that the Old City Hall property be used for commercial development." He said that Houstonians had not neglected historical sites in the city and that if parks had been build on all of the sites the city would be without many of its principal skyscrapers.
Mayor Cutrer said the city had advertised twice to sell the property and the Old Market Corp bid was the only one received. He said that
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 20, 2026
4. Market Square Park
The Houston Post, July 21, 1961
1960 [Newspaper clipping:] Old City Hall Is Wrecked by Fire
1941
Bowen Trailways Bus Station, occupying the old City Hall & Market House after the construction of a new City Hall @ 900 Brazos Street in 1939 and a new Farmers Market on Louisiana in 1929. Photograph by Joseph Litterest, November 27, 1941 Courtesy of the Harris County Heritage Society.
1939
1904
City Hall & Market House, 1904, George E. Dickey, Architect Photograph by Cecil Thomson 1925, Courtesy of the San Jacinto Museum of History
1901
Houston's Big Market Succumbs to Flames
A Conflagration that Will Be Serious to the Municipality
The Fire Started from a Tinner's Furnace on the Roof of the Building
About 3:40 o'clock yesterday fire bells rang out the requiem market house and city hall, which as a market place has bean pointed to with pride for years by every citizen.
In a few minutes after the first alarm was given dense volumes of smoke ascended from
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 20, 2026
5. City Hall and Market House, circa 1925
This photo on the marker shows the last City Hall and Market House on the site, built in 1904. It was razed in 1960, and the area became a park in the 1970s.
When the flames began to shoot through the roof, enveloping nearly the entire south wing of the structure, people began to realize that the big market was doomed, a realization made all the more vivid when when stream after stream of water turned on from the fire plugs had scarcely pressure enough behind to force the water to the top of the awning shed surrounding the building. The greasy butcher's stalls added a new source of combustion to the greedy flames.
The fire spread with remarkable rapidity, so making its way through the new cupola that has been recently placed upon the building in repairs and reconstructions made necessary by the September 8, 1900 storm. At exactly 4:35 o'clock, the immense new tower just getting ready for its pinnacle covering crumbled and fell.
The Houston Daily Post
Tuesday, June 25, 1901
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical date for this entry is January 20, 1961.
Location. 29° 45.765′ N, 95° 21.715′ W. Marker is in Houston, Texas, in Harris County. It is in Downtown Houston. It is on Milam Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 Milam St, Houston TX 77002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Market Square Park (here, next to this marker); Old Market Square (here, next to this marker); The Houston Market Square Park Project (here, next to this marker); Park Site Chronology (here, next to this marker); United Airlines Flight 93 (within shouting distance of this marker); Lauren's Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); The Kennedy Bakery (within shouting distance of this marker); W. L. Foley Building (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Houston.
More about this marker. The marker is affixed to a post in the eastern corner of Market Square Park. The front of the post features a 1970 Texas Historical Marker about Old Market Square.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
