Memorial Park, Houston

Memorial Park, a municipal park in Houston, Texas, is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Opened in 1924, the park covers approximately 1466acre inside the 610 Loop, across from the neighborhood of Memorial. Memorial Drive runs through the park, heading east to downtown Houston and west to the 610 Loop. I-10 borders the park to the north. The park was originally designed by landscape architects Hare & Hare of Kansas City, Missouri.From 1917 to 1923, the land where the park currently exists was the site of Camp Logan, a U.S. Army training camp. During World War I, the training camp was located on the far west boundaries of Houston. After the war in early 1924, Will and Mike Hogg, purchased 1503acre of former Camp Logan land and sold the area to the city at cost. In May 1924, the City of Houston took ownership of the land to be used as a "memorial" park, dedicated to the memory of soldiers who lost their lives in the war. The park is adjacent to the Camp Logan, Crestwood, and Rice Military neighborhoods.The park includes the 18-hole Memorial Park Golf Course, Texas’s top-rated municipal golf course. Formerly the site of a nine-hole course launched in 1912, it was completely redesigned by John Bredemus and opened in 1936. The course rating is 75.0 with a slope rating of 130 from its back tees. Memorial Park hosted the Houston Open on the PGA Tour fourteen times and was renovated in 1995 at the cost of The ashes of tour professional Dave Marr were spread over the course, as it was where the winner of the 1965 PGA Championship learned to play the game.