During the first week of class, just before we walked over to the Dowling statue in Hermann Park, I pointed out that there is an important historic site in downtown Houston–Emancipation Park–that sits at the intersection of two streets whose names were inspired by Dowling–Tuam Street (after Dowling’s birthplace in Ireland) and Dowling Street. Coincidentally, Emancipation Park has been in the news lately thanks to plans by architect Philip Freelon to turn the park into a vibrant new cultural center.
Freelon recently visited the Menil gallery to talk about his plans, and one of the students in HIST 300–the independent study I mentioned in my last post–went to the talk. You can read her report about the lecture here.