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 display surrounds you as you stand on the observation deck surrounding the giant reservoir looking inward. At the end of the choreographed light display, when you clap your hands or make a loud noise, the echo shuts down a tsunami of light that sweeps through 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-foot reinforced metal underground tank built in 1926. From the inside, it looks like a buried flying saucer. It contained 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 located at 10five Sabine St. in Houston. The winter light display will be open until January 7, 2024. Tours are 30 minutes long, Wednesday through Friday, from 10 a. m. to 10 a. m. M. A 5 p. m. and Saturday through Sunday from 11 a. m. to five p. m. m. La information and $12 tickets can be obtained at buffalobayou. org.
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