Earlier this month, I heard from a neighbor that Mac Whitney had passed away. Why, you may ask, is that relevant? It is because his art is a piece you may walk by when you visit Stude Park.
The 50,000-pound, 50-foot-tall abstract monument titled 'Houston' stands tall on a hill above White Oak Bayou, visible from I-10 toward downtown. The piece was completed and installed in 1982 and was one of the first public artworks commissioned by the City of Houston.
Mac Whitney was born in 1936 in Manhattan, Kansas. He grew up on his parents' farm and learned to weld in High School. He went on to attend the College of Emporia and then studied at the Kansas State Teachers College and Kansas University. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1968.
In 1969, he moved to Texas and became associated with a Dallas group called the Oak Cliff Four. Around 1983 Whitney bought a 22.5-acre property on forested Red Oak Creek in Ovilla, outside of Midlothian, south of Dallas, on the northeast Texas prairie. He built his studio on this property and continued to produce artwork that has been called
"dynamic sculptures and extensive career have become a recognized part of Texas' rich cultural environment. His abstracted raw steel sculptures portray the primary forces of tension and resolution while instilling a sense of monumentality. The freestanding sculptures are both prodigious and lyrical- heavy metal seems effortlessly bent, unfolding toward the sky." – Gallery Sonja Roesch
Mac Whitney's work has been shown nationally and internationally and is part of many public collections, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Fort Worth Museum of Art, the Art Museum of South Texas, the University of North Texas Museum, and the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. It is worth recognizing, and you can see one of his many pieces when you take your morning or evening walk through Stude Park.
Additional information on Mac Whitney and his art is found at the following links.
Glass Tire - https://glasstire.com/2025/03/13/mac-whitney-1936-2025/
Glass Tire - https://glasstire.com/2025/01/08/mac-whitney-man-of-steel/
Houston Chronicle - https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/article/Paintings-expand-meaning-of-sculptures-by-Whitney-4294878.php#photo-4226173
Gallery Sonja Roesch - https://www.gallerysonjaroesch.com/mac-whitney
Kirk Hopper Fine Art - https://www.kirkhopperfineart.com/whitney.html
Mac Whitney Art - https://macwhitneyart.com/
To find a list of Art in Parks located throughout Houston visit
Houston Parks & Recreation Department Art in Parks - https://www.houstontx.gov/parks/artinparks/pdfs/Houston.pdf
Stude Park
Bye Bye Bridge: Old Wooden Bridge on Stude Park Trail To Be Removed. /
This just in regarding an old portion of the trail at Stude Park. The bridge in question is the small wooden foot bridge close to the bayou. It’s been is disrepair for years. It gets very slippery when wet. It also suffers flooding events very poorly.
Good morning,
Houston Parks Board continues making progress on improving the White Oak Bayou Greenway for all trail users. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and would like to share an important update with you.
In an effort to ensure everyone is using safe and well-maintained trails along the bayous, Houston Parks Board will be demolishing an old and crumbled asphalt trail along White Oak Bayou between Stude Park and White Oak Drive. Part of the trail demolition includes a wooden pedestrian bridge south of Thelma Drive and White Oak Drive. Click here to view a map of the demolition area.
Work will begin on the trail and bridge demolition starting Monday, March 16, and is expected to potentially last through March 20, depending on weather, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Our contractor for this project is L.N. McKean, Inc., who has performed other successful demolition and trail work for our organization.
After work is complete, the trail area will be returned to grass. Trail users can continue to use the White Oak Bayou Greenway Trail (the primary trail for this bayou) that is located near the top of the bayou’s bank along White Oak Bayou Drive.
If you have any questions about this work, feel free to email or call me at the contact information below. Please also share this information with anyone else you think may be interested.
Want to know more?
To learn more about our nonprofit organization and how we create, improve, protect and advocate for parks for everyone, visit www.houstonparksboard.org and click “About Us.”
To explore an interactive map of our other projects, visit www.houstonparksboard.org, and click on our Interactive Map.
Thank you,
Lisa Kasianowitz
Outreach Manager
Houston Parks Board
lisa@houstonparksboard.org
300 North Post Oak Lane
Houston, TX 77024
P: 713-942-8500 X14
F: 713-942-7664
Critical Mass Ride will NOT be meeting at Stude Park as originally announced /
On June 8th it was announced that Critical Mass Houston would be relocating the meeting place for their major monthly bike ride to Stude Park. This was announced in a video posted to their Facebook page. We shared the video to the WHCA Facebook page to inform neighbors of this fact.
As you might expect, this announcement caused a great deal of discussion in various forums. There were numerous threads on Nextdoor, with many people sharing their past experience of the ride. The were many voices both for and against this change. Some legitimate concerns were raised by both the organizers and those concerned about the impact of the event on the neighborhood.
All of that is preface as earlier today Hector Garcia, one of the organizers of CM, left the following comment on the WHCA Facebook page:
"UPDATE: Hello Woodland Heights. Wanted to update you all and let you know that Critical Mass WILL NOT be meeting at Studewood park.
We had a great meeting this morning with HPD, a couple of key officials and council woman Karla Cisneros, who detailed a lot of logistical issues with using Studewood as a meeting location. We now have a couple of great alternative meeting spots for the once a month ride in the works and you can all breathe a little easier now. :)
I do want to thank the few residents who stepped up to offer assistance and anyone else who showed patience and understanding. We'll see you the next time we pass through the heights. Again, you're all invited to come join the ride on the Last Friday of the Month. We'll post the new meeting spot as soon as we confirm."
A big thank you to everyone who came together to help Critical Mass find a new meeting place that would meet their needs, while minimizing the impact on the neighborhood.
HSPCA : iWalk for Animals @ Stude Park /
Fetch your sneakers and a furry friend, and join the Houston SPCA for some fun at the 2015 iWalk for Animals on Saturday, December 5 at Stude Park from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There will be a 5K Canine Caper and a 1K Pup Strut along the banks of White Oak Bayou. You don't want to miss exciting demonstrations, live music and amazing vendors! And, of course, participate in everyone's favorite pet-related contests like Best Kisser, Best Costume and Pet Owner Look Alike!
Enjoy a perfect morning with your family and friends, all while raising much-needed funds to support the Houston SPCA's lifesaving programs and services. Participate on your own – or as part of a team - and help give thousands of orphaned, abused and neglected animals a second chance at life! Every step you take and every dollar you raise for the iWalk helps the Houston SPCA keep our 24-hour Injured Animal Rescue Ambulances on the road every day of the year and fund over 7,000 cruelty investigations. Your Houston SPCA is committed to all animals and intervened on behalf of nearly 50,000 animals last year including cats and dogs; small mammals; horses and farm animals; and native wildlife. And, we proudly place 100% of our healthy animals into loving, new homes!