This elevated corner represents a glimpse of the past – the piney woods of east Texas. It was the presence of mature pine trees in this area along Brays Bayou that made it a logical choice for future parkland, culminating in George Hermann’s gift to the City of Houston in 1914. Seeds of the Loblolly Pine, the most common of the southern evergreens, are a favorite of wildlife, attracting warblers, red-cockaded woodpeckers, ospreys and bald eagles, as well as deer and squirrels. The Friendship Pavilion that sits atop the Pine Hill was a gift to the City of Houston from its sister city Taipei, made for the United States Bicentennial in 1976.
