Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park opens to the public Darkness, water and beauty: At long last, the Cistern opens

Keep clicking to see more of Houston's most famous forgotten places. less People are shown in the entrance hall to the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston. Built in 1927, it was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Keep clicking to see more of ... more People are shown in the entrance hall to the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston. Built in 1927, it was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 120 Caption Close Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park opens to the public 1 / 120 Back to Gallery

Until now, few people have seen one of Houston's most beautiful places. In fact, until 2010, hardly anyone knew it existed.

That year, as the Buffalo Bayou Partnership was preparing to buy land near Jamail Skatepark, its consultants checked out an old underground water reservoir, built in 1926 but abandoned, and about to be demolished by the city. The consultants wondered whether they might be able to use the space instead — as underground parking, maybe, or to store mulch.

Instead, as Lisa Gray reports on houstonchronicle.com, they found a place of sublime, ancient-feeling beauty. From the rooftop hatches, light streamed into the blackness like a message from God. A shallow layer of dead-still water perfectly mirrored hundreds of slender, elegant columns. And the acoustics were the kind that a Gothic cathedral might envy.

On Friday, May 13, Buffalo Bayou Park opens the Cistern opens the public.

See photos of the cistern and other famous Houston forgotten places in the gallery above.