The Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion and the McGovern Centennial Gardens celebrate the Hermann family’s gift of the park to the citizens of Houston in 1914. The Pavilion sits on an axis that runs from the public approach to the thirty-foot-tall spiral mount at the far end of the Gardens. Visitors approach through a grove of Crepe Myrtle trees toward the chiseled granite wall of the Pavilion and a measured opening marked by a low roof overhang and lantern-like volumes on either side. The entry sequence continues through a gateway of angled, shimmering stainless steel walls under a metal ceiling that tilts up towards the Gardens and mount.

The entrance is flanked by a zinc-clad meeting room to the north and a contemplative courtyard to the south, providing indoor and outdoor amenities for visitors to enjoy with broad views of the garden. The measured gateway expands as visitors draw closer to the garden, shimmering surfaces angling upward to reflect the gardens. A delicate metal trellis serves as a front porch for the Pavilion and mitigates direct sun exposure while allowing the Pavilion’s garden side to remain open and transparent.