Downtown park name to be announced today

So if you're interested in what the new downtown park will be named, but the rain kept you away from the big name unveiling party yesterday, don't worry: No one else showed up, either, and the groundbreaking/naming was rescheduled for today. Seriously, can you feel the excitement?

If you've forgotten, we're talking about the $81 million, 12-acre park that'll be built in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown. The park design, by Hargreaves Associates of San Francisco, includes a great lawn, a pond, interactive fountains and two restaurants; the project should be finished in early 2008. All the park lacks is a name, and that's where the naming contest came in. There were about 6,200 entries; the winner is supposed to reflect "the spirit and uniqueness of the new downtown park and, among other qualities, Houston's diverse history, and communities and distinctiveness from a regional standpoint." We can't wait to hear the name that successfully achieves all that.

The groundbreaking and name announcement ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. today at the park site, Lamar at Avenida de las Americas.