Project Row Houses: Guide to Third Ward’s Living Art Project

At a glance

• Where: Third Ward, Houston; 2521 Holman St at Live Oak St, Houston TX 77004
• Hours: Typically Wed–Fri noon–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm, Sun noon–5pm; closed Mon–Tue. Check the official site before you go — hours shift around round openings.
• Cost: Free
• Parking: Street parking on Holman St and surrounding blocks
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for a full round; add 30–45 minutes if walking to Emancipation Park

Project Row Houses is a nonprofit arts and community organization in Houston’s Third Ward, built on 39 structures across five city blocks centered at 2521 Holman Street. Seven Houston artists founded it in 1993, starting with 22 abandoned shotgun-style houses they transformed into gallery and community spaces. Admission is free, and the campus runs rotating artist exhibitions called “rounds” roughly three times a year. It is one of the most original urban art projects in the country, and everything is free to enter.

What is Project Row Houses?

Project Row Houses operates on two tracks at once: it presents contemporary art in a neighborhood context, and it uses that presence to anchor affordable housing, community programs, and economic development in the Third Ward.

The shotgun house — long, narrow, and single-story, with rooms lined front to back — is both canvas and subject here. Architectural historians trace the design from West Africa to the American South through Haitian Creole culture and New Orleans. The houses on Holman Street date from around 1930 and had been abandoned for years when the founders stepped in. They have since been joined by Victorian-era shotgun houses relocated from other historically Black Houston neighborhoods and by new affordable housing units designed by the Rice Building Workshop. The campus now covers 39 structures across five city blocks.

There is also the Eldorado Ballroom, built in 1939 as a stop on the “Chitlin’ Circuit” of Black-owned entertainment venues during segregation. It was donated to Project Row Houses in 1999 and serves as a performance and event space following a $9.7 million renovation.

Who founded Project Row Houses?

Project Row Houses was founded in 1993 by seven Houston artists: Rick Lowe, James Bettison, Bert Long Jr., Jesse Lott, Floyd Newsum, Bert Samples, and George Smith. The origin story, as told by the organization’s own history, involves a challenge: high school students told Rick Lowe to stop painting pictures of poverty and actually do something about it. The houses opened to the public in 1994.

Lowe studied under muralist John Biggers at Texas Southern University, and Biggers’ teaching about shotgun-house symbolism as a link to African heritage directly shaped the project’s founding vision. In 2014, Rick Lowe received a MacArthur Fellowship — the so-called “genius grant” — worth $625,000.

How the rounds of installations work

A “round” is Project Row Houses’ term for a rotating artist exhibition. Roughly three times a year, a new cohort of six to eight artists takes over the houses and creates site-specific works tied to African American themes and the community’s history. Each round runs approximately four to five months. More than 300 artists have participated across all rounds since 1994. Check projectrowhouses.org for the current round's schedule and dates.

A round is not a standard gallery visit. The houses are separate, self-contained environments, and you move between them outdoors on the block. One house might be covered floor-to-ceiling in a specific material; another uses sound or scent; another displaces or rearranges the domestic furniture of a shotgun house to shift your sense of what a home is. The cumulative effect — building after building, in a residential neighborhood that is still a neighborhood — is unlike anything you’ll find in a museum.

Every other round is the Southern Survey Biennial, a juried competition drawing more than 200 applications from artists across 13 Southern states, with a $25,000 prize.

The community mission

Art is the entry point, but Project Row Houses’ deeper work is neighborhood stabilization and community development in the Third Ward.

The Young Mothers Residential Program, created in 1996, provides one year of transitional housing for single mothers ages 18 to 25. Residents are required to continue formal education and attend counseling and parenting sessions. Five of the shotgun houses were redesigned for the program, with interiors done pro bono by local designers.

The campus also includes affordable rental housing designed by students and faculty from Rice University’s architecture program, a day care center, and after-school programs. The community-development model Project Row Houses pioneered has since been adapted in Athens (Greece), Detroit, and Dallas.

Tips and best time to visit

The campus is entirely outdoors, which matters in Houston. November through March is the most comfortable season for walking between houses. Summer visits in July and August are manageable with an early start, but plan around the heat. The best time within a round is mid-cycle — about six to eight weeks after a new round opens — when all works are installed and opening-weekend crowds have thinned.

Give yourself at least 90 minutes for a complete walk-through. Bring water in summer. Comfortable shoes matter: the campus spans five city blocks and you may find yourself backtracking to a house you want to revisit. Check projectrowhouses.org the day you go, since hours occasionally shift around round openings.

Getting there and parking

Address: 2521 Holman St, Houston, TX 77004. The main entrance is at the corner of Holman and Live Oak Streets.

Street parking is available on Holman Street and the surrounding blocks. For public transit, use the METRO trip planner to find connections from downtown; METRO Route 56 (Almeda) serves the area. From the Museum District or Midtown, the campus is about a mile and a half south.

Where to eat nearby

The Third Ward has a solid lineup of independent restaurants within a short drive. Our Third Ward dining guide covers the neighborhood’s best options. The area is also one of the best parts of town for soul food in Houston. There is no café or food on the Project Row Houses campus, so plan to eat before or after your visit.

Nearby: Emancipation Park

Emancipation Park is about a half-mile walk from Project Row Houses, at 3018 Emancipation Avenue in the Third Ward. In 1872 — seven years after emancipation — four community leaders named Richard Allen, Richard Brock, Reverend Jack Yates, and Elias Dibble pooled $800 to purchase 10 acres specifically for Juneteenth celebrations, making it one of the oldest African American–purchased parks in the United States. From 1922 to 1940, it was the only public park in Houston open to Black residents during segregation.

A $33.6 million renovation, completed in 2017 and designed by architect Phil Freelon — who also designed the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. — added an aquatics center with an outdoor pool and splash pad, a recreation center, lighted sports fields, tennis courts, and an outdoor performance stage called the Blessing Stage. Admission is free. See our Emancipation Park guide for full hours and season details.

More art in the neighborhood

From the Third Ward, two of Houston’s most compelling free art destinations are about two miles west in Montrose: the Menil Collection, a world-class museum with a permanent collection that includes works from Picasso, Warhol, and the Surrealists, and the Rothko Chapel, an interdenominational meditation space housing 14 large-scale Rothko paintings. Both are free and belong on the same afternoon.

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in the Museum District is always free and presents international contemporary work on a rotating basis.

For the full picture of the neighborhood, see Things to Do in Third Ward and the Third Ward area guide.

Save this: free Third Ward art afternoon

Every stop below is free.

1. Noon: Project Row Houses opens. Walk the current round — allow 90 minutes.
2. 1:30pm: Walk south about 10 minutes to Emancipation Park. See the aquatics center, the Blessing Stage outdoor venue, and the historic plaques.
3. 3pm: Rideshare or drive about 2 miles west to the Menil Collection. Spend an hour with the permanent collection.
4. 4:30pm: Cross the Menil campus to the Rothko Chapel for a quiet close to the afternoon.

Total: 4–5 hours. Total cost: $0.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is Project Row Houses in Houston?

Project Row Houses is a nonprofit arts and community organization in Houston’s Third Ward at 2521 Holman Street, built on 39 structures across five city blocks. Founded in 1993 by seven artists including Rick Lowe, it runs rotating artist exhibitions called rounds and provides affordable housing and social programs in the neighborhood.

Is Project Row Houses free to visit?

Yes, admission is free. Hours are typically Wednesday through Friday noon to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm. The campus is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

What is a round at Project Row Houses?

A round is a rotating artist exhibition at Project Row Houses that runs approximately four to five months, with six to eight artists creating site-specific installations inside the shotgun houses. The campus runs roughly three rounds per year, and more than 300 artists have participated since 1994.

Who founded Project Row Houses?

Project Row Houses was founded in 1993 by seven Houston artists: Rick Lowe, James Bettison, Bert Long Jr., Jesse Lott, Floyd Newsum, Bert Samples, and George Smith. Rick Lowe, who received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2014, is the most widely recognized of the founders.

Is Emancipation Park free?

Yes. Emancipation Park at 3018 Emancipation Avenue in Third Ward is free to enter, and its aquatics center, fitness center, and sports facilities are free to use. Check emancipationpark.org for current hours by facility.

Where can I eat near Project Row Houses?

The Third Ward has several independent restaurants within a short drive; see the Third Ward dining guide on this site for current options. There is no café on the Project Row Houses campus itself.