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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. 12 E mancipation Park's newly unveiled $33.6 million rehab is a restoration almost 150 years in the making. This is more than a flashy cosmetic upgrade. It's an ode to African-Amer- icans' lofty contributions to the Third Ward. In 1872, Reverend Jack Yates (a Baptist minister and former slave for whom the Third Ward's Jack Yates High School is named) raised $800 to secure the land, which was to be the site for the community's Juneteenth celebration fêting the implementation of the Emanci- pation Proclamation, an order signed by President Abraham Lincoln that grant- ed enslaved blacks their freedom. Yates coined the 10-acre plot Emancipation Park. The City of Houston acquired the land in 1918, but the park remained a safe haven for the community during the thick of segregation — the only munic- ipal park that African-Americans could use. Now a Texas-certified historic site, the park boasts upgrades including a 16,110-square-foot recreation center, baseball field, tennis and basketball courts, state-of-the-art playground, and a sleek, expansive swimming pool — all designed by Phillip Freelon of Chica- go-based architecture firm Perkins + Will Architects. (If you've visited the HISTORY in the GREEN Restaurant BUZZ T h e f i r s t H o u s t o n l o c a t i o n f o r s u s h i concept Roka Akor has opened on the ground floor of luxury high-rise 2929 Weslayan. The Arizona-based Japanese eatery offers three varieties of certified Japanese wagyu — with prime American cuts also on hand. The menu also includes exotic and rare fish that are flown in daily and more than 200 wines, 60 sakes, and whimsical cocktails … James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu has unveiled the name of the eatery that will take the place of Oxheart, which closed earlier this year, at 1302 Nance Street: Theodore Rex opens later this year, manned by chef de cuisine Jason White … The second location of Snooze, an A.M. Eatery has opened in Town & Country Village. The Denver-based concept specializes in all things breakfast, including such whimsical dishes as pineapple upside- down pancakes and breakfast pot pie. Jailyn Marcel ONES TO WATCH: OZ INTERIORS I sn't it funny when you learn a new word, then you start hearing it everywhere? That's how we feel about Oz Interiors' Jorge Cantu and Gregory Landry, whom we met recently at a design event. Now, their names and their design work seem to pop up everywhere (on Instagram, at Texas Design Week, at Decorative Center Houston when named 2017 Stars on the Rise). Truth be told, we can't get enough of the charming husband-and-husband duo. After mentoring under Steve Clifton at Scene One Interiors, designer Cantu longed to further express his own creativity. He had recently married his longtime partner, accountant Landry. Both were seeking a new adventure and decided the time was right to open a business — and so, Oz Interiors was born. "Jorge and I have a yin- and-yang quality to our relationship — we recognize each other's strengths and give each other complete control in those areas," Landry says. And Cantu certainly has an eye for good design. Seventeen years ago, the native Houstonian, armed with a degree in interior design from The Art Institute of Houston, landed an internship with a storied local design firm: Wells Design, under founder Herbert Wells. "He wasn't very vocal, but I knew how fortunate I was to be able to observe and see his great mind at work. He was a master colorist, and he had an amazing ability for placement of furniture. Most importantly, I learned the meaning of understated elegance, which guides me to this day." The Oz team has been busy building out a new space they recently purchased in Montrose, set to open in July, which will house their studio and boutique showroom that features a few handpicked lines and one-of-a-kind pieces that embody the breadth of Oz Interiors portfolio. Oz Interiors, 2008 W. McKinney St., ozinteriors.net. Anne Lee Phillips Smithsonian National Museum of Af- rican American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., you've witnessed Freelon's work.) In honor of the park's renewal, Dowling Street — the venue's cross street — has been renamed Emancipation Avenue. Emancipation Park, 3018 Emancipation Ave., houstontx.gov/parks. Jailyn Marcel A recent Oz Interiors project, with an emphasis on entertaining JULIAN BAJSEL Emancipation Park's new community building