Why Is The Heights So Popular

[EMME]

My attempt at sarcasm has failed

How about this? "I flew over the Heights and I fail to see the appeal"

Sorry, got it. Good one!

[EMME]

A house on N. Main is newly painted a pastel shade of sherbet orange.

[Scott08]

History? My late mother grew up here, met my dad when they both rented rooms in a house on Pecore during the 40's. I thought it was a dump when I was growing up but as I got older (and more open-minded) I started seeing the charm. I was a semi-early adopter moving to the area around 1987 and bought my current home in Norhill in the '90's for a bargain basement price of $65K. I've toyed with the idea of moving since (I love mods) but it's just such a cool place for many of the reasons already mentioned:location, proximity to work, walking/biking ability, and a degree of eccentricity. Every night when I'm out walking my dog, I am inspired by just how cool my area is, how diverse and friendly are the neighbors. It is the "anti-suburb" to me and I like it for that.

[EMME]

History? My late mother grew up here, met my dad when they both rented rooms in a house on Pecore during the 40's. I thought it was a dump when I was growing up but as I got older (and more open-minded) I started seeing the charm. I was a semi-early adopter moving to the area around 1987 and bought my current home in Norhill in the '90's for a bargain basement price of $65K. I've toyed with the idea of moving since (I love mods) but it's just such a cool place for many of the reasons already mentioned:location, proximity to work, walking/biking ability, and a degree of eccentricity. Every night when I'm out walking my dog, I am inspired by just how cool my area is, how diverse and friendly are the neighbors. It is the "anti-suburb" to me and I like it for that.

There was a time when it was a dump. The last of the 50+ year resident (not their age but length of residency) tell stories of moving to their back bedrooms for fear of driveby shootings because of all the gang and drug dealer activities. Many still have their homes encased in burglar bars. Good people get trapped in neighborhoods and apartment complexes all the time when crime takes over. Many would be surprised to know that there was a time that West U was a dump.

[west20th]

Our neighbors did this, I think it's great. Pink with purple trim and garage door.

Don't forget the cream colored accents to tone it down a bit.

Actually the color scheme was lifted from a house we saw in the Garden District in NOLA.

[IronTiger]

Hmm...here a few reasons:

1) It's very diverse and "hip"...I guess it's Houston's Greenwich Village

2) No McMansions

3) The abandoned MKT right of way makes its way through the Heights. (Un)fortunately, no plan exists for METRO to turn it to light rail.

4) It's close to I-610 (but is that ALWAYS a good thing?)

5) The trees have lots of time to mature and thus are VERY big.

Of course, I don't live in the Heights. Haven't been there. But I heard it looks nice from the exterior. This board doesn't seem to have pictures of the place...

[samiamj]

Of course, I don't live in the Heights. Haven't been there. But I heard it looks nice from the exterior. This board doesn't seem to have pictures of the place...

You can find pictures of the Shady Acres area (west of Heights) on this link. It shows the good, the bad, the new, the old, the traditional, and the wtf homes.

http://www.shadyacres.org/index.php?page=19

[TheNiche]

2) No McMansions

You must not have been in the Heights any time in the last several years.

[Porchman]

5) The trees have lots of time to mature and thus are VERY big.

Hmm... tree envy? We understand

You can find pictures of the Shady Acres area (west of Heights) on this link. It shows the good, the bad, the new, the old, the traditional, and the wtf homes.

http://www.shadyacres.org/index.php?page=19

tmariar is very good at capturing the Heights in pics at the Heights Blog

[IronTiger]

You must not have been in the Heights any time in the last several years.

Err, if I can quote myself...

Of course, I don't live in the Heights. Haven't been there.

[TheNiche]

Err, if I can quote myself...

I read that. Just not the right way. Sorry.

[SilverJK]

i don't get it either... what is the appeal of living here.... oops.

[capnmcbarnacle]

As crazy as it sounds now... I moved into the Heights because it was cheap. and my neighbors were freaks and musicians. Oh, and the homes had yards with trees! My how the neighborhood has changed!

This made me laugh because I remember visiting a buddy there around 1994 who moved there because he could get a house well under $100k and Montrose was getting pricey as houses topped $100k. I pulled up next to his new place and promptly drove into a drainage ditch. I always dug the Heights and it has changed a ton in the last 10 years. But Heights people are just Heights people. I can't put my finger on it. I moved there for 6 months in in 1998 when i thought Montrose was losing its soul and then moved back becasuse, well, i just wasn't a Heights person. I don't know what the deal is with the Heights. It has more to do with the people than the aesthetics I think -- everyone there just convinces themselves that they are in a great place and - voila! - everyone else wants to go there. And "White Linen Night" is gayer than anything in Montrose.

[RedScare]

And "White Linen Night" is gayer than anything in Montrose.

Of course it's gay. We stole it from New Orleans.

I don't know what the deal is with the Heights. It has more to do with the people than the aesthetics I think -- everyone there just convinces themselves that they are in a great place and - voila! - everyone else wants to go there.

It is somewhat amusing...and perhaps sad...that we try so hard to ignore the fact that it just might be the people that live here that makes it work. Why couldn't it be that the place is full of freaks and artists, musicians, liberals and libertarians? Why can't it be the fact that not only do my neighbors not care that my dogs bark at everyone that walks by, they actually know their names? Why wouldn't I like a neighborhood that doesn't bat an eye when I paint my house yellow, red and blue? Could it be that, unlike many neighborhoods that design the homes to face inward and the garages facing out, the Heights houses face the sidewalk and the garages face the alley? And doesn't that make for a friendlier existence? These designs are no longer practiced in most new homes. Isn't it possible that it makes one feel a little better living where these designs still exist?

Eh, maybe that's not the reason, but it's close enough for me.

[SilverJK]

i personally think its the black squirrels

[Porchman]

i personally think its the black squirrels

Yes. Diversity has already been mentioned

[20thStDad]

i personally think its the black squirrels

And the free range poultry, including peacocks.

[EMME]

Of course it's gay. We stole it from New Orleans.

It is somewhat amusing...and perhaps sad...that we try so hard to ignore the fact that it just might be the people that live here that makes it work. Why couldn't it be that the place is full of freaks and artists, musicians, liberals and libertarians? Why can't it be the fact that not only do my neighbors not care that my dogs bark at everyone that walks by, they actually know their names? Why wouldn't I like a neighborhood that doesn't bat an eye when I paint my house yellow, red and blue? Could it be that, unlike many neighborhoods that design the homes to face inward and the garages facing out, the Heights houses face the sidewalk and the garages face the alley? And doesn't that make for a friendlier existence? These designs are no longer practiced in most new homes. Isn't it possible that it makes one feel a little better living where these designs still exist?

Eh, maybe that's not the reason, but it's close enough for me.

Right on Red!

[Dan the Man]

...Could it be that, unlike many neighborhoods that design the homes to face inward and the garages facing out, the Heights houses face the sidewalk and the garages face the alley? And doesn't that make for a friendlier existence? These designs are no longer practiced in most new homes. Isn't it possible that it makes one feel a little better living where these designs still exist?

Eh, maybe that's not the reason, but it's close enough for me.

To add to this - parts of the Heights were developed before most people had automobiles, and they commuted places via streetcar. Therefore, the streets are a little narrower, and the street grid itself was laid out to be very walkable (one had to walk from their house to the nearest streetcar stop or neighborhood destination. These two planning moves help make the scale of the neighborhood more human-oriented, so it subliminally "feels better".

The urban planning genre of "New Urbanism" attempts to replicate this concept, though it is unfortunately often accompanied by cheesy architecture.

[crunchtastic]

This made me laugh because I remember visiting a buddy there around 1994 who moved there because he could get a house well under $100k and Montrose was getting pricey as houses topped $100k. I pulled up next to his new place and promptly drove into a drainage ditch. I always dug the Heights and it has changed a ton in the last 10 years. But Heights people are just Heights people.

Funny, because this reminds me of how depressed I got when I moved back home, ready to buy a house, and quickly discovered that I couldn't afford the Heights. If you were to take the Heights and remove 60% of the white people and stuff they like, and add more chickens, you'd have Eastwood (well, at least on my block). Turns out I love it, and reminds me of the Heights from the late 80s and early 90s.

I've known a number of people who like the Heights because it reminds them of New Orleans. But I would submit that in the east end we're actually more like New Orleans' lower garden district than the Heights, in our proximity to a major navigable waterway. A few blocks from the ship channel just ain't the same as a few blocks from the Mississippi, I guess. Think of Harrisburg as our Magazine St. En Espanol, of course.

[TheNiche]

To add to this - parts of the Heights were developed before most people had automobiles, and they commuted places via streetcar. Therefore, the streets are a little narrower, and the street grid itself was laid out to be very walkable (one had to walk from their house to the nearest streetcar stop or neighborhood destination. These two planning moves help make the scale of the neighborhood more human-oriented, so it subliminally "feels better".

The urban planning genre of "New Urbanism" attempts to replicate this concept, though it is unfortunately often accompanied by cheesy architecture.

I agree wholeheartedly about the cheesy architecture accompanying the New Urbanism paradigm. But pre-automobile neighborhoods aren't especially uncommon or special.

[RedScare]

But pre-automobile neighborhoods aren't especially uncommon or special.

Considering that Houston's population pre-automobile was less than 45,000, I'd say virtually every Houston neighborhood is post-automobile designed. And, given that the US population has quadrupled during that time, I'd say most neighborhoods nationwide are post-automobile as well.

[Gooch]

Of course it's gay. We stole it from New Orleans.

THANK YOU RED!!!!! Yes it is a stolen concept! Not many people know you are supposed to wear linen or searsucker to White Linen night or why your are suppposed to wear such attire. Here's a clue... it has nothing to do with the table cloth... just sayin...

[capnmcbarnacle]

Of course it's gay. We stole it from New Orleans.

It is somewhat amusing...and perhaps sad...that we try so hard to ignore the fact that it just might be the people that live here that makes it work. Why couldn't it be that the place is full of freaks and artists, musicians, liberals and libertarians? Why can't it be the fact that not only do my neighbors not care that my dogs bark at everyone that walks by, they actually know their names? Why wouldn't I like a neighborhood that doesn't bat an eye when I paint my house yellow, red and blue? Could it be that, unlike many neighborhoods that design the homes to face inward and the garages facing out, the Heights houses face the sidewalk and the garages face the alley? And doesn't that make for a friendlier existence? These designs are no longer practiced in most new homes. Isn't it possible that it makes one feel a little better living where these designs still exist?

Eh, maybe that's not the reason, but it's close enough for me.

I think you nailed. It's a perfect neighborhood for certain types of people. At the end of the day it's friendly and neighborly because people want it to be friendly and neighborly. I think Heights and Montrose share that quality. In a strange way, my street in Montrose has more Norman Rockwell style neighborliness than most can imagine. Everyone knows each other, knows each others dogs, keeps a wary eye for the kids, etc. It's just that some of the neighbors are Adam and Steve. Architecture helps to facilitate the way people interact and behave -- the existence of the front porch creates a social atmosphere that newer neighborhoods I lived in did not. I'm glad there are places like the Heights where like minded people who want to create or share in lifestyle are able to do it. It's appeal is in the people who live there. And the fact it's 15 minutes from anywhere you want to be in a city where 90 minute commutes are possible. This thread almost makes me want to move back.

[heights_yankee]

Hmm... tree envy? We understand

tmariar is very good at capturing the Heights in pics at the Heights Blog

and if you want to read about Heights poultry, you can click here The Heights Life

( i have to be expected to pimp my own )

[EMME]

and if you want to read about Heights poultry, you can click here The Heights Life

( i have to be expected to pimp my own )

heights yankee are you married to yankee in tx?

[Yankee_in_TX]

heights yankee are you married to yankee in tx?

LMAO - no relation. I'm from Ohio, my wife's from Nebraska. When I first moved here I worked at an oil refinery. I spent about a year trying to explain to oil workers from East Texas and/or Deer Park/Pasadena that I wasn't a 'Yankee.' I gave up.

[RocketSci]

I keep hearing people talk about the Heights so I finally got around to driving through last weekend. For reference, we drove up Heights Blvd from I-10 to 20th, took 20th to Rutland, went north on Rutland almost to 610, cut over to Yale and drove Yale all the way back to I10. I saw some nicely restored homes, but also many run down places and small apt complexes. There were a couple of coffee shops, a couple of antique stores and a few bars but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary for other neighborhoods of similar age and location. We stopped at the Kroger on 20th and it was fairly shabby.

I don't intend this to be a put down of the Heights, but we didn't see anything particularly special about the area. Can someone enlighten me? Did we drive down the wrong streets? Why does the Heights seem to be so popular vs other inner loop neighborhoods?

I lived in the Height in the late 80's, and what attracted me at the time was the small town feel of the neighborhood - older homes, trees, porches, no traffic, and quiet. There was no other neighborhood in Houston at the time that had 10's to 30's housing stock that was reasonably maintained, not in a declining area, or expensive (Montrose, for example). I agree with some of the writers that it is the people who made the Heights special, as it attracted those who did not want to settle for cookie cutter houses or treeless new developments. It was (and is) the closest thing Houston has to the Streetcar Suburbs of the northeast and midwest, which was a big attraction to me as a transplant to Houston.

I think that the Heights still offers much of the above, but the VicMansions take much of the charm away from the neighborhood, although I am sure that they have helped stabilize the area. At the time Harvard was the hot street (pre-new construction) but when I go down it today it has lost much of its charm as the dollars seem to go toward more new construction than maintaining or improving existing properties. I do think that Woodland Heights though has kept its charm and even has improved over the years.

As far as the Heights reaching a turning point, or some such statement, my recommendation is to appreciate it for what it is today instead of what it might be.

[heights_yankee]

LMAO - no relation. I'm from Ohio, my wife's from Nebraska. When I first moved here I worked at an oil refinery. I spent about a year trying to explain to oil workers from East Texas and/or Deer Park/Pasadena that I wasn't a 'Yankee.' I gave up.

and, as you may be able to tell from my avatar, am from MA. and it's a pet peeve of mine when southerns call anyone from any northern state a yankee. people from ohio, illinois, washington, etc are not yankees. to be a true yankee you have to be from one of the original 13 colonies but north of the mason-dixon.

edit: and i am married to a native texan. he's so texas he went to A&M and UT.

[tanith27]

I keep hearing people talk about the Heights so I finally got around to driving through last weekend. For reference, we drove up Heights Blvd from I-10 to 20th, took 20th to Rutland, went north on Rutland almost to 610, cut over to Yale and drove Yale all the way back to I10. I saw some nicely restored homes, but also many run down places and small apt complexes. There were a couple of coffee shops, a couple of antique stores and a few bars but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary for other neighborhoods of similar age and location. We stopped at the Kroger on 20th and it was fairly shabby.

I don't intend this to be a put down of the Heights, but we didn't see anything particularly special about the area. Can someone enlighten me? Did we drive down the wrong streets? Why does the Heights seem to be so popular vs other inner loop neighborhoods?

Take a drive down Bayland on a Sunday morning. Or better yet, bring your bikes. One of the more beautiful streets in the city.