sinister1 Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Where was the 5-Points addition/sub division located at? I remember reading old books and 5-Points being right across from Frost Town/Barrio Alacran near now what is HWY 59 across from Minuet Maid Park. I remember that it was mentioned that it was made of up 5 main streets including Maple St. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Maple street? In Houston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Maple street? In Houston?Yes, it still exsists but it's not much of a street any more. It's in down town right after Ruiz street which I beleive use to be named Magnolia back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Was this area called Five Points because the intersection of several streets created five corners? Or was it because it was such a bad part of town somebody thought it reminded them of the infamous Five Points area of lower Manhattan in NYC?I've found Maple and Ruiz streets, there in the general area of present day Clayton Homes Housing Project. That was called Frost Town at one time, and I've read it was a bad place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHB2 Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Was this area called Five Points because the intersection of several streets created five corners? Or was it because it was such a bad part of town somebody thought it reminded them of the infamous Five Points area of lower Manhattan in NYC?I've found Maple and Ruiz streets, there in the general area of present day Clayton Homes Housing Project. That was called Frost Town at one time, and I've read it was a bad place to be.the 1st significant wave of Mexican immigrants to Houston in the early 1900s moved into the east side/2nd Ward and named the barrio el alacran (the scorpion), which kinda supports the idea that folks considered that to be the rough side of town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isuredid Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The only area I have heard referred to as five points is where Main-Cavalcade-Studewood-20th streets come together, but I have seen an article from one of the Houston newspapers in the 1870s where the editor was railing against several crime ridden areas of town that he called "The Five Points". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Isuredid, I think you are correct and on to something. In Sigman Byrds article "Mr. Mass and the 5 points gangs. I does say that 5 points sat just a stone's throw away from Barrio Alacran and mentions that it had been there for some time. Mr. Mass mentions that he lived on Hamilton St. right before it runs in to Runnels. Do you remember where you saw the 1870's article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Isuredid, I think you are correct and on to something. In Sigman Byrds article "Mr. Mass and the 5 points gangs. I does say that 5 points sat just a stone's throw away from Barrio Alacran and mentions that it had been there for some time. Mr. Mass mentions that he lived on Hamilton St. right before it runs in to Runnels. Do you remember where you saw the 1870's article?I've also remember hearing stories about downtown having a number of crime areas especially around and near the bayou. I've tried looking for anything that might direct me towards finding out where this area use to be and why it was called 5 Points but so far all I found was the news paper article by Mr. Byrd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Speaking of that area...I saw photos of Shrimpf Alley ( in that general vicinity) on Pinterest, recently. They were the only ones I have ever seen. That was the area where the Clayton Homes were eventually built, after a donation from "said" party. It was done to clean up the area, supposedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppahop Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Looking at my 1891 map of Houston, there's a Five Points-style interesection near the foot of Chenevert and Magnolia / Ruiz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Looking at my 1891 map of Houston, there's a Five Points-style interesection near the foot of Chenevert and Magnolia / Ruiz.Very interesting find Poppahop. I remember seeing mention of this five points a few years ago but don't remember where. I wish we could find some documentation on this to confirm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/09/life-in-schrimpf-alleyJ.R. Gonzales' Blog (HAIF member) article - Mentions the barrio you speak of, sinister1.There is also a link to historian Aulbach's research (see third paragraph from end of article). it states how violent the area was, back to the 1930's, 40's.I looked for the Five Points name in my copy of Ethnicity in the Sunbelt - Mexican Americans in Houston, by Arnoldo De Leon. Chapter VI does have a section on the gang and crime you describe, see p. 105. It also lists other gang names and their histories.The accompanying footnotes give the original sources, the Houston Chronicle articles pertaining to the youth's crime. What a sad story that is. I'll keep looking for the 5-points reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 https://www.tsl.stat...ges/map0435.jpg...see the neighborhood streets to the right of the "Courthouse" name (Downtown) on the map.Vertical Streets: Gabel = McKee St. (bridge crosses north) Spruce Pine Schrimpf = accompanies RR tracks Hamilton (runs parallel to Hwy. 59) Horizintal Streets: Arch Race (short st. still visible - GoogleEarth) changes to Rain St. Vine Lyle Bramble Maple (still visible - GoogleEarth) German (now Canal) Magnolia (now Ruiz) * the land changes can be found on the "Houstorian maps" collection, under :1946 (NE) maphttp://www.lib.utexa...ouston_ne46.jpg1955 Topo. map (NE)http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/texas/txu-pclmaps-topo-tx-settegast-1955.jpgFrom what I have seen, the area of Five Points got obliterated by the Elysian Street viaduct, the numerous railroad tracks running through it, at one time, what looks like possible end tracts on the land, and the major building of the Hwy 59 spurs into the downtown area. It sits directly under and across from (west of) the Clayton Homes (previous Schrimpf Alley) area. A power plant also sits near the bayou, close to the school, in one early map.The following link is from the book mentioned earlier. It is an early chapter that describes the barrio development. Shows Rusk Elementary on a map, lists it at 1701 Maple St., describes RR boxcars used for housing for RR workers, and shanties, etc.Thanks for sharing your original article. I have long been fascinated by these areas and their "blue-collar" history.I find the everyday people the most interesting to research.I am sad that so many of the structures, such as the row houses, have been lost. http://books.google....tY54aXOaE&hl=en#... @ p. 10, especially interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Oops, that should be "Directly under HWY 59 and west of Clayton Homes".And another Aulbach link , with a nice Sanborn map, and overlay of separation of property lines.http://www.epperts.com/lfa/BB84.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Oops, that should be "Directly under HWY 59 and west of Clayton Homes".And another Aulbach link , with a nice Sanborn map, and overlay of separation of property lines.http://www.epperts.com/lfa/BB84.htmlYes that would be Frost town. AKA Barrio De Alacran, thanks for sharing. I've know about Alacran\Frost Town for a while now but what got my attention is 5 points. Thanks for the links you shared I will check them out. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Yeah, it amazed me, that after all that, no mention of 5 Points anywhere! I want to know too. Could it possibly refer to the five bends in the bayou? Just a wild shot. I really think it probably has to do with streets meeting at a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinister1 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Okay so I finally figured this out, the area was sub-divided it into 5 sections that included: 1. Frost 2. Hodge 3. Moody 4. Floeck 5. Schrimpf Okay so I finally figured this out, the area was sub-divided it into 5 sections that included: 1. Frost 2. Hodge 3. Moody 4. Floeck 5. Schrimpf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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