The Heights Real Estate

[Astro]

Texas Maps

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WOW what an awesome site!!! Thanks for sharing... That will keep me occupied for many hours

I love old maps as well... I have a few old Houston road maps from the 40's - 60's but nothing quite that old.

In response to jt71... the best way to find neigbhborhood boundaries is the maps on HCAD's website: HCAD

[LTAWACS]

this is cool

[Heights2Bastrop]

JT, you ought to go to the Central Library downtown in the Julia Ideson Building at 500 McKinney. There you will find the Texas Room and Archives. They have a number of large reproductions of city maps. The one you should check out is

[jgs1419]

Ralfallen, LeGreen, Peddie, et al are in a neighborhood that I think is called Stude. It's the neighborhood between e.14th and e.20th, studewood to Oxford.

[Heights2Bastrop]

This map is a bit difficult to read in some areas. Actually, Stude is called

[Subdude]

I have a couple of old street maps, and reproductions of a couple old panorama views of downtown. I also have a copy of a downtown map from 1940. It shows not just the streets, but every building and the street level businesses in each building. There was an amazing variety of retail outlets and restaurants then. It's interesting to see how streets have changed and in some cases disappeared.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Subdude, what I find fascinating is to see what routes led in to and out of town in all directions. I would have thought they would be basically straight but not necessarily parallel to most streets, like following old trails. But many routes tended to have a number of twists and turns using various streets.

[Subdude]

I guess they just chose the streets with the best capacity for major routes. To me is interesting to see how the downtown streets have changed. The Fourth Ward grid used to extend a few blocks into today's downtown. It seems odd that Smith used to dead end around Dallas. There are also streets in Frost Town and near the main post office that no longer exist.

[jookyhc]

That 1913 map is fantastic. I think there's a copy of it at "The Limelight" a just-a-shade above-a-dive-bar near the ballpark. However, with it here on my computer, I can stare at it and not look like I've had one too many.

Just a few observations:

What we call Shepherd is called Shepherd Dam Road. In fact, it looks like it said Shepherd Damn road, but someone crossed out the 'N'.

Without thinking, I was looking for Cullen Road to locate what would become UH - right near Scott, Holman, and Chocolate Bayou Road in the South central region - without even thinking that the Cullens were not yet as road-name worthy in 1913.

I suppose this ballpark near San Felipe, on Crosby, just south of Buffalo Bayou is the West End Park. Apparently, this was something of a golden age for the Buffs franchise. who won Texas League titles in 1909, 1912, 1913, and 1914. Only that, according to what I read, they didn't move to West End Park until 1920 or so. Is it possible that this ballpark just serve neighborhood kids from the time it opened, through the time this map was drawn and up to 1920?

That streetcar system was AWESOME!!! Imagine hopping a streetcar on Heights Blvd, and riding down Washington directly into downtown.

[dbigtex56]

Interesting following Heights Blvd south, too. (1913 Houston map)

South of Washington, it turns to Irvin Avenue, which crosses Buffalo Bayou, then ends at San Felipe Road (later W. Dallas).

Coming from the south, Euclid Avenue extends north from Westheimer Rd., then sort of peters out north of Jennings (later Peden St.? W. Gray doesn't seem to exist yet).

At any rate, these streets eventually were joined into one continuous stretch from the Heights to the Montrose. From what I understand, Waugh Drive was named for a World War I hero, so it must have happened at least five years after this map was drawn.

[Heights2Bastrop]

As recently as 1930 (according to my map), Shepherd was known as Lowell Street from White Oak Bayou to where it turned west at Rosslyn, now W. 34th Street. B A Shepherd came to Houston in 1844, and in 1847, he opened his Commercial and Agricultural Bank, the first chartered bank in Texas. Roderick, two streets west of Shepherd as late as the mid to late 50s, was improved and became Durham.

[pineda]

Houston Heights online website

[BrentO]

Houston Heights online website

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That has got to be one of the ugliest web sites I've seen in a very long time.

From a web design point of view, you want the site to visually represent your client. This site's bold primary colors do an incredibly bad job of visually representing a quiet, classy, historic neighborhood like the Heights.

I thought their existing site at HoustonHeights.orgexisting site was pretty bad, but wow. This one definitely takes the cake.

[segovia]

Hello,

We recently purchased an older home in the Houston Heights area. Within the last two months, we have heard two drive-by shootings a couple of blocks away from our home. The first one took place during a high school graduation party (12 shots fired). The second one happend last evening (6 shots - @ 9:30 PM). Most of the homes in that general location are being moved or demolished making way for 380-500K Tricon homes. Before we bought the home, we did a lot of research in the area. Most of the neighbors we talked to said the area was very quiet. The area is East of Shepherd...covering 14th thru 18th street...West of Nicholson. Did we miss something or is this common to the area?

Thank you.

[Casual Observer]

There is a lot of crime along North Shepherd & Independence Heights that might be filtering down. Maybe even some from Acres Homes..

[groovehouse]

Welcome to the neighborhood! Just wait until the 4th of July and New Year's Eve! A lot of times it's not a drive-by shooting, but just idiots who don't know/care that it's illegal to discharge firearms in the city limits.

[MidtownCoog]

Welcome to the big city.

[ricco67]

Where did you guys move from?

Some of the gunshots are probably a greater distance than what you think due to the echos.

You'll get used to it. At least you're not in New York.

Ricco

[houstonsemipro]

This is silly. Do every big cities have drive by shootings? Welcome to the real world.

[Casual Observer]

This is silly. Do every big cities have drive by shootings? Welcome to the real world.

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Actually there's nothing silly about it. Although all major metropolitan areas have trouble with violent crime, it is usually contained to a small geographic area. For this person to be complaining of gunshots in the Heights - east or west, it should raise eyebrows.

[MidtownCoog]

Call me crazy, but when did the Heights become such a safe place?

Not saying that it's overly dangerous, but a lot of other people live there other than yuppies and dinks.

You gotta watch your back over there, too.

[HeightsGuy]

Here's the HPD Beat page for the area, doesn't look any different than Kingwood's to be honest:

Heights Crime Stats

The last month shown (April) shows 2 Aggravated Assaults for the entire area, and both look to be inside either an apartment or house, (different codes for parking lots I believe) meaning both were probably domestic. Since drive-by's would either be classified under this or homicide (no homicides that month either for the area), it doesn't look like there's a gang war going on in the area.

[segovia]

Thank you for the replies. We are from a small town in S. Texas. We have lived here for 8 years. We love the Victorian style architecture. We immediately fell in love with the Houston Heights area. It took us 2 years to find a good investment opportunity.

Unlike my other half, I was not immune to this type of violence growing up. We actually witnessed the first drive-by shooting. We were enjoying a gorgeous evening outside when we saw two cars with their headlights off speeding up the street. Moments later, shots rang out from the two vehicles and also exchange fire from the party. You could hear the screams of young people, cars fleeing, etc. A fleeing car hit one young person during the melee.

Last evening, I was moving out the heavy trash out to the curb when I heard the shots. I then saw a suburban racing down the street. My biggest concern is that we have children in the area. We also have a couple of families down the street with their first child (newborn).

Crime of any type can occur anywhere in the city. I am just amazed by the frequency of this type of violence. We are hoping for the best. We are in the process of restoring our home and adding to the beauty of the area.

Thank you.

[Guest danax]

Obviously, parts of the Heights are still transitioning, just like 6th Ward, Midtown, Rice Military, Montrose and any other area that has gone from Barrio/Ghetto to Bourgeois/Glam. There's a lot of graffiti still around Shepherd/Durham.

It seems that for an area to go from good to bad happens fairly quickly but the reverse is true to go from bad to good.

[KatieDidIt]

Obviously, parts of the Heights are still transitioning, just like 6th Ward, Midtown, Rice Military, Montrose and any other area that has gone from Barrio/Ghetto to Bourgeois/Glam. There's a lot of graffiti still around Shepherd/Durham.

It seems that for an area to go from good to bad happens fairly quickly but the reverse is true to go from bad to good.

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Jeez, we even hear gun shots in the back of the Woodlands along FM 2978. I think its just a fact of life everywhere now.

[segovia]

Changing gears...graffiti off Yale

I had an interesting conversation with an owner who lives off Yale recently. I enjoy walking in the Heights park area and one day I struck up a conversation with him concerning graffiti. He has lived in the area since 1999. His new fence was recently tagged. This was not the first time and he eventually setup a surveillance system. I was flabbergasted when he told me that the person who tagged his property was not the typical teenager having fun but a man in his mid-thirties driving a Lexus SUV. The man drove down the street tagging fences randomly. He also tagged several, older antique businesses across the street. He said the time was around 3:30 AM.

[kjb434]

Goes to show that stereotypes aren't alway correct.

[Casual Observer]

Unlike my other half, I was not immune to this type of violence growing up.  We actually witnessed the first drive-by shooting.  We were enjoying a gorgeous evening outside when we saw two cars with their headlights off speeding up the street.  Moments later, shots rang out from the two vehicles and also exchange fire from the party.  You could hear the screams of young people, cars fleeing, etc.  A fleeing car hit one young person during the melee. 

Last evening, I was moving out the heavy trash out to the curb when I heard the shots.  I then saw a suburban racing down the street.  My biggest concern is that we have children in the area.  We also have a couple of families down the street with their first child (newborn).

Thank you.

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Sounds like you've got a crack house down the street. I'd be bugging HPD about it until they did something.

[RedScare]

So much for blaming it on "inner city youth".

Think he was listening to rap music on his upgrade stereo?

[MidtownCoog]

More like taking WAY too much X.

[RedScare]

I'm still laughing at the 35 year old yuppie tagger. Wonder what his tag is? What is he writing - "Michael Bolton Territory"?

Do you think the gangsters walk by and see it and say, "What the hell does that mean?"

Does he walk around in baggy Dockers and an oversized 'Baylor' hockey jersey?

Does he have spinners on his Lexus?

I'll never trust my white neighbors in SUVs again.

[segovia]

Regarding the crack house remark, I have driven through out the area during the day and have yet to find a home that would fall under such a category. Most of the area is a mixture of new and older homes. The streets are clean and there is visible up-keep to the properties.

I had the privilege of seeing the graffiti off Yale first hand. Typically, people who tag areas are pretty consistent with signs/signatures. I walked down the street looking at what he did and nothing made sense. I could not help but wonder if this person wanted to scare people into selling their property. Based on the building frenzy in the area, these sites are considered "hot" commercial and residential land.

[Casual Observer]

Not all crack houses look like crack houses. Why else though would you be getting drive-by's in your neighborhood though? Someone, or rather some group (eg: gang) is the target.

[segovia]

Casual Observer...good point.

I used to see drug related activity behind the Stop&Go off Shepherd and 17th street. The rental house behind the store used to generate a lot of activity. Ever since the new homes went up across the street, I have seen very little of it. Even the rental home has changed...fully remodeled and fenced.

[Casual Observer]

I'm telling you, Independence Heights, North Shepherd, and even Acres Homes, all filter through that area. Shepherd is a major throughfare for them it seems.

Hopefully they shot and killed whomever they were aiming at, or that the targets moved. It sounds cold, but the last thing you want is someone elses mess in your front yard.

[jgs1419]

Segovia, I live East of Heights and North of 14th on a 'good' block and we still have occasional crime issues but I don't think what you've experienced to date is indicative of what your experience will be long term.

I am by no means an old timer in the Heights but I have lived here since '93 (with a 3 year hiatus in the late 90s). We've lost a bike or two due to carelessness on my part (garage unlocked) but otherwise, it's pretty quiet here. Not to say I don't see things that make me nervous from time to time but I don't think that is unique to the Heights.

There is certainly a rough element within and around the neighborhood but my experience is that it is declining steadily as more folks like you move in. Call the police storefront if you have any tacit complaints they can act on. I've only done it once but they were very responsive.

[segovia]

jgs1419

Yes...we are hoping these were isolated incidents. Change is inevitable. Sadly, I am a purist at heart. Most of the older, antique homes in the area will either be moved or demolished to make room for new construction (gentrification). You know...everywhere I've lived, I have always gone thru some adaptation period. When we first moved to our house, I felt at home right off the bat. Go figure. The fall season was great...the festival in October and the December "Lights in the Heights" was memorable. It is a great community and I get the feeling things will be all right. A safe community does not come free, we need people to be involved and that is what we intend to do.

[groovehouse]

Get to know this number and the people who answer it

713.222.3131

It's the HPD non-emergency line. Gunshots? Fireworks? Loud car stereos, give them a call and report it. You can leave your name or call anonymously. Report that stuff, just ask them if they can increase patrols in your area, there is also an HPD storefront on the backside of the Kroger/Luby's shopping center near Durham and 11th (I think) - talk to them about your 'neighbors'

[HeightsGuy]

Segovia, fear not, I don't think Heights "Proper" is not going to flip, it's gotten to expensive for that to happen. What you're seeing is the low-hanging fruit, ie. houses that were falling apart, etc. Now, my area (Shady Acres) and other areas close to the Heights is a different story. I think in 10 years there will hardly be a ranchalo (bungalo/ranch style home) left in Shady Acres.

[modernbeat]

Get to know this number and the people who answer it

713.222.3131

It's the HPD non-emergency line.

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I've been lurking for more than a year, but I have to pipe up for this one. Call the number. Call it again and again and again. It's not going to get a squad car sent out within an hour, but it DOES get more patrols down your street.

I live in 1st ward near the Pigstand. I hear automatic weapon fire at least twice a month. It's usually less than two houses away. There are bullet holes through my building. There are slugs on the roof and driveway after every holiday.

That's an improvement. Weapon fire used to be every other night!

[segovia]

The weekend seems to attract the most activity. I can hear vehicles racing down my street all the way to 6 AM. I do agree that most of the traffic is from the surrounding neighborhoods passing through. I guess we need more stop signs and speed bumps but that will only prolong the *boom...boom* music :-) . The weekend also attracts a lot of trash in the water drainage areas...mostly beer cans and bottles. I've never understood why people throw their trash outside. Regardless, one has to pick it up to keep it nice and green.

[Talbot]

^For people like that though, they probably won't slow down for any speed bumps, probably not even for a stop sign, since it seems they're racing to get away from something or to something.

[J.A.S.O.N.]

I'm telling you, Independence Heights, North Shepherd, and even Acres Homes, all filter through that area. Shepherd is a major throughfare for them it seems.

Hopefully they shot and killed whomever they were aiming at, or that the targets moved. It sounds cold, but the last thing you want is someone elses mess in your front yard.

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Qu

[LTAWACS]

It's prolly some illegals. Again.

[Casual Observer]

It's prolly some illegals. Again.

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Unless they were MS13, or some other similar somewhat organized Central American gang, then probably not. 99% of illegal don't cause trouble, and don't say a word to anyone. The last thing an illegal wants is attention, or worse yet deportation via criminal arrest.

[segovia]

I used to live in the Medical Center. I was always impressed by the police presence in the West U, South Hampton, and adjacent neighborhoods. Speed traps are a common sight. My understanding is that these neighborhoods have their own police force/ City charter? The frequency of people being pulled over is also noticeable.

The 1st Ward has some nice older homes. I remember touring the area one Sunday afternoon. I feel sorry for the folks who bought the Perry town homes near the railroad tracks a couple of blocks away from the Pig Stand restaurant. The fresh smell of baked bread is no consolation.

[LTAWACS]

It seems we need to band together to put a stop to this./

[RedScare]

This topic is also being discussed in this thread.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...t=0entry30960

[Casual Observer]

I used to live in the Medical Center.  I was always impressed by the police presence in the West U, South Hampton, and adjacent neighborhoods.  Speed traps are a common sight.  My understanding is that these neighborhoods have their own police force/ City charter?  The frequency of people being pulled over is also noticeable. 

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The best thing you could do in the Heights is band together as a neighborhood and contract a Harris County Constable to exclusively patrol your neighborhood. I think it cost around 45k a year though.

[jgs1419]

The best thing you could do in the Heights is band together as a neighborhood

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Talk about herding cats......there are too many disparate interests and points of view to consider that as an option. I can hear the arguments now:

"We're creating a police state"

"You're taxing me unfairly"

"I'd rather spend $45k/year on a peace exhibit and sit-in at Milroy Park"

"Let's form a Heights citizens' militia...where's my gun?!"

"Let's go to Jimmy's and talk about it some more"

Good idea somewhere else, but I don't think it will work for us. The weirdness is what makes the neighborhood special but it also precludes us from acting conhesively on crime, development, etc. (IMHO)