rgraham

Iberia Bank, I've heard.

Moby is one of the more famous Crossvillians out there -- Crossville, Tennessee, that is, my hometown. I met him once, but he's several years older than me, old enough that we weren't in high school at the same time. We do know a lot of the same people, though. I remember him being on the radio in Crossville (WAEW and WCSV -- both AMs). I was also living in Fort Worth in the mid 80s when he moved from Houston to Dallas (the Eagle? 97FM or something like that). I don't think he was in Dallas very long, for whatever reason.

You're welcome. Look forward to seeing you around the neighborhood.

We've lived in Briarmeadow for 11 years now and are quite happy here. The homes are a tremendous value, given their size and the neighborhood's location. It's pretty convenient to be centered between 610 and the Beltway, with easy access to 59 as well. Retail along Westheimer has improved considerably the past few years. The Briarmeadow Charter School (HISD) gives us a good public school option, although you'll find neighborhood kids scattered in schools around town. We have an active homeowners association. Neighbors take pride in their homes. We do have a 24-hour security patrol because, yes, we are bordered by apartments. But I don't feel unsafe at all here.

There's a nice mix of families -- newcomers with young families, families like us who've been here a while and quite a few original residents. I'm surprised at how many residents grew up here and now own homes in the neighborhood. So far we've not been hit by the McMansion bug, but I keep thinking that someday we're going to be discovered and things are going to take off (good for property values, but aesthetically? Ugh.) I've seen quite a few houses "flipped" recently as original owners move on. It's a trend I like much better than teardowns, and speaks to the value that can be found here.

ETA: Here's the neighborhood Web site.

http://www.briarmeadow.org/tx/

See, I wonder about the developer's intentions too. If the developers think they can snow these people, if they think the people in Grassy Cove are just a bunch of dumb hicks, then they're very much mistaken. People in Grassy Cove live simple lives, but that's by choice. They aren't stupid by any stretch, and you'd be surprised how much money some of these families have.

You can begin to see why the few families that own the land don't let go of it.

From the Crossville (Tenn.) Chronicle:

Residents meet with developers about deep green community

SNIP

Walden Reserve will be a 6,000 acre deep green community in Cumberland County just south of Grassy Cove off Hwy. 68. The property runs from Hwy. 68 over to Hwy. 70 E. and south to Alloway Rd.

"This will be the greenest community in America," Bray said.

The community will be developed with cutting edge technology, be self-contained and will be recognized all over the world, he said.

The community will create its own water supply with aquifers storing rainwater that falls on the mountain and will not interfere with other utility districts' water systems. It will create its own energy through a collective solar system and develop its own sewer system. The community will take care of itself through fees and assessments to members and property owners, Bray said. The county will not be involved in paying anything toward the development.

http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/local/..._165174311.html

Anybody heard of anything like this? Should these people believe what the developers are telling them? I went to the Walden Reserve Web site, but it requires a login and password to get past the home page (which tells you nothing).

I grew up just a few miles from Grassy Cove and I know both the area and the people who live there. The land has been in several families hands for generations, and you can't dynamite it out of their control. It's a tremendously beautiful and unspoiled place, nestled as it is among mountain ridges. Much farming still goes on there. They are wary of outsiders, which includes just about everyone outside of the Cove.

Just curious.

It faced north. To be precise, due north. You can see it if you reference the Southwest Freeway chapter in the book Houston Freeways, which you can download at

http://houstonfreeways.com/ebook.aspx

The resolution of the image on the 150ppi file is barely enough to verify that it faces north. I pulled up the original image from my disk files, which is higher resolution, and verified that the screen faced north.

Wow -- thanks, MaxConcrete. You went above and beyond the call, and I certainly appreciate it.

I've found your book and Web site to be a tremendous resource, btw. Thanks again.

I like that she told me that story because of the visual it creates. Briarmeadow is about two miles from Hillcroft and Bellaire, but in those days there would be nothing to impede the view. Few trees, no tall buildings, billboards or roadways -- just flatness. I figured the screen faced north, or mostly north, but thanks for the verification.

Sharpstown Drive-In Theater was demolished either in the late 70's or early 80's. They built apartments on that tract. There also used to be a chinese restaraunt across from Globe. I ate my first fortune cookie there, but it's long gone too.

Can someone tell me which direction the drive-in screen faced? I'm putting together some history for Briarmeadow, and a lady told me that as a child (late 50s-early 60s) she and other kids could sit on the roof of their house on Fairdale and see the screen at Sharpstown.

Just wondering. Thanks.

Here's the link I think you're after (courtesy of sevfiv).

http://www.tax.co.harris.tx.us/blockbooks/default.asp

Yes, the Brairmeadow portion was already built (with median) and was in place but only through the length of the subdivision. Tanglewilde had the same situation. In fact there was some resistance at the time from both subdivsions when Richmond was being extended. My father served as a member of the Southwest Allied Civic Clubs back in those days. The club's main purpose was to preserve deed restrictions and neighborhood covenants in the area. The neighborhoods that were not completly built out, like ours, did not have much luck. Glenhaven's restrictions expired in 1970, Westheimer Garden's expired in 1972. We had moved by then.

In Briarmeadow, the civic club joined the homeowners association in 1972. The transition wasn't always smooth, apparently, but all ended well. The HOA is very active today.

I grew up in Westheimer Gardens, south of Westheimer and east of Fountain View (Ulrich Rd.) Glenhaven Estates was just west of that. Robert E. Lee High School was built in Glenhaven Estates. We used to pick dewberries all through that part of Glenhaven in the early 60's because it was sparsley populated. I remember Hillcroft did not go any further south than the entrance to Briarmeadow (Highmeadow I think). Richmond Ave was not extended from Chimney Rock over to Hillcroft until the mid to late '60s. Several houses had to be moved in Westheimer Gardens, but Glenhaven had larger lots so it only took back yards from that point on to Briameadow, were Richmond Ave was already built and waiting.

Plumber2 -- That's interesting about Richmond not extending past Chimney Rock until the mid- to late-1960s -- 11 of the 25 houses in the 1957 Parade of Homes have Richmond addresses. Was the Briarmeadow portion of Richmond complete then?

Thanks for the bump bump, firebird.

Shameless bump. I'd really like to hear your stories, thoughts, etc. about Briarmeadow.

I'll let the thread die if none are forthcoming.

Thanks.

There was a lady I talked to that recently sold her home in there. Her husband was an Architect that built at least one of the Parade of homes in there. She had some old newspaper clippings from there and told me the house next door was the residence of Architect A. Carroll Brodnax. She might be a good resource if I could track her down.

I definitely think Briarmeadow needs to start gathering this sort of information.

rps -- that would be great. I haven't started down the list of builders yet, but some might still be alive, and certainly descendants might still be around Houston. I'll see if I can find the Broadnax house.

You're right -- Briarmeadow definitely needs to do this, and the 50th anniversary provides the perfect opportunity to get it done. That Briarmeadow was a Parade of Homes development immediately adds an interesting hook -- a "Wow -- I didn't know that" factor. We hope to parlay that into excitement within the neighborhood, and maybe generate some larger publicity.

How is Briarmeadow perceived by real estate professionals?

(BTW -- we met briefly at one of your open houses, a year or so ago. It was an originally furnished mod in Glenbrook Valley -- the one on a big sloping lot.)

Thanks for your help.

here's the link to the Harris County block books:

http://www.tax.co.harris.tx.us/blockbooks/default.asp

That's the one. Thanks sevfiv.

Longtime lurker/first-time poster ...

My name is Rusty Graham and I'm researching the history of Briarmeadow for its 50th anniversary this year. These forums have proved to be a gold mine of information in the past, so I'm asking for help.

Briarmeadow was the featured development in the 1957 Parade of Homes, and was part of a building boom on this side of Houston in the mid to late 50s. It was developed by a man named James E. Lyon, a banker and developer who served as chairman of River Oaks Bank for 30 years, was active in Republican politics, and who belonged to all the right (social, not necessarily political) clubs, according to his Chronicle obit. And that's about all I can find on him so far. Lyon developed Briarbend, Tanglewilde and a few other subdivisions, so he seems like a fairly important player. (His widow [if I've found the right person] has remarried and is still fairly prominent in Houston.)

I'm looking for any help anyone might provide. Information on Lyon would be great. Someone once posted a Web site where you could find subdivision plats. That would be great. Any suggestions, tip, and/or resources would be great. Any stories anyone might have of Briarmeadow would be great, as would photos, articles, ads, etc. Those who attended Lee High School back in the day might have some insight and/or stories.

We want to compile as complete and accurate a history as possible, then present what we find on the Web, through a printed piece, and maybe even with a digital presentation that can be projected at different functions and events. Details aren't ironed out yet.

Thanks in advance for all your help.