The Heights Real Estate

[dbigtex56]

BigTex, as a long-time Montrose resident, you're the perfect person to ask: do you miss the Westheimer Street Fest, or were you glad to see it go?

Twice a year we had a blast down at the Westheimer "Freak" Festival (and I mean that in a most loving way)...that is until the area got too yuppified and the new residents didn't want those creative spirits walking "their" streets and making music anymore.

I guess you see what camp I'm in.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A little of both, I suppose.

At one time, the Westheimer Festival was like a bizzare class reunion (except it was fun). Locals could always count on seeing people they knew, and it was amusing to see the bewildered looks on the faces of people unfamiliar with the neighborhood. It certainly brought out people's creative sides.

In its latter years, it seemed to degenerate into just another place for dim-wits to drink too much beer. Although unsympathetic new residents' attitudes towards the festival irritated me, I think that the WestFest kind of ran its course. Once something becomes too popular, it's difficult - maybe impossible - to restore what made it appealling to begin with.

(sorry - I know this is off topic)

[dbigtex56]

I had a discussion with a women in my neighborhood last night who is remodeling her 1940s home. She invited a few of us over to see her recent work after our neighborhood meeting. She already ripped out a lot of the cool features and is about to gleefully gut her sea-green tiled kitchen that is in near perfect shape, original cabinets with glass knobs, sink, lighting, original stove. I tried my best but there was no way to change her mind. She wants bright and shiny, even if it will look dated in 10 years. Another friend of hers was there too telling me how she did the same thing.

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This seems to be the prevailing style - no home is complete without a kitchen equipped like a medium-sized restaurant.

How puzzling that people used to feed large households three meals a day from these kitchens; yet now two people living off microwavable food find them 'cramped'.

[Guest danax]

This seems to be the prevailing style - no home is complete without a kitchen equipped like a medium-sized restaurant.

How puzzling that people used to feed large households three meals a day from these kitchens; yet now two people living off microwavable food find them 'cramped'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So true. Is everyone a gourmet cook these days? Who's got time for that? That would seem like an impossibility for commuters especially. I think it's more for show and tell and the occasional feast.

This is part of the reason that we are losing so many old houses. They are not "feasible" for restoration, by todays standards of size and luxury.

That brings us back to the question of whether to restore and old house or buy new. Can you accept "less" perhaps? It is possible to expand, of course. The friend I mentioned in the previous post who's about to gut her kitchen; I have to say she's done a great job on the house in general, historic considerations aside. She added a master bedroom with oak-strip wood floors to match the rest of the house, along with a master bath with huge jacuzzi, huge walk-in closet and a back porch. So, the kitchen is just the final piece of her personal vision and most modern people would love it and might see the possibilities that these basic looking 40s boxes, that so covered Houston and are still plentiful, cheap and close-in, have for modern living. By the way, she lives alone so she's a perfect example of the current phenomenon of wanting much more than is needed.

I think that neighborhoods that retain their architectural integrity throughout the changing trends and generations are gifts to cities that keep on giving. And restoration and sensitive modification are the ways to keep those neighborhoods intact. It's totally unrealistic to expect many to stay the same though, especially here.

[BrentO]

How puzzling that people used to feed large households three meals a day from these kitchens; yet now two people living off microwavable food find them 'cramped'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That has less to do with the kitchen functionality and more to do with the changing role of the kitchen. When I grew up, and my parents were having get-togethers, nobody spent time hanging out in the kitchen. People split up between the formal and casual living rooms or dining rooms, sitting around and talking.

These days, the kitchen is a gathering place. I've had plenty of parties that never left the kitchen. Preparing food is more of a central event now in the days of TV cooking shows - people want to hang out with the host as he/she cooks the food, and it becomes a central part of the event.

Heck, two years after we bought our house, we still haven't bought a dining room table. Everybody hangs out around the kitchen island.

[dbigtex56]

That has less to do with the kitchen functionality and more to do with the changing role of the kitchen.  When I grew up, and my parents were having get-togethers, nobody spent time hanging out in the kitchen.  People split up between the formal and casual living rooms or dining rooms, sitting around and talking.

These days, the kitchen is a gathering place.  I've had plenty of parties that never left the kitchen.  Preparing food is more of a central event now in the days of TV cooking shows - people want to hang out with the host as he/she cooks the food, and it becomes a central part of the event.

Heck, two years after we bought our house, we still haven't bought a dining room table.  Everybody hangs out around the kitchen island.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks, BrentO - you make a legitimate point.

Come to think of it, my brother's family generally eat in the kitchen's (cramped) breakfast nook of their mid-sixties house. The dining room has been relegated to the role that the parlor had in houses a hundred years ago - nicely furnished, but seldom used.

Hopefully, people will find ways to increase the functional use of their vintage kitchens while retaining the more desirable original elements.

[Guest danax]

Thanks, BrentO - you make a legitimate point.

Come to think of it, my brother's family generally eat in the kitchen's (cramped) breakfast nook of their mid-sixties house. The dining room has been relegated to the role that the parlor had in houses a hundred years ago - nicely furnished, but seldom used.

Hopefully, people will find ways to increase the functional use of their vintage kitchens while retaining the more desirable original elements.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When I first bought this house, built around 1905-8, I had the idea of turning the formal dining room, which is the largest room in the house, into a master bedroom and the original 10x10 kitchen adjacent to it into a master bath. That would've given me 3 brdms and 3 baths and I could've turned the original 1908 bathroom, which had been stripped previously of all it's original features, into a laundry room. There was already another kitchen that had been converted from a bedroom (I know, weird).

I've since decided to enlarge the original kitchen (remodeled actually in 1926) and stay with 2 bdms, 2 baths and keep the original dining room. I am also keeping the original parlor as a sitting room and not converting it into a bedroom. Easy for me as I live alone.

It's not the "practical" thing to do but I didn't want to alter the original floor plan too much. And, I like the old fashioned way of preparing the food in one room and serving and eating it in another. It adds formality and a sense of peace and reverence for the act of eating.

Are these open kitchen/dining areas perhaps just a passing trend that will one day be as dated as a parlor? Most of the time, a compromise between architectural originality and personal preferences/modern living can be found without forever destroying the aura of the passage of time that exists in an old house.

[RedScare]

Open concepts have been a Houston hallmark for a long time. Not sure why. Cooler, perhaps? Less formal, as befits the Houston style? I don't see going back to isolated rooms anytime soon, especially kitchen/dining. That is actually kind of old school, when entertainment revolved around food.

Interestingly, Dallas homes up through the 80s (90s) had the formal setup of separate rooms, as opposed to the open Houston concept. Haven't been up there in awhile. Don't know what direction it has gone recently.

[YakuzaIce]

Open concepts have been a Houston hallmark for a long time.  Not sure why.  Cooler, perhaps?  Less formal, as befits the Houston style?  I don't see going back to isolated rooms anytime soon, especially kitchen/dining.  That is actually kind of old school, when entertainment revolved around food.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you know what year the open kitchen concept began to be put into new homes? My home built in the fifties has a relatively closed kitchen. Could this have been the beginning of the concept? The reason I ask is because there are two open doorways (no doors) that lead to the living room area. Also I know of other homes in the area that are slightly open, but not to the degree they are today.

[Guest danax]

Do you know what year the open kitchen concept began to be put into new homes?  My home built in the fifties has a relatively closed kitchen.  Could this have been the beginning of the concept?  The reason I ask is because there are two open doorways (no doors) that lead to the living room area.  Also I know of other homes in the area that are slightly open, but not to the degree they are today.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm thinking the true open kitchen where the dining room is virtually in the same space without any barriers came about in the 80s. I lived in a house built in '78 that had a separtate kitchen and a tiny dining room.

[RedScare]

This is somewhat of a guess on my part, but I believe it started in the 70s, around the time that the oil boom started rempant tract home development. My parents home, built in 1976, has an attached kitchen/breakfast area, open to the den. Many other homes in the neighborhood are similar.

However, ranch homes may have started the trend. Any ranch afficionados have any thoughts on this subject?

[rps324]

Thank you all for the info!  Do you all know more specifically which parts of Timbergrove flooded besides near the bayou?  Streets I can find on the key map?  We are trying to figure out if some of the houses we are interested in on HAR.com have flooded.  Some say they didn't and some don't say...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The section south of 11th , west of the bayou got hit pretty hard. That church flooded also.

[GoAtomic]

This is somewhat of a guess on my part, but I believe it started in the 70s, around the time that the oil boom started rempant tract home development.

[segovia]

Folks,

During my exercise walks thru the neighborhood, I have noticed several sidewalk areas where the rainwater pools due to poor or blocked drainage. These pools of water have noticeable mosquito infestation. In some cases, there is nothing man-made that is obstructing the area, just lack of maintenance. Driveways or improper ground grading for plants has caused other obstructions. Who is responsible in fixing the reoccurring issue?

[Heights2Bastrop]

I think Torchlight is correct. I also believe that the homeowner is liable should someone trip and fall due to a sidewalk crack or unevenness due to sinking.

[kjb434]

The sidewalks are on a city or county owned right of way. They would be responsible.

Homeowners typically are good neighbors and fix sidewalks and maintain the area between the sidewalks eventhough it is techincally city or county property depending on were you live.

You can't be sued if someone trips on the sidewalk unless they can prove you caused the problem that made that person trip.

If you call your city councilman or county precint manager's office, they help you. It'll probably get moving quicker if you say someone was hurt or would be hurt because of the problem. Mosquitos are another good excuse to get the city out there quicker because of the West Nile Virus.

[kjb434]

HOA rules and the planning commision probably made the put it there.

I live in the Cottage Grove area just west of the heights. The developers are required to build sidewalks where none existed. It's still within the right-of-way for the road. You may be require to build this sidewalk but you don't own it unless you build it outside of the street right-of-way.

I have friend who just moved into a brand new garage apartment in the Heights along 9th street. The sidewalks were a requirement to be rebuilt by the owner. He still doesn't have ownership of the sidewalk though. It's just the government getting people to do there work for them.

Some HOAs or deed restrictions as you mentioned require the building of the sidewalk. It still not yours or the neighborhoods.

[Heights2Bastrop]

I would have sworn it was the homeowners responsibility. Thanks for the clarification, kjb!

[travelguy_73]

I believe it is generally the responsibility of the property owner. Think about it: If this was really the City's responsibility, then every property owner with a mature oak tree planted between the sidewalk and street would be petitioning for a new sidewalk, and Public Works would be even more overwhelmed than they already are. I'm sure exceptions are made for sidewalks that are regularly used by disabled individuals, but in my HOA dealings with the City, those repairs are so rare as to be immaterial.

From Code of Ordinances: (municode.com)

Sec. 40-85. Performance of work by city at request of property owner.

Any property owner or his duly authorized agent, who shall desire the city to construct for him any sidewalk, driveway, curb or gutter, or to reconstruct, or repair or regrade the same, shall have the right to petition the city council therefore, asking that such work be performed at the cost and expense of the petitioner, offering to defray all costs of advertising for bids, if any, letting contract and cost of grading, constructing and finishing, and designate the terms upon which he can pay. Upon receiving such petition, the same shall be referred to the city engineer, who shall determine forthwith the line and grade, make a record thereof and estimate the cost of construction, including the advertising for bids, if necessary, and report to the council. Should the council see fit to grant such petition, it shall determine the material out of which the improvements shall be constructed and the manner of payment therefor. Before any work or sidewalk, driveway, curb, or gutter construction shall be undertaken by the city for any property owner, such property owner shall comply with all requirements of the city as to payment therefor, either in cash in advance, or part cash and the giving of security for the unpaid balance. The city shall have the right to award any quantity of work under this section to a general contractor whose bid shall be accepted by the council as the lowest and best secure bid for the construction of sidewalks, driveways, curbs and gutters during a stipulated time, not to exceed one year.

(Code 1968,

[kjb434]

The same requirement goes to repaving a street. If the homeowner wanted the street repaved but the street is not scheduled in the maintenance program, the residents can pay to have it done. The city will oversee the project and the funds will have to be accessed from the residents.

It's still the city's street, but the residents will pay for the repaving mainly because they can't wait until the city comes around to fix it. The same scenario exists for the sidewalks. The city probably doesn't event have a schedule to replace the sidewalks. I think they depend on responsible citizens as yourself to take the initiative.

[wendyps]

I just noticed this thread, and you know what, as one of her neighbors, I'm going to do what I can to at least make sure she builds something that fits the feel of the "hood". What can I do........hmmmm, gonna have to think on it.

I adore the 6th ward, I may have to leave it very soon and it makes me so sad, yet, it makes me sadder still to see morons like this come in and ruin history. These homes are 100+ years old, there are VERY FEW homes in Houston that old. If she wants to build a gargantuan modern thing, fine! Just do it over in Rice Military, or Midtown or somewhere else where the original charm has already been clobbered.

[HeightsGuy]

GoAtomic, don't forget the tremendous impact air conditioning had on housing design in Houston and much of the south. You can't have an open kitchen plan in Houston without it. Even in the 50's, many middle-class homes still did not have air conditioning, which is why the kitchens were still closed off to the rest of the house. My late 40's bungalo in Shady Acres is nothing but a series of comparments, with the kitchen tucked away in the back corner seperated by a door to the dining room, which was separated from the bedroom hallway with another door. The only open areas are between the living and dining room, separated by an archway.

Heck, I just described half the homes built in Houston in the 1st half of the 20th century.

So, the 'two doorways to the living area' probably had as much to do with comfort as structural considerations.

[RedScare]

"Heck, I just described half the homes built in Houston in the 1st half of the 20th century."

Yup, that's my 1920 bungalow, right there.

[HoustonMidtown]

I live in Alexan Heights Apts (I-10 and Studemont)....there were 5 break-ins yesterday - 3 totally trashed apts and 2 where they just broke the door down. Is there anyone with some advice as to what I should request from the management (if anything) to allieve my fears of this happening again? ie: better door/deadbolt, more surveillance cameras, etc....

I know they probably aren't going to do anything - they have an off-duty policeman patrolling at night - but nobody during the day (when these break-ins happened)...

Feeling violated....

[kjb434]

I'm sure each apartment is wire for security since it is fairly new. They'll probably tell you to get a system hooked. Also, get renter's insurance to cover stolen items.

[RedScare]

I live in Alexan Heights Apts (I-10 and Studemont)....there were 5 break-ins yesterday - 3 totally trashed apts and 2 where they just broke the door down.  Is there anyone with some advice as to what I should request from the management (if anything) to allieve my fears of this happening again?  ie: better door/deadbolt, more surveillance cameras, etc....

I know they probably aren't going to do anything - they have an off-duty policeman patrolling at night - but nobody during the day (when these break-ins happened)...

Feeling violated....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry to hear about the breakins. You should demand (and I believe it is required by law) a keyed deadbolt, one that can be locked when you leave. If the frame is steel, or if the deadbolt is a long-throw, or a long deadbolt, you'll be fine on kicked in doors. Windows are a problem, since you can't do much. A security alarm with a siren will scare away all but the stupidest burglar. Keep your shades closed so you don't broadcast what you own.

[Subdude]

When I lived in the Heights we were broken into a couple of times. After the first the owner installed keyed deadbolts. Sure enough they held, but the burglars not only kicked in the door, they knocked the entire door frame out from the wall. As if we had anything worth stealing.

[dbigtex56]

The tenants might have some recourse against the management if the apartments were advertised as having security (i.e., the off-duty policeman).

There was a case in Houston a few years ago, in which a young woman successfully sued her apartment complex after a break-in and rape. The apartments had advertised that they had 'security gates'. You'll notice that now many apartments instead advertise that they have 'access gates'.

[LTAWACS]

Access gates are pretty useless.

[sevfiv]

Access gates are pretty useless.

agreed - it doesn't take much to get in an apartment complex if you really want to

i remember my first apartment - it had a gated entry that opened to the left - one night, someone decided they wanted to open it frontways - with their car...

i love apartments

[Lucky]

I live in Alexan Hts and have since March '04. Their was a string of break-ins last year in the fall/winter (?) and four apts were burglarized. The next day Alexan Hts/TCR hired 4 security guards to patrol 24-7. That was short lived and now dwindled to one guard at night. In addition Alexan Hts attempted to organize a 'residents on patrol' committee where residents volunteered to keep and eye out for suspicious activity. That must have been a bust since I haven