Another Area to Look At

[brerrabbit]

From the time I was 6 till I was about 15 we lived on Askew in Houston. The neighborhood was called Oak Vista. It's bordered by Griggs, Telephone, the South Loop and ended about where the Tel Wink grill is. There were some pretty nice houses on the east side of the neighborhood on Grimes, Duval, and Huey. Nice sized lots and a ton of trees. The houses were smaller as you went west towards the loop but if someone was looking in the East End it might be checking into.

[jm1fd]

From the time I was 6 till I was about 15 we lived on Askew in Houston. The neighborhood was called Oak Vista. It's bordered by Griggs, Telephone, the South Loop and ended about where the Tel Wink grill is. There were some pretty nice houses on the east side of the neighborhood on Grimes, Duval, and Huey. Nice sized lots and a ton of trees. The houses were smaller as you went west towards the loop but if someone was looking in the East End it might be checking into.

The HAR.com listings have the area down as Oak Acres.

[rps324]

I have been back there a couple of times. Kind of a rural feel. Travis & Karen that had Metro Modern furniture on Milam had a house back there before moving to a mod in Meadowcreek Village. I was in that one once and it was really nice. I don't think there is much going on in there in the way of gentrification, but for someone needing a big lot & wanting inside the loop, I imagine they could get in there at a good price.

[Guest danax]

You're right. It looks like that was once a nice neighborhood and it's lost some luster over the years but still doesn't look too bad. Checking HAR, the prices have risen a lot in the past couple of years so apparently it's not unknown anymore. Still, 139K for a 2000 sq. ft. house with hardwood floors on 1/3 acre inside the loop is not too bad.

[rps324]

I never cease to be amazed at all the hidden pockets of great old houses scattered through the east end, just waiting to be "discovered." Do you know anything about a little pocket of houses sandwiched between that middle school on Polk, and an old cemetary. I think off of Altic street. Really great little brick bungalows that look just like Idylwood, (except not kept up the same) a couple with Spanish tile roofs. There are only about 3 short streets in there, but it looks like it holds enormous potential.

[musicman]

I never cease to be amazed at all the hidden pockets of great old houses scattered through the east end, just waiting to be "discovered." Do you know anything about a little pocket of houses sandwiched between that middle school on Polk, and an old cemetary. I think off of Altic street. Really great little brick bungalows that look just like Idylwood, (except not kept up the same) a couple with Spanish tile roofs. There are only about 3 short streets in there, but it looks like it holds enormous potential.

i think that's jackson court or something like that...right across from jackson jr hi.

[jm1fd]

i think that's jackson court or something like that...right across from jackson jr hi.

Yep. Jackson Court. Home to this monstrosity.

[Guest danax]

Yep. Jackson Court. Home to this monstrosity.

Yuck. I wonder what the original house looked like? The remuddler really captured that " bus barn" look; a true neighborhood sore thumb. That's beyond insensitive but that's what happens when you get people with "worldviews" that don't include valuing anything "old".

[EastEnd Susan]

i think that's jackson court or something like that...right across from jackson jr hi.

I went to Jackson Jr. High from 68 to 71. I had some friends that lived in the neighborhood you are talking about. If you stood on Altic with your back facing Jackson, I guess you would be facing north, she lived in the third or fourth house on the right. A big brick 2 story with wonderful hardwood floors and a huge fireplace. Back then it was painted white with green shutters. I drove by a few years ago and it was gray. Another friend lived behind her a couple of blocks over towards the east. This was a one story red brick with 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, a fireplace and a nice front porch. The homes over there were always so cozy even thought they were by the scary cemetary. Back then the cemetary was a tangle of brush and thick vines along with broken headstones and opened graves. But it wasn't scary enough to keep us from hanging out there to smoke before the school bell rang.

[brerrabbit]

I went to Jackson Jr. High from 68 to 71. I had some friends that lived in the neighborhood you are talking about. If you stood on Altic with your back facing Jackson, I guess you would be facing north, she lived in the third or fourth house on the right. A big brick 2 story with wonderful hardwood floors and a huge fireplace. Back then it was painted white with green shutters. I drove by a few years ago and it was gray. Another friend lived behind her a couple of blocks over towards the east. This was a one story red brick with 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, a fireplace and a nice front porch. The homes over there were always so cozy even thought they were by the scary cemetary. Back then the cemetary was a tangle of brush and thick vines along with broken headstones and opened graves. But it wasn't scary enough to keep us from hanging out there to smoke before the school bell rang.

GO LEOPARDS! I went to Jackson from 71 to 74. I was the geaky 7th grader when you were a cool 9th grader. I remember a a girl in my class lived in Jackson Court, here name was Barbara W.... (kind of a Polish sounding namethat I can't remember) She had a younger brother who was a year behind us. Those houses were pretty nice back then.

[EastEnd Susan]

GO LEOPARDS! I went to Jackson from 71 to 74. I was the geaky 7th grader when you were a cool 9th grader. I remember a a girl in my class lived in Jackson Court, here name was Barbara W.... (kind of a Polish sounding namethat I can't remember) She had a younger brother who was a year behind us. Those houses were pretty nice back then.

Ah yes, I was SO cool. lol Then I went on to be a geaky 10th grader at Austin. See ya.

[rps324]

Here is a listing I came across in Jackson Court.

Listing

[Vertigo58]

From the time I was 6 till I was about 15 we lived on Askew in Houston. The neighborhood was called Oak Vista. It's bordered by Griggs, Telephone, the South Loop and ended about where the Tel Wink grill is. There were some pretty nice houses on the east side of the neighborhood on Grimes, Duval, and Huey. Nice sized lots and a ton of trees. The houses were smaller as you went west towards the loop but if someone was looking in the East End it might be checking into.

I know what area your speaking of. When I went to JP Henderson Elementary briefly in 1968-69 I had a friend or 2 that lived there cant recall the streets though but I know his name was John Kadelchec (area was all anglo then). If you drive through today it still has that spacious feel to it but the crime is just too close for comfort. I would not dream of raising kids there now, you would have to send them faaaarrrr away to go to school, etc. Riff-raff is at your doorstep no doubt. Don't get the wrong idea, I just feel pity for people that are unaware of the nightmare that awaits them. In case you didn't see the news about 8 months ago that area flooded big time! The water inundated the homes all along the intrances in & out of there. You would also be near majority of recent immigrants & Katrina folks in them there ravaged apartamentos. Best to remember it the way it was. Good luck!

[Dan the Man]

I finally got around to finding "Jackson Court." There are some great little houses back in there, and the neighborhood is nicely laid out with a little topography. It definitely has the potential to look like a "Mini-Idylwood." Is the crime really as bad as Vertigo claims? I did not see very many homes with burgler bars or fences, and the neighborhood doesn't look nearly as rough as Broadmoor and Sunnylan(d), both of which I'm told are safe neighborhoods...

[Scharpe St Guy]

I finally got around to finding "Jackson Court." There are some great little houses back in there, and the neighborhood is nicely laid out with a little topography. It definitely has the potential to look like a "Mini-Idylwood." Is the crime really as bad as Vertigo claims? I did not see very many homes with burgler bars or fences, and the neighborhood doesn't look nearly as rough as Broadmoor and Sunnylan(d), both of which I'm told are safe neighborhoods...

Dan,

I can speak for Broadmoor it is a safe neighborhood and overall really quiet. Prices are going up and I truly sense a change in the air around the neighborhood. Part of why it is safe though I'm sure is the fact that quite a few of the owners in Broadmoor are Police or Related along with Victor Trevino living in the neighborhood. Constables cars are constantly cruising by keeping any eye out.

There is one cool house though on Stonewall along with quite a few four plexes down there.

All the best,

Scharpe St Guy

[Dan the Man]

Does anybody know anything about Oak Acres? It's a forgotten East-End neighborhood, and it appears to be roughly bordered by Griggs Rd to the West, Telephone Rd to the East, and 610 to the south. It looks like it used to be a very nice place to live, as the homes are fairly large for their era, and the lots are huge at 15000 SF. The houses look like they date from the 1940s, with the "Country Cottage" and "Ranch" styles well-represented. Streets are not curbed, which, coupled with the large lot sizes, gives the neighborhood a slightly "rural" feel...

[gnu]

Does anybody know anything about Oak Acres? It's a forgotten East-End neighborhood, and it appears to be roughly bordered by Griggs Rd to the West, Telephone Rd to the East, and 610 to the south. It looks like it used to be a very nice place to live, as the homes are fairly large for their era, and the lots are huge at 15000 SF. The houses look like they date from the 1940s, with the "Country Cottage" and "Ranch" styles well-represented. Streets are not curbed, which, coupled with the large lot sizes, gives the neighborhood a slightly "rural" feel...

I don't know anything of the history of the subdivision but it is one of my favorite old neighborhoods. Still very "splotchy" though. Some nice old classic houses. There has also been some nice mod updates to a couple of the ranchers in there. The older section (north of wynona?) seems to have the better housing stock.

I used to sometimes use Broad to cut through from 45 to 610 without having to fight the traffic in the non-existent 45/610 interchange at Gulfgate.

[rps324]

My only experience with it is a couple of people who have mod furniture stores over by High Fashion used to live in there. Of course their house looked great. The overall area did not appear to have any real signs of gentrification though.

I'm sort of surprised that places like this haven't gotten at least a little more activity. It seems like every nook and cranny of the inner loop west of 45 north thru 288 on the south has got some level of serious gentrification going on. But eastern inner-loop places like this remain basically untouched or unaffected or whatever you want to call it. I would have thought that before artists went as far out as Acres Homes that they would have "adopted" remaining areas inside the loop such as this.

[Vertigo58]

Sounds like Dan is talking about Pine Valley? We were discussing the same area a few months ago. Brookline Park area perhaps. Any way it sounds like Pine Valley to me. If you do a search under Brookline maybe you can find the topic. I'm too lazy right now.

Most of the homes in Pine Valley were built in 1950's and need major repairs by now or so I'm told by friends I grew up with there. Most left because the nabe became too crime ridden. Same old stuff.

[Guest Marty]

Here's a block book map of Oak Acres.

[brerrabbit]

Pine Valley is across Griggs Road from Oak Acres. I grew up in Oak Acres at 3026 Askew. I lived there from the time I was 5 till about 14. We then moved just around the corner into the Mobile Home park that was located at 3903 Erby. We lived in space number 2. I lived there until I graduated from U of H in 1981. The area that is now the Mobile Home park was originally government housing. The houses were two stories and had an apartment on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor. When the government finally sold the property they actually auctioned off the second floor apartments. They would tear out the first floor, put steel beams under the second floor and lower the second floor in one piece onto the beams and drive them away. If you look at the corner of Erby and the street that runs in front of Brookline Park you can still see a couple of the foundations the apartments sat on. They were thick massive things and these are the only ones left. They tore out the rest to make more room for trailers. We were a unique little area because we were actually zoned to attend Jackson Jr High and Milby High school. The dividing line for Milby and Austin was Griggs Road. The neighborhood had tons of huge oak trees and the house I lived in had 43 pin oak trees when we moved in. We lost some over the years but I can assure you that raking leaves in the fall as a kid was no fun.

There has been a thread on this area before that I started call "Another Area to Look at"

brer

[musicman]

Sounds like Dan is talking about Pine Valley?

it is the neighborhood behind happy go lucky on broad. catycorner from pinevalley across griggs/telephone intersection.

[brerrabbit]

Here's a block book map of Oak Acres.

Thats the start of the neighborhood and as I would have guessed the oldest part. If my memory serves me the first street listed was Huey, then came Duval, Grimes Wynona, Erby, Sue Ellen, Antonette, Juliet, and then 610 (or Holmes Road prior to 610)

The cross streets were Askew, Broad, and Pecan. From the looks of the homes the oldest part of the neighborhood were from Huey to Grimes. Once past that onto Wynona you started getting 1950's style ranch that are similar to the homes in Pine Valley. The older area has some really nice older looking homes that go much further back.

it is the neighborhood behind happy go lucky on broad. catycorner from pinevalley across griggs/telephone intersection.

Yes.

[Guest danax]

There has been a thread on this area before that I started call "Another Area to Look at"

brer

Topics merged.

[Vertigo58]

Now I know what your all talking about. Its a shamed Happy-Go-Lucky-bar is what made me realize where though.

I knew kids from there years ago as I mentioned in very beginning of this topic before it was merged. It was considered a bit upscale in its day up until the 70's.

The fact that its so close to infamous Telephone Road crime would drive me away from it. There are many dilapidated apts too close for comfort and streetwalkers from Tel Rd (unless you like that) linger too close.

Musicman, you may recall about 2 years ago majority of that area flooded fast in just a short downpour? At least all behind that Happy go Lky street (Broad). Water was waste deep in the homes. It would be fantastic if a major developer came in and nuked all of that nabe and built brand spanking new townhomes. Maybe that would help rehabilitate the sleazy Telephone Rd crowd nearby. I am serious. Not trying to be mean. Peace on earth!

[musicman]

Musicman, you may recall about 2 years ago majority of that area flooded fast in just a short downpour? At least all behind that Happy go Lky street (Broad). Water was waste deep in the homes. It would be fantastic if a major developer came in and nuked all of that nabe and built brand spanking new townhomes. Maybe that would help rehabilitate the sleazy Telephone Rd crowd nearby. I am serious. Not trying to be mean. Peace on earth!

i don't think there are any new townhomes there.

[gnu]

It would be fantastic if a major developer came in and nuked all of that nabe and built brand spanking new townhomes. Maybe that would help rehabilitate the sleazy Telephone Rd crowd nearby. I am serious. Not trying to be mean. Peace on earth!

i am glad you aren't a third world dictator with nukes. you are always so trigger happy with the explosives.

[Vertigo58]

i am glad you aren't a third world dictator with nukes. you are always so trigger happy with the explosives.

I know, as I was walking to lunch earier, I suddenly realized how fd up this city has become. Its like the cancer has saturated all parts of Houston. Seems like all areas have some really "beyond repair" nabes.

Maybe moving to Canada wasn't such a bad idea after all. Nope, bet they have gangstas too. Like I told the others I'm just going to wear dreadlocks & a Scarface T-shirt. Can't beat em join I say!

[isuredid]

Thats the start of the neighborhood and as I would have guessed the oldest part. If my memory serves me the first street listed was Huey, then came Duval, Grimes Wynona, Erby, Sue Ellen, Antonette, Juliet, and then 610 (or Holmes Road prior to 610)

The cross streets were Askew, Broad, and Pecan. From the looks of the homes the oldest part of the neighborhood were from Huey to Grimes. Once past that onto Wynona you started getting 1950's style ranch that are similar to the homes in Pine Valley. The older area has some really nice older looking homes that go much further back.

Yes.

Oak Acres was originally owned by the Gus C. Street family. His wife's name was Emily S. Street. The plat was registered in July 1925. The G.C. Street residence shows up on this plat map. There is another adjacent small subdivision called Duval Place and shares many of the same cross-streets. The Railroad switch at Griggs and Telephone is called the Streets Switch. I grew up in Pine Valley, but I knew some people that lived in Oak Acres. I used to mow some of those yards as a teen and didn't like it because they were much larger than a nomal city lot, but the owner's didn't want to pay you any extra for the added size. I always liked that little neighborhood, but I haven't checked it out lately to see if the houses are still getting the attention they need. Askew street was called Elm street on the original plat map, but was changed with the city limits reached there, if not before.

Duval Place had a large apartment complex of duplex apartments. All of those streets that are now trailers had identical duplex apartments on them back then. I went to school at Brookline with some of the kids that lived in those apartments.

[Dan the Man]

Thanks for merging the topics. I didn't realize this neighborhood had already been discussed.

When I have time, I'll have to drive over there and check it out some more...