The decade of the 1890s was an exciting period of development for Americans. Towns were becoming cities; cities were expanding. This was especially true in Texas, where speculators were drawn from other states. The Houston area attracted thousands of these adventurers, and it was in this climate that Houston Heights began. As early as 1886, Oscar Martin Carter, a self-made millionaire who had business interests in Nebraska and Colorado, brought to Houston a utopian vision for the approaching twentieth type of town, a planned community where successful entrepreneurs and working people alike could live and work, in health and safety, as neighbors. Compared to Houston, a city plagued by yellow fever and devastating annual floods, Carter chose the ideal spot for his new community. Houston Heights, with an elevation 23 feet higher than downtown Houston, a natural sandy soil, rich vegetation, mature trees and artesian water sources, promised a sanctuary of health and well being.
From there, the Heights has grown into one of the most desisable neighborhoods inside the loop. It boasts of large historic homes. quaint businesses and wonderful parks for the children to play. If living close to downtown and being able to walk to a restuarant for dinner are two of your main goals, then the Houston Heights in a neighborhood you need to check out.
RIVER OAKS is the one of the most exclusive residential areas in Houston complete with white-columned mansions, maids' quarters and manicured gardens. It is inside the Loop 610 halfway between downtown and uptown. River Oaks spans 1,100 acres in area. River Oaks is north of the Houston district of Upper Kirby and west of Near town/Montrose. River Oaks consists of approximately 1,100 properties in a region bounded on the north by Buffalo Bayou, on the east by South Shepherd Drive, on the west by East Briar Hollow Lane, and on the south by Westheimer Road. Many of the district's streets are named after famous golf and country clubs in cities such as Chevy Chase, Maryland; Inverness, Ohio; and Inwood, New York. The River Oaks area is also known for its quaint upscale restaurants, as well as its exclusive boutiques and shops. River Oaks is protected by very comprehensive deed restrictions which ensure that the area can never be invaded by commercial structures or multi-family housing. The River Oaks Homeowners Association, which is accessible to homeowners 24 hours a day, handles permanent maintenance of the area through the levy of a maintenance fee. The Association monitors deed restriction compliance, maintains the esplanades and parks, and contracts for trash collection services.
WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE - The idea for a community of country homes in the area that is now West University Place was conceived in 1910 by Ben W. Hooper, then Governor of Tennessee. That year, Governor Hooper bought a tract of land southwest of Houston out of an old Spanish land grant, which had been surveyed by A.C. Reynolds. The Houston West End Realty Company, A.D. Foreman, President, developed today's West University Place First Addition and put the first lots up for sale on April 1, 1917. The area's proximity to Rice University led to the name West University Place. |