Montrose is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Montrose is a area roughly bounded by Interstate 69/ U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, South Shepherd Drive to the west, and Taft to Fairview to Bagby to Highway 59 to Main to the east. Montrose neighborhoods include Cherryhurst, Courtlandt Place, Hyde Park, Montrose, Vermont Commons, North and East Montrose, Mandell Place and Winlow Place. Montrose is also less well known by the moniker Neartown, encompassing Superneighborhood #24.

History

Neartown has many of Houston's oldest neighborhoods. The Neartown Association began in 1963.About the Neartown Association
" ''Neartown Association''. September 29, 2007. Houston's urban real estate boom starting in the 1990s transformed Neartown and significantly increased property values. The City of Houston's Planning Department refers to Neartown as a mixed-use community. Since the 1990s

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

, musicians and artists are being replaced with higher paid professionals (attorneys, educators, medical professionals) due to higher rents. Montrose has "wound a tortuous course from Silk Stocking and Low Rent and back again."Dreyer, Thorne and Al Reinert. "Montrose Lives!" ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

''. April 1973. ISSN 0148-7736. Start
Page 56
Cited
Page 57
Retrieved from ''

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

'' on April 2, 2010. In 1997 Katherine Feser of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' stated that "Montrose snot for starving artists anymore". On June 6, 2006,Rogers, Brian.
3 years after gang killing, teen wants to 'move on'

Archive
. ''

''. Thursday September 17, 2009. a teenage

MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Ange ...

gang member named Gabriel Granillo was stabbed to death at Ervan Chew Park.Hollandsworth, Skip.
Girl, Interrupted

Archive
. ''

''. May 2008
See article at

Highbeam Business HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headquart ...

Culture

The River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston's first shopping center, is located in Neartown, east of

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael H ...

. Constructed in 1927 and designed by architect Hugh Prather, the center, originally known as River Oaks Community Center, was one of the nation's first automobile-oriented retail centers. Its design, with arcs of retail space on either side of West Gray Avenue, was considered a model for future development. Portions of the historic shopping center were demolished in September 2007 to redevelop the site for bookstore and a parking garage. As of 2008,

Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 theaters with 178 screens in 24 marke ...

operates the

River Oaks Theatre The River Oaks Theatre is a historic movie theater located in the River Oaks Shopping Center in the Neartown community in Houston, Texas, United States, east of the River Oaks community.

, an "

arthouse An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...

" theater, located in the center. The theater is the last historic movie theater in Houston that is still being used as it was originally designed.

Cityscape

Neartown was described in 1973 as "old buildings ranging all the way from Victorian Epic to Ramshackle Plywood." Neartown has European-style restaurants and sidewalk cafés along five blocks of Westheimer with many housed in renovated pre-

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

houses. The Neartown neighborhood along Van Buren Street was the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' "Best Hidden Neighborhood" in 2002.

Demographics

In 2015 the Houston city government-defined Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood had 31,037 residents. 71% were non-Hispanic white, 18% were Hispanic, 6% were non-Hispanic Asians, 4% were non-Hispanic blacks, and 1% were non-Hispanic others. In 2000 the super neighborhood had 28,015 people. 68% were non-Hispanic whites, 23% were Hispanic, 4% each were non-Hispanic black and Asian, and 2% were non-Hispanic others.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The community is within the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

's Central Patrol Division, headquartered at 61 Riesner.Volunteer Initiatives Program, Citizens Offering Police Support
" ''City of Houston''. Retrieved May 23, 2008. The Neartown Storefront Station is located at 802 Westheimer. The City of Houston purchased the building used for the storefront with federal community development funds. By September 20, 1990, the Neartown Business Alliance spent around $4,000 per year to maintain the storefront. Houston Fire Department Fire Station 16 serves the area. The fire station is in Fire District 6. The station opened at the intersection of

Westheimer Road Westheimer Road () is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about long. The street was ...

and Yupon in 1928. The station moved to the intersection of Richmond and Dunlavy in 1979. City Council District D covers Neartown. As of 2008 Wanda Adams represents the district. Since the City of Houston Redistricting of 2011, Neartown has been represented in Council by Ellen Cohen in District C.

County, state, and federal representation

Harris County Precinct One, as of 2008 headed by El Franco Lee, serves Neartown. The county operates the Neartown Office at 1413

. A portion of Neartown is located in District 134 of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

. As of 2010, Sarah Davis represents District 134. A portion of Neartown is located in District 147 of the

. As of 2008,

Garnet F. Coleman Garnet Fredrick Coleman (born September 8, 1961) is an American politician. From 1991 to 2022, he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for the 147th district, located entirely within Houston and Harris County. Early life and educ ...

represents the district. Neartown is located in

District 13 ''District 13'' (French title ''Banlieue 13'' or ''B13''), is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. It depicts parkour in several stunt sequences completed without wires or computer-generated ...

of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

. As of 2008 its representative is Rodney Ellis. The community is located within Texas's 7th congressional district. Since redistricting effective for the 2012 election, Neartown has been redrawn into the Texas 2nd Congressional District, served by Ted Poe. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates two post offices, the University Post Office at 1319 Richmond Avenue and the River Oaks Station Post Office at 1900 West Gray Street, in Neartown.

Places of interest

;Museums *

Menil Collection The Menil Collection, located in Houston, Texas, refers either to a museum that houses the art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself of approximately 17,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawing ...

art museum *

Rothko Chapel The Rothko Chapel is a non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its walls are fourteen paintings by Mark Rothko in v ...

* Houston Center for Photography * Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum * Museo Guadalupe Aztlan * Museum of Printing History ;Consulates * Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China (closed) * Consulate-General of Norway ;Radio * KPFT 90.1 FM, a Pacifica Radio affiliate, located at 419 Lovett Boulevard ;Community * Houston GLBT Community Center * Pride Committee of Houston ;Festivals * Houston Greek Festival, usually held in October, on the grounds of the Annunciation

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

;Parades * Houston Art Car Parade * Houston Gay Pride Parade to commemorate the Stonewall Riots ;Cathedrals and Churches * Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral * Chapel of St. Basil at the University of St. Thomas (Texas)(designed by esteemed architect

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...

)

Economy

The headquarters of Baker Hughes is in the America Tower at the American General CenterNeartown Super Neighborhood
the Neartown Association now shows the super neighborhood boundarie
as of 06/04/2019
and previously had its ow
boundaries circa 2008 to 2018
(Retrieved October 20, 2008) Service Corporation International has its headquarters in Neartown. On July 1, 1983 Continental Airlines's headquarters were located at the America Tower in Neartown, and would remain there until the relocation to

Continental Center I 1600 Smith Street (previously named Continental Center I and also known as Cullen Center Plaza) is a 51-story, office tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It served as the headquarters of Continental Airlines prior to its merger wit ...

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

, announced by the airline in 1997, that occurred in stages in 1998 and 1999.

Education

Colleges and universities

Neartown is home to the University of Saint Thomas. Neartown is also close to

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located in the T ...

, the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

Houston Community College Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford in Texas. It is notable for active ...

Central, and

University of Houston–Downtown The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) is a public university in Houston, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System and has a campus that spans in Downtown Houston with a satellite location, UHD-Northwest in Harris County. Fo ...

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Pupils in Neartown are in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

. Neartown is divided among Trustee District IV, represented by Paula M. Harris as of 2008, Trustee District V, represented by Dianne Johnson as of 2008, and Trustee District VIII, represented by Diana Dávila as of 2008.

Baker Montessori School Ella J. Baker Montessori School, formerly Woodrow Wilson Montessori School and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, is a public K-8 Montessori school in the Cherryhurst Addition subdivision in the Neartown area of Houston, Texas. A part of the Hous ...

(formerly Wilson Montessori School, in Neartown), Gregory-Lincoln Education Center (in the Fourth Ward), MacGregor Elementary School, Poe Elementary School (in Boulevard Oaks), and Wharton Elementary School (in Neartown) serve separate sections of Neartown. Pupils in Neartown reside within the boundaries of three middle-school attendance areas. Lanier Middle School (in Neartown), Cullen Middle School, and Gregory-Lincoln Education Center serve separate sections of Neartown. All Neartown area pupils are zoned to Lamar High School in

Upper Kirby Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after Kirby Drive, so indirectly takes its name from John Henry Kirby. Upper Kirby contains many businesses, including restaurants. Upper Kirby is east of the Gre ...

. In Fall 2019 Arabic Immersion Magnet School is scheduled to move into the former

High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School Distri ...

building.

=Histories of schools

= For a period, Montrose Elementary School was in Neartown. Southmore Elementary School opened in 1921, Wilson in 1925, Lanier in 1926, Poe in 1928, and Wharton in 1929. Southmore was renamed MacGregor Elementary School in 1930 and Lamar opened in 1937. Ryan opened in 1958 after Yates High School moved to a new campus. Gregory-Lincoln opened in 1966 and its current facility opened in 2007.About
. "

Jack Yates High School Jack Yates Senior High School is a public high school located at 3650 Alabama Street, very near Texas Southern University, in the historic Third Ward in Houston, Texas, United States. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is par ...

. Accessed October 20, 2008School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
." ''

''. Accessed September 24, 2008. Before the start of the 2009–2010 school year J. Will Jones, which formerly served a section of Neartown, was consolidated into Blackshear Elementary School, a campus in the Third Ward. During its final year of enrollment J. Will Jones had more students than Blackshear. Previously Ryan Middle School served a segment of Neartown. In March 2013 the HISD board voted to close Ryan Middle School and move all students into the zone of Cullen Middle School. The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts moved to Downtown Houston in 2019.

=Gallery of public schools

= Image:Baker K-8 Montessori.jpg, Image:WhartonElementarySchoolHouston.JPG,

Private schools

Neartown is home to the Annunciation Orthodox School (a K-8 private school) and The Harris School.Radcliffe, Jennifer.
When all else fails, school offers troubled kids hope
" ''

''. Friday January 1, 2010. Retrieved on February 12, 2012. The Kinkaid School was located in the Neartown area until 1957 when the school moved to

Piney Point Village Piney Point Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,125 at the 2010 census. Piney Point Village is the wealthiest place in Texas, as ranked by per capita income. It is part of a collection of upscale resident ...

=Gallery of private schools

= Image:AnnunciationOrthodoxSchool.jpg,

Public libraries

The administrative offices of the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 1 ...

are located in the Marston Building in Neartown.IT'S WORTH THE WAIT Exciting New Renovation for the Central Library
." Houston Public Library. Thursday February 23, 2006. Retrieved on June 30, 2010. The City of Houston spent $1.3 million to renovate the Marston Building to accommodate HPL staff. The administration moved to the building after the Central Library was scheduled to close in 2006. The Eleanor K. Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library of Houston Public Library is at 4100 Montrose Boulevard.

Media

The ''

'' is the area regional newspaper. The
River Oaks Examiner
' is a local newspaper distributed in the communit

Health services

Legacy Community Health Service

and Montrose Center, Montrose Counseling Centerbr>
are located in Neartown. In 2006 the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center was moved from the Houston Department of Health and Human Services to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. It became the West Gray Adaptive Recreation Center.

Parks and recreation

Ervan Chew Park, a fenced-in, approximately park, is located at 4502 Dunlavy Street.Dog Parks
" ''City of Houston''. Retrieved on December 11, 2008. The park (originally Herbert D. Dunlavy Park) was acquired by the City of Houston in 1945. In February 2000 the park was renamed for Ervan Chew, a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

who grew up in the area and won the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

, which was delivered by Ronald Reagan, in 1986; Chew died at age 42, on January 19, 1999. Chew Park has a basketball half court, small soccer (football) field, a dog park and a baseball diamond. Ervan Chew Park has little league games and dog parties.Glenn, Mike.
GANG ATTACK KILLS TEEN BOY IN PARK / Police say a mob of youths beat the victim before he was stabbed by a teenage girl
." ''

''. Wednesday June 7, 2006. A1. The Neartown Little League, located in Neartown, holds its games at Chew Park.Welcome
" ''Neartown Little League''. Retrieved on December 11, 2008. Chew Park was the first park to let dogs run without leashes in a special zone. The Friends of Ervan Chew Park funded the dog zone, which was dedicated in May 2004.

Notable residents

* Denton Cooley *

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

(the site for Lamar's family home is now Woodrow Wilson Montessori School)

Gallery

File:AmericanGeneralComplex4Towers.JPG, Four of the towers of the American General Complex

References

External links

Neartown/Montrose
at the official Houston web site
Neartown AssociationHouston Gay and Lesbian Political CaucusHouston GLBT Community CenterGay/Lesbian nightlife guide to the Montrose areaAvondale Association
a neighborhood within Neartown
Audubon Place Association
a neighborhood within Neartown
Richwood Place Association
a neighborhood within Neartown {{Houston, Texas Neighborhoods in Houston Streetcar suburbs Economy of Houston Neartown, Houston