Pecan Park is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas. Pecan Park is located approximately south of downtown Houston inside Interstate 610, known as "The Loop", to the east of Interstate 45 in the East End, Houston area. The name Pecan Park generally refers to the larger neighborhood, of which there are over 30 individual subdivisions, with Pecan Park being the largest. The typical size of the lots is and the average size of the homes is . The Gulfgate Center, formerly the

Gulfgate Mall Gulfgate Center, also known as Gulfgate Shopping City or Gulfgate Center, is a shopping center located in the East End, Houston, Texas, United States.Gulf Freeway from Pecan Park. The neighborhood is served by the Pecan Park Civic Association. This area also includes Ingrando Park, home of Dixie Little League. It also has a local library, the Lucille Yvonne Melcher branch of the Houston Public Library system.

History

The heart of the area was once a pecan orchard dating back to the late 19th century with platting of lots for sale by the Magnolia Park Land Company beginning in 1926. The original streets were paved in shell, with asphalt paving becoming widespread during the 1930s and 1940s, when the majority of the homes in the area were constructed. The area was nearly completely built out by 1955, with the homes being examples of typical middle class residential architecture for Houston at the time;

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

, both brick and wood sided, Cape Cod (house), early

Ranch-style house Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

s and many mildly Tudor influenced English

Cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s. Between 1980 and 1990 the area gained 1,000 to 3,500 people per square mile. The

Pecan Park raid On January 28, 2019, in the Pecan Park area in the East End district of Houston, Houston Police Department (HPD) officers initiated a no-knock raid on a house, killing the two homeowners, a husband and wife: Dennis Wayne Tuttle and Rhogena Ann N ...

occurred in 2019.

Demographics

the Pecan Park Super Neighborhood had 16,245 residents, with 9,762 persons per square mile. 92% were Hispanic, 3% were non-Hispanic whites, 2% were non-Hispanic blacks, 2% were non-Hispanic Asians, and zero were others.. In 2000 the area had had 19,230 residents, with 11,584 persons per square mile. 90% were Hispanic, 5% were non-Hispanic white, 3% were non-Hispanic black, and 2% were non-Hispanic Asian.Super Neighborhood 70 Pecan Park
City of Houston. Retrieved on April 3, 2019.

Education

Pecan Park proper and the Pecan Park Super Neighborhood are zoned to Houston ISD schools.Harris County Block Book Map: "Pecan Park Index Map", Volume 60, Page 125-127-33
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Three different elementary schools serve sections of Pecan Park proper: Southmayd, Davila, and Crespo. In addition, Sanchez Elementary School serves parts of the Pecan Park Super Neighborhood. All residents of the Pecan Park Super Neighborhood are zoned to Deady Middle School and

Milby High School Charles H. Milby High School is a public secondary school at 1601 Broadway in the East End, Houston, Texas, United States.Map

. Houston Community College's Eastside Campus is located on the edge of the neighborhood near the Gulf Freeway. Lucile Yvonne Melcher Library of Houston Public Library, named after a woman who established a children's literature fund, is in the super neighborhood. Although the branch was closed for five years due to damage from

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

, as of August 2021, it is open to the public once again.

Infrastructure

The Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated the Ripley Health Center for the ZIP code 77012, while Martin Luther King Health Center is designated for ZIP code 77087. - See ZIP codes 77012 and 77087
See this map for relevant ZIP code
In 2000 Ripley was replaced by the Gulfgate Health Center.

. Harris County Hospital District. Accessed October 17, 2008. The designated public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

Free Wireless

In 2005 Pecan Park was the first area in the United States to provide a super wireless hotspot for free or at a low cost. The service currently offers internet access close to 20,000 residents. Rice University students collaborated with the non-profit organization Technology for All (TFA).

Metro routes

Getting to Pecan Park can be accessed on the METRO (Houston) system on Bus 76, which travels north to south on Evergreen Dr, and also on Bus 50, which travels also north to south on Broadway Blvd. Both routes have access to the Magnolia Transit Center on Harrisburg for additional transportation and also access to the METRORail Green Line when completed in late 2014.

Parks and recreation

Ingrando Park, named after Frank and Jennie Ingrando and originally named Southmayd Park, is in the Super Neighborhood and has about of area along Plum Creek. The city of Houston bought the property for $14,866 from a couple from Campbell, California, Malcolm and Nellie Sprague, on August 23, 1944. The city government gave it its current name as per a September 22, 1971 resolution, and the namesakes donated $100,000 for improvement of the park. Originally the park had of space, but on September 18, 1996, the city government by ordinance acquired an additional for $96,129.25 after Houston City Council member Gracie Saenz began advocating for its expansion two years prior. The estate of Eunice H. Johnson and the Will Frank Johnson Trust funded the 1996 acquisition. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) funded additional improvements with a matching grant.

References

External links

* {{Houston, Texas Neighborhoods in Houston East End, Houston