Westbury is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in the

Brays Oaks Brays Oaks, formerly known as Fondren Southwest, is an area in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. The Brays Oaks Management District, also known as the Harris County Improvement District #5, governs the Brays Oaks area as well as other surro ...

district of Southwest Houston,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located east of Bob White Road, north of U.S. Highway 90 Alternate (South Main Street), and west of South Post Oak Road, adjacent to the Fondren Southwest and

Meyerland Meyerland is a community in southwest Houston, Texas, outside of the 610 Loop and inside Beltway 8. The neighborhood is named after the Meyer family, who bought and owned 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in southwest Houston. Meyerland is th ...

neighborhoods, just west of the southwest corner of the

610 Loop Interstate 610 (I-610) is a freeway that forms a loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the i ...

. Westbury was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the '' Houston Press'

Westbury was also listed in the 25 Hottest Houston Neighborhoods in the June 2013 edition of ''

Houstonia Magazine ''Houstonia'' is a magazine about Houston and Greater Houston, Texas, United States. It is published by SagaCity Media. The magazine's first issue released in April 2013, titled ''250 Reasons to Love Houston''.Kearney, Syd.Houston Press restaurant ...

''

Areas served by the Westbury Civic Club include Westbury 1-5, Parkwest 1-3, and Westbury South.

History

Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s by

Ira Berne Ira or IRA may refer to: * Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name * Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status o ...

as part of the post–

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

migration to the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s. The developer had moved from Westbury, New York, after which he named the new community.School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on August 11, 2009. Around 1953 the area known as Sam Houston Airport ended its flight operations where the airport property was redeveloped. In 1960 Berne had developed the

Westbury Square Westbury Square was a shopping center located on a site near the intersection of Chimney Rock Road and West Bellfort Avenue,Sarnoff, Nancy.A victim of changing tastes, Westbury Square for sale" ''Houston Chronicle''. October 9, 2010. Retrieved on M ...

shopping center. In the 1980s the City of Houston Housing Authority proposed a 105-unit

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

project in the Westbury area. Thousands of residents entered public hearings to protest the concept, so the city did not build any public housing in the Westbury area. Around the 1980s markets crashed and many of Westbury's businesses either closed or became abandoned. Crime increased at this time, but has decreased greatly in recent years. As real estate has become more expensive in

gentrified 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 econ ...

areas such as

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and including ...

and Neartown, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

population. Gays and lesbians began moving to Westbury in the 2000s, and some were referring to it as "Little Montrose".Holley, Peter, John Lomax, and Todd Spoth.
25 Hottest Neighborhoods

Archive
. '' Houstonia''. June 1, 2013. Retrieved on November 2, 2015. In April 2010 the City of Houston "automated" curbside recycling program was extended to Westbury East. In 2011 the

district expanded.Parks & Recreation
" Brays Oaks. Retrieved on October 23, 2011. Westbury, which was originally not a part of the Brays Oaks district,Home page
Brays Oaks Management District. Retrieved on August 10, 2009. "The boundaries are from Hillcroft Avenue on the east to US 59 on the west; Brays Bayou is the northern boundary and US 90A/Main Street our southern edge. The District is entirely in Houston and Harris County, Texas, as well as in the City of Houston’s Council District C. None of the District includes any of the Westbury subdivision." became a part of it.Enroll_Expansion.pdf
" Brays Oaks Management District. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.

Sections

Areas served by the Westbury Civic Club include Westbury 1-5, Parkwest 1-3, and Westbury South.

Demographics

In 2015 the City of Houston-defined Westbury Super Neighborhood had 20,693 people. 39% were Hispanics, 19% were non-Hispanic blacks, 35% were non-Hispanic whites, 5% were non-Hispanic Asians, and 2% were non-Hispanic others. In 2000 the super neighborhood had 22,090 people. 37% were non-Hispanic whites, 34% were Hispanics, 22% were non-Hispanic blacks, 7% were non-Hispanic Asians, and 1% were non-Hispanic other.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The Westbury Civic Club has its headquarters in Suite 107 at 5322 W. Bellfort. In 2021 there were accusations that the organization, which is a civic club and not a homeowner's association, was sending bills for fees and describing them as mandatory; as the former it is not supposed to describe fees as mandatory while the latter can. The neighborhood 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 Southwest Patrol Divisio

The Westbury HPD Storefront Station was formerly located at 5550 Gasmer.

Houston Fire Department City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and ...

Fire Station 48 Westbury, located in Fire District 59, serves the neighborhood. Station 48 relocated to its current location in 1961 and was last renovated during the financial year of 1998. Station 48 is in Section 3."Westbury Sec. 3-Replat Plate 4 of 7"
PDF
an
JPG
. Harris County Block Book maps. Volume 86, Page 3. Retrieved on July 27, 2017. The Chimney Rock Park/Platou Park property is in Reserve L and the fire station and future library property is in Reserve F. Fire Station 48

Westbury is now a part of

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

District K, currently represented by Council Member Martha Castex-Tatum (replacing the late Larry Green), while a small number of about 100 homes remain in District C, currently represented by Council Member Ellen Cohen (as of 2012). The area was previously served by Houston City Councilmember District C (Anne Clutterbuck as of 2009).

County, federal, and state representation

The area is split between

Texas's 9th congressional district Texas's 9th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes the southwestern portion of the Greater Houston area in Texas. The current Representative for the district, since 2005, is Democrat Al Green. From 1967 to ...

(

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

as of 2012) and

Texas's 7th congressional district Texas's 7th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives comprises a small area of western Harris County. As of the 2000 census, the 7th district comprises 651,620 people. Since 2019, it has been represented by Democrat ...

(

Lizzie Fletcher Elizabeth Ann Fletcher (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Texas. A Democrat, she represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes much of western Houston ...

as of 2021). It is in Harris County Commissioner Precinct One, represented by Commissioner

Rodney Ellis Rodney Glenn Ellis (born April 7, 1954) is an American politician. He represented Texas' 13th state senate district in the Texas Senate from 1990 to 2017. The district contains portions of Harris County, including downtown Houston, and Fort Ben ...

as well as Harris County Constable Precinct Five, represented by Ted Heap. Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated Valbona Health Center (formerly People's Health Center) in

Greater Sharpstown Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, H ...

for ZIP codes 77035 and 77096. The nearest public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...

Parks and recreation

The city of Houston operates Westbury Park at 5635 Willowbend

which features the Westbury Pool (street address is 10605 Mullins), a playground, tennis courts, and a multi-sport playing field.

Westbury Park is located in Parkwest Section 1."Parkwest" Section 1
PDFJPG
. Harris County Assessor's Office Block Book Map. Retrieved on July 30, 2017. - Note tract A-A and tract B-B. Parkwest 1 was originally submitted to the Harris County Assessor's Office as Section 5 Plate 11 (http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v088/AE1997_88_0026.pdf PDF] an
JPG
which shows Tract B-B, the site of Parker Elementary (as the tract for "Ho. Ind. Sch. Dist."); and site A-A, of Westbury Park ("To City") - This was marked Parkwest SD. In addition, the city operates th

located in Chimney Rock Park.
" City of Houston. Retrieved on July 27, 2017. "Address: 11655 Chimney Rock Houston, TX 77035" Chimney Rock Park has a playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts. Chimney Rock Park and Platou Community Center are in Westbury Section 3. Lee Hager Park is in Westbury Section 4."Westbury Sec. 4"
PDFJPG
. Harris County Block Book Maps. Volume 86, Page 95. Retrieved on July 27, 2017. Anderson Elementary School is in Reserve O, marked "To Ho. Ind. School Dist.", while Hager Park is in Tract B, "To City of Houston" The park, with its covered basketball court, is located next to the Anderson Elementary School between Landsdowne Drive and McClearen Dr, and attracts many in the neighborhood for outdoor sports

Hager Park also features a walking trail, a multi-purpose sports field, and has a shared playground with Anderson Elementary School. The Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy Reserve is located in Westbury behind the Westbury High School.
" Willow Waterhole. Retrieved on March 07, 2019. This 290 acre park includes a pavilion, walking trails, and waterways with abundant local and migrating bird species. The Conservancy hosts community events at the park, including an annual music festival, annual fishing events, and periodic family fun days with activities and movies for children. The park is the recipient of a Houston Arts Alliance grant to support the annual MusicFest
" Willow Waterhole Grant. Retrieved on March 07, 2019. and a grant from the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation to build a performing arts pavilion that is scheduled to open in 2020.
Levitt Foundation. Retrieved on March 07, 2019.

Community information

The closest

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

is the West Orem YMCA Branch. The old Westland YMCA was acquired by the Westbury Christian Church to expand its successful athletic program and hosts numerous soccer tournaments on adjacent fields. The Westbury Civic Club is the area civic club. The Community Association Institute, along with

Randall's Randalls operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the ''Randalls'' and ''Flagship Randalls'' banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the Houston area and 15 stores located around the Austin area as of May 2020. Randalls today forms ...

, gave it the "1992 Civic Club Community of the Year Award" at the

Adam's Mark Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts was a chain of upscale hotels in the United States. The company was headquartered in the HBE Corporation offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis.Westchase. The neighborhood has a baseball little league called Westbury Little League. It won the Little League World Series in 1966. The closest Emergency Room and

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

is called Westbury Community Hospital located near the high school on Gasmer drive. 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 the Westbury Post Office at 11805 Chimney Rock Road.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District. The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:
Cynthia Ann Parker Elementary School
- In Parkwest Section 1
Anderson Elementary School
- In Westbury Section 4
Kolter Elementary School
in

Tinsley Elementary School
The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zoned for middle school: *Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School (formerl
Johnston Middle School

Fondren Middle School
Anyone zoned to Johnston may apply to

Pin Oak Middle School A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

's regular program. Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury. A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School. File:Parker Elementary School new 1.jpg, Parker Elementary School serves much of northern Westbury File:Andersoneshouston closeup.jpg, Anderson Elementary School serves much of southern Westbury File:JohnstonMSHoustonTX0.jpg, Meyerland Middle School (formerly Johnston Middle) in

serves most of Westbury

=History of public schools

= Parker Elementary opened in 1959, and Johnston Middle School opened in its current location in 1959. Anderson and Kolter opened in 1960. Westbury High School opened in 1961. Fondren Middle opened in 1966. Anderson, initially with a capacity of 600, had it increase to 900 as a new wing opened in 1963. In the late 1990s Anderson Elementary was overcrowded due to increasing student populations in Westbury area apartment complexes.Connelly, Richard. "Peer Pressure." '' Houston Press''. Thursday March 26, 1998
1
Retrieved on March 11, 2010. In 1996 there were 1,500 students; an additional 300 had been reassigned to other schools. In 1998 the school had almost 1,600 students. Around that time hundreds of students who were zoned to Anderson were bussed to relief campuses. Tinsley opened in 2002, relieving Anderson and another area school. As of 2006 many middle and upper class residents of the Westbury attendance zone would not send their children to Westbury; usually they send their children to Bellaire High School, Lamar High School, or private schools.Downing, Margaret. "Stepchild?" '' Houston Press''. September 6, 2001
2
"Critics, the devoted supporters of the school who don't think it is getting its due, say it doesn't represent its (white) surrounding neighborhood anymore. .. and "Aggravating the sense of unease has been the movement of Westbury students to Bellaire and Lamar, .. Medical Center Charter School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade charter school, was located in the Westbury area. Despite its name, the school is not located in the

area. Medical Center Charter School opened in 1996, and catered to employees working in the Medical Center and had the

Montessori method The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

,Berryhill, Michael. "Think Small." '' Houston Press''. Thursday August 15, 1996
1
Retrieved on December 2, 2011. used until grade two. Its specialty as of 2003 was foreign languages. In 2014, the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

(TEA) announced that the school's performance was insufficient and that it sought to revoke its charter. By 2018, its charter had closed.

Private schools

St. Thomas More School
(K-

operated by the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

), a neighborhood

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

school in

Maplewood South Maplewood may refer to: ;Cities, towns, etc. * Maplewood, Indiana * Maplewood, Minnesota * Maplewood, Missouri * Maplewood, New Jersey ** Maplewood (NJT station), a New Jersey Transit station in Maplewood, New Jersey * Maplewood, Albany County, ...

Section 6. The neighborhood has or has in close proximity several other private schools, such as

Westbury Christian School Westbury Christian School is a private, co-educational, K3 through 12th grade Christian school located in Houston, Texas, United States. Westbury Christian School is open to students of all faiths, nationalities, and ethnic origins. History Pla ...

(K–12) an
St. Nicholas School Southwest Campus
(K-8). Trafton Academy and Miss Porter's School located in the Willowbend area also serves Westbury residents.

Public libraries

Two

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 18 ...

locations, Frank Neighborhood Library and Meyer Neighborhood Library, serve this area. The Meyer Library opened in 1962. In 1994 the library received renovations to accommodate disabled people. By 2013 HPL planned to purchase land for a new Meyerland branch with $442,000. HPL spokesperson Sandra Fernandez stated that HPL wants to build a new facility in order to increase the size and parking capacity. There is a proposal to move the library to

, supported by the Westbury community but opposed by Meyerland residents. In 2015 various proposals on where the replacement library should go were being debated. Prior to

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 ...

in 2017, the Houston community considered the Meyer Branch to be the Houston library in the poorest state of maintenance. Hurricane Harvey gave the library moderate damage, and the city government closed it afterwards, with demolition scheduled. The new library, which will also replace HPL Express Frank, will be at 5505 Belrose on a plot of land, in Westbury Section 3.

Media

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 it ...

'' is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/

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 ...

br>
local section. The ''Bellaire Texan'', which served the Westbury area community in the mid-20th Century, was headquartered in Bellaire and published by the Texan Publishing Corporation. By 1975 it became known as the ''Bellaire & Southwestern Texan'' and was published by the Preston Publishing Company. It was then headquartered in Houston.

Notable residents

Carol Vance Carol S. Vance is a former district attorney of Harris County (Houston), Texas, who served in that office from 1966 to 1979, and a former board member of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, which governs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. ...

(former Harris County district attorney)Vance, Carol S. ''Boomtown DA''. Whitecaps Media, 2010. 3. .

References

* Fox, Stephen, et al. ''Houston Architectural Guide, Second Edition''. Houston : American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter ; Herring Press, 1999