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 ...
''. October 9, 2010. Retrieved on March 7, 2011. in the Westbury neighborhood 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 ...
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
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 ...
.Rogillio-Strengt p. 1 It was built as a part of Westbury Section 3.
History
Design and conception
In 1960 Ira Berne, the developer of the Westbury subdivision, had developed the center. The plot of land that would later house Westbury Square was originally undeveloped and a leftover from development of the subdivision; Berne was not sure what should be placed there. Gerry Berne, his wife, said that due to hay fever, Ira Berne had to be out of Houston in the months August through October, so he often vacationed in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. While there he became inspired by the architectural design and decided to create a similar atmosphere in a new shopping center in Houston.Hassell, Greg. Developer was ahead of his time " ''
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 ...
''. Wednesday October 6, 1999. Business 1. Retrieved on September 24, 2012. This article is available from 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 18 ...
, and is accessible on its website with a library card number. Berne had traveled to Europe and had a positive view of the European building styles which involved various facades of different time periods and materials next door to one another, and Berne hoped to create a similar atmosphere in his new shopping center.
Berne hired architect William F. Wortham, Jr. to design the complex. Berne traveled to Italy to take photographs and notes so he could model his center after European architectural elements. Alisa Rogillio-Strength of the '' Houston Business Journal'' said that Berne's "dream was to recreate a similar environment in Houston in a shopping center where people would come to spend the day, strolling down the brick boulevards, dining at cafes, treating themselves to ice cream and visiting master craftsman in their shops."
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 ...
''. Thursday February 16, 1995. Business 1. Retrieved on September 24, 2012. Available from 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 18 ...
, accessible on its website with a library card number. became very popular after its opening. Some visitors came as far away as
Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...
and
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. Greg Hassell 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 it ...
'' said "During the 1960s, it could justly be considered the premier shopping destination in the city."
The center included public events such as Christmas choir singing and glass-blowing demonstrations. The glass blowers performed in art festivals held in covered stalls around the fountain on weekends. A "lemon sale" occurred once yearly, where merchandise was sold at discount prices from back-alley booths.Rogillio-Strength p.3 /ref> Owners of Westbury Square stores and people described by Alisa Rogillio-Strength of the '' Houston Business Journal'' as "hip urbanites" occupied the apartments. During the successful era, many apartment complexes of a similar style were being built around and near Westbury Square.
Gray said "To car-dependent Houstonians, its pedestrian world seemed as dreamlike as its evocation of Italy: Surely this city couldn't offer a pretty place to walk, or for kids to ride their bikes." Gray added that the public events " ighten dthe sense of altered reality". Barry Moore, an architect who writes for '' Cite'' magazine, described Westbury Square as a "retail Brigadoon" and said that it "was as if
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
's Main Street USA had been translated into a real place where people could buy real stuff, and then go home to an apartment on the second floor." Its buildings were once used in a production of ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...
''.
Decline
After the opening of
The Galleria
The Galleria, stylized theGalleria and also known as the Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping mall located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States.Houston Business Journal'' said " As the glitz of new indoor shopping palaces lured shoppers by the thousands, the Westbury Square property began to see less traffic." Lisa Gray 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 it ...
'' said "candle-making demonstrations couldn't compete against" the Galleria's ice skating rink. Around that time, various
hippies
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
began socializing at Westbury Square's Piazza. Addison McElroy, an owner of three Westbury Square shops quoted in the '' Houston Business Journal'', said " ey would yell back and forth and the ladies just didn't want to be around that." Greg Hassell 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 it ...
'' said that the center was not easy for native Houstonians or non-locals to find, and that the center did not have major anchor tenants. Hassell added that " e Westbury area also entered a time of flux, as portions of the neighborhood declined". However Hassell stated that Westbury Square "had style, enough so to inspire loyalty even when its best days were behind it."
Gray added that the 1980s oil bust "nearly finished off" Westbury Square. Gray added that " e mall never recovered". In 1988 the original owner of Westbury Square went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Afterwards, McDonnell-Douglas Financial Corp. owned Westbury Square. It was later owned by Alfred Antonini, a landlord. In 1995 Ralph Bivins of the ''Houston Chronicle'' said " ly a handful of stores remain open" in Westbury Square. During that year
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...
made an offer to buy the center to build a new store, with the possibility that portions of the center may be demolished. The
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...
Westbury Square #578 hardware store is now located on a portion of what was Westbury Square. The circular plaza and fountain were destroyed so the store could be built. 60% of the original Westbury Square remained.Rogillio-Strengt p. 4 Alfred Antonini continued to own the remainder of Westbury Square.
In 2002 Alisa Rogillio-Strength said that the center was "a much bedraggled specter of its former self" and that "Residents in the area are hopeful that Westbury Square will undergo a transformation similar to that of
Meyerland Plaza
Meyerland Plaza is a large shopping center located in southwest Houston, Texas, United States.
Meyerland Plaza is located in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston and is just outside the 610 Loop. The anchor stores are JCPenney, Target, Ross Dre ...
." As of that year, the property manager, Roy Zirpoli, and the remaining tenants established the Westbury Square Merchants Association (WSMA) and started efforts to preserve Westbury Square. At the time, there were plans to open a farmer's market which would include 100 stands of local produce and classes on subjects such as gardening for children and marketing of one's own produce. Rogillio-Strength said that there was a possibility for the center to redevelop due to the addition of suburbs to the south including Silverlake and Savannah, the increase in property values in nearby Bellaire 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 ...
, the renovation of Main Street, the expansion 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 ...
, and the construction of Reliant Stadium.Rogillio-Strengt p. 5
In 2007 Mike McGuff, then of '' KTRK-TV'', said "There has been talk of a revival for the small part left standing but we'll have to wait and see if that ever becomes reality."
In September 2010 the owner of the remaining buildings put them up for sale. Gary Loh, one of the two brokers who put Westbury Square for sale, stated that while there was sentimental value, but he expected the buyer to destroy the buildings.Connelly, Richard. Westbury Square Up For Sale Again " '' Houston Press''. Tuesday September 14, 2010. Retrieved on March 7, 2011. In September 2012 Gray said "These days, the rickety remaining buildings look more like an Old West ghost town than an Italian village" and that the area residents "hope that it'll be razed soon."
On February 6, 2014, buildings 1 and 5 were removed under an agreement with the City of Houston after a longstanding battle over a “repair or demolish” order.
On July 2, 2015, it was announced that the remaining buildings will be demolished and the site used for a gated community of approximately 110 homes.
Design
As of 1996 the center had of space. As of 2010 the center has of space. The design, made by architect William J. Wortham, Jr., was centered on a circular piazza and fountain lined with street lamps designed from a sketch Berne made while he was in Europe. The center had a tall clock tower.Rogillio-Strength p.2 /ref> The center also included apartments and offices on the second floors of the buildings, while shops occupied the first floor. Lisa Gray 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 it ...
'' said that the resulting design was "a walkable, two-story place full of plazas, brick walkways, fountains and antique street lights - all the scaled-down trappings of an imaginary Italian past, there in the
Space Age
The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the Sputnik_1#Launch_and_mission, launch of Sputnik 1 ...
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 ...
''. Thursday September 20, 2012. Retrieved on September 24, 2012. Rogillio-Strength described the building style as "a 19th Century, Italian villa style" which "marked an unusual break from the commercial architectural trend of the time." The ''Houston Architectural Guide'' said that the design "centered on a circular plaza from which irregular pedestrian alleyways radiate."
Lisa Gray 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 it ...
'' said that "Urban-design nerds often say that mixed-use, walkable Westbury Square was 50 years ahead of its time." Mike McGuff of ''
KIAH
KIAH (channel 39) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, airing programming from The CW. Owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios adjacent to the Westpark Tollway on the ...
KIAH
KIAH (channel 39) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, airing programming from The CW. Owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios adjacent to the Westpark Tollway on the ...
''. October 14, 2010. Retrieved on September 24, 2012.
Tenants
The shops occupying spaces at Westbury square during the center's height in the 1960s and 1970s included The Candle Shop; Cargo Houston Importers, a store described by Alisa Rogillio-Strength of the '' Houston Business Journal'' as "a predecessor to
Pier 1
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. is an online retailer and former Fort Worth, Texas-based retail chain specializing in imported home furnishings and decor, particularly furniture, table-top items, decorative accessories, and seasonal decor. It was publi ...
"; The Chemist Shop, a perfume store; Cromwell's, self-described as an "Olde English Gentleman's clothing store"; The Gallery, a store selling gifts and fine china; The Gay Dot, a store selling cards and stationery; Gifts 'n Gab; Flowers Inc., a florist; Holland House, a shop selling imports originating from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
; the Jewel Chest; Rumpleheimer's, an ice cream parlor; Turrentine's Needlecraft; several dress shops, Village Inn Pizza Parlor, Joan Flake, a children's clothing and gifts boutique, and other shops. Rogillo-Strength said that the store names are, as of 2002, "familiar to many long-time Houston residents". An individual named Addison McElroy owned The Candle Shop, Cargo and The Chemist Shop. When McElroy found that the center was declining, he decided to sell his shops. Tuesday Morning opened in place of the Cargo Houston store and Wicks 'N' Sticks opened in place of The Candle Shop. Rogillio-Strength said " th managed to do decent business for a few more years."
There were also Electric Paisley Arts and Crafts, a
head shop
A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and ...
; Sound Shoppe, a record store; Mario's, an Italian restaurant; Smuggler's Chest, a jewelry store, specializing in costume jewelry; several dress shops, and other retail establishments. There was also a nursery and day care called The Little Red School House.
In 1995 tenants included several shops, a school, and a
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 ...
storefront station; during that year Ralph Bivins said that " ly a handful of stores remain open" In 2002, no name brand tenants occupied any spaces at Westbury Square.
In 2002 several antique shops moved into Westbury Square. As of October 2002, four antique shops were located in Westbury Square, and several businesses described by Rogillio-Strength as "shoestring businesses," including the psychic shop "Psychic Readings," were present in some townhouses across from Westbury Square. In the northern hemisphere fall of that year, some businesses scheduled to open in Westbury square included a 24-hour daycare for children of the ages zero through four; Caravanserai, a non-profit arts education gallery; and "Ribs & Thangs," a barbecue restaurant that offered takeout service. In December of that year, businesses scheduled to open included an additional antique shop, a florist, and a shop selling jewelry and imports from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. In 2010 Dorit Golan, an employee of the
Keller Williams
Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' d ...
subsidiary KW Commercial, said that very few tenants were left in Westbury Square.
Legacy
Greg Hassell 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 it ...
'' said "Westbury Square wasn't his only accomplishment, and it certainly wasn't his most profitable." Gerry Berne said "building Westbury Square was the most creative thing he was ever involved in. It was personal. It was a romantic thing for him." In 1999 Hassell said "many newcomers to Houston are unaware that it's even there" but that "the very mention of Westbury Square is enough to elicit a smile from longtime Houstonians." According to Gray, as of 2012, Westbury Square "provokes fits of nostalgia in old-time Houstonians."
References
*Rogillio-Strength, Alisa. "Merchants on mission to revive Westbury Square." '' Houston Business Journal''. October 27, 2002.
Notes
Some text originates from the
Westbury, Houston
Westbury is a neighborhood in the Brays Oaks district of Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. 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 Fon ...