Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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.Highland Village. The neighborhood is bounded on the north by

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 n ...

, on the east by Union Pacific railroad tracks, on the south by

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and includ ...

/ U.S. Highway 59 (Southwest Freeway), and on the west by Interstate 610 (Texas), Interstate 610. Due to its central location in Houston, Afton Oaks is in close proximity to several neighborhoods including Oak Estates, River Oaks, and Royden Oaks to the northeast, Lynn Park to the east, West University Place, Texas to the southeast,

Bellaire, Texas Bellaire is a city in southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States, within the metropolitan area.. Retrieved on January 24, 2010. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 17,202. It is surrounded by th ...

to the south, and Tanglewood to the northwest. In addition to

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.Highland Village, and River Oaks District shopping areas, Afton Oaks also enjoys adjacency to the

Greenway Plaza Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 ( U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby ...

business district. The major thoroughfares in Afton Oaks are Kettering Drive, Newcastle Drive, Richmond Avenue, and West Alabama Street. The notable signature elements of Afton Oaks include the esplanade along Newcastle Drive, the canopy of large, older hardwood trees throughout the neighborhood, a collection of rectangular column street markers, and a set of smaller triangular parks. Near Afton Oaks is a throwback to Houston's older days as several long running restaurants such as Bayou City Seafood & Pasta (est. 1990), Luling City Market (est. 1981), Nielsen's Delicatessen (est. 1952), and Ragin' Cajun (est. 1974) still thrive along Richmond Avenue. Afton Oaks contains many single story ranch homes built in the 1950s. In recent years, like other neighborhoods with a close-in location, significant new home construction has started to replace these original homes. Partly because of rising land values, these new builds are typically in excess of the million dollar price point. Chartered in 1955, the Afton Oaks Civic Club remains active in preserving the continuity, history, and legacy of the neighborhood by maintaining the upkeep of common areas, arranging services including security and trash pickup, and monitoring deed restrictions. John Nova Lomax of the ''

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

'' had this to say about Afton Oaks in a 2008 article: "This hotbed of anti-rail activity has always seemed to me a place for adults who never quite gave up on college life, specifically, Greek life at state universities. There’s a kind of frat house feel to restaurants like Luling City Market (for UT grads) and the Ragin’ Cajun (for the

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

folks) that permeates the entire area. For a well-heeled residential area, it feels boozy, not just because of the aforementioned restaurants but also the bars and the big liquor store there."

History

In the early 1950s the farming and ranching land owned by the O'Meara and Stahlman families became primed for development. On it Afton Oaks opened in stages mainly between 1951 and 1959. Construction of newer two-story brick and stucco homes began in the 1980s. By 2000 many older homes received renovation or faced demolition.

Cityscape

Afton Oaks is located near the intersection of the 610 Loop West Loop and Richmond Avenue. This gives the neighborhood access to

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.Greenway Plaza Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 ( U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby ...

, and

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 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...

. The Kettering Oaks subdivision is adjacent to Afton Oaks. The subdivisions of Oak Estates and Royden Oaks are in proximity.Feser, Katherine.
Renovations increase area's appeal, prices
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

''. Sunday January 28, 2001. Retrieved on February 20, 2012. Lot sizes in Afton Oaks are typically to . Most houses have three bedrooms and two bathrooms, while some houses have two bedrooms each or four bedrooms each. As of 2001 many of the houses in Afton Oaks are

ranch-style houses 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. ...

built in the 1950s. Even though around 12 newer houses had been built by that year, homeowners were more likely to remodel their houses than tear them down and build new houses, because the Afton Oaks houses were in good condition and were very large. By 2001 many of the ranch houses had been renovated with new granite counters, Italian tile floors, solid cherry wood cabinets, plantation shutters, master bath suites with walk-in closets, new kitchen appliances, and professional landscaping. Katherine Feser of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

'' said that the remodelings "have transformed many of the original 1950s ranch houses into properties that rival recently built homes."

Demographics

River Oaks is within the Houston Super Neighborhood #23 Afton Oaks/River Oaks, a division of the City of Houston that includes Afton Oaks and some surrounding subdivisions, including River Oaks. In 2015 the super neighborhood had 14,518 residents; 77% were non-Hispanic White, 10% were Hispanic, 7% were non-Hispanic Asian, 4% were non-Hispanic black, and 2% were non-Hispanic other.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Afton Oaks is zoned to

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), 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 ci ...

schools. The community is within Trustee District VII, represented by Harvin C. Moore as of 2008. Afton Oaks is zoned to: St. George Place Elementary School, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School. Before St. George Place opened, Afton Oaks was zoned to Will Rogers Elementary School. Will Rogers closed in May 2006, and in 2006-2007 Afton Oaks was assigned to Briargrove Elementary School. In 2007 Afton Oaks was rezoned to St. George Place. Additionally, a number of nearby private schools provide educational alternatives. Private schools close to Afton Oaks serving high school students include Episcopal High School, St. John's School, and St. Thomas High School.

Public libraries

The community is served by the Adele B. Looscan Neighborhood Library of

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 ...

.Downing, Margaret. "Judging Books and Their Covers." ''

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

''. August 21, 2007
1
. Retrieved on August 11, 2009. The current Looscan Branch building opened in September 2007. The former

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

non-compliant library, which was established in 1956, closed on August 27, 2005 and was demolished in February 2006. The previous Looscan branch had around 61,000 visitors in the fiscal year 2005. The original plans for Looscan called for the library to get a 5.37 million renovation. An Upper Kirby group proposed a new site near the Upper Kirby

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. Around that period the group Friends for Neighborhood Libraries began raising funds. The replacement library, with a cost of $6.2 million, had twice the staff and two and one half times the size of the previous facility. Friends of Neighborhood Libraries had raised one million dollars in four months, and around 2.5 million in total to help fund the new library; the group spent about 30,000 dollars for the expenses.

Government and infrastructure

Afton Oaks is in

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

District G. The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Central Patrol Division, headquartered at 61 Riesner. VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES PROGRAM - Citizens Offering Police Support
" ''City of Houston''. The Civic Club contracts with an organization of off-duty Houston Police Department officers to patrol the neighborhood. Afton Oaks is served by the Houston City Council District G and is in

Texas's 7th congressional district Texas's 7th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives comprises a small area of southwestern Houston and Harris County, along with a northern portion of suburban Fort Bend County. As of the 2000 census, the 7th dist ...

.

Harris Health System The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includ ...

(formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated Valbona Health Center (formerly People's Health Center) in Greater Sharpstown for ZIP code 77027. The nearest public hospital is

Ben Taub General Hospital Ben Taub Hospital is a public hospital located in Houston, Texas within the Texas Medical Center. Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students fr ...

in the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

.

Transportation

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service (under the n ...

(METRO) operates bus services in Afton Oaks. The neighborhood opposed a proposed expansion of the

METRORail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

University Line through the neighborhood. Gary Baumgartner, the president of the civic association of St. George Place, another neighborhood, argued that the City of Houston should prioritize catering to the needs of larger subdivisions versus smaller ones like Afton Oaks; Baumgartner expressed approval for rail plans on Richmond. Ultimately METRO revised the plans so that the line does not go through the neighborhood.

Media

The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

'' is the area regional newspaper. The '' River Oaks Examiner'' is a local newspaper distributed in the community.About Us
" ''Examiner News''.

References

External links

Afton Oaks
{{Coord, 29.7499943, -95.4332335, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston