Washington Terrace is a subdivision in the Third Ward area of

Houston 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 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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 ...

History

Nelms Investment Company initially owned the 1,000 lots established in Washington Terrace, which began development in April 1924; G.E. Simpson Realty Service handled the sale of the houses. The first houses for sale were on Chartres Street, and the lot sizes ranged from to .Kaplan, Barry J. (

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 183. Washington Terrace was designed for middle-class families.Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 184. It was annexed by the City of Houston in 1927.Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 186. Washington Terrace was initially a majority white community; the census tract that mostly corresponded to the Terrace was 98% white in 1940—the remaining black population was mostly domestic servants living with their employers or in nearby areas in the same census tract.Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 191. In 1950 it had 7,354 people,Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 193. and was 93% white. In 1953 African-Americans became the majority population, In 1960 Washington Terrace had 8,552 people, and was 21% white; however in 1970 it had 7,634 people, and was 11% white. Unlike Riverside Terrace, there was never a period of "filling in" with the construction of apartments or subdivision of previous housing stock, in which the population of that community ultimately increased. Circa 1981 the Houston Planning Department ruled that, in the words of Kaplan, Washington Terrace was "in the stage of accelerating decline."Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 196. In 2002 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''. ...

'' reported that

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

was coming to Washington Terrace. In 2004 the ''Houston Press'' named the neighborhood as having the best neighborhood association.

Location and area

Barry J. Kaplan of the

stated that the boundaries of the development were Blodgett Street, Dowling Street (now Emancipation Avenue), Ennis Street, and Holman Avenue.Kaplan, Barry J. (

).
Race, Income, and Ethnicity: Residential Change in a Houston Community, 1920-1970
" ''The Houston Review''. Winter 1981. pp. 178-202. CITED: p. 183-184. 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 ...

'' stated that the Washington Terrace area's boundaries are Alabama Street, Almeda Road, Blodgett Street, Cleburne Street, and Ennis Street.Best Neighborhood Association (2004)
" ''

''. Retrieved on November 23, 2008. The neighborhood is across from Riverside Terrace, and surrounds

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

. According to Kaplan, the brochures highlighted the community's proximity to the central city while also promoting its, in his words, "suburban atmosphere". As of the 2000s the median year of homes built was 1940.

Government and infrastructure

The

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 the

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his a ...

Health Center in southeast Houston for the ZIP code 77004. The designated 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 ...

Education

Washington Terrace is within the

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 ...

. The community is within Trustee District IV, represented by Paula M. Harris as of 2008. Two elementary schools, Blackshear in Washington Terrace and Lockhart in Riverside Terrace, serve sections of Washington Terrace. The attendance boundaries of Cullen Middle School, and

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. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Hous ...

include Washington Terrace.

History of schools

Charlotte B. Allen Elementary School opened in 1907. Blackshear opened in 1916. Yates opened in 1926. William Sutton Elementary School opened in 1929. Allen moved to 400 Victoria Street in 1956; the former Allen campus was renamed J. Will Jones Elementary School. The Sutton school moved to 7402 Albacore Drive in

Sharpstown Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Southwest Houston, Texas.

in 1958 and the former Sutton campus was renamed Turner Elementary School. Yates moved to its current location in 1958; Ryan opened in Yates's first location during that year. Blackshear received expansions in 1960, 1965, and 1980.School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
" ''

''. Accessed September 24, 2008. Beginning in 2018 the magnet middle school

Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan (BCMAR) is a magnet middle school in Houston Independent School District (HISD), located in the Third Ward, Houston, Texas. It is located in the former Ryan Middle School. It is in association with ...

also serves as a boundary option for students zoned to Blackshear, Lockhart, and MacGregor elementary schools. Before the start of the 2009–2010 school year J. Will Jones, a school in Midtown which served a section of Washington Terrace, was consolidated into Blackshear. In addition Turner, which served a section of Washington Terrace, was consolidated into Blackshear. By Spring 2011 a new campus was built in the Lockhart site.Board Approves School Closings and Consolidations
" ''

''. November 14, 2008. Residents were previously assigned to Ryan Middle School (at the current BCM Ryan location). It closed in 2013 with students reassigned to Cullen Middle.Mellon, Ericka.
HISD will close Ryan, tables plan to merge two high schools
" ''

''. March 7, 2013. Retrieved on March 14, 2013. "Ryan, the district's smallest middle school with 263 students, will close at the end of this academic year. The students will attend Cullen, which is 4 miles away."

References

External links

Washington Terrace Civic Association
{{coord missing, Texas Neighborhoods in Houston Third Ward, Houston