Westbury, Houston, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westbury is a neighborhood in the southwest part of Houston, Texas. 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 neighborhoods, just west of the southwest corner of the 610 Loop.
Westbury is a middle-class and racially diverse neighborhood.
Westbury was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the Houston Press [1].
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[edit] History
Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the post–World War II migration to the suburbs by Ira Berne. As the City of Houston and the surrounding urban area have spread out because of annexing its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), Westbury is no longer considered to be suburban.
A centerpiece of the Westbury neighborhood was the Westbury Square shopping center. Designed by architect William J. Wortham, Jr. to look like an Italian village, it had quaint little shops centered around a fountain. After the opening of nearby shopping malls (such as the Galleria in Uptown Houston), business dropped off and most of the shops were shuttered. It remains open, but much of its original space has been lost to nearby development and only a few tenants remain. A large portion of what was once Westbury Square is now the location of the Home Depot Westbury Square #578 hardware store. Developer Berne laid out apartments (later condominiums) and townhouses in the surrounding blocks, which were intended to give the area an urban, European feel.
The people oriented design of Westbury Square was forty years ahead of its time. Today, New Urbanists promote pedestrian space over machine space, with urban designs inspired by Italian cities (City Place in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida). Combining mixed use retail space with residential townhomes in a pedestrian oriented environment, Westbury Square would meet the new urbanists Traditional Neighborhood Development criteria. It remains unknown to the New Urbanists, who have begun projects in Houston after 2000.
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 neighborhoods such as Houston Heights and Montrose, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and lesbian population.
New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan grew up in Westbury.
[edit] Politics
[edit] Municipal and county representation
The area is served by Houston City Councilmember District C (Anne Clutterbuck as of 2006). It is in Harris County Constable Precinct 1 (El Franco Lee as of 2006) and Harris County Precinct 7 (May Walker as of 2006).
[edit] Federal and state representation
As of 2006, the area is split between Texas's 9th congressional district (Al Green as of 2006) and Texas's 7th congressional district [2].
[edit] Parks
The city of Houston operates the Westbury Park at 3635 Willowbend ([3]) and the Westbury Community Pool at 10605 Mullins [4]. The city operates the Platou Community Center in Westbury.
[edit] Community information
The closest YMCA is the Westland YMCA Branch.
The neighborhood has a baseball little league called Westbury Little League. It won the Little League World Series in the mid 1960s
[edit] Police and fire service
The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Southwest Patrol Division [5].
The Westbury Storefront Station is located at 5550 Gasmer.
Houston Fire Department Fire Station 48 Westbury serves the neighborhood.
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary and secondary schools
[edit] Public schools
The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District.
The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:
- Parker Elementary School[1]
- Kolter Elementary School[2]
- Anderson Elementary School[3]
- Tinsley Elementary School[4]
The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zoned for middle school:
Anyone zoned to Johnston may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program.[7]
Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury.[8] A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School.[9]
As of 2006 many middle and upper class residents of the Westbury attendance zone do not send their children to Westbury; usually they send their children to Bellaire High School, Lamar High School, or private schools.[10][11]
Medical Center Charter School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade school, is located in the Westbury area. Despite its name, the school is not located in the Texas Medical Center area.
[edit] Gallery of public schools
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[edit] Private schools
St. Thomas More School (K-8 [6], operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston), is Westbury's neighborhood Roman Catholic school.
The neighborhood has or has in close proximity several other private schools, such as Westbury Christian School (K-12) and St. Nicholas School Southwest Campus (K-8).
[edit] Public libraries
Two Houston Public Library locations, Frank Neighborhood Library and Meyer Neighborhood Library, serve this area.
[edit] Media
The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland [7] local section.
[edit] Postal services
The United States Postal Service operates the Westbury Post Office at 11805 Chimney Rock Road, 77035-9998.
[edit] References
- ^ "Parker Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Kolter Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Anderson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Tinsley Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Johnston Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Fondren Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Pin Oak Middle School." The Southwest District. Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Westbury High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Bellaire High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Westbury through the eyes of a graduate." West University Examiner.
- ^ "Stepchild?" Houston Press. 2.
- Fox, Stephen, et al. Houston Architectural Guide, Second Edition. Houston : American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter ; Herring Press, 1999
[edit] External links
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![[2]](http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/tx07_109.gif){kind=link}
![[3]](http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/images/NeighborhoodRevList3.gif){kind=link}