Houston Heights

Setting and Boundaries

Houston Heights is in northwest-central Houston, about four miles northwest of Downtown Houston. The name “The Heights” is often used casually for a broader group of nearby neighborhoods, though Houston Heights has a separate history from Norhill and Woodland Heights. The Houston Heights Association describes the area as bounded by Interstate 10 to the south, North Shepherd Drive to the west, Interstate 610 to the north, and North Main and Studewood Streets to the east.

Planned Suburb Origins

Oscar Martin Carter arrived in Houston in 1886, and by 1891 he and investors had formed the Omaha and South Texas Land Company. The company bought 1,756 acres and built streets, alleys, parks, schools and utilities. Houston Heights was founded as a streetcar suburb for people who wanted to live outside the denser city while still commuting to work.

The area stood 23 feet above Houston, which was experiencing flooding, mosquitoes and waterborne illness outbreaks. Houston Heights became its own municipality on July 1, 1896. By the 1900 census it had 800 residents, along with its own school system, hospital and emergency services. It agreed to annexation by Houston after city finances became strained in funding schools.

Streetscape and Homes

Houston Heights includes broad, tree-covered esplanades and side streets with houses dating from the early 1900s. Heights Boulevard retains older houses and large trees. Since the 1990s, gentrification has brought home renovations, some demolitions for newer housing, and the arrival of upscale boutiques and restaurants. From 1980 to 2017, about 100 Heights houses and other properties were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Civic Landmarks

The former Houston Heights Fire Station at 12th Street and Yale Street was built in 1914 as the city hall, jail and fire station. After annexation, it served as a Houston fire station from 1918 until 1995, and the Houston Heights Association later refurbished the property.

The Heights Neighborhood Library stands at 1302 Heights Boulevard. Its building has a pink stucco Italian Renaissance façade with arched doors and windows. The current library building opened in 1925 and was dedicated in 1926.

Parks, Trails and Local Traditions

The City of Houston operates parks within and around Houston Heights, including Heights Boulevard Park, Milroy Park and Community Center, and Love Park and Community Center. The MKT Trail is a rails-to-trails route with a concrete multi-use path along the former Missouri, Kansas, Texas railroad right-of-way. The Heights is also the setting for Houston’s White Linen Night, held each year in late July or early August.

A section of Houston Heights was a dry district from 1912 to 2017. Restrictions on grocery stores selling beer and wine were removed by vote in 2016, and restrictions on alcohol sales in restaurants and other sales were removed in 2017.

What it is like

Houston Heights, commonly called “The Heights,” is in north central Houston inside the 610 Loop and northwest of Downtown, within Greater Heights. It is a historic area dating to the late 1800s and was Houston’s first master-planned community, with character-filled architecture, older housing stock, rehabbed bungalows, mom-and-pop shops and funky restaurants.

Sources: Houston Heights (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA); houstontx.gov