Setting
Montrose sits in west-central Houston. Its area is about 7.5 square miles, with Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, South Shepherd Drive to the west, and an eastern edge running by way of Taft, Fairview, Bagby, Highway 59, and Main.
The neighborhood is also called Neartown or Neartown / Montrose. It is noted in Houston for its art scene, food scene, nightlife, hipster culture, and LGBT community.
Residential Character
Montrose was first platted in 1911. It was planned as a residential addition and streetcar suburb, with broad boulevards and landscaped streets. A streetcar line, known as the Montrose Line, ran through the neighborhood.
The area has renovated mansions, cottages, and bungalows with wide porches along tree-lined boulevards. Historic residential architecture in Montrose includes century-old bungalows and mansions. On Montrose Boulevard and Westheimer Road, many original homes have been converted to businesses or restaurants since deed restrictions lapsed in 1936.
Counterculture and LGBT History
During the 1960s and 1970s, Montrose became a center of counterculture activity, with street musicians, alternative community centers, hippie communes, head shops, artisans’ studios, and regular demonstrations at Montrose and Westheimer against the Vietnam War.
Around the 1970s, Montrose also became known as a center of Houston’s gay and lesbian community. Montrose is still considered the epicenter of LGBT culture in Houston.
Arts, Museums, and Chapels
The Menil Collection is on Sul Ross Street between Alabama Street and Richmond Avenue. Founded by John and Dominique de Menil to house their art collection, the free museum was designed by Renzo Piano.
The Rothko Chapel, also created by John and Dominique de Menil, is a non-denominational chapel one block from the Menil on the University of St. Thomas campus. Its interior walls hold fourteen black and color-hued paintings by Mark Rothko. The nearby Chapel of St. Basil, designed by Philip Johnson, is also on the University of St. Thomas campus.
Notable Places
Montrose is home to the University of St. Thomas. The Link-Lee Mansion, built by developer J. W. Link, is now part of that campus, and Howard Hughes’s former home on Yoakum Street is also part of the university.
Ervan Chew Park is a neighborhood park with a designated off-leash area for dogs. The Montrose Remembrance Garden, a memorial to victims of violent crimes, is at California and Grant streets.
What it is like
Montrose, also called Neartown/Montrose, is in west central Houston, roughly bounded by Highway 59, Allen Parkway, Taft Street, Bagby Street, Main Street and South Shepherd Drive. Developed in 1911, the four-square-mile area is described as eclectic, Bohemian and diverse, with historic neighborhoods and 6 Houston designated Historic Districts.
Homes and housing
Neartown / Montrose includes some of Houston’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods and is home to 6 Houston designated Historic Districts.
Sources: Montrose, Houston (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA); houstontx.gov