Westbury, Houston

A sign indicating the Westbury neighborhood

Westbury is a neighborhood in the Brays Oaks district of Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. 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 was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the Houston Press . Westbury was also listed in the 25 Hottest Houston Neighborhoods in the June 2013 edition of Houstonia Magazine. .

History

Westbury Professional Building, which includes the Houston Police Department Westbury Storefront

Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s by Ira Berne as part of the post–World War II migration to the suburbs. The developer had moved from Westbury, New York, after which he named the new community.[1]

In 1960 Berne had developed the Westbury Square shopping center.[2]

In the 1980s the City of Houston Housing Authority proposed a 105-unit public housing project in the Westbury area. Thousands of residents entered public hearings to protest the concept, so the city did not build any public housing in the Westbury area.[3]

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 areas such as Houston Heights and Neartown, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and lesbian population. Gays and lesbians began moving to Westbury in the 2000s, and some were referring to it as "Little Montrose".[4]

In April 2010 the City of Houston "automated" curbside recycling program was extended to Westbury East.[5]

In 2011 the Brays Oaks district expanded.[6] Westbury, which was originally not a part of the Brays Oaks district,[7] became a part of it.[8]

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Fire Station 48 Westbury

The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Southwest Patrol Division . The Westbury HPD Storefront Station is located at 5550 Gasmer.

Houston Fire Department Fire Station 48 Westbury, located in Fire District 59, serves the neighborhood.[9] Station 48 relocated to its current location in 1961 and was last renovated during the financial year of 1998.[10]

Fire Station 48, 1976

Westbury is now a part of Houston City Council District K, currently represented by Council Member Larry Green, while a small number of about 100 homes remain in District C, currently represented by Council Member Ellen Cohen (as of 2012).[11] The area was previously served by Houston City Councilmember District C (Anne Clutterbuck as of 2009). It is in Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1 (El Franco Lee as of 2012) and Harris County Constable Precinct 5 (Phil Camus as of 2012).

The Westbury Civic Club is the area civic club. The Community Association Institute, along with Randall's, gave it the "1992 Civic Club Community of the Year Award" at the Adam's Mark hotel in Westchase.[12]

County, federal, and state representation

The area is split between Texas's 9th congressional district (Al Green as of 2012) and Texas's 7th congressional district (John Culberson as of 2012).[13][14] The United States Postal Service operates the Westbury Post Office at 11805 Chimney Rock Road.[15]

Parks and recreation

Westbury Park

The city of Houston operates Westbury Park at 5635 Willowbend () which features the Westbury Pool (street address is 10605 Mullins), a playground, tennis courts, and a multi-sport playing field. .

In addition, the city operates the Platou Community Center located in Chimney Rock Park. Chimney Rock Park has a playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts.

Hager Park, with its covered basketball court, is located next to the Anderson Elementary School between Landsdowne Drive and McClearen Dr, and attracts many in the neighborhood for outdoor sports.() Hager Park also features a walking trail, a multi-purpose sports field, and has a shared playground with Anderson Elementary School.

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 1966.

The closest Emergency Room and hospital is called Westbury Community Hospital located near the high school on Gasmer drive. [16]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Westbury High School serves most of Westbury
Parker Elementary School serves northern Westbury
Johnston Middle School in Meyerland

The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District.

The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:

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.[23]

Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury.[24] A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School.[25]

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.

History of public schools

Parker Elementary opened in 1959, and Johnston Middle School opened in its current location in 1959. Anderson and Kolter opened in 1960. Westbury High School opened in 1961. Fondren Middle opened in 1966.[1] In the late 1990s Anderson Elementary was overcrowded due to increasing student populations in Westbury area apartment complexes. In 1998 the school had almost 1,600 students.[26] Around that time hundreds of students who were zoned to Anderson were bussed to relief campuses.[27] Tinsley opened in 2002, relieving Anderson and another area school.[1] As of 2006 many middle and upper class residents of the Westbury attendance zone would not send their children to Westbury; usually they send their children to Bellaire High School, Lamar High School, or private schools.[28][29]

Private schools

St. Thomas More School (K-8 , 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).

Trafton Academy and Miss Porter's School located in the Willowbend area also serves Westbury residents.

Public libraries

Two Houston Public Library locations, Frank Neighborhood Library and Meyer Neighborhood Library, serve this area.

The Meyer Library opened in 1962. In 1994 the library received renovations to accommodate disabled people. By 2013 HPL planned to purchase land for a new Meyerland branch with $442,000. HPL spokesperson Sandra Fernandez stated that HPL wants to build a new facility in order to increase the size and parking capacity. There is a proposal to move the library to Westbury Square, supported by the Westbury community but opposed by Meyerland residents.[30] As of 2015 various proposals are being debated.[31]

Media

The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland local section.

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 3 "School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on August 11, 2009.
  2. ↑ Sarnoff, Nancy. "Westbury Square for sale." Houston Chronicle. October 9, 2010. Retrieved on March 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Rodriguez, Lori. "$5.7 million to go toward public housing" (). Houston Chronicle. Tuesday January 24, 1989. A1.
  4. ↑ Holley, Peter, John Lomax, and Todd Spoth. "25 Hottest Neighborhoods" (Archive). Houstonia. June 1, 2013. Retrieved on November 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Residents begin new curbside recycling." Houston Chronicle. April 2, 2010. Retrieved on May 2, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Parks & Recreation." Brays Oaks. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ Home page. Brays Oaks Management District. Retrieved on August 10, 2009. "The boundaries are from Hillcroft Avenue on the east to US 59 on the west; Brays Bayou is the northern boundary and US 90A/Main Street our southern edge. The District is entirely in Houston and Harris County, Texas, as well as in the City of Houston’s Council District C. None of the District includes any of the Westbury subdivision."
  8. ↑ "Enroll_Expansion.pdf." Brays Oaks Management District. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Fire Stations." Houston Police Department. Retrieved on May 8, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Fire Station 48." City of Houston. Retrieved on May 8, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Editorial: Larry Green for council District K." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday October 11, 2011. Retrieved on October 26, 2011.
  12. ↑ Collins, Ken. "Realtors contribute to success of Westbury Civic Club." Houston Post. April 26, 1992. L section. Available from the microfilm desk at the Jesse H. Jones Building of the Houston Public Library Central Library.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-04-17. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ "Post Office Location - WESTBURY." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Westbury Community Hospital Website". Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "Parker Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  18. ↑ "Kolter Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  19. ↑ "Anderson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  20. ↑ "Tinsley Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  21. ↑ "Johnston Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  22. ↑ "Fondren Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  23. ↑ "Pin Oak Middle School." The Southwest District. Houston Independent School District.
  24. ↑ "Westbury High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  25. ↑ "Bellaire High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  26. ↑ Connelly, Richard. "Peer Pressure." Houston Press. Thursday March 26, 1998. 1. Retrieved on March 11, 2010.
  27. ↑ Connelly, Richard. "Peer Pressure." Houston Press. Thursday March 26, 1998. 2. Retrieved on March 11, 2010.
  28. ↑ "Westbury through the eyes of a graduate." West University Examiner. December 13, 2006.
  29. ↑ Downing, Margaret. "Stepchild?" Houston Press. September 6, 2001. 2.
  30. ↑ Peyton, Lindsay. "Residents divided on plans for Meyer Library." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday January 22, 2013. Retrieved on May 15, 2016.
  31. ↑ Kerr, Jocelyn. "Ideas for new Meyer Neighborhood Library under consideration ." Examiner Newspaper Group. Sunday February 1, 2015. Retrieved on May 15, 2016.
  32. ↑ Vance, Carol S. Boomtown DA. Whitecaps Media, 2010. 3. ISBN 978-0-9826353-1-5 .

Coordinates: 29°39′02″N 95°29′23″W / 29.6506°N 95.4897°W / 29.6506; -95.4897

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