Scenic Woods, Houston

Last updated
Scenic Woods Neighborhood Library ScenicWoodsLibraryHoustonTX.jpg
Scenic Woods Neighborhood Library

Scenic Woods is a neighborhood located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States, [1] near Homestead Road and Parker Road. The community is populated by working class African Americans. The community is a quiet family oriented place with manicured lawns and well maintained homes.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Scenic Woods is a traditionally African-American neighborhood. [2] Fontaine Place adjoins Scenic Woods. [3]

History

In 2001 Kinsel Industries Inc. of Houston won the contract for a sewer upgrade project in the Scenic Woods area with a low bid of $1.8 million. It was to perform manhole repairs and overhaul 6 inch through 12 inch sanitary sewer lines. The project area was bounded by Mount Houston to the north, Hirsch Road on the west, Sultan Drive on the east, and Ley Road to the south. According to Robert Stanton of the Houston Chronicle , Carol Mims Galloway, a member of the Houston City Council, "was instrumental in steering the project to Scenic Woods". [1]

Government and infrastructure

The Fontaine-Scenic Woods Civic Club and the East Houston-Settegast Super Neighborhood Council serve the community. [4]

It is located in Beat 8C60 of the Northeast Patrol Division of the Houston Police Department. [5]

Scenic Woods, as of 1987, was in Houston City Council District B. [6]

Education

While the Scenic Woods Library was under renovation, a temporary library was installed in Tidwell Park TidwellParkHoustonTX0.jpg
While the Scenic Woods Library was under renovation, a temporary library was installed in Tidwell Park

Children in the neighborhood attend schools in the Houston Independent School District. [7] They previously attended schools in the North Forest Independent School District,[ citation needed ] until it merged into HISD on July 1, 2013. [8] The proposed attendance boundaries for the 2013-2014 school year, to be decided upon on July 17, 2013, show the community being zoned to Shadydale Elementary School, Forest Brook Middle School, and North Forest High School. [7]

Fonwood Early Childhood Center, previously Fonwood Elementary School, [9] is in close proximity to the Scenic Woods Library. [10] It was built in 1964. [11] It became an early childhood center when NFISD merged into HISD on July 1, 2013. [9]

Public libraries

The 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) Scenic Woods Regional Branch Library of the Houston Public Library serves the community. It was built in 1986. [12]

In October 2002, the permanent library building closed for a routine renovation. The renovation included replacing the furniture and service desk and upgrading restroom facilities. Upon discovery of the roof requiring to be replaced and mold behind the wallpaper, the re-opening was delayed and rescheduled to March 31, 2005. A 200-square-foot (19 m2) temporary replacement facility was established at Tidwell Park, [4] in a room half the size of a standard American classroom in the park's community center. [13] The temporary library had about 600 books, videos, and CDs, [4] including one set of encyclopedias. Sandra Fernandez, HPL's public relations manager, said that technical complications prevented the installation of computers and telephones. As of December 18, 2003 it received four computers connected to telephone lines, [13] giving them internet access. Heather Saucier of the Houston Chronicle said that because the library was so small, many area residents complained. [4] They argued it was too small to effectively serve the area while the permanent library was renovated. In 2003 many residents complained, citing a lack of signage, the small space, the limited amount of reference material, and the initial lack of computers and telephones. Effie Hackett Williams, the president of the Fontaine-Scenic Woods Civic Club, said that the branch was too far from the park's parking lot and "not convenient for everybody". [13] Jackie Tolbert, the director of public relations of the North Forest Independent School District (NFISD), said that the school administrators considered expanding hours at Kirby Middle School because the hours of the temporary library did not easily accommodate NFISD students. [13]

Since the Lakewood Branch Library closed temporarily on May 1, 2004, for a period Scenic Woods area residents had to travel to the Dixon Library, the McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Library, and the Tuttle Library in Denver Harbor to receive library services. Galloway asked METRO to establish a shuttle from the Lakewood Library to the McCrane Kashmere library, but Chip Lambert, a spokesperson for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), said that under FTA rules METRO is not allowed to operate charter routes. [4]

The library was closed on June 9, 2007 through June 13, 2007 to receive $107,000 ($139833.25 when adjusted for inflation) worth of repairs funded by a $40 million HPL capital improvement bond and Community development block grants and Housing and Urban Development grants. The HPL director of building services, Issa Dadoush, stated that the repairs were for the air conditioning systems and controls and that renovations were scheduled to be completed on July 30, 2007. [12]

Parks and recreation

Two parks, Scenic Woods Park and Gleason Park, are in Scenic Woods. [14] The Scenic Woods Park is complete with a basketball area, baseball field, walking trail and tennis courts.[ citation needed ]

The Northeast Family YMCA serves residents of Scenic Woods and Fontaine. [15]

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neartown Houston</span>

Montrose is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Montrose is a 7.5 square miles (19 km2) area roughly bounded by Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, South Shepherd Drive to the west, and Taft to Fairview to Bagby to Highway 59 to Main to the east. Montrose neighborhoods include Cherryhurst, Courtlandt Place, Hyde Park, Montrose, Vermont Commons, North and East Montrose, Mandell Place and Winlow Place. Montrose is also less well known by the moniker Neartown, encompassing Superneighborhood #24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Ward, Houston</span> Human settlement in Houston, Texas, United States of America

The Fifth Ward is a community of Houston, Texas, United States, derived from a historical political district (ward), about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Downtown. Its boundaries are Buffalo Bayou on the south, Jensen Drive on the west, Liberty Road on the north, and Lockwood Drive on the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbury, Houston</span>

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, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Public Library</span>

Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial, Houston</span> Place in Texas, United States

The Memorial area of Houston, Texas is located west of Downtown, northwest of Uptown, and south of Spring Branch. The Memorial Super Neighborhood, as defined by the City of Houston, is bounded by Buffalo Bayou to the south, Barker Reservoir to the west, the Katy Freeway to the north, and the Memorial Villages, a contiguous group of independent municipalities, to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meyerland, Houston</span> Community in Houston, Texas

Meyerland is a community in southwest Houston, Texas, outside of the 610 Loop and inside Beltway 8. The neighborhood is named after the Meyer family, who bought and owned 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in southwest Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Forest Independent School District</span> Former school district in Texas

North Forest Independent School District (NFISD) was a school district in northeast Houston, Texas. Established in the early 1920s in a low-income white area, it later became majority-black and black-run. The district had a history of financial and academic issues from the late 1980s until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it was closed by order of the state and absorbed into the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Forest, Houston</span>

Oak Forest is a large residential community in northwest Houston, Texas, United States. Oak Forest is the third largest group of subdivisions in Harris County.

Huffman is an unincorporated community of northeastern Harris County, Texas within the Houston, Baytown metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmere High School</span> High school in Houston, Texas, United States

Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas that serves grades 9 through 12; it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood, and its namesake is the nearby Kashmere Gardens neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key Middle School (Texas)</span> School in America

Francis Scott Key Middle School is a public middle school in the Kashmere Gardens area of Houston, Texas, United States. It is within the Houston Independent School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Forest High School</span> Public school in Texas, United States

North Forest High School (NFHS) is a secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD); it was a part of the North Forest Independent School District (NFISD) until the district closed on July 1, 2013.

Kashmere Gardens is a historically African-American neighborhood in the northern 610 Loop area in Houston, Texas, United States. A group of single-family houses, many of which have large lots, Kashmere Gardens is between an industrial area and a rail corridor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northside, Houston</span>

The Northside is a district of Houston, Texas, United States. It is within the Greater Northside Management District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brays Oaks, Houston</span>

Brays Oaks, formerly known as Fondren Southwest, is an area in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. The Brays Oaks Management District, also known as the Harris County Improvement District #5, governs the Brays Oaks area as well as other surrounding areas, such as Westbury. The City of Houston also defines the Brays Oaks Super Neighborhood, with separate boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Settegast, Houston</span>

Settegast is a neighborhood in northeast Houston; it has an average population density between one and five. The community is bordered by the 610 Loop, the Union Pacific Railroad Settegast Yard, and the old Beaumont Highway. The community has many small, wood-framed houses and empty lots. Habitat for Humanity has a prominent stake in the area, and a community garden is underway. There are few commercial and industrial uses within Settegast. Also, contemporary housing has started to arise within new construction in the area. The City of Houston designated Settegast as a Houston HOPE neighborhood.

Houston/Trinity Gardens is an African-American neighborhood in Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heights Neighborhood Library</span> United States historic place

Heights Neighborhood Library is a public library facility in the Houston Heights area of Houston, Texas. It is a part of Houston Public Library (HPL) and is located at 1302 Heights Boulevard, in Heights block 170. It has a pink Stucco Italian Renaissance façade and arches in its doors and windows. Jason P. Theriot wrote in the Houston Review that the ceilings are "high" and that the arches were "beautifully" done. The library has 14,500 square feet (1,350 m2) of space.

References

  1. 1 2 "Sewer project on tap for Scenic Woods area." Houston Chronicle . June 14, 2001. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ Olsen, Lise. "Homes illegally taken and sold in scam." Houston Chronicle . May 9, 2011. Retrieved on July 16, 2013. "The two, and others, are accused of targeting abandoned or vacant houses in mostly traditionally African-American neighborhoods, including Scenic Woods, North Main, Third Ward and Sunnyside."
  3. ↑ The New Christian Advocate, Volume 2, Issues 7-12. Methodist Publishing House, 1958. p. 49. Retrieved from Google Books on July 18, 2013. "[...] teaches fine arts in a high school near Houston, Tex. people in Scenic Woods and Fontaine Place (the adjoining community) were of other denominations, they knew something had to be done for all teen-agers. In October of 1956, shortly[...]
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Saucier, Heather. "Scenic Woods work targeted." Houston Chronicle . May 13, 2004. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Crime Statistics for 8C60's Beat." (Archive) Houston Police Department. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "District B contest/Architect Reynaldo Pradia seeks to..." Houston Chronicle . December 10, 1987. Retrieved on July 16, 2013. "City Council District B in northeast Houston encompasses the 5th Ward, Kashmere Gardens, Settegast, Trinity Gardens, Scenic Woods, Fontane Place, [...]"
  7. 1 2 "Agenda Board of Education Meeting July 18, 2013." Houston Independent School District. Proposed Attendance Zones for the North Forest Transition Attachment E-1 (21 of 77). Retrieved on July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ Barajas, Erik. "North Forest ISD officially closes today." KTRK-TV . July 1, 2013. Retrieved on July 1, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Principals selected, changes proposed for North Forest schools." (Archive) Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on June 14, 2013.
  10. ↑ Guy, Andrew Jr. "Book’ing to the neighborhood beat." (Archive) Mayor's Spotlight, City of Houston. July 18, 2013. Retrieved on July 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Chapter 5 FACILITIES USE AND MANAGEMENT NORTH FOREST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT." (Archive) Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Retrieved on November 21, 2011.
  12. 1 2 Franklin, Cynthia Coleman. "Library undergoes renovations." Houston Chronicle . June 20, 2007. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Saucier, Heather. "Temporary library shows signs of growth." Houston Chronicle . January 15, 2004. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ "AE1997_82-2_0055.jpg." Harris County, Texas. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ McTaggart, Brian. "Fernandez fails to bolster status with Astros." Houston Chronicle . April 3, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2013. "The Northeast Family YMCA was built in 1960 and services 370 households from the neighborhoods of the Fifth Ward, Scenic Woods, Fontaine, Settegast, Lakewood, Wood Glen, Shady Timbers and Riverwood."
  16. ↑ "Novelist to speak at Scenic Woods." Houston Chronicle . September 27, 2006. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.

Coordinates: 29°51′39″N95°18′03″W / 29.8608°N 95.3008°W / 29.8608; -95.3008

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.