Washington Avenue (Houston, Texas)

Last updated
Washington Avenue
Washington Avenue (Houston.JPG
Washington Avenue at Studemont
Length4.5 mi (7.2 km)
Location Harris County, Texas
West  endHempstead Road
Major
junctions
I-10.svg I-10
East  endI-45.svg I-45

Washington Avenue is a road in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named for Washington County, as it is part of the original route from Houston to Brenham, the seat of Washington County. [1]

Contents

U.S. Highway 90 was routed along Washington Avenue prior to the opening of the Katy Freeway.

Ralph Bivins stated in a newspaper article published by the Chicago Tribune that decades before 1995 the area along Washington Avenue was a "major corridor of commerce" as people used the road to travel between Downtown Houston, the Sixth Ward, and the Houston Heights. Bivins described Washington Avenue in 1995 as a "decrepit" road with used car lots, "boarded-up" buildings, and second-hand stores. [2] Around 2009 the area around the road gentrified and gained a "Yuppie" population. [3]

Entertainment district

Around 2009 the area became a popular entertainment area due to its location near Downtown Houston and the Houston Heights, a community within Houston that forbids the sale of alcohol within its boundaries. By May 2009, the Washington Avenue area gained expensive town houses and condominiums, restaurants, and bars. [4] John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press argues that the spread-out nature of Washington Avenue could cause issues that lead to the decline of the Richmond Strip, a popular party-going district in the 1990s. [5] To alleviate the issue, the clubs on Washington Avenue added jitneys and similar tools to ferry people between clubs. [5]

Craig Hlavaty said "Most Houstonians look at Washington as a destination for Outer Loopers (people living outside of the 610 Loop) hoping to live out a club-life fantasy. For suburbanites, the bottle service, flashing lights, valets, dress codes, long lines and discriminating bouncers are more inviting than off-putting" while "For a seasoned Inner Looper (a person who lives within the 610 Loop), though, one step into Blue Label Lounge or Reign is enough to beat a hasty retreat to Domy Books. The seizure-inducing lighting, random Asian businessmen, pukey-faced girls, fire-breathing bartenders, dancing lingerie models and bachelorette parties chugging bottles of Grey Goose give these clubs a larger-than-life cartoon quality that beats anything on an MTV reality show." [6]

In 2012, Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press said that the entertainment "scene" began moving to Midtown and the East End. As a result, many restaurants in the corridor began to increase the quality of the food and many of the clubs had closed. Shilcutt argued that it was more likely that Washington Avenue would become a restaurant-focused area than become a decrepit area like the Richmond Strip. [7]

In his 2010 article, Hlavaty said that Washington Avenue's main area extended for 3 miles (4.8 km), from TC Jester to Houston Avenue, "plus one block (give or take) to the north and south." [6] In her 2012 article, Shilcutt defined the club district as on Washington Avenue, between Studemont Road and Westcott Street; she said this was because the area east of Studemont is the Old Sixth Ward and the area west of Westcott is Rice Military. [7] The Rice Military Civic Club defines Westcott as its western boundary. [8] [9]

In December 2012 administrators of the city government planned to seek approval to install parking meters along the corridor. [10]

Washington Avenue at Yale St., looking east (Houston, TX) Washington Avenue (Houston, TX).JPG
Washington Avenue at Yale St., looking east (Houston, TX)
Washington Avenue at Heights Blvd., looking east (Houston, TX) Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) looking east.JPG
Washington Avenue at Heights Blvd., looking east (Houston, TX)
Pearl Bar on Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) Pearl Bar on Washington Avenue (Houston, TX).JPG
Pearl Bar on Washington Avenue (Houston, TX)
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near Pearl Bar Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near Pearl Bar.JPG
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near Pearl Bar
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) heading west Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) heading west.JPG
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) heading west
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near bakery Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near bakery.JPG
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) near bakery
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) fire station number 6 Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) fire station number 6.JPG
Washington Avenue (Houston, TX) fire station number 6
Washington Avenue Corridor Arts District street sign WashAvenueCorridorsign.jpg
Washington Avenue Corridor Arts District street sign

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park, Houston</span> Neighborhood in Houston, Texas, United States

South Park is a broad post-World War II development in the south-central area of Houston, Texas, a few miles south of MacGregor Park and directly south of the 610 Loop. According to the 2000 Census, the community has a population of 22,282. 81% of the South Park population is African American, compared to 25% for the city as a whole. Houston's Martin Luther King Boulevard runs through the area. Reflecting its postwar origins, many streets in South Park are named after World War II battle sites and persons. In the 1980s and 1990s crime became a key issue for South Park. Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press said "South Park is an overgrown garden these days, its soil only able to be tilled by the most determined or the most desperate. It shows no sign that it will grow again any time in the near future."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Kirby</span> Neighborhood of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States

Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after Kirby Drive, so indirectly takes its name from John Henry Kirby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afton Oaks, Houston</span> Residential community in Houston, Texas, United States

Afton Oaks is a deed-restricted "Inner Loop" upscale residential community of approximately 525 homes in Houston, Texas, United States. Afton Oaks is located inside Interstate 610 near the Galleria and Highland Village. The neighborhood is bounded on the north by Westheimer Road, on the east by Union Pacific railroad tracks, on the south by Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59, and on the west by Interstate 610.

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

Rice Military is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, United States. The Beer Can House is located in Rice Military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Forest, Houston</span> Residential community in Houston, Texas, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George Place, Houston</span>

St. George Place is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Ward, Houston</span> Neighborhood in Houston, Texas

Third Ward is an area of Houston, Texas, United States, that evolved from one of the six historic wards of the same name. It is located in the southeast Houston management district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice Epicurean Markets</span> Grocery store chain based in Houston, Texas

Rice Epicurean Markets was an American niche grocery store chain based in Southwest Houston, Houston, Texas. There is now just one supermarket left of the chain. Prior to 2012 the company operated five Rice Epicurean Markets, which ranged in size from 25,000 to 42,000 square feet (3,900 m2). At its height, it operated 35 stores. The last Rice Epicurean Market is wholly owned by founding family members.

Sunset Terrace and Montclair Place are two Inner Loop neighborhoods of Harris County, Texas, United States. The two subdivisions are served by the Sunset Terrace/Montclair Civic Association.

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

Westheimer Road is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about 19 miles (31 km) long. The street was named after Michael Louis Westheimer, a German immigrant and flour salesman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Park Place</span> Apartment high-rise building in downtown Houston Texas

One Park Place is a 501 ft tall apartment building located adjacent to Discovery Green park in downtown Houston, Texas. Completed by The Finger Companies in May 2009, the building has 340 units on 30 floors with a total height of 501 feet (153 m) and 37 floors.

Telephone Road is a street in eastern and southeastern Houston, Texas, United States. The road extends from East McKinney Street to the City of Pearland. A portion of Telephone Road is also designated as Texas State Highway 35.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahatma Gandhi District, Houston</span>

The Mahatma Gandhi District is an ethnic enclave in Houston, Texas, United States, named after Mahatma Gandhi, consisting predominantly of Indian and Pakistani restaurants and shops and having a large South Asian population. The area is commonly referred to by locals as "Hillcroft," after Hillcroft Avenue, a major thoroughfare which houses much of the Mahatma Gandhi district.

Silverlake is a planned community in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas, United States, near Pearland and in Greater Houston. The 1,000-acre (400 ha) community has 2,500 single-family houses and 230-acre (93 ha) of supporting commercial usage. It is partially within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Manvel and partially within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Pearland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Houston</span> Various cuisines in Houston, Texas

This article discusses the various cuisines in Houston, Texas.

The Richmond Avenue Entertainment District, commonly known as the Richmond Strip, is an entertainment district along Richmond Avenue in western/southwestern Houston, Texas. It was especially popular in the 1990s, but it later declined as a partygoing destination in favor of other areas of town, such as Washington Avenue. Erin Mulvaney of the Houston Chronicle stated that at its peak, it was "seen as the Houston's answer to Sixth Street, Beale Street and Bourbon Street."

Maggie Rita's Tex-Mex Grill & Bar is a Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston. For several years, Maggie Rita's was a restaurant chain with a license co-owned by Carlos Mencia and Santiago Moreno of Suave Restaurant. In January 2013, Moreno closed the last two locations they owned. Tony Shannard owns the only remaining Maggie Rita's restaurant, which is situated in Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molina's Cantina</span> Restaurant chain in Houston, Texas

Molina's Cantina is a Tex-Mex restaurant chain in Houston, Texas. As of 2022, Molina's is the oldest still-operating Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Westheimer, Houston</span> Area in Houston, Texas

Lower Westheimer is an area in Houston, Texas, United States. It is centered on Westheimer Road, and is considered to be East of Shepherd, and West of Midtown. Several historic neighborhoods are partially or completely located within the area including Montrose and Hyde Park. Lower Wertheimer is known for its hipster culture, nightlife, arts, and food scene.

Rockefeller's is a live music venue located in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. "WashingtonAveHouston.com :: Your Online Guide to Washington Avenue's Bars and Restaurants". www.washingtonavehouston.com. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  2. Bivins, Ralph. "CLOSE-IN HOUSING PROJECT TO PROVIDE JUMP-START FOR AGING HOUSTON THOROUGHFARE THAT HAS FALLEN ON HARD TIMES." Chicago Tribune . 5S Real Estate. July 9, 1995. Retrieved on March 22, 2009.
  3. Swartz, Mimi. "Street Smarts: Washington Avenue, Houston." Texas Monthly . January 1, 2009. Retrieved on March 25, 2009.
  4. Ghahremani, Yasmin. "In Houston, a Party Corridor." The New York Times . May 31, 2009. Retrieved on May 30, 2009.
  5. 1 2 McGuff, Mike. "Richmond Strip not dead yet." KIAH-TV . October 8, 2010. Retrieved on May 27, 2012. "[It was] firearms, autos and alcohol in too great of concentration I think," said John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press."
  6. 1 2 Hlavaty, Craig. "Washington Life." In: Hlavaty, Craig, Shea Serrano, and Mike Giglio. "Wild on Washington." Houston Press . February 9, 2010. Retrieved on October 23, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Shilcutt, Katharine. "Top 10 Restaurants on Washington Avenue." Houston Post . Tuesday October 23, 2012. Retrieved on October 23, 2012.
  8. Martin, Betty L. "RICE MILITARY/WOODCREST / Realtors, builders look to neighborhood for continued growth." Houston Chronicle . Thursday April 17, 2008. ThisWeek 7. Retrieved on October 21, 2012.
  9. RMCC By-Laws. (Archive) Rice Military Civic Club. Last accessed September 24, 2006.
  10. Miller, Doug. "Parking meters may soon pop up on Washington Avenue." KHOU . December 3, 2012. Retrieved on February 5, 2013.