Westbury, Houston, Texas

Westbury is a neighborhood in the southwest part of Houston, Texas. 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 is a middle-class and racially diverse neighborhood.

Westbury was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the "Houston Press" [http://bestof.houstonpress.com/bestof/award.php?award=605021&year] .

History

Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the post–World War II migration to the suburbs by Ira Berne. As the City of Houston and the surrounding urban area have spread out because of annexing its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), Westbury is no longer considered to be suburban.

A centerpiece of the Westbury neighborhood was the Westbury Square shopping center. Designed by architect William J. Wortham, Jr. to look like an Italian village, it had quaint little shops centered around a fountain. After the opening of nearby shopping malls (such as the Galleria in Uptown Houston), business dropped off and most of the shops were shuttered. It remains open, but much of its original space has been lost to nearby development and only a few tenants remain. A large portion of what was once Westbury Square is now the location of the Home Depot Westbury Square #578 hardware store. Developer Berne laid out apartments (later condominiums) and townhouses in the surrounding blocks, which were intended to give the area an urban, European feel.

The people oriented design of Westbury Square was forty years ahead of its time. Today, New Urbanists promote pedestrian space over machine space, with urban designs inspired by Italian cities (City Place in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida). Combining mixed use retail space with residential townhomes in a pedestrian oriented environment, Westbury Square would meet the new urbanists Traditional Neighborhood Development criteria. It remains unknown to the New Urbanists, who have begun projects in Houston after 2000.

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 neighborhoods such as Houston Heights and Montrose, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and lesbian population.

New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan grew up in Westbury.

Politics

Municipal and county representation

The area is served by Houston City Councilmember District C (Anne Clutterbuck as of 2006). It is in Harris County Constable Precinct 1 (El Franco Lee as of 2006) and Harris County Precinct 7 (May Walker as of 2006).

Federal and state representation

As of 2006, the area is split between Texas's 9th congressional district (Al Green as of 2006) and Texas's 7th congressional district [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/tx07_109.gif] .

Parks

The city of Houston operates the Westbury Park at 3635 Willowbend ( [http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/images/NeighborhoodRevList3.gif] ) and the Westbury Community Pool at 10605 Mullins [http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/poolLHRRph2.html] . The city operates the [http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/communitycentersSW.html Platou Community Center] in Westbury.

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 the mid 1960s

Police and fire service

The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Southwest Patrol Division [http://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/beatpages/southwest.htm] .

The Westbury Storefront Station is located at 5550 Gasmer.

Houston Fire Department Fire Station 48 Westbury serves the neighborhood.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District.

The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:
* [http://es.houstonisd.org/parkeres Parker Elementary School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/ParkerES.pdf Parker Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
* [http://es.houstonisd.org/kolteres Kolter Elementary School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/KolterES.pdf Kolter Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
* [http://es.houstonisd.org/andersones Anderson Elementary School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/AndersonES.pdf Anderson Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
* [http://es.houstonisd.org/tinsleyes Tinsley Elementary School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/TinsleyES.pdf Tinsley Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".] Also Elrod Elementary

The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zoned for middle school:
* [http://www.johnstonmiddleschool.org/ Johnston Middle School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/JohnstonMS.pdf Johnston Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
* [http://ms.houstonisd.org/fondrenms Fondren Middle School] [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/FondrenMS.pdf Fondren Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]

Anyone zoned to Johnston may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program. [" [http://web.archive.org/web/20020214054405/http://dist.houstonisd.org/southwest/schools/pin_oak/letter5.htm Pin Oak Middle School] ." "The Southwest District". "Houston Independent School District".]

Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury. [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/WestburyHS.pdf Westbury High School Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".] A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School. [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/BellaireHS.pdf Bellaire High School Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]

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. [" [http://www.examinernews.com/articles/2006/12/13/west_university/news/news02.txt Westbury through the eyes of a graduate] ." "West University Examiner".] "Stepchild?" "Houston Press". [http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2001-09-06/news/downing_2.html 2] .]

[http://www.mccs.cc/ 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.

Gallery of public schools

Private schools

[http://www.stthomasmore-school.org/ St. Thomas More School] (K-8 [http://www.archgh.org/SchoolPages/schoolpages-new/stthomasmore-houston.htm] , 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 [http://www.snschools.com St. Nicholas School Southwest Campus] (K-8).

Public libraries

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

Media

The "Houston Chronicle" is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland [http://www.chron.com/news/community/bellaire] local section.

Postal services

The United States Postal Service operates the Westbury Post Office at 11805 Chimney Rock Road, 77035-9998.

References

* Fox, Stephen, et al. "Houston Architectural Guide, Second Edition". Houston : American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter ; Herring Press, 1999

External links

* [http://www.westburycrier.com/ Westbury Civic Club]
* [http://www.westburyll.org/ Westbury Little League]
* [http://hs.houstonisd.org/WestburyHS/ Westbury High School]