COMMENT OF THE DAY: ROLLING OUT A NEW PIECE OF THE FIFTH WARD 
“Did y’all know that Montrose used to be within the 4th Ward, or that Midtown and EaDo used to be mostly within the 3rd Ward? The neighborhood that the original commenter referred to (south of I-10, west of Bringhurst) needs to be rebranded because it actually is different in character and is affected by different factors than what exists north of I-10.
And I really hate to say that because it’ll pick up some cliched cutesy-ass name at some tremendous expense to the community in consulting fees. But as I can see from the comments on this thread, the results would amply compensate for the expense and embarrassment.” [TheNiche, commenting on Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Throwing Out Some Numbers on the Fifth Ward] Illustration: Lulu
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The Niche?
It doesnt neessarily have to be a cutesy “DoDo” name. “Fondren Southwest” has been re-branded “Brays Oaks” and it has done wonders for us. It could have been FonSo or something equally DoDo-ish, but fortunately the right people took charge early on.
Didn’t I give a great answer to this on the original thread? Again, it must be LuLu wanting to scribble
North Bayou.
But it really depends upon whatever the hell the Super Secret Plans are for the KBR Site…sense it makes up about half of the area.
My mind is filling in the blank as “SHTF”.
“Bayous Edge”
Harlem West?
“Bayou’s Edge” That’s not bad, PDiddy. The Bayou along there is wide, beautiful and totally undeveloped. The Renovations on the Old Jensen Bridge are looking fantastic. Just hope the work on Clinton wraps up soon.
Hey WASP.
Why don’t you come over for a visit and see for yourself rather than perpetuate stereotypes. It’s a pretty quiet and nice little neighborhood.
“The Place Where They Find The Body”
Maybe Bayou Heights, but who would want to live in an area called Bayou’s Edge, you see Bayou’s don’t smell pleasant, they’re dirt, and they flood not to mention the snakes. In all seriousness, the name needs to be catchy and easy like NoDo or NorTown or something of this nature.
“Downstream” – it is the neighborhood just downstream of downtown.
Whatever comes of the old KBR site will probably be adopted as the name for that area, much like the Galleria and Greenway Plaza did for their part of town. Someday, Northside Village will give way to Hardy Yards, if that project ever gets resurrected.
Harlem’s getting pretty gentrified, too. So maybe WASP is inadvertently onto something.
It’s all about a good perception and this area has about as bad a perception as an area can have. I have no doubt the area is changing, but the perception of this area will stick around for a long time to come. With all the areas around downtown id chose the quickly changing near Eastside before The 5th Ward. Eastwood has some great bungalows and Riverside Terrace in the Third Ward has enormous potential. This area lacks great old houses or cool bungalows, it’s just an industrial wasteland on the edge of a very bad part of town, maybe this will change, but it will take a continued fantastic economy and some very brave developers, but it’s certainly possible but not probable, they’re too many other areas that are more desirable to rehabilitate, there is no money tree
I like Bayou’s Edge- that sounds like an up and coming neighborhood :)
I can’t comment on how “nice” the area is, but a quick glance at google earth and street view shows there are already quite a few new, dense townhome developments over there. Doesn’t look like a question of “if” or “when” that area will improve since it’s already well on its way.
I think some people only hear 5th Ward and don’t even really know where the area in question lies. Along those lines, recent transplants to Houston have no idea what 5th Ward even is… so as it gentrifies that history won’t even matter to new residents.
Bushwick on the Bayou
Bayaou’s Edge it is.
D-oh!
Bayou’s Edge
How ’bout Shitsandwich Village in honor of the old wastewater treatment plant… ha! Honestly, they should put the new Astroworld in that part of town.
Bayou-Stuyvesant.
Those NYer names are sooo cool.
Actually, it already has a cutesy name.
The Bloody Fifth.
How about you keep the current and historical name…the Greater Historic Fifth Ward or “5th Ward” that’s what it has been since the 1860’s stop trying to change the name just cause you don’t want the association of what 5th Ward really is a predominately African-American Community!!!
Don’t worry, I have no intention of going anywhere near this area. Frankly Bloody 5th sounds better than Bayou’s Edge, as if any of us can say, Bayou Edge it is!
In reality Bayous Edge has a good ring to it but some people have negative thoughts about bayous. I also hear WEHO (Warehouse District) and Bottom of the Fifth is a popular name around that area but it brings up the fifth ward which is what we are trying to avoid.
East Heights looking at the flood map of this area does techincally fit as it is outside of the 500 year flood plane.
All good ideas. We should get paid for this.
It’s so handy knowing where we can safely eat and roam, safe from accidentally encountering some of our more prominent trolls in the flesh (or exoskeleton, or whatever).
Armpit Acres
It would be cool if some people who currently live in The Heights and who were urban pioneers in the 20’s moved into this area and worked in their Golden Years to make one last urban pioneer effort, I’d even to be wiling to help build the ramp for their walker
I agree, the area should embrace its black heritage. It’s one like we all don’t know this is a black neighborhood historically. Call it like, The High Five, that designates it’s elevation in relation to Downtown, the historic 5th Ward and the High Five as a hip greeting created in the Black Community.
WASP, claiming a neighborhood should embrace its heritage based on race is taking a step back by 30 to 40 years. Maybe you need to proof read those comments before sending them out
I think the specific neighborhood should have its own SPECIAL designation…just be centered around the 5th Ward title…gentrification is not to be confused with “White Return” (as opposed to “White Flight” in the 50s and 60s). its just sad to see the Black Neighborhoods be absorbed and demolished how Midtown and Montrose did. Preservation of the history and improvement of the community like how the present central 3rd Ward is developing!
Oasis of the Ghetto
Not the Fifth Ward (NoFifth)
North of Navigation (NorNav)
Flooded Heights (FloHi)
Sorry, this area doesn’t warrant some goofy name that doesn’t fit it at all like almost everywhere in Houston. There is nowhere in Houston reminiscent of the name Mount Live Oakingston Creek of West Briarmeadowy Heights Peak. Get over yourself semi-wealthy Houston, so you don’t live in River Oaks. I live on Washington and that’s what I call it.
Did you read the comment that the area should embrace its heritage, there is nothing wrong with saying 5th Ward is a historic Black neighborhood, much like The Fourth Ward, like saying the Lower Eastside was a historic Jewish Neighborhood. It’s ridiculous that I should be ashamed for saying that the 5th Ward is a historically African-American Neighborhood.
I’ve always thought this area (south of I-10, north/northeast of downtown) was known as the Warehouse district/area…
Spoonman, I think it says “CUTE”
WAHO – Warehouse District
Bayous Edge
East Bayou District
Clinton Area (Johns recommendation for street designations)
Bottom of the Fifth (If only the baseball in houston mattered)
SHFT??? (Spoonman?)
Or just wrap it up in the GEED
Ahhh Houston… you never cease to amaze me. Apparently some of that old big hair oil money attitude still prevails, as does the racism. Thanks WASP!
As for rebranding. I wish all these out of towner developers would stop with renaming of Houston neighborhoods 21st century style. It is simply 5th Ward! Once the gentrification comes and the minority is forced out do to raising rents and property taxes, at least do them the decency of keeping the name for posterity and historical reference…
It did not hurt the 1st Ward cultural arts district!
Leave our home and its history alone people. Embrace it even!
To call the specific area south of I-10 5th Ward wouldn’t be the best since it has been cut off from the heart of the ward by the freeway and has been completely repurposed into a townhouse corridor so, I’d say a new name makes sense.
I like Clinton Heights since the street is the current identifier for that area and heights since it’s higher and also that word sort of infers higher income/gentrification.
Al: That does make more sense…
Uh-oh, kineticD just opened a fresh deck of race cards.
Neighborhood rebranding usually prompts a cringe and an eyeroll from me too, kineticd, however its not the out-of-town developers that are pushing for it. By and large, it is management districts and TIRZes whose management is wholly undemocratic but still decidedly local.
There are a limited number of cases where I think that doing such a thing is justifiable. For instance, the idea of Midtown made sense because it comprised parts of both 3rd and 4th Wards and wasn’t a particularly well bounded neighborhood until after freeways came along after the fact and carved it out. Parts of what we consider to be downtown, I would argue, likewise might not have historically been considered downtown, however got lumped in as freeways were built, access was enhanced or impeded in certain places, and as the center of gravity shifted south and more recently eastward.
Cities change in order to suit their denizens, and our labeling of them should likewise be adaptive and functional.
I’m embracing the fact the 5th Ward is a Historically African Anerican Neighborhood and that! makes me “racist”. It’s not cool to just throw that word around anf accuse someone whom you obviously don’t know, nor have obviously not read the entire thread. It’s obtuse frankly, inaccurate, uncivil, and just plain irresponsible.
Regardless of whether the 5th Ward is Black, White or Hispanic, there is a moderate level of deterioration there so pin that on those that live there whoever they may be.
It is only because this area like other wards previously mentioned have been neglected by their owners and residents for whatever reason, that other groups want to come in and redevelop it. So enough with the race card crap. It’s socio-economic all the way. If the neighbors and owners want to preserve their area and history, then look to yourselves to clean it up and improve it.
It is not the City’s job nor private developer’s jobs to keep a culture alive.
“Clinton Heights” it is
@niche, those super hoods are catering to developer driven interest by creating a campaign to rename/rebrand for marketing purposes. So indirectly, the out of towners, are affecting the outcome.
@wasp, not referring to you specifically as racist. I’m imparting that like it or not, this attitude still presents itself in our city. Trust me…
@jt, other neighborhoods have taken a lead to preserve the cultural heritage of this fine city. The 3rd Ward, Southeast community redevelopment corporation, 1st Ward cultural arts district, the heights, woodland heights, avondale, freedmans town, et al… I’ll agree that it is socio-economical, but gentrification is gentrification. Period!
I’d like see someone try to rename Eastwood or upper Kirby, west u, rice military, piney point, etc…
Once all of this ‘over speculation’ has run its course and the developers bounce, the natives will remain in small pockets. The tenaments will return and we can do it all over again fifty years from now. It happened in the 80’s
I vote for “High Five” for no reason at all, other than the name makes me laugh.Q. “Where do you live?” A. “Oh, over in High Five.” Q. “Which school do your kids attend?” A. “High Five High, why do you ask?” Q. “Did you see that new David Weekly townhouse community going in by your house?” Q. “Oh yeah, those monstrosities over in the Heights of High Five, next to the Estate of High Five, behind High Five Manor?”
Well im from the heart of 5th Ward off Liberty Rd & Russell…am a sophomore in Civil Engineering at PVAMU, want to try again? @UnderTheBridge
@adoile, the sound of hands clapping… also, Clinton Drive and areas east bordering the ship channel has a STRONG working class community!
Adoile, that you live somewhere is an anecdote. It’s not very meaningful.
Although I tend to believe that the 5th Ward’s worst days are long behind it, the reputation lingers. You surely don’t see very many successful folks from the 5th Ward clamoring to build a new home or restore an old home so that they can raise a family there; and it’s not because there aren’t some people that have been successful.
That’s a real problem. If anybody successful only emigrates, then what’s left is poor and black, and that’s just about as special and worth preserving as a community that’s poor and white. That is to say, it’s not special or worth preserving.
I’ll grant you, the greater 3rd Ward is playing out differently; but it is also much better situated in a variety of ways, being sandwiched between two large universities (including one that is historically black), downtown, and various neighborhoods that have become hip and fashionable. And the really bad part of 3rd Ward is not particularly large; whereas most of 5th Ward is huge and unbounded by anything of consequence. Few Houstonians ever have cause to go and see what is there; and if they do not see it, they will never grow comfortable with it; its reputation will linger; it shall continue to exist as a poverty trap.