COMMENT OF THE DAY: NEIGHBORHOODS OF DISTINCTION 
“The irony is that the presence of ‘funky’ places such as this is what made The Montrose attractive to people who were looking for a neighborhood that was outside the ‘norm’ for Houston. But every year more and more of these old denizens of the neighborhood are wiped clean and replaced by the types of developments that people fled from in order to move into The Montrose.” [ShadyHeightster, commenting on Luck, Lease Run Out for Lucky Burger; Montrose Fast Food Joint Closing Soon] Illustration: Lulu
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I completely agree. It’s been my favorite neighborhood since the mid nineties. So frustrating to watch it become an inner loop suburb…
I do not like seeing great old places like Lucky Burger and Felix’s close. But, let’s be fair. It is not like these places are getting bulldozed and replaced by Quiznos, CVS or townhomes. They are being redeveloped into new restaurants and bars and other things that are great additions to the neighborhood. Mary’s and Chances were icons of the GLBT community. But Blacksmith and Underbelly, their replacement, are additions to Montrose that have just made the neighborhood even more desirable. The antique shop on the corner of Dunlavy and Westheimer was nice, but Common Bond is the only place in Houston (if not Texas) where you can get a real baguette and is an amazing addition for Montrose. Montrose is growing up, not selling out. The new Montrose is just as interesting and fun as the old Montrose, just at a different price point.
Montrose is definitely at a different “price point” nowadays. It used to be affordable. I remember living in Montrose in the 1970s. Lucky Burger closing reminds me of a couple of other funky places that used to be there like Hamburgers By Gourmet, and Der Weinerschnitzel. In my opinion what’s happening to Montrose now is just depressing. Watching all the houses get torn down and crappy stuff put in their places, the sky high rent. Recently moved out of Montrose because it got too depressing and expensive, not fun to live there anymore. Moved way out in the country where there’s no traffic and stuff isn’t getting constantly torn down around me.
The city is changing…we get it, but lo and behold if Montrose changes somewhat, everybody decries it as some blasphemous thing. I understand that people dislike change, especially from what they may have grown up with. It doesn’t mean that an area be frozen in time, though.
It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry and George lamented over their old high school pizza joint that was closing. As they told the owner this, he said, “Where have you been all these years?” I’m not accusing everybody of being nostalgic about places without supporting them, but I admit that there are a lot of places that I loved as a youth that I no longer frequent.
The worst change afflicting Montrose is all the people calling it The Montrose.
I wholeheartedly agree with Firehat!
Indeed, Montrose is growing up… and turning out to be a douche-bag.
It seems to me that the change in Montrose is more a function of its desirable location than it is everyone wanting to be a part of its funkiness. It pains me to see the charm eroded with shiny new townhomes, but it makes sense.
We always called it “The Montrose” when I lived there starting in the mid-90s. Not sure where the “The Montrose” hate is coming from.
And I think is perfectly legitimate for people to mourn that they are being priced out of their favorite neighborhoods. To dismiss that is sadness is pretty snobby, if you ask me. (Not that you did!)
I lived on Fairview in the ’68-’71 era. It wasn’t even called “Montrose” back then. We always used to say that we lived off Westheimer and Montrose. The area was desirable at that time but not by the majority of young people who were living in all the new apartment complexes in the southwest part of town. It was desirable because it was (1) close to the medical center and U of H and downtown and (2) it was CHEAP. You could get a garage apartment for $100 bucks a month. And believe me, it was very funky even then. The location has not changed. The people have.
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“The Montrose” is disliked because it smacks of snobbery.
Interesting. We definitely weren’t snobs — I was a poor student when I got my first apartment there. Everyone I knew called it that. My rent was about $300 a month or so, I think, in the mid-late ’90s. Very charming, small, wacky residents who took care of each other. I loved it and could walk to West Fest and Pride. It’s still there — a quick Google search shows it changed owners a couple of years ago, the apartments have been re-done, and one was recently listed for $895.
Like many here, I too lament the passing of Houston’s landmarks, quirky and otherwise. But the people moving to Montrose are moving there because of its proximity to downtown, TMC and the Galleria, not because it’s nearby to old Mexican restaurants and hamburger stands. There was a time when Montrose wasn’t quirky and desirable, and as the economics of neighborhoods change, some new place will be “quirky and desirable,” and two decades hence, we’ll be lamenting the passing of new landmarks — landmarks that today none of us would recognize. That’s a consequence of living in a growing and dynamic city — and not in a museum.
The Montrose or Montrose? Hope the Houstonia people went home early to get ready for FPSF. Maybe we should just call it Lower Tampico Heights and just make everyone angry.