COMMENT OF THE DAY: NAME MY NEIGHBORHOOD “. . . my husband and I call our neighborhood ‘no man’s land.’ It isn’t Museum, it isn’t Montrose, it isn’t upper Kirby, it isn’t Southhampton, it isn’t River Oaks. What is it: Between Shepherd, W. Alabama, Dunlavy and Richmond. We are orphans.” [miss_msry, commenting on Regent Square Cemetery Condo Tower: 28 Stories, 2 Faces]
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you are in Lancaster Place.
Huh, when I lived there (on Hazard), I always thought of it as Montrose…
Nope, it’s not Lancaster. Legally it’s Montlew, but that doesn’t really mean anything. By orphans, I mean nobody claims us including the city of Houston.
me too!, but technically I’m in Dearborn Place.
There are dozens of tiny little neighborhoods around there. People just gravitate towards the closest well known name.
For example, the official boundaries of Montrose are actually quite small and Hyde Park is really the larger of the two. Montrose just became the popular catch all name for the area. Same with Rice Military.
If it makes you feel better, just refer to yourself as in the Museum District :)
Also, what do you mean by the city not claiming you?
I refer to that neighborhood and many other micro-hoods in the area (I’m looking at you Mandell Place) as “Greater Montrose.”
I can understand the orphan comment. The city really needs to spend some money on the road surfaces there.
What’s the word on Wilshire Village? Is it still standing or flattened?
@anonymous,
I added a comment to the Wilshire Village Is Ready for Its Closeup thread.
You all must be newcomers?
You are in Montrose. Within Montrose there are numerous neighborhood associations. I live in Winlow Place(WP), just to your north.
S.Shepherd is typically thought of as the west boundary of Montrose. At least by the old timers anyway.
I’ve noticed that developers and real estate agents tend to stretch the traditional boundaries of some neighborhoods in order to make their products seem more desirable to the newcomers who don’t know any better.
markd has it right.
I know that the referenced area has been known as “Montrose” since the 1960s, at least. There are numerous “pockets” not in original Montrose that have historically been called part of the area for decades.
Generally, east of Shepherd, west of the US 59 spur (and Brazos), N. of 59, and S. of W. Dallas connotes “the Montrose” or the Montrose-area, even if it does not denote it.
I, too, once tried to parse the issue,
(Winlow), but eventually, one gets tired of people saying “Oh, yeah, you mean Montrose!”.
I love Montrose, and I don’t need neighborhood signs or old, original designations to muddy the waters. Believe me, if it seems “Montrosian”,
then you’re in the ‘trose (start with at least a smattering of 1930’s bungalows). Nothing quite like it the southern U.S architecurally, ethnically, socially and socio-economically.
Montrose is our big, sloppy, lovable integrated, tolerant heart. If you want to say “I’m in the ____ part of the Montrose”, fine. Besides, Montrose always finds YOU, if you’re around it.
Thank goodness for our coolest neighborhood.
devans is spot on. I’ve been living in and around the ‘trose since 1966 and the area boundaries are exactly as stated. The emergence of micro-neighborhoods is very funny to me.
Right on, devans! And please, don’t you be saying “River Oaks Area”, when what you mean is Montrose!
I lived on Elmen off of Westheimer just behind Empire Cafe (between Shepherd and Montrose) and the HCAD subdivision designation for that was River Oaks, but we called it Montrose.
Reply to markd:
No, not exactly a newcomer. Born in 1952 when my parents live in a garage apartment off University. Then moved to Oak Forest in in 1954. In 1957 moved to Spring Branch. Live in Argentina between 1958 aND 1960. Back to Spring Branch. Then to Memorial in 1965-1971. College, real life then back to Houston in 1982. Moved to Katy in 1984. Moved to “West Montrose” in 1988 and am still here.
City of Houston, just fix our sewers and pave our roads and maybe I wouldn’t feel like an orphan.
Resident over 20 years on Colquitt.
From Brad:
devans is spot on. I’ve been living in and around the ‘trose since 1966 and the area boundaries are exactly as stated. The emergence of micro-neighborhoods is very funny to me.
These “micro-neighborhoods” are nothing new. They are legal designations applied by the city of Houston when the neighborhoods were originally platted in the 1920s and 1930s. The city still considers them when detemining which neighborhoods have enforcable deed restrictions or homeowner associations.
I’d go with Devan’s boundries too. I live in Winlow and a new spec home near my house was marketed as “River Oaks Area.” The new residents of the River Oaks Area woke up one June morning to find that their street was part of the staging area for the Pride Parade, and they seemed surprised to find that they weren’t in River Oaks at all. I think having a flatbead full of shemales hanging out in front of their house finally convinced them that they actually purchased a house in Montrose. And strangely enough, they leave town for a long weekend every year around the 4th Saturday in June…
IMO the Pride Parade is one of the last events that Houston does right. Free and pretty fun.
I’ve always been proud of the Pride Parade.
Actually, the city has a map posted for this Super Neighborhood.
59 is the southern boundry. S. Shepherd is the western boundry and Allen Pkwy is the northern boundry.
The eastern boundry is a little complicated.
Spur to Pacific
Pacific to Genesee
Genesee to Welch
Welch to Taft
Taft to Allen Pkwy
Miss_Msry and Andrea_C, we Montlew Place/Dearborn Place “orphans” are in the process of building a civic association. We’re having a meeting this Thursday; come join us! E-mail me at biophilia@swbell.net and I’ll make sure you’re in the loop.
Joyce,
Sorry I missed your post earlier. Of course I’ll be at the meeting and hope Andrea can join us.
Your neighbor.