COMMENT OF THE DAY: RETURNING TO RESTORE MONTROSE AND MIDTOWN’S RIGHTFUL TERRITORIES 
“I spent some time away from my beloved Houston. When I returned I found that ‘the Fourth Ward’ had been replaced with ‘NearTown’, and no one quite knew where Montrose was, let alone River Oaks. Please allow me to elucidate: the Fourth Ward ends at Taft; Montrose is precisely between Shepard and Taft, and Dallas and Richmond. ‘NearTown’ is a word invented by a half-drunk Realtor. It is that place on Allen Pkwy. directly underneath the I-45 overpass. ‘Midtown’ is the intersection of Main Street and Buffalo Bayou from which all house numbers in Houston radiate.” [Pat Bryan, commenting on Raising Cane’s Now Raising the Midtown Banner in Vermont Commons] Photo of Raising Cane’s at 1902 Westheimer Rd.: Swamplot inbox
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Yes, Pat, thanks for this. This inventing/expanding/moving of neighborhood names is infuriating- likely performed by realtors/developers. The one that drives me crazy is the slowly expanding boundaries of River Oaks- they have it now from the west loop to past Shepherd. For you youngsters or recent (read last 20 years) transplants to our fair city allow me to help.
In the North/south direction, River Oaks is from the Bayou to San Felipe. North of San Felipe it runs from the Tracks to Shepherd in the east/west direction. South of San Felipe there is a small extension to Westheimer along the axis of the Boulevard where things get a bit hazy, but essentially it is between Timber and Bellmeade. West of about Timber the neighborhood becomes Roydon Oaks, East of about Bellmeade it becomes Avalon Place.
And before someone chimes in about this being some sort of elitist rant, I do not live in RO, and I feel equally as miffed about the slow creep of what some developers consider Montrose- I hope another old timer with better knowledge than I chimes in and elucidates those true boundaries as well.
Don’t forget the little part that dips below 59 that includes Chelsea Place
http://montrosedistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MontroseDistricts85x11_withBlockNo.pdf
What we now call “Midtown,” the area roughly bounded by I-45, US-59 and the spur, straddles what used to be the 3rd and 4th wards (Main St was the dividing line). The fourth ward encompassed substantially all of what we now call Montrose as well as half of what we now call Midtown, plus parts of the Museum District.
WHO CARES??
The River Oaks expansion is pretty laughable.
Montrose has definitely expanded in definition since you were last here. I think it now encompasses the area from Shepherd to Taft and from Dallas to Richmond. I mean just ask the Montrose Management district.
You know there is a true problem when even a 5-yr old in the backseat thinks that the River Oaks sprawl is confusing.
You’d think someone who professes to know that much about Houston would know that Shepherd does not have an “a” in it and does have an “h” in it.
I was riding the #82 bus today and saw that sign. Are these people stupid. I bet they watch Fox News 24 hours. Your chicken place is in Montrose. Midtown is a mile away. I know. I am the person who named Montrose Montrose in 1972. I set the boundaries. Allen Parkway, Brazos, Bissonnet (I can never this spelling right) and Shepherd. — Henry McClurg.