COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT TO CALL THE GREATER WEST END “Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but am I the only one who thinks that the Wash Ave area needs one, unifying neighborhood name? I live in Magnolia Grove, but no one knows what that is, so I have to just say “Off Wash Ave†(though that implies that I moved there to be close to Wash Ave bars, which is NOT the case) or say that I’m in between Montrose and the Heights (which is a stretch). Rice Military stops at Durham/Shepherd so that isn’t accurate. The neighborhoods can continue to retain their individual neighborhood names, but the entire area [PDF] can have one unifying name so that folks know what you’re talking about (e.g., Montrose is the larger neighborhood that contains Hyde Park). I would think realtors and retailers would both jump at the chance to not have to describe the area by referring to street names. Part of the area is called the West End (I think the area between Shepherd, Wash Ave, Heights, and Katy Freeway), and I think that would be a cool name to describe the whole area (particularly given the fact that the area used to be the end of town). I’m sure there are other cool names too, but any name should not contain ‘Heights’ in the title, as the area is decidedly not the Heights and the feel/look is incredibly different. The area’s former name, ‘Smokeytown,’ should also be out for obvious reasons.” [Eric, commenting on New Shepherd Dr. Little Woodrow’s To Serve Pub Fare, Too]
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Future slum when all those single family townhouses are broken up into apartment? You think parking is bad now?
Smokeytown.
West End could be absolutely anywhere.
Smokeytown, on the other hand?
There’s only one Smokeytown.
(Probably not true, but still. Way fewer Smokeytowns than West Ends.)
you get what you get. if the buyers of those units and the developers don’t have the initiative to deed restrict unit-divided rentals, it’s at their own fault.
The city already dropped the ball by not having a minimum lot divisable in there originally. all of those 5000 sf cottages were not a realistic use of the land, but neither is 4 attached units on a common unregulated drive with gate, set to 20′ wide asphault roads and no curbs/gutters.
your comment that they will become slums is short-sided. i have a friend who lives in this type of housing in Boston, i assure you charlestown is both desirable and nice — his rent is $3.25 psf. forget that little white ghetto pocket you saw in “the town”…
this is the west end. always has been, always should be. shame on the city for not investing in infrastructure here, and shame on the buyer for not understanding the realities of paying $300,000 for attached unit housing with nobody taking ownership of a cooperative housing complex.
really the developers leave that unchartered because the buyers are cheap, and they shy away from a house with an HOA. the assumption is the HOA has froth in it. so instead, they get a paved courtyard that runs into deferred maintenance issues and neighboring owners who say ‘piss off’ on everybody chipping in to fix it. if i owned one and was renting it to carpetbagging yankees, that would be my opinion and attitude.
Historically this area is the West End. I am partial to Affliction Estates.
WeDo? Oh shit please no!
What’s wrong with Smokeytown? I don’t know the history of it at all, but superficially it sounds pretty cool.
Mr. Ainbinder named your area the Washington Heights District.
Don’t ask for things you don’t want. You could end up living in the EaDo of the west side. Maybe they’ll call it SmoTo.
I’ve also seen the Washington Heights moniker used on those new commercial developments north of Washington and south of I-10. Not sure if it’s an attempt to physically describe the location between two well-known areas or to name-jack two desirable neighborhoods with a single name.
What about NIMFY? Not In My Front Yard?
The Stucco Luxe End
ReDo
Allyn West End.
I like Washington Heights!
NoRo: North of River Oaks
One day soon it will all be apts with shops on the ground floor, organically the way it was meant to be done.
West Campus Houston
I think that SN #22 needs to hire a marketing consultant to facilitate a study of the issue. My fees are reasonable.
Douche-Wood… or Dou-Woo?
Hell on earth.
I’ve long referred to the Washington Corridor as “Douchebag Heights.”
In the same vein as NoRo…. I think NoMo could work: North of Montrose. It rolls off the tongue. Maybe that would more apt for anything West of Taft, north of W Gray, and south of the bayou, however. Or do we dare call that area EaRONoMo (pronounced EE-Row-Noh-Moh) for East of River Oaks / North of Montrose.
How about, wrong side of the bayou?
Dear Mark D., and Stephen T., Please explain to me how you know that I’m a douchebag simply because I bought a town home in Cottage Grove and live near Washington Avenue. I’m guessing we’ve never met in person…