Swamplot readers Michael F. Forlenza and Karen Kane wade into the long-simmering confusion over the best way to refer to the distinctive and still-transforming Montrose-area neighborhood of townhomes, bungalows, and “an increasing number of high-end, 4,000-square foot plus, newly-constructed residences” wedged between Shepherd and Dunlavy, south of the River Oaks Shopping Center and north of Westheimer. As indicated by this Montrose neighborhood map, the area is supposed to be called Vermont Commons (Driscoll and westward) and “Park” (the eastern half).
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But who uses those names? Forlenza, who tells Swamplot he’s a longtime resident of the neighborhood, announces it’s time for a new one: Abromo. Or ABROMO. For (of course) the Area Between River Oaks and Montrose. Kane prefers ReBeRoMo (pronounced “Ree-Bee-Row-Moe,” we’re told), for Rectangle Between River Oaks and Montrose — because it has a “better rhythm.” Are the River Oaks references fair, or just a nod to ongoing efforts within Montrose to invoke its more expensive western neighbor?
- Previously on Swamplot: Comment of the Day: Bordertown, Comment of the Day: Report From That Neighborhood South of the River Oaks Shopping Center That Nobody Knows What To Call, Montrose: All the Little Neighborhoods
Map: Michael Forlenza
I just call it montrose. It’s not pretentious enough to be stamped river oaks.
Susan Powter says to STOP THE INSANITY.
Abromo? ReBeRoMo?
Why not just call it WeBeHomoButCantAffordGlendower Court?
… totally,
Montrose
What Northside Girl said. Calling it “Montrose” has always worked for me.
how about Vermont-Park or Vermont Park?
How about: “That area behind Kenneally’s”?
Montrose. Or West Montrose. It’s not RO, never has been RO, and the RO crowd would tell you so.
I already fixed this problem: SoWhoFo=south of Whole Foods.
oh, my bad. What I meant to say was: VermoCoPa.
Swingingest spot southa River Oak-ahs!’
At VermoCoPa, the Ver-mo-co-pa
Music and passion are always the fashion…
Dangit! They didn’t take my proposal to call it “Sweeney McHineybottomville” or SMHBV for short…
Yep, West Montrose.
Those names make me thing OmgEffMe.
I have always called these areas “Po Folks River Oaks”.
Or “overheated inner-loop westside dirt” works if you prefer.
i’m going to assume asking a cab driver at GB Intercontinental to take you to Abromo or Vermont Commons isn’t going to fly. it’s the montrose and always will be.
Pompousville?
It’s straight up Montrose. The River Oaks shopping center is even actually in Montrose.
Seriously? What’s wrong with Vermont Commons? Can’t we be normal? Why not worry about how bad our streets are in this neighborhood? Bumpy, patched, etc. SOHO, NOHO, NOLITA, EADO?
Yikes, people, COME ON! Anyone see “BabyMama”? (if not, you should). Tina Fey makes her way into a Philadelphia neighborhood that’s being gentrified so that her company can build a Whole Foods-like store. Greg Kinnear, who owns a little juice shop (“Jamba Juice is the man”), tells her the realtors are calling the area “WeBeSoCa.” “ReBeRoMo” is just a riff on that.
Hmmm…how about this one? “RiPeBaMo.” If you live here, you already know what it stands for: Rick Perry is Bad for Montrose.
Have a swingin’ swamplot kinda day.
On a similar topic, does anyone besides a realtor call the east side “EaDo”?
I still call it River Oaks Terrace.
(In honor of “Oakbrook Terrace” in Illinois. Oakbrook has a median home value of $600,000. Oakbrook Terrace has a median home value of $175,000. Just saying.)
Here’s a novel name: SoWeGraWeDunEaShNoWe !!!!
Karen,
Before BabyMama, the show How I Met Your Mother made fun of combining and abbreviating neighborhood names first with the fictional New York neighborhood of “Dowisetrepla,” which you learned at the end of the episode meant “Down wind of the sewage treatment plant.”
NRC
“No zoning catastrophe”
Not to pile on, but this is just “Montrose”. I never knew people considered that area to be any different…
.
Or if that’s to broad and you’re trying to be more specific I guess you could call it ‘west Montrose’ with locations east of Montrose Blvd being “east Montrose”
Now that’s the best suggestion!
East Montrose, West Montrose.
I kind of like “Vermocopa”…has a catchy rhythm to it…plus a hint that the “vermo” is not just for Vermont street but also a not-so-suble reference to the abundance of possums, racoons, rats, roaches, and whatever other exotic escaped pets that are often seen roaming around.
RO-Mo
ROMo
I’ve already trademarked it:
Montrose Oaks. Done
Senor Jefe,
“How I Met Your Mother” is a favorite of mine, so I’m not sure how I…wait for it…missed that episode ;). I thought “ReBeRoMo” was funny, but apparently I touched a nerve. I have to give the angry mob credit, though,for being protective of our neighborhood. Yeah, I remember the first time I saw the term “Dumbo”(“Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”). My response was “WTF?”, which stands for “What…the…” – well, you know what it stands for.
Karen
Is this really an issue?
and ryan, @19, I live in the east end and know of NO ONE who uses eado.
It would probably be the same with abromo or whatever “wins” the contest. Folks who live there know where they live. Folks who don’t live there should not matter.
Nuts.
All this discussion is giving me dyspepsia. Why not call it BromoSeltzer?
I think it should be named Croixola, since Croix Custom Homes has built so many houses there.
Maybe we could get River Oaks into the name of every neighborhood. Sharpstown could become between RO and Sugar Land. Bellaire could become between RO and Brays Bayou. Downtown could become East of RO. The Woodlands could be between RO and Dallas.
NoMo. They can even adopt the Phil Collins song.
West Montrose has always worked.
I vote for “Po Folks River Oaks.” Nice one, 13!
you know…
if all the streets in this area were BRICK it would be very cool AND could be call The Brickyard.
Montroaks
I think that the City of Houston and Harris County should sell neighborhood naming rights in order to offset the property tax burden for the respective neighborhood. The winning bidder would get their corporate logo on every street sign.
On that note, I would like to invite Durex Condoms to make a bid.
I am not a realtor and I use the term “EaDo” to pinpoint a location.
Additionally, I think Montrose is too general, to encompass this area. I vote for WeMo = West Montrose.
There are many sub-neighborhoods, but the zone is best known as: HYDE PARK, which falls within the boundaries of The DUNLAVY CORRIDOR Association.