Wraparound porches on two levels add a little more living space to this by-the-park, by-the freeway 1920 home in Woodland Heights, outside the Houston Ave. boundary of that vintage neighborhood’s historic district. The garage-free property relisted with a new agency yesterday at $325,000 — after 4-months of toe-testing at $345,000. Its crisply painted exterior trim gives way to the interior’s stained wood, one of a few elements retained or accented in a 2005 remodeling by one of several previous owners this millennium.
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A foyer-with-staircase (above) shares the front of the 1,700-sq.-ft. home with the timber-framed den (below). Past its stone fireplace in the corner, a dining room wall bumps out a bit to add more windows and form a window seat:
The renovation work is more obvious in the kitchen, which now sports granite and stainless-steel finishes. High-rise cabinets extend beyond the cropped photo frame, making the most of a tall ceiling:
Part of the first floor layout includes the utility room off the kitchen (through the door above) and an “extra room,” neither of which are pictured in the listing. Hardwood flooring and 5-panel doors (at left) can be found throughout the home. Up the craftsman-style staircase (below), meanwhile, there are 3 or 4 bedrooms:
In addition to the old-timey full bathroom upstairs (tub pictured at right), there’s a half-bath elsewhere in the home. Porch views vary (below). The house across the street, for example, sits on a corner of Woodland Park; Woodland Community Center is up the block toward Houston Ave.
The north side of the 4,950-sq.-ft. lot includes a patio and bit of a back yard. East of the home, I-45’s lanes lie beyond a tree-filled easement. To the west, a builder’s sign currently touts a vacant lot.
- 343 Parkview St. [HAR]
Parkview is a nice little street- more famously known for the alligator breach during the last big storm.
Pffft. No open concept. Internal walls and doors, very primitive.
This smells like an advertizement.
I seem to remember reading here or on another real estate site that you should live 1,000 feet (10 to 12 houses) from a highway for air quality reasons, can anyone confirm this?
Prospective buyers would be wise to learn all they can about TxDOT’s much-debated I-45 expansion plans.
@crosscreek: If you have kids, you will want to be at least 1000 ft from the highway. There are studies showing that children living within 1000 ft of a highway will have higher risks of asthma and reduced lung function. There are also studies on a host of health issues in adults who live near highways, but the evidence about children is the strongest. There is a soup of toxics and particulates that come off the highway and linger near by. I have also seen a study linking road noise to increased high blood pressure.
This house is definitely taking a six figure hit thanks to I-45. The woodwork is spectacular and the double wrap around porch is a total gem.
This house was actually up for sale 7 years ago when i was house hunting. It is really an awesome house – but I-45 is your neighbor…
Anybody looking at this house should be very interested in the I-45 expansion that’s coming soon. Public meeting tonight (10/24) at Jeff Davis High School, 1101 Quitman, at 6:15 p.m.
What I do know is living that close to 45 they will definitely hear the constant whirring noise from the freeway. And what is with the angled stone fireplace? It looks horrible and cheap, and cheapens the house. I can understand why it won’t sell. It’s disgusting to see how owners have treated it.
@oldskewl
I live near a major hwy and could see the link with stress due to noise before I double insulated, but after I don’t even hear the white noise anymore. Don’t be skeered, just take the situation into your hands.
Aw man! I lived in a very similar house once, in a whole other state! It’s like an indicator of the hearty middle-class of the era.
IMHO the angled fireplace has to go, the shiny polyurethane on the dark oak is atrocious, and the red drapes are weird. And if those are melamine/mdf kitchen cabinets I would have to object, but, this built-like-a-brick residence is a good one and a keeper. It’s been maintained over the years. I love it. And, yes definitely, insulated windows make your home sound as though it’s inside of a marshmallow.
movocelot
“It’s like an indicator of the hearty middle-class of the era.”
A house this size from the 1920’s is more likely an indicator of the extravagance of the 1% of that era.
Putty, Is that you? I’m coming for ya, pal. That’s my damn dog!
@superdave: Yeah, you’ve got it licked. Now you just have to find a way not to breath that often and everything will be fine.
Following from awp, it is my understanding that certain parts of Houston Avenue, Parkview, Beauchamp, Bayland and Morrison (back then, Morrison was divided by a bayou at near Byrne) were originally 1%-er streets. But you really have to go inside the houses to appreciate the difference. Some of the houses on these streets still have the original millwork, 10+ foot ceilings, in-laid floors, transom windows, nearly floor to ceiling windows…
I used to live upstairs in a 4 plex on the other side of the Spur on 59. I never found the freeway noise bothersome even though I could practically see the whites of the drivers eyes from my bedroom window. It was a constance whooshing that I just pretened was the sound of the ocean . On the other hand I later lived blocks and blocks away from I-10 but the sound of 18 wheelers shifting gears used to annoy me when I was trying to sleep. It depends more on the traffic patterns than distance.