01/29/09 8:08pm

Unlike properties featured in previous rounds, the home in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game wasn’t for sale. It was listed on HAR as a rental.

Maybe that’s what made it so difficult?

Well, someone must have found it. Sometime between Tuesday and today the listing disappeared.

Your guesses? Three for Montrose. West University, Southampton, and Southgate attracted 2 each. There were a number of long or inventive neighborhood names, such as “near the Menil,” Bellaire outside the Loop, the “Vassar/Milford/Banks” area, “somewhere off Fountainview somewhere near 77056,” off Hammerly/Long Point, East University (“whatever the area west of Greenbriar, north of Holcombe, east of Kirby and south of the Village is called”), “the Mandell/W. Mandell area bordered by Westhiemer to the North, W. Alabama to the South, S. Shepherd to the West and Montrose to the East,” “the area between Westheimer and West Gray bounded by Shepherd to the West and Montrose to the East,” “that neighborhood that’s just west of Weslayan on the north side of the SW freeway,” and “in the Meyerland area, all the way in along da bayou to the med center area.” The rest: Medical Center, Museum District, the Heights, Hyde Park, Riverside Terrace, Garden Oaks, Lynn Park, and Weslayan Plaza.

No winner this time. But we have 2 strong runners-up: Brad, who came close enough to set up his own neighborhood:

. . . for lack of a better idea, I’ll guess whatever the area west of Greenbrier, north of Holcombe, east of Kirby and south of the Village is called… East University?

And marmer, who tells a pretty convincing story:

This is a nice little pre-war two story that someone added a big den to the back of. Notice how there’s painted brick to the right of the fireplace but not the left? That’s where the end of the original wall was. The fireplace brick is different (though the chimney brick looks similar though unpainted.) Enclosed sunroom was probably the sleeping porch, originally screened. The dining room bay window keeps it from being too old. You see this kind of thing all the time in Galveston where someone will make a historic southern townhouse livable by adding a big den and kitchen in the back. But I don’t think it’s Galveston. Probably more likely Montrose, Southgate, or Southampton.

Keep going with those “South”s . . . !

But the real answer is . . .

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