The same organization that campaigned successfully several years ago to place that statue of Mahatma Gandhi next to the herb garden in Hermann Park is now proposing another Houston honor for the slain spiritual leader. Abc13’s Sonia Azad reports that Houston’s India Cultural Center wants to rename the section of Hillcroft Ave. between Highway 59 and Westpark to Mahatma Gandhi Street.
Or should that be Mahatma Gandhi Avenue?
[City Council Member MJ] Khan says he will support changing Hillcroft’s name to Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, if that’s what the community wants.
“Our city is a very international city so I think it will help if we start branding that area,” Khan explained.
Store clerk Inder Buhtti believes Gandhi Avenue could curb crime and violence in the area.
He said, “Everything he wants he wanted in a peaceful way, not with guns or with bombs.” . . .
Spanish, Guatemalan, Chinese and Persian businesses in the area attract an array of customers. Azar Delpassand from Iran says the street’s name should reflect that diversity.
She said, “In here, this street, you have Arabic stores, you have Indian stores, you have Persian stores. So excluding others because of Indians, I don’t think (so). It’s not fair.”
Photo of Gandhi statue in Hermann Park: Keri Bas
If this goes through I’m petitioning that Montrose be re-dubbed Harvey Milk Blvd.
Theres cultural acceptance and then theres pandering to minorities to the point of alienating long time Houston residents.
If Ghandi were from, or ever visited Houston, that would be another thing entirely
HA HA HA HA !
I vote NO.
I’ve lived and worked around Hillcroft since before that area became “ethnic”. Just because it became a hellhole is no reason to damage Gandhi’s good name, or to add another confusing tangent to our confusing streets.
My suggestion: HILLCROFT
2nd Choice: HELLHOLECROFT
3rd Choice: KHANS FOLLY DR.
If they want that name on there, they should do a dual name where Hilcroft stays and a sign is just added on top like in Vietnam and Chinatown areas.
The honor is place yet the confusion avoided.
Somehow this causes a sense of anxiety over the possibility that someone will propose a Michael Jackson Boulevard. If Sheila Jackson Lee hasn’t already proposed it.
Store clerk Inder Buhtti believes Gandhi Avenue could curb crime and violence in the area.
He said, “Everything he wants he wanted in a peaceful way, not with guns or with bombs.†. . .
———–Yeah, cuz that worked with MLK Drive….
Why not just rename it to South Voss Road? That is the name of the street south of Westheimer. Streets that change names are a bane to those not familiar with Houston. Hwy 6/FM1960, San Felipe/Vermont, etc.
jgbiggs,
SH 6 and FM 1960 were very rural roads when they were named. They didn’t changed names because of plats like Hillcroft/Voss or San Felipe/Vermont.
The street name changing occurs through plats by developers and as subdivisions expand. If the city extends a street, they may add a S. to it. Don’t forget Voss north of I-10 turns into Bingle, then it turns into Houston-Rosslyn, then it turn into Bammel-N. Houston.
Also, most people don’t realize the gridded street pattern (that’s being discussed in another post) was mostly created by developers with very little City input.
Let’s rename NASA Road 1 “Lisa Nowak Blvd” and River Oaks Blvd can be “Lynn Wyatt Way”!!
Is that Stanford Ave. in front of the Galleria?
Of course, I believe that all future traffic tie-ups should be called “Culbersons”, i.e., “”there’s a nasty Culberson @ Richmond and 610”.
And parts of Main, Fannin, and in the future Richmond and Post Oak should be called Royal METRO ScrewUps?
I can’t recall at the moment why I believe this (i.e. where I might have read/seen it), but isn’t it true that, in some cases, the changing of street names goes back to restrictive covenants and residential segregation laws/customs? A street where this group of people lives also runs through a neighborhood full of those people, and we don’t want to be associated with them (even so far as to live on a street with the same name), so we’re changing the name in our part of town. The only examples I can think of that might support this are how Westheimer and Richmond change to Elgin and Wheeler near the Third Ward.
It might, but Elgin and Wheeler are much older than the Westheimer and Richmond.
There is a whole book on Houston street names and how they got that way. I think it might delve into that issues also.
Hillcroft is a terrible name. It’s one of those names that uncreative, somewhat dishonest promoters come up with for their neighborhoods. Like “Crestwood” or “Forest Ridge”. Names that have literally no relation to the neighborhood or region, its history, or even its aspirations. Whoever named Hillcroft knew that there were no “hills” there and whatever “crofts” were there were being rapidly bulldozed. I have no problem with renaming streets with awful names like Hillcroft after important historical figures… or famous WWII battles … or well-known operas … or native plants… Anything but the superfake geographically idiotic names that sound like they were generated by a marketing computer–like “Glenwood.”
Westheimer, San Felipe, Main, Montrose, Studemont, Bellaire are stupid too.
What’s a Westheimer?
Who was San Felipe?
Main street is just so un-original!
What’s a Montrose?
What’s Studemont?
Is Bellaire really “Beautiful Air”?
Quick, lets get some regulation passed to force good names of streets on people!
Allen Parkway should now be know as Dead Man’s Curve Boulevard in retrospect to it’s old name from early Houston history!
Let’s call Montrose now the Rainbow Boulevard!
Main Street could be Overpriced Choo Choo Way!
Shepherd St should be Auto Herding Corridor!
From kjb434:
Westheimer, San Felipe, Main, Montrose, Studemont, Bellaire are stupid too.
What’s a Westheimer?
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Michael Louis Westheimer, an immigrant from Germany who settled in Houston in 1869. One of Houston’s early prominent entrepreneurs and citizens. He started a school on the property where Lamar High School now stands. The road to the school became known as Westheimer because it was the road to his farm. Hence, even though it is not well known, Westheimer has deep historical roots in Houston.
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Who was San Felipe?
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This road is all that remains of the route that actually went to the settlement of San Felipe (the colonial capital of Texas, founded by Stephen F. Austin). (As for who San Felipe was, there are several Saint Phillips–I don’t know which one the town was named after.)
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What’s a Montrose?
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A fictional town created by Sir Walter Scott as a setting for many of his stories. The original developer of the Montrose neighborhood was apparently a fan. It’s an odd name, but it’s the name of the neighborhood. It certainly doesn’t have the faults I mentioned in my earlier post.
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What’s Studemont?
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A contraction of Studewood and Montrose.
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Is Bellaire really “Beautiful Air�
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“Fine air” actually. The town was thought to be named for Bellaire, OH, which was a town the developer was familiar with. This is certainly a case of a developer trying to make it sound better than it was. “The town is Bellaire (fine air), for Westmoreland Farms is fanned night and day by the cooling breezes of the Gulf of Mexico,” the advertising copy went. Presumably none of Bellaire’s residents were fooled. Anyway, the twon has been called Bellaire since 1908, but if the citizens of Bellaire voted to change the name, I would have no objection.
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Quick, lets get some regulation passed to force good names of streets on people!
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Not sure where that came from. I certainly never proposed “street naming regulations.” And I don’t propose them. I just was pointing out a common naming convention, of which Hillcroft is a perfect example, that I think is idiotic. I am not trying to force this opinion on anyone, and certainly not advocating legislation or regulation.
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Allen Parkway should now be know as Dead Man’s Curve Boulevard in retrospect to it’s old name from early Houston history!
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You may feel free to propose that… I don’t think there will be a groundswell of support for it. But I could be wrong!
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Let’s call Montrose now the Rainbow Boulevard!
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Another intriguing suggestion. Not one I’d support really, but go for it!
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Main Street could be Overpriced Choo Choo Way!
Shepherd St should be Auto Herding Corridor!
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I realize you’re joking, but as you have often pointed out, cities change and evolve. Trying to freeze everything in place is typically a fruitless task. Streets in Houston have had their names changed in the past and will in the future.
If someone were to suggest renaming Fondren or Richmond or Westheimer after Gandhi, I’d object because those streets have strong local historical or geographic ties. But Hillcroft (unless I am mistaken–which I well could be) doesn’t. So changing it doesn’t bother me too much. As a general rule, I don’t think we should change street names willy-nilly. But changing some occasionally doesn’t seem so bad.
I like the idea of Ghandi Boulevard. Then I’ll open my resale shop for Indian women’s clothing, “Who’s Sari Now.”
Oh I crack me up.
The idea of a “Little India” is symbolic for desis (South Asians). . . and Gandhi personifies the Global Indian. He did spend a good part of his early life in South Africa
Is this reason enough to rename a street? Sure!
As much as I admire Gandhi (please folks, spell the name right), the one reason I would oppose the name. When I give directions to people coming to my place from I-10, it’s like “take the Bingle exit, it’ll change to Voss, then it’ll change to Hillcroft,…” We already have 3 names for that one road between I-10 to Hw59, why have more?