This morning, Houston City Council designated Old Sixth Ward as the first and only Protected Historic District in the city. This new status will enable the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission to prohibit the demolition of historic structures within Old Sixth Ward's 33.8 acres. There was only one dissenting vote for this measure, which came from council member/real estate broker Michael Berry.

As far as actual limitations on properties within the district, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance reported that "Mayor White emphasized that the guidelines do not dictate land use or architectural styles. The guidelines do address building placement, massing, orientation and construction materials." Larissa Lindsay, president of the Old Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association, adds that "additions and new construction will need to follow design guidelines in a recently developed Pattern Book that addresses scale, mass and height, but not architectural style."

Old Sixth Ward is located northwest of downtown between Houston Ave., Washington Ave., Memorial Dr., and Glenwood Cemetery, and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 (which was a first for a Houston neighborhood, as well). Designated historic neighborhoods encompass about .03% of land in Houston.

River Oaks and Alabama Shopping Centers have big setback

In other City Council meeting news, the decision to designate the River Oaks Shopping Center and Alabama Shopping Center as landmarks was tagged by council member Addie Wiseman, delaying the vote for the measure. The next vote is scheduled on the same day that Weingarten's ninety day demolition wait is over - August 8 (and we know that Weingarten is holding the bulldozers at bay). Should make for an interesting day.

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• GHPA evening walking tour of Old Sixth Ward, August 12
• More history of the neighborhood

Photo: Flickr user WesternGulf