Results tagged “oldsixthward”

There's something about the Old Sixth Ward that we really like. Maybe it's the charming old houses, or maybe the fact that the neighborhood feels like a small town even though it's barely outside downtown — or maybe it's that the OSW is so close to the bumpin' nightlife of Washington Avenue. (No, wait, it's probably not that last one, come to think of it.) Anyway, the point is that we really dig this Decatur Street home, which dates to 1883.

A couple weeks ago we wrote about the growing problem of the classy sloshed patrons of Pandora and Drake - it has now caught the attention of Miya Shay at KTRK 13 and the videos that have been taken are making the rounds.

...all over Old Sixth Ward. This isn't your typical story of a changing neighborhood - while the area has always been home to a combination of residential, retail, and restaurants/bars (and its fair share of blight), current issues with the bars Pandora (1815 Washington Ave) and Drake (1902 Washington Ave) are taking it to an obnoxious and dangerous level. The management may be strict about getting in to the bars (dress, and sometimes ethnicity?), but once patrons leave anything goes.

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been to Rich's, the dance club in midtown, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the crowd there Saturday was sporting "feather boas, glittering hair accessories, sparkling dresses and tutus." But exactly who was in the crowd might take you by surprise: It was a bunch of kids there for Baby Loves Disco, part of a national series of dance events that benefit childhood cancer research. (In...

GHPA Walking Tour: Old Sixth Ward In perfect timing with last week's City Council designation of Old SIxth Ward as Houston's first and only Protected Historic District, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance will hold it's monthly walking tour this afternoon in the historic neighborhood. On the second Sunday of every month, GHPA presents a docent-guided walking tour of an architecturally and/or historically significant area of Houston. $10 per person ($7 for GHPA members). Reservations are...

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...

The Chronicle's Mike Snyder reports on the City Hall blog that the City Planning Commission yesterday approved the creation of a protected historic district for the Old Sixth Ward — a move unprecedented in Houston that would exclude historic homes in the near-downtown neighborhood from the city's 90-day demolition waiting period. (That measure means that, if they city denies the owner of a historic building a permit for demolition or inappropriate alteration, the owner may...

Over at the Chronicle's City Hall blog, Mike Snyder notes that veteran television newswoman Linda Ellerbee has taken a stand in the controversy over proposed special protections for the Old Sixth Ward. Ellerbee grew up in Houston and is planning to move back here from New York City; she's scouting out houses in the Sixth Ward and said she's been keeping up with discussions about protecting the neighborhood. Among the proposals from Mayor Bill White...

City officials have recently proposed a permanent ban on demolition of historic buildings in part of the Old Sixth Ward. In a recently released memo, details of the proposal were given: if support among neighborhood property owners is sufficient, demolition or inappropriate alteration of historical buildings within a "protected historic district" would be prohibited unless an economic hardship could be demonstrated. Now, residents of the community will have a chance to tell officials what they think about the plan.

We are excited and giddy (ok, maybe just some of us are giddy) about the recent attention and preservation efforts to Houston's Historic Wards. Heck, they even have their own Wikipedia listing! (but then again so does your momma). And a continued step in the right direction, last week's City Council approval a six-month ban on demolition of historic buildings in the Old Sixth Ward area , the city's oldest intact 19th century neighborhood —...

Photo: Flickr user WesternGulf

Unfortunately, the new tax proposal only includes buildings and not single-family residences.

City Controller Annise Parker, who headed a committee that worked on historic preservation when she served on the council, said the omission of residences is a serious weakness in the proposal.

Continue reading "New protection may give historic buildings a big break"

Yesterday, Mayor Bill White announced a new plan for Old Sixth Ward - the Chronicle stated that "[Mayor White] proposed creation of a special district within the neighborhood west of downtown with design guidelines for construction and renovation, along with financial incentives to discourage demolition of historical houses." Historic, indeed: according to the Old Sixth Ward Historic District site, the neighborhood has the largest amount of Victorian homes in this region (except for Galveston,...

Residents of Houston's sixth ward, which was founded around 1877 and is the largest collection of victorian homes in the region (apart from Galveston), are taking their words of pro-preservation to ever-popular YouTube.com. Their messages relate the importance of the neighborhood in Houston and how the architectural significance is diminishing significantly. According to the Chronicle:

Posting the videos was an act of "creative desperation" after activists waited almost a year for city officials to help them create land-use regulations through the neighborhood's Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, or TIRZ, said Larissa Lindsay, president of the Old Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association.

Continue reading "Sixth ward residents upload to YouTube"