Revision as of 01:02, 22 October 2009 by 128.42.109.100(talk)(Remove redundant econ info. Tie statement about new demographics more faithfully and clearly to H.Press article. Articles, while published on exact years, didn't describe events as so exact.)
Riverside Terrace is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, United States. The neighborhood is bounded by Almeda, North MacGregor, Scott, and Wheeler.[1]
History
Jewish families moved to Riverside Terrace in the 1930s since they were not allowed to settle in River Oaks.[2] Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal stated that, at one point, Riverside Terrace "was once on the same affluent level as the swanky River Oaks area." During that period the neighborhood hosted the houses of the prominent Weingarten, Finger, and McGregor families.[1]
In the 1950s a wealthy African-American cattleman named Jack Caesar moved to the neighborhood. He stayed despite the fact that a bomb detonated on his front porch.[2] In 1959 Texas State Highway 288 was widened, destroying several Riverside Terrace houses, including Caesar's.[3] Many White families left Riverside Terrace and settled in suburbs.[2][3] In the late 1960s some Whites who wanted the neighborhood to stabilize as an integrated neighborhood posted signs stating "This Is Our Home It Is Not For Sale." Societal pressure and pressure from real estate agents who wanted to sell expensive homes to Black families pressed upon the remaining White and Jewish homeowners.[2][3] Wealthy African-American doctors, lawyers, politicians, and university professors moved into Riverside Terrace. As time progressed foreclosure and neglect lead to neglect of several mansions.[3]Jon Schwartz, creator of the 1985 documentary This Is Our Home It Is Not For Sale, a film documenting Riverside Terrace, states that the neighborhood stabilized after 1970.[2] Riverside Terrace house sales did not follow the general housing slump in the United States of the late 2000s.[1] The late 2000s has also seen gay couples and families moving into Riverside Terrace to improve formerly derelict mansions, though many houses remained neglected and abandoned.[3]
Composition
Riverside Terrace is bounded by Scott Street, North MacGregor, Almeda Road, and Wheeler Street. Many styles of houses in Riverside Terrace include those developed by John Chase, John Staub, and Frank Lloyd Wright.[1] Many houses use the Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern architectural styles.[3]
Government and infrastructure
Quentin Mease Community Hospital
In the 1991 Mayor of Houston election most Riverside Terrace voters voted for Sylvester Turner; the voter turnout for Riverside Terrace was almost 50 percent.[4][5]
City Council District D covers Riverside Terrace. As of 2008 Wanda Adams represents the district.[6]
The neighborhood is zoned to schools in the Houston Independent School District.[2] The community is within Trustee District IV, represented by Paula M. Harris as of 2009.[7][1]
Turner, a school which was in Riverside Terrace, closed in 2009 and was consolidated into Lockhart. By Spring 2011 a new campus will be built on the Lockhart site.[15]
St. Mary, located in the Riverside Terrace area, opened in a temporary building on September 8, 1930. The building was blessed on October 27. The Sisters of Dominic operated the school until it closed in 1967. The school reopened in 1980 as a Montessori school.[16]
Public libraries
Smith Branch Library
The Third Ward is served by the Houston Public Library Smith Neighborhood Library at 3624 Scott Street.[18]
