Heritage, Volume 16, Number 2, Spring 1998 Page: 25
30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Houston Preservation Society Spearheads
Heritage Effort Among City's Historic NeighborhoodsWorking to restore the integrity of some of the city's older neighborhoods
is just one of the projects of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance.
Shown left and below are before and after photographs of 19th century
homes in Houston's Old Sixth Ward Historic District.In the city of Houston, where there are
no zoning ordinances and millions of residents
live in an area covering hundreds of
square miles, the idea of mobilizing neighbors
to help control growth would seem to
be a necessary but difficult task.
This is the ambitious goal of the Greater
Houston Preservation Alliance, an organization
founded in 1978 to promote the
preservation and appreciation of Houston's
architectural and cultural historic resources.
According to Anita Garten, who is finishing
up her term as president of the Preservation
Alliance, the group's new Historic
Neighborhoods Council, was created specifically
to address the unique needs of
Houston's many historic neighborhoods
and National Register Districts. "Our purpose
is to promote the preservation and
revitalization of Houston's historic neighborhoods
through cooperation and sharing
of information and effort."
Garten explained the genesis of the
Historic Neighborhoods Council. "The city
of Houston continues to grow, and as it
does, the essence of some of our city's older
neighborhoods is being threatened. It was
absolutely essential to act immediately in
order to preserve these older areas." She
continued, "But because some of these areas
were comprised in large part of lowincome,
politically uninitiated residents, it
was imperative to organize in order to develop political
clout and
affect
change".
Acknowledging the necessity of managing
growth, Garten said, "Because there
are no zoning ordinances in Houston, historic
neighborhoods are threatened on an
ongoing basis by businesses and technology
that have no place in neighborhoods. Cell
phone towers, for instance, are a particular
nuisance now."
Dealing with these changes is only one
of the challenges of the neighborhood preservation
movement, which continues to
gain momentum. At a recent organizational
meeting, representatives from more
than 14 city neighborhoods attended. The
Council, open to anyone, is officially comprised
of one representative from each of
Houston's historic
neighborhoods.
Issues that the Historic
Neighborhoods
Council of Houston
plans to address in- Mon. - Sa
clude the review of pro- 9-5:30
posed new subdivision
regulations, deed re- NEXT D1
strictions and restric- A
tive covenants, histori- JON & SAND)
cal neighborhood re- (830)257-8484
search, and creation ofa resource guide. Council members will
also learn the ins and outs of political
action, media relations, the research and
filing process for designation as a historic
district, and tips for working with developers
to get more "neighborhood friendly"
growth and expansion.
The Council held its first public workshop
in January at which time participants
heard from a panel of city preservation
experts about researching historical neighborhoods.
Of great importance, according
to Garten, was the discussion at that meeting
of resources that are available to neighborhood
researchers.
(GHPA, continued on page 26)HERITAGE * SPRING 1998 25
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 16, Number 2, Spring 1998, periodical, Spring 1998; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45398/m1/25/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.