Welcome to "The Trose" (Montrose) (Houston, Coleman: fit in, real estate)

[Keyan]

Here is a video regarding the history of The Montrose neighborhood. It was on PBS a few weeks back, thought it was interesting for CD'ers moving here this summer. Montrose is actually named after a town in Scotland.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAFA7t9fJcY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXQJIzM4uiU


Montrose Texas part 3 - YouTube




Montrose is an interesting, colorful, historic neighborhood near downtown Houston that is known all over the U.S. for its Bohemian laid-back attitude. It's charming, weird, artsy, wacky, and always appealing and entertaining. In fact, Montrose has been called the "Greenwich Village of Houston."

Today, Montrose is the home of trendy restaurants and clubs, coffee houses, all-night diners and delis, outdoor cafes, museums, art galleries, tattoo parlors, eclectic shops, beautiful old mansions and 1920s bungalows.


[Edit]
In the early 1900s real estate developers chose a barren prairie land southwest of Houston to develop a new neighborhood for the city's well to do. They named it Montrose, after a town in Scotland. The main thoroughfare, Montrose Blvd., was lined with huge mansions inhabited by the city's elite. All the homes in the area would have expansive lawns and large porches to capture the evening summer breezes coming in from the Gulf of Mexico.

In the 1960s, the area began to decline and the faces of the residents began to change as the city's elite moved to newer neighborhoods in the suburbs. Montrose, or The Montrose, as it is sometimes called, welcomed anyone who marched to the beat of a different drummer. Because of its cheap rents and available housing, the area appealed to hippies, artists and musicians. Gay men and women were attracted by the unique streets, nearness to downtown, underground club scene, and they saw great potential in the bungalows which could be easily restored.

"That neighborhood was kind of the Haight-Asbury of Houston which adapted to be a combination of Haight-Asbury and Castro, putting it in San Francisco terms," states community activist Ray Hill.

"When I moved to Montrose in 1967 I felt like almost like I was home. It was an environment I felt safe in," says business owner Marian Coleman. Another longtime resident said, "In Montrose, no one fit it, and because no one fit it, we all fit in."

By the 1970s, Montrose was living on the edge, and the area became home to the largest gay population in Texas. These men and women converted an older, somewhat rundown neighborhood into a prime entertainment and residential area -- an area where they felt safe to live their lives and be themselves.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

^^^ Thanks for the links. You can tell the age... TC has been gone for years.

[Keyan]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

^^^ Thanks for the links. You can tell the age... TC has been gone for years.

TC's seems like its still going strong eh? I've never been, it seems active.

I just hope that Montrose can keep it's core character. I don't mind that it's become a little more upscale/trendy/vibrant, but I would like it to have a balance with it's original character.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by Keyan

TC's seems like its still going strong eh? I've never been, it seems active.

I just hope that Montrose can keep it's core character. I don't mind that it's become a little more upscale/trendy/vibrant, but I would like it to have a balance with it's original character.

I meant Taco Cabana! I just realized what I did. Taco Cabana is shown early in the first video. 'Probably just stock footage.

PS, I just noticed Felix Mexican Restaurant is shown as well...another long gone restaurant replace by Uchi.

[jfre81]

That Westheimer/Montrose Blvd. intersection is pretty sad for what's supposed to be the focal point of Montrose.

[Jack Lance]

Montrose is an example of how "urbanity" and densification can screw up a great ITL neighborhood. The original Montrose model was suburban and urbanization will only screw it up. Maybe the new catch phrase in Montrose should be "Keep Montrose suburban" without the minivans of course....

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Montrose should be "Keep Montrose suburban" without the minivans of course....

Streetcars.

[Neo45]

Montrose is eh now....saw groups of white yuppies wandering the streets last time I was there

[timtemtym]

Montrose isn't what it used to be, but from my perspective, it is safer now than it was in the 90's. We used to worry about attacks all the time and several prominent ones made the news. I remember the guy who was shot outside Urbana (now I think it is Berryhill?). He was being stalked by his former bf and went so far as sleeping in the police station lobby because HPD wouldn't take him seriously. Finally, he was shot by his former bf while leaving work. That is one of the many stories where HPD turned a blind eye to crime against the lgbt community. I don't think you would hear stories like that nowadays, public pressure would be intense.

It may not be as gay as it used to be, but that's a testimony to how accepting Houstonians have become overall. Now you find lgbt in every suburb across the metro and even some gay bars and churches in outer suburbs. I know of one gay church that is breaking ground on a new building in outer west chase (Dairy-Ashford). When they started out there a few years back, I thought it was too far out to really take off, but they are doing it.

So maybe montrose is filling in with families and hipsters. That's fine by me. We will always come back there to celebrate pride, but know that it no longer needs to be confined to its incubator.

[Schumacher713]

I so miss that taco cabana!!!

I barely even think about Montrose as a gay area. Seems like it is turning more yuppie than anything. It is getting expensive in a hurry too. A new house will run over a million now.