Interactive Map of Houston Inner Loop Neighborhoods
These area areas I know, love, and concentrate on. Clicking on the name of the neighborhood will take you to my latest posts on that subdivision. I know, I don’t have posts on all these areas yet, but soon will have. If you are considering buying or selling a home in these neighborhoods, check out some of these posts.
Some Realtors try to cover the whole city of Houston and sell everywhere. This can be done of course, but not well. I raised my kids in NW Houston and know the Hiway 290 area well. I still sell homes there and get many referrals from there. My passion however, lies in the older, Inner Loop neighborhoods and near-north areas around the 610 N Loop.
Houston Near North Subdivisions. Click on this thumbnail to be taken to larger interactive map.
I live in Houston’s Woodland Heights. It and neighboring Houston Heights, Norhill, Sunset Heights, and Brookesmith are absolutely delightful! The history, the house styles, the funky shops, all belong to a hundred year old era of craftsmanship and distinctive homes that has almost disappeared.
This may be common in the Northeast, but in Houston it’s a rare treat to be in dwellings that have protected families for a century. Walk these streets of 1910-1930’s homes and feel the magic that still exists.
Is a hundred years too old a house for you? How about a new home with period Craftsman (my favorite), Victorian, Revival or Creole style? The Heights has a mix of old and new, and when done right it is hard to tell which is which from the street.
Still not right for you? How about 1940’s Lindale Park with its tall, peaked-roof cottages. Not close to shopping now, but the revitalization of Northline Mall and the light rail coming up Fulton will soon change that.
Close-in Garden Oaks was to be the next River Oaks until WWII stopped construction. Mansions on big heavily treed lots were its fame. After the war, returning veterans had the GI bill and could buy homes. Smaller, more affordable homes finished out the neighborhood. In the midst of a heavy revival and full of new construction, its solidity as a neighborhood is even stronger.
Oak Forest, Timbergrove Manor & Lazybrook, Spring Branch, Idylwood. All of these are wonderful places to find the original or renovated mid century homes. The good thing about the horrid green carpet that later came into vogue was that it protected the original wood floors underneath. These are waiting to be buffed and restored to original condition. Telephone niches, drop-down ironing boards, funky pastel tile are unique to this period. These features have been kept by some owners, but updated by others who didn’t think they were so wonderful.
Some lesser-known areas such as Shepherd Park, Candlelight, Mangum Manor, Langwood, will also be covered in future posts.
Finally, if being in the heart of activities is your style, then Rice Military and the entire Washington Ave corridor is the place to be. The newest restaurants, clubs… all the action is found here. The proximity to downtown activities, shopping areas, museums, Memorial Park, add to the desirability of the area and is causing a boom in construction. New and recent construction patio homes and townhomes are most common here.
If you find yourself suffocating in the suburbs, or being tired of apartments, or just moving closer in, maybe you need to be out of the box too. Give these areas a look if you want to be near downtown, the Galleria or Medical Center.
If these things delight you, then maybe this blog will too. These homes are my passion and this is what I will write about. Not shopping, bicycling, eating out. It’s about these funky, unique, eclectic areas, the “good, bad and ugly” areas. This is where you can learn about these neighborhoods and maybe share your insights. New vs. resale, price trends, great builders and remodelers, selling and buying tips…
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