Afton Oaks, Houston, Texas
Encyclopedia
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. http://www.aftonoaks.org/gen_info.php Afton Oaks is located inside Interstate 610
Interstate 610 (Texas)
Interstate 610 is a freeway that forms a forty-two-mile loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as "The Loop", "Loop 610", "The 610 Loop", or just "610", traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston and its surrounding areas...
near the Galleria and Highland Village. The neighborhood is bounded on the north by Westheimer Road
Westheimer Road
Westheimer Road is an arterial road in the western half of Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street west to the Westpark Tollway. Westheimer Road runs roughly parallel to and south of Buffalo Bayou throughout its course. The street was named after Michael Louis Westheimer, a...
, on the east by Union Pacific railroad tracks, on the south by U.S. Highway 59 (Southwest Freeway), and on the west by Interstate 610 (Texas)
Interstate 610 (Texas)
Interstate 610 is a freeway that forms a forty-two-mile loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as "The Loop", "Loop 610", "The 610 Loop", or just "610", traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston and its surrounding areas...
.
Due to its central location in Houston, Afton Oaks is within close proximity to several neighborhoods including Oak Estates, River Oaks, and Royden Oaks to the northeast, Lynn Park to the east, West University Place, Texas
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
to the southeast, Bellaire, Texas
Bellaire, Texas
Bellaire is a city in southwest Harris County, Texas, United States, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston and West University Place....
to the south, and Tanglewood to the northwest. In addition to the Galleria and Highland Village shopping areas, Afton Oaks also enjoys adjacency to the Greenway Plaza
Greenway Plaza
Greenway Plaza is a master-planned mixed-use development off U.S. Highway 59 in Houston, Texas, United States, five miles west of Downtown Houston and three miles east of Uptown Houston. Greenway Plaza is Houston's first totally planned business-commercial-residential complex developed by the...
business district.
The major thoroughfares in Afton Oaks are Kettering Drive, Newcastle Drive, Richmond Avenue, and West Alabama Street. The notable signature elements of Afton Oaks include the esplanade along Newcastle Drive, the canopy of large, older hardwood trees throughout the neighborhood, a collection of rectangular column street markers, and a set of smaller triangular parks. Near Afton Oaks is a throwback to Houston's older days as several long running restaurants such as Bayou City Seafood & Pasta (est. 1990), Luling City Market (est. 1981), Nielsen's Delicatessen (est. 1952), and Rajin Cajun (est. 1974) still thrive along Richmond Avenue.
Afton Oaks contains many single story ranch homes built in the 1950's. In recent years, like other neighborhoods with a close-in location, significant new home construction has started to replace these original homes. Partly because of rising land values, these new builds are typically in excess of the million dollar price point. To date, the newer homes comprise less than half of the homes in Afton Oaks.
Chartered in 1955, the Afton Oaks Civic Club remains active in preserving the continuity, history, and legacy of the neighborhood, maintaining the upkeep of common areas, arranging services including security and trash pickup, and monitoring deed restrictions. Perhaps most notably, the civic association worked towards re-directing the proposed light rail line that would have intersected Afton Oaks.
John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
had this to say about Afton Oaks in a 2008 article:
"This hotbed of anti-rail activity has always seemed to me a place for adults who never quite gave up on college life, specifically, Greek life at state universities. There’s a kind of frat house feel to restaurants like Luling City Market (for UT grads) and the Ragin’ Cajun (for the LSU folks) that permeates the entire area. For a well-heeled residential area, it feels boozy, not just because of the aforementioned restaurants but also the bars and the big liquor store there.."
Afton Oaks is served by the Houston City Council District G and is in Texas's 7th congressional district
Texas's 7th congressional district
Texas District 7 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that serves a small area of western Harris County...
.
History
In the early 1950s the farming and ranching land owned by the O'Meara and Stahlman families became primed for development. On it Afton Oaks opened in stages mainly between 1951 and 1959. Construction of newer two-story brick and stucco homes began in the 1980s. By 2000 many older homes received renovation or faced demolition.Primary and secondary schools
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
schools. The community is within Trustee District VII, represented by Harvin C. Moore as of 2008.
Afton Oaks is zoned to St. George Place Elementary School, Lanier Middle School
Lanier Middle School (Houston)
Sidney Lanier Middle School is an internal charter middle school located at 2600 Woodhead Street in Houston, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77098...
, and Lamar High School
Lamar High School (Houston)
Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3325 Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas, United States, with a zip code of 77098...
. Before St. George Place opened, Afton Oaks was zoned to Will Rogers Elementary School. In 2007 Afton Oaks was rezoned to St. George Place.
Public libraries
The community is served by the Adele B. Looscan Neighborhood Library of Houston Public LibraryHouston Public Library
Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
. The current Looscan Branch building opened in September 2007. The former Americans with Disabilities Act non-compliant library, which was established in 1956, closed on August 27, 2005 and was demolished in February 2006.
The previous Looscan branch had around 61,000 visitors in the fiscal year 2005. The original plans for Looscan called for the library to get a 5.37 million renovation. An Upper Kirby group proposed a new site near the Upper Kirby YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. Around that period the group Friends for Neighborhood Libraries began raising funds. The replacement library, with a cost of $6.2 million, had twice the staff and two and one half times the size of the previous facility. Friends of Neighborhood Libraries had raised one million dollars in four months, and around 2.5 million in total to help fund the new library; the group spent about 30,000 dollars for the expenses.
Government and infrastructure
Afton Oaks is in Houston City CouncilHouston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
District G.
The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department
Houston Police Department
The Houston Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. Its headquarters are in 1200 Travis in Downtown Houston....
's Central Patrol Division, headquartered at 61 Riesner. The Civic Club contracts with an organization of off-duty Houston Police Department officers to patrol the neighborhood.
Transportation
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TexasMetropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is a major public transportation agency based in Houston . It operates bus, light rail, future commuter rail, and paratransit service in the city as well as most of Harris County...
(METRO) operates bus services in Afton Oaks.
The neighborhood opposed a proposed expansion of the METRORail
METRORail
METRORail is the light rail line in Houston . It is the second major light rail service in Texas following the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. With an approximate daily ridership of 34,155, the METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the...
University Line
University Line (METRORail)
The University/Blue Line is a planned METRORail light rail route to be designed, constructed, and operated by METRO in Houston, Texas.-Opposition:...
through the neighborhood. Gary Baumgartner, the president of the civic association of St. George Place, another neighborhood, argued that the City of Houston should prioritize catering to the needs of larger subdivisions versus smaller ones like Afton Oaks; Baumgartner expressed approval for rail plans on Richmond. Ultimately METRO revised the plans so that the line does not go through the neighborhood.
Media
The Houston ChronicleHouston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
is the area regional newspaper.
The River Oaks Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community.