Heights

Long before the freeways ruled the ebb and flow of Houston’s population hubs, The Heights was considered the “small town within reach of the big city of Houston”. In 1891 Oscar Martin Carter and Co bought the 1,756 acres northwest of downtown to establish what was then called a “streetcar suburb” for those who wished to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, while still having easy access to the central business district. What ensued was a community of historic homes, cozy bungalows that still stands out as a separate and distinct community of artists, entrepreneurs and architectural aficionados to this day. 19^th Street is a cultural trip down memory lane with tiny shops and theatres promoting a hometown feel and offering some of the city’s more unique takes on the spirit of independence and cultural creativity.  Unique one-of-a-kind antiques and hand crafted goods sit side by side with gourmet restaurants and renovated theaters in a quirky collection of old and new. Homes in the heights as well as surrounding Woodland Hills, Norhill, Garden Oaks and Independence Heights are an eclectic mix of Stately Manors, renovated bungalows and the modern tri-level townhomes and condominiums  that make this community both progressively modern and classically old world in the same breath. Community spirit is exemplified in such age old traditions as the Mid-summer “White Linen Night”, where old and young gather outside their homes dressed in the seasonal white linen made fashionable by early Houston’s “gentry’s generation” and celebrate the balmy, often historic warm weather of the Gulf Coast season. The Holiday season is a celebration known far and wide as “Lights-In-The-Heights” a merry celebration of the winters chill, almost every structure from humble to historic is bedecked in festive lights and decorations rivaling the North Pole for holiday spirit and neighborhood comradery.

White Linen Night in the Heights 2014 from Erik Kolflat on Vimeo.