Memorial, Houston, Texas
Encyclopedia
The Memorial area of Houston
, Texas
, United States
is west of Downtown Houston
and northwest of Uptown Houston
. It is bounded on the south by Buffalo Bayou
, on the east by Interstate 610
, on the west by Texas State Highway 6, and extends just north of the Katy Freeway to Westview and includes Spring Valley Village, Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village and Hunters Creek Village. These independent cities operate autonomously of Houston and have joint fire and police coverage. The northeast area near I-10 and Texas State Highway Beltway 8 of Memorial City
is home to Memorial City Mall
, the newer, more upscale Town & Country Village
lifestyle center, and the mega-development project known as CityCentre, plus the emerging edge city
around them.
.
For the next four decades, the area continued to prosper. High class development in the Memorial Villages between Beltway 8 (then known as West Belt, constructed in 1968) and Interstate 610 made the area a hotspot for public figures. Homes in the Villages now sell for upwards of one million dollars.
In the last two decades, the immediate area around the Interstate 10/Beltway 8 junction has suddenly become one of Houston's main edge cities, along with the Texas Medical Center
, the Galleria district and the Astrodomain. Memorial City Mall
, often regarded as one of the city's most prestigious shopping malls, and the Memorial Hermann Hospital center next to it, are the main landmarks of the Memorial City area. Recent skyscraper development along Interstate 10, including the notable Memorial Hermann tower next to the hospital - the city's 29th-tallest building at 500 feet - has arrived with the completion of the Katy Freeway's renovation.
The area gained population between 1980 and 1990.
with areas west of Eldridge Road located within the boundaries of Katy Independent School District.
Memorial voters are reliably Republican and fairly conservative. In Texas, local elections are officially non-partisan, and Memorial voters usually cast most of their ballots for the more conservative candidates.
In the first 1991 Mayor of Houston election, Bob Lanier
received more votes than any other candidate in Memorial.
Precinct Three, represented by Steve Radack, includes Memorial.
Memorial is part of Texas Senate Districts 7
, 15
and 17
, with the largest part in District 7. In the Texas House of Representatives, Memorial is included in Districts 132, 133, 136 and 138.
Memorial is in Texas's 7th congressional district
and Republican John Culberson
is the representative.
. The Houston Independent School District
does not serve residents in Memorial. Students in the western end of the Memorial area attend Katy ISD schools.
, Rummel Creek, Thornwood, Wilchester. In addition, sections are, in separate attendance zones, served by Bunker Hill Elementary School
and Frostwood Elementary School
in the City of Bunker Hill Village
, as well as Memorial Drive Elementary School
in City of Piney Point Village
. The district also operates Bendwood Campus Elementary School, a special needs school, in the Memorial area.
. In addition Spring Branch Middle School in the City of Hedwig Village
serve sections of Memorial.
in Hedwig Village serves the eastern portion of the Memorial area, while Stratford High School
in Memorial serves the western portion of the Memorial area. Westchester Academy for International Studies
is a Spring Branch Independent School District charter magnet school catering to students throughout the entire school district.
and the Spring Branch Memorial Branch of Harris County Public Library
(the Spring Branch Memorial Branch is in Hedwig Village).
By December 2009 the former Kendall facility was for sale. The branch relocated to a newly-built facility along Eldridge Parkway in the Energy Corridor management district.
is located in the area. The area is also served by the Town and Country Village
and adjacent CityCentre lifestyle center that are sought to replace the now defunct Town & Country Mall
.
operates the Memorial Park Post Office at 10505 Town and Country Way, near Memorial City, 77024. Of more recent construction is the Fleetwood Post Office, found at 315 Addicks Howell Road, 77079.
(the combined name of two middle-class neighborhoods, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest VIII) located on the far west side of Houston, Texas
, south of Interstate 10
and west of Beltway 8. They are both bordered by Memorial Drive
to the north and the Buffalo Bayou
to the south and west.
The two are members of a group of neighborhoods and apartment complexes that sprung up in the 1960s in west Houston. Much like many other neighborhoods in the surrounding area, they are populated by numerous clapboard
and brick
one- and two-story houses shaded by what once was thick oak forest.
The neighborhoods have seen numerous tropical storms, including Hurricane Alicia
(1983), Tropical Storm Allison
(2001), Hurricane Rita
(2005) and Hurricane Ike
(2008). None of these storms have had a severe impact beyond downed trees and power lines.
In 2006, the Houston Chronicle listed Nottingham Forest as a slightly higher-priced subdivision in the west Houston superneighborhood (outside Beltway 8), with the most expensive home listed at approximately $425,000 USD. Unlike the rest of the city, in 2007 Nottingham Forest (along with the rest of the Memorial area) reported an 8% increase in home sales, one of only seven areas in Houston to report a sales increase. The poor performance in the Houston housing market has been caused by the subprime mortgage crisis
.
Nottingham Forest was the childhood home of comedian Bill Hicks
. Hicks jokingly referred to the neighborhood as a "strict Southern Baptist ozone".
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 ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is west of Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
and northwest of Uptown Houston
Uptown Houston
The Uptown District of Houston is located 6.2 miles west of downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard, Westheimer Road , and the Galleria...
. It is bounded on the south by Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
, on the east by Interstate 610
Interstate 610
Interstate 610 may refer to:* Interstate 610 , an alternate in New Orleans, Louisiana* Interstate 610 , a beltway around Houston, Texas...
, on the west by Texas State Highway 6, and extends just north of the Katy Freeway to Westview and includes Spring Valley Village, Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village and Hunters Creek Village. These independent cities operate autonomously of Houston and have joint fire and police coverage. The northeast area near I-10 and Texas State Highway Beltway 8 of Memorial City
Memorial City, Houston
Memorial City is a district located in the Memorial area of Houston, Texas, United States. The Texas Legislature created the Memorial City Management District in 1999. The district is along Interstate 10 between Beltway 8 and Bunker Hill Road...
is home to Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall is a large shopping mall in Memorial City, Houston, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Gessner Road, adjacent to the large Memorial Hermann medical complex...
, the newer, more upscale Town & Country Village
Town & Country Village (Houston)
Town & Country Village is an upscale shopping center in Houston, Texas, USA. It is located along Beltway 8 between Memorial Drive and the former Town & Country Mall.-History:...
lifestyle center, and the mega-development project known as CityCentre, plus the emerging edge city
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...
around them.
History
In the 1960s, Houston was experiencing a period of suburban growth as the city expanded beyond the traditional area inside the Interstate 610 loop. After the construction of Interstate 10 through the city in 1968, the area where Memorial now resides became favorable to developers. At first, the Memorial area was sparsely populated and contained mostly empty land and farms, plus the few farm-to-market roads and thoroughfares. Development began in the late 1960s, as upper-middle-class subdivisions, mostly along the Buffalo Bayou, were built along with the accompanying government facilities (schools, police and fire services, etc.) This sudden arrival of widespread development also encouraged commercial growth along the main roads that criss-crossed the area, including the major road Memorial DriveMemorial Drive (Houston, Texas)
Memorial Drive is an arterial road in the western half of Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Interstate 45 west to State Highway 6, a distance of approximately 20 miles , although a section goes through several predominantly higher-income residential neighborhoods in the cities of...
.
For the next four decades, the area continued to prosper. High class development in the Memorial Villages between Beltway 8 (then known as West Belt, constructed in 1968) and Interstate 610 made the area a hotspot for public figures. Homes in the Villages now sell for upwards of one million dollars.
In the last two decades, the immediate area around the Interstate 10/Beltway 8 junction has suddenly become one of Houston's main edge cities, along with the Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research...
, the Galleria district and the Astrodomain. Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall is a large shopping mall in Memorial City, Houston, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Gessner Road, adjacent to the large Memorial Hermann medical complex...
, often regarded as one of the city's most prestigious shopping malls, and the Memorial Hermann Hospital center next to it, are the main landmarks of the Memorial City area. Recent skyscraper development along Interstate 10, including the notable Memorial Hermann tower next to the hospital - the city's 29th-tallest building at 500 feet - has arrived with the completion of the Katy Freeway's renovation.
The area gained population between 1980 and 1990.
Local government
Most of Memorial is located within the City of Houston, however, all of the Villages are located in Memorial and they elect their own mayors and councils and do not vote for Houston officials. Nearly all of Memorial is located in the Spring Branch Independent School DistrictSpring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
with areas west of Eldridge Road located within the boundaries of Katy Independent School District.
Memorial voters are reliably Republican and fairly conservative. In Texas, local elections are officially non-partisan, and Memorial voters usually cast most of their ballots for the more conservative candidates.
In the first 1991 Mayor of Houston election, Bob Lanier
Bob Lanier (politician)
Bob Lanier is a businessman in the real estate industry who served as mayor of the city of Houston, Texas from 1992 to 1998...
received more votes than any other candidate in Memorial.
County, state, and federal representation
Harris CountyHarris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
Precinct Three, represented by Steve Radack, includes Memorial.
Memorial is part of Texas Senate Districts 7
Texas Senate, District 7
District 7 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves a portion of Harris county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 7 is Dan Patrick.-2006:-2002:-2000:-1996:-1994:...
, 15
Texas Senate, District 15
District 15 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Harris county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 15 is John Whitmire.-2006:-2002:-2000:-1996:...
and 17
Texas Senate, District 17
District 17 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Senator Kyle Janek announced his resignation on May 29, 2008. Governor Rick Perry called for a special...
, with the largest part in District 7. In the Texas House of Representatives, Memorial is included in Districts 132, 133, 136 and 138.
Memorial 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...
and Republican John Culberson
John Culberson
John Abney Culberson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party caucus...
is the representative.
Primary and secondary schools
Pupils in the Memorial area primarily attend schools in the Spring Branch Independent School DistrictSpring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
. The Houston Independent School District
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...
does not serve residents in Memorial. Students in the western end of the Memorial area attend Katy ISD schools.
Pre-kindergarten and elementary school
For pre-kindergarten all residents are assigned to the Wildcat Way School in Memorial. Zoned elementary schools in the Memorial area in Houston include Meadow Wood, NottinghamNottingham Elementary School (Houston, Texas)
Nottingham Elementary School is a primary school in Nottingham Forest, Houston, Texas. It is part of the Spring Branch Independent School District. It was constructed in 1968 along with the neighborhood in which it is located...
, Rummel Creek, Thornwood, Wilchester. In addition, sections are, in separate attendance zones, served by Bunker Hill Elementary School
Bunker Hill Elementary School (Texas)
Bunker Hill Elementary School is a primary school located in Bunker Hill Village, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Spring Branch Independent School District.The school serves sections of Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, and Houston...
and Frostwood Elementary School
Frostwood Elementary School
Frostwood Elementary School is a primary school located in Bunker Hill Village, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Spring Branch Independent School District.The school serves sections of Bunker Hill Village and Houston...
in the City of Bunker Hill Village
Bunker Hill Village, Texas
Bunker Hill Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,654 at the 2000 census.The United States Postal Service uses "Houston" for all Bunker Hill Village addresses; "Bunker Hill Village" is not an acceptable city designation for mail addressed to places in Bunker...
, as well as Memorial Drive Elementary School
Memorial Drive Elementary School
Memorial Drive Elementary School is a primary school located in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Spring Branch Independent School District....
in City of Piney Point Village
Piney Point Village, Texas
Piney Point Village is a city in Harris County, Texas. The population was 3,380 at the 2000 census. Piney Point Village is also considered one of the wealthiest communities in the Greater Houston area.-History:...
. The district also operates Bendwood Campus Elementary School, a special needs school, in the Memorial area.
Middle school
Major middle schools in Memorial include Memorial Middle School and Spring Forest Middle SchoolSpring Forest Middle School (Houston, Texas)
Spring Forest Middle School is a middle school in west Houston, Texas. It is one of seven middle schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District ....
. In addition Spring Branch Middle School in the City of Hedwig Village
Hedwig Village, Texas
Hedwig Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census.The United States Postal Service uses "Houston" for all Hedwig Village addresses; "Hedwig Village" is not an acceptable city designation for mail addressed to places in Hedwig...
serve sections of Memorial.
High schools
Memorial High SchoolMemorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
in Hedwig Village serves the eastern portion of the Memorial area, while Stratford High School
Stratford High School (Houston)
Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District , the district's westernmost secondary school...
in Memorial serves the western portion of the Memorial area. Westchester Academy for International Studies
Westchester Academy for International Studies
The Westchester Academy for International Studies is a public charter school in the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas. It serves grades 6-12 and is a part of the International Baccalaureate program. The principal of WAIS is Dr...
is a Spring Branch Independent School District charter magnet school catering to students throughout the entire school district.
Public libraries
Memorial is served by the Kendall 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...
and the Spring Branch Memorial Branch of Harris County Public Library
Harris County Public Library
Harris County Public Library is a public library system serving Harris County, Texas, United States. The county library system is headquartered at 8080 El Rio in Houston....
(the Spring Branch Memorial Branch is in Hedwig Village).
By December 2009 the former Kendall facility was for sale. The branch relocated to a newly-built facility along Eldridge Parkway in the Energy Corridor management district.
Shopping
The upscale and revived Memorial City MallMemorial City Mall
Memorial City Mall is a large shopping mall in Memorial City, Houston, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Gessner Road, adjacent to the large Memorial Hermann medical complex...
is located in the area. The area is also served by the Town and Country Village
Town & Country Village (Houston)
Town & Country Village is an upscale shopping center in Houston, Texas, USA. It is located along Beltway 8 between Memorial Drive and the former Town & Country Mall.-History:...
and adjacent CityCentre lifestyle center that are sought to replace the now defunct Town & Country Mall
Town & Country Mall
-External links:*Gonzalez, J.R. "." Houston Chronicle. December 15, 2009.** redevelopment...
.
Media
- The Memorial Buzz is a monthly magazine mailed free of charge to all residents. The Memorial Buzz is about people, products and services in the community.
- The Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe 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 Memorial Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community (see “about us”).
Services
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Memorial Park Post Office at 10505 Town and Country Way, near Memorial City, 77024. Of more recent construction is the Fleetwood Post Office, found at 315 Addicks Howell Road, 77079.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest (29°46′1.9524"N 95°36′54.1578"W and 29°45′59.3346"N 95°35′52.512"W) is a subdivisionSubdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
(the combined name of two middle-class neighborhoods, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest VIII) located on the far west side of Houston, Texas
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 ...
, south of Interstate 10
Interstate 10 in Texas
Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. In the U.S. state of Texas, it runs east from El Paso, near the border with New Mexico, through San Antonio and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange, Texas....
and west of Beltway 8. They are both bordered by Memorial Drive
Memorial Drive (Houston, Texas)
Memorial Drive is an arterial road in the western half of Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Interstate 45 west to State Highway 6, a distance of approximately 20 miles , although a section goes through several predominantly higher-income residential neighborhoods in the cities of...
to the north and the Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
to the south and west.
The two are members of a group of neighborhoods and apartment complexes that sprung up in the 1960s in west Houston. Much like many other neighborhoods in the surrounding area, they are populated by numerous clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
and brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
one- and two-story houses shaded by what once was thick oak forest.
History
The two neighborhoods were simultaneously developed in the late 1960s. The area was mainly grassland and wood, with little commercial development. Interstate 10 had recently been built north of the area, attracting westward suburban growth.The neighborhoods have seen numerous tropical storms, including Hurricane Alicia
Hurricane Alicia
Hurricane Alicia was the costliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Alicia was the third depression, the first tropical storm, and the only major hurricane of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season...
(1983), Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. The first storm of the season, Allison lasted an unusually long period of time for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 15 days...
(2001), Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
(2005) and Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike was the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, the costliest hurricane ever to impact Cuba and the second most active hurricane to reach the Canadian mainland in the Great Lakes Region after Hurricane Hazel in 1954...
(2008). None of these storms have had a severe impact beyond downed trees and power lines.
In 2006, the Houston Chronicle listed Nottingham Forest as a slightly higher-priced subdivision in the west Houston superneighborhood (outside Beltway 8), with the most expensive home listed at approximately $425,000 USD. Unlike the rest of the city, in 2007 Nottingham Forest (along with the rest of the Memorial area) reported an 8% increase in home sales, one of only seven areas in Houston to report a sales increase. The poor performance in the Houston housing market has been caused by the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
.
Nottingham Forest was the childhood home of comedian Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
. Hicks jokingly referred to the neighborhood as a "strict Southern Baptist ozone".