Washington Avenue / Memorial Park / Houston Texas

The Washington Avenue / Memorial Park SN22 corridor extends from the western edge of downtown on the east to Loop 610 on the west, and contains many of Houston’s historic sites. Buffalo and White Oak Bayous create the north and south boundaries of the SN22 group of neighborhoods: Camp Logan, Cottage Grove, Crestwood/Glen Cove, First Ward, Magnolia Grove, Memorial-Heights, Rice Military, Sixth Ward, West End, and Woodcrest.

• Washington Avenue/Memorial is located in City of Houston District H
• The area is served by the Houston Independent School District

The western End of SN#22 Includes These Areas:

• Camp Logan. This neighborhood is tucked into the northeast corner of Memorial Park, and many homes front on unique triangular pocket parks. A historical marker commemorating the World War I Army training camp from which the neighborhood received its name is located at the corner of Arnot and Haskell Streets.
• Crestwood / Glen Cove residents are also immediately adjacent to the 1508-acre Memorial Park that features Houston’s first golf course, a soft jogging trail along with hiking and biking trails, picnic grounds, ball fields, tennis courts, multiple children’s playgrounds, a public swimming pool, and The Houston Arboretum and Nature Center.
• Cottage Grove, in the northwestern sector of SN22, was originally an independent city located at Houston and Texas Central’s first rail stop. Eureka Junction was the site of a prosperous cotton mill. The nearby banks of White Oak Bayou and a tree-shaded neighborhood park with a little league field and outdoor basketball court are popular recreation spots for the residents.

The eastern end of SN22, just across Buffalo Bayou from Downtown, includes First and Sixth Wards – political geographic units dating from the 19th Century.

• The First Ward, along Houston Avenue, features a significant number of late 19th and early 20th Century commercial buildings and residences along with light-industrial structures that artists are converting into studio/gallery/loft spaces. Nearby on the south bank of White Oak Bayou, historic Olivewood Cemetery is the resting place of many notable Houstonians of African-American descent.
• The Old Sixth Ward contains the city’s most intact collection of Victorian era structures, and in 2007 it was designated as the City of Houston’s first Protected Historic District.  The neighborhood is also recognized as a petition-created Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ). With its downtown skyline views and its proximity to Sabine Street and the Buffalo Bayou trail system, Old Sixth Ward is truly one of Houston’s residential gems. The Old Sixth Ward’s Dow Elementary School building, headquarters to Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), is currently undergoing renovation.
• Memorial-Heights is central to SN22 and is the newest addition to its neighborhoods. Established as a developer-created TIRZ, this community abuts the western boundary of the historic Washington and Glenwood Cemeteries, which 100 years ago marked Houston’s city limit. Memorial-Heights includes Spotts Park, boasts downtown skyline views, and has sparked commercial redevelopment along Studemont St. and the Washington Avenue corridor.
• Magnolia Grove, West End, Rice Military, and Woodcrest are SN22’s early-to-mid 20th Century traditional, working-class cottage and bungalow neighborhoods. Developed as multi-ethnic suburbs surrounding a small freedman’s town; these semi-rural communities with corner stores and small businesses, tree lined streets, front yards and porches, were once served by Houston’s longest street rail line. Trolley service along Washington Avenue ran all night to accommodate the area residents who were railroad shift workers during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some streets in these neighborhoods retain much of their traditional character, but many have now transitioned to a higher-density urban residential model.

Community Venues and Schools

• Memorial Park, one of the city’s primary environmental and recreational assets, is located within SN22’s boundaries. The park is located on the former grounds of a World War I Army training camp.
• Crocket Elementary
• Memorial Elementary School
• Headquarters of Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA)
• Robert Lewis Stevenson Elementary School
• Spotts Park (Memorial Heights)
• The Orange Show’s Beer Can House (Rice Military)
• Nellie Keyes Park (Rice Military)