Westbury, Houston facts for kids
Westbury is a neighborhood in the Brays Oaks district of Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. It is located east of Bob White Road, north of U.S. Highway 90 Alternate (South Main Street), and west of South Post Oak Road, adjacent to the Fondren Southwest and Meyerland neighborhoods, just west of the southwest corner of the 610 Loop.
Westbury was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the Houston Press [1]. Westbury was also listed in the 25 Hottest Houston Neighborhoods in the June 2013 edition of Houstonia Magazine. [2].
Areas served by the Westbury Civic Club include Westbury 1-5, Parkwest 1-3, and Westbury South.
Contents
History
Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s by Ira Berne as part of the post–World War II migration to the suburbs. The developer had moved from Westbury, New York, after which he named the new community.
In 1960 Berne had developed the Westbury Square shopping center.
In the 1980s the City of Houston Housing Authority proposed a 105-unit public housing project in the Westbury area. Thousands of residents entered public hearings to protest the concept, so the city did not build any public housing in the Westbury area.
Around the 1980s markets crashed and many of Westbury's businesses either closed or became abandoned. Crime increased at this time, but has decreased greatly in recent years. As real estate has become more expensive in gentrified areas such as Houston Heights and Neartown, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and lesbian population.
In April 2010 the City of Houston "automated" curbside recycling program was extended to Westbury East.
In 2011 the Brays Oaks district expanded. Westbury, which was originally not a part of the Brays Oaks district, became a part of it.
Parks and recreation
The city of Houston operates Westbury Park at 5635 Willowbend ([3]) which features the Westbury Pool (street address is 10605 Mullins), a playground, tennis courts, and a multi-sport playing field. [4].
In addition, the city operates the Platou Community Center located in Chimney Rock Park. Chimney Rock Park has a playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts.
Hager Park, with its covered basketball court, is located next to the Anderson Elementary School between Landsdowne Drive and McClearen Dr, and attracts many in the neighborhood for outdoor sports.([5]) Hager Park also features a walking trail, a multi-purpose sports field, and has a shared playground with Anderson Elementary School.
Community information
The closest YMCA is the Westland YMCA Branch.
The neighborhood has a baseball little league called Westbury Little League. It won the Little League World Series in 1966.
The closest Emergency Room and hospital is called Westbury Community Hospital located near the high school on Gasmer drive.
Demographics
In 2015 the City of Houston-defined Westbury Super Neighborhood had 20,693 people. 39% were Hispanics, 19% were non-Hispanic blacks, 35% were non-Hispanic whites, 5% were non-Hispanic Asians, and 2% were non-Hispanic others. In 2000 the super neighborhood had 22,090 people. 37% were non-Hispanic whites, 34% were Hispanics, 22% were non-Hispanic blacks, 7% were non-Hispanic Asians, and 1% were non-Hispanic other.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District.
The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:
The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zoned for middle school:
- Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School (formerly Johnston Middle School)
Anyone zoned to Johnston may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program.
Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury. A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School.
-
Parker Elementary School serves much of northern Westbury
-
Anderson Elementary School serves much of southern Westbury
-
Meyerland Middle School (formerly Johnston Middle) in Meyerland serves most of Westbury
History of public schools
Parker Elementary opened in 1959, and Johnston Middle School opened in its current location in 1959. Anderson and Kolter opened in 1960. Westbury High School opened in 1961. Fondren Middle opened in 1966.
Anderson, initially with a capacity of 600, had it increase to 900 as a new wing opened in 1963. In the late 1990s Anderson Elementary was overcrowded due to increasing student populations in Westbury area apartment complexes. In 1996 there were 1,500 students; an additional 300 had been reassigned to other schools. In 1998 the school had almost 1,600 students. Around that time hundreds of students who were zoned to Anderson were bussed to relief campuses.
Tinsley opened in 2002, relieving Anderson and another area school.
As of 2006 many middle and upper class residents of the Westbury attendance zone would not send their children to Westbury; usually they send their children to Bellaire High School, Lamar High School, or private schools.
Medical Center Charter School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade charter school, was located in the Westbury area. Despite its name, the school is not located in the Texas Medical Center area. Medical Center Charter School opened in 1996, and catered to employees working in the Medical Center and had the Montessori method, used until grade two. Its specialty as of 2003 was foreign languages. In 2014, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that the school's performance was insufficient and that it sought to revoke its charter. By 2018, its charter had closed.
Private schools
St. Thomas More School (K-8 [6], operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston), a neighborhood Roman Catholic school in Maplewood South Section 6.
The neighborhood has or has in close proximity several other private schools, such as Westbury Christian School (K–12) and St. Nicholas School Southwest Campus (K-8).
Trafton Academy and Miss Porter's School located in the Willowbend area also serves Westbury residents.
Public libraries
Two Houston Public Library locations, Frank Neighborhood Library and Meyer Neighborhood Library, serve this area.
The Meyer Library opened in 1962. In 1994 the library received renovations to accommodate disabled people. By 2013 HPL planned to purchase land for a new Meyerland branch with $442,000. HPL spokesperson Sandra Fernandez stated that HPL wants to build a new facility in order to increase the size and parking capacity. There is a proposal to move the library to Westbury Square, supported by the Westbury community but opposed by Meyerland residents. In 2015 various proposals on where the replacement library should go were being debated. Prior to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Houston community considered the Meyer Branch to be the Houston library in the poorest state of maintenance. Hurricane Harvey gave the library moderate damage, and the city government closed it afterwards, with demolition scheduled. The new library, which will also replace HPL Express Frank, will be at 5505 Belrose on a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) plot of land, in Westbury Section 3.
Notable residents
- Carol Vance (former Harris County district attorney)
