{"nrhp_refnum":"88000042","name":"San Felipe Courts Historic District","other_names":["Allen Parkway Village"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"1 Allen Pkwy. Village","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.759659769000052,"lon":-95.37860814914592,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 37-acre public housing complex in Houston, Harris County, Texas, built 1941-1944 by the Housing Authority of the City of Houston and known as Allen Parkway Village since 1964. It has 80 housing blocks and two Project Center buildings.","why_significant":"It was the largest public housing project built in Texas in the decade after the National Housing Act of 1937 and embodies New Deal-era social ideals and planning standards. Its modern design and detailing were nationally recognized in 1942 architectural journals. Its designation as Defense Housing during World War II gives it a rare surviving link to the war effort in Houston.","narrative":"San Felipe Courts, renamed Allen Parkway Village in 1964, is a 37-acre public housing complex overlooking Buffalo Bayou in Houston. Built between 1941 and 1944, it holds 1,000 apartments in 80 two- and three-story reinforced concrete blocks faced in buff and burgundy-brown brick, plus two Project Center buildings holding offices, shops and a community center. Rows of slab-like blocks frame garden courts along a central lane lined with live oaks. A consortium of twelve Houston firms designed it, with MacKie & Kamrath's Karl Kamrath in charge of design. It was the largest public housing project in Texas of its period and reflects New Deal housing ideals. Its modern design drew notice in Architectural Record in 1942, and its designation as Defense Housing during World War II allowed construction to finish. The complex retains unusual integrity, with 82 contributing buildings and one noncontributing covered basketball court.","period_of_significance":"1941-1944","architect_builder":"Associated Housing Architects of Houston; MacKie & Kamrath (lead firm); built by R. F. Ball Construction Company and Knutson Construction Company","architectural_style":"Modern; Zeilenbau site plan influenced by European social housing","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Structures in fair condition with few alterations; some windows of disused units covered with plywood. Form marks the property as occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.92826-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/9724/40972406/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/88000042.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972406","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Oaks_of_Allen_Parkway_Village","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5773580"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/san-felipe-courts-historic-district-88000042/"}