Old Sixth Ward Historic District

West of downtown Houston, across Buffalo Bayou, lies a neighborhood of small one-story Victorian cottages, shotgun houses and early 20th century bungalows. It was part of the old Sixth Ward and is bounded by Washington Avenue and Union Street, Houston Street, Capitol Street and Glenwood Cemetery. Sabine Street still has its brick paving. A school, St. Joseph's Church, corner groceries and a few commercial buildings add to the self-contained feel. Many galleries carry turned posts and jigsaw trim, and several show a bird-bracket motif attributed to a local craftsman around 1890. The district holds the largest concentration of Victorian houses in Houston and is described as the city's oldest intact neighborhood. Its growth followed the 1858 replatting by W. R. Baker, who led the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and the arrival of railroad workers and tradesmen. Intrusions are mostly limited to the edges along Union, Houston and Capitol streets.