Westmoreland Historic District

Westmoreland is a residential neighborhood about a mile and a half south of downtown Houston. It was platted in 1902 as a 12-block, 44-acre subdivision and developed by the South End Land Company as a 'private place', with a street grid that limits outside access and focuses on broad Westmoreland Avenue. The district now takes in all or part of eight blocks and counts 66 contributing resources, mostly single-family houses plus a few apartment buildings, built between 1904 and 1932. Styles include Queen Anne, American Four-Square, Craftsman, Colonial Revival and Jacobethan Revival. Raised front porches, sleeping porches on the south and east sides, and live oaks, magnolias and date palms give the streets a consistent look. Early residents included Houston merchants and civic leaders, and builder Russell Brown lived in one of the houses. Postwar demolition, garden apartments and a freeway spur removed part of the original subdivision, but the remaining core keeps its historic character and residential use.