Third Ward, Houston

The Third Ward is one of the six historic wards of Houston, Texas, United States.

The Third Ward, located inside the 610 Loop is immediately southeast of Downtown Houston and to the east of the Texas Medical Center. The ward became the center of Houston's African-American community.

Contents 1 History 2 Location 3 Government and infrastructure 3.1 Local government 3.2 County, state, and federal representation 4 Education 4.1 Colleges and universities 4.2 Primary and secondary schools 4.2.1 Public schools 4.2.1.1 History of public schools 4.2.2 Private schools 4.3 Public libraries 5 Parks and recreation 6 Notable residents 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

History

A part of what is now Downtown Houston was once considered to be within the Third Ward community. The construction of Interstate 45 in the 1950s separated the area from the rest of the Third Ward and brought it into Downtown.^[1] In the era of racial segregation, Almeda Road, a road located in the Third Ward area that at that time served as a corridor to Downtown Houston, was a busy commercial corridor.^[2]

The People's Party II, a Black Panther activist group led by Carl Hampton was organized in the Third Ward in the Spring of 1970 to address police brutality on Blacks in the community. Hampton died from gunshot wounds during that year.^[3] In the 1960s and 1970s many families in the Third Ward relocated to racially integrated suburbs; racial integration allowed many Blacks to move to the suburbs, therefore the Third Ward lost some of its population and economic traffic. Despite the relocations the Almeda Road commercial corridor remained busy. Kent Hadnot, the executive director of the Third Ward Redevelopment Council, said in a 2000 Houston Press article that blockbusting beginning in the 1970s began to drive homeowners and business owners away from the Third Ward and into suburbs such as Missouri City. The construction of Texas State Highway 288, which offered a quicker alternative into Downtown, caused Almeda Road's commercial properties to decline. Many children of Third Ward area business owners, educated in universities, had no desire to work in their parents' businesses, reducing the employee base of the Third Ward businesses. The 1980s oil bust hurt the economy of the Third Ward and the nearby Almeda Road commercial corridor.^[2]

From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African-Americans left traditional African-American neighborhoods like the Third Ward and entered parts of South Houston.^[4] In 1995 T. R. Witcher of the Houston Press reported that the Third Ward, as defined by the Third Ward Redevelopment Council, "may be the most variegated community in Houston." Witcher described the area west of Texas Southern University, "the heart of the Third Ward," as having "blocks of sturdy, well-tended brick houses," and being the "home" to the "diminished but still-viable base of middle-class and working-class homeowners and renters" of the area. Witcher described the Dowling Street corridor, which once functioned as the main commercial area of the Third Ward, as still having "many thriving enterprises" while its blocks have "an unsettling profusion of empty, overgrown lots and dilapidated structures." Witcher described the northern part of the Third Ward, which in his view "more than any other in the Third Ward, call to mind the word 'ghetto,' Houston-style," as having "rows of shotgun shacks, worn frame houses and fraying apartments" owned by absentee landlords. The section included crime, families affected by welfare dependency, unemployment, and proliferation of recreational drugs. In the summer residents of that area who wanted to cool down from the summer heat sat on porches and visited friends on the streets. The Third Ward area included many churches of varying sizes; some churches still attracted members who lived in Missouri City and other suburbs.^[5]

In 1998 a report by the Third Ward Redevelopment Council concluded that the area had 55,000 residents. In addition, the report concluded that area shoppers and residents spend $345 million dollars outside of the Third Ward per year; the residents and shoppers spend the money in other areas such as The Galleria, Meyerland, Rice Village, and Sharpstown.^[2] By 2000 younger business owners began to increase activity in the Almeda Road corridor. Old Spanish Trail/Almeda TIRZ funded area businesses with collected property taxes and offered incentives to prospective business owners. The redevelopment council offered prospective entrepreneurs lists of contacts and other forms of assistance.^[6] Between 1990 and 2000 the Hispanic population of the Third Ward increased by between 5 and 10 percent.^[7] In 2002 the City of Houston planned to build its olympic village in the Third Ward if its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games was successful; many Third Ward residents and activists stated that they needed to receive some form of economic benefit from the proposed facilities.^[8] Houston's bid was rejected later that year.^[9]

By 2004 many wealthier African-Americans and Whites began to move into the Third Ward area. Some activists in the Third Ward area created campaigns encouraging area residents to not sell their homes to new residents to avoid gentrification and re-development. In 2009 Garnet Coleman, a state representative from the area, said "We learned a lot from the debacle in the Fourth Ward. So it would be stupid not to respond to the negative byproducts of rapid development. We want to find people who will make this community better by becoming part of its fabric, not by changing its fabric."^[10]

Location

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The boundaries of the Third Ward have not been officially stated for the past hundred years since the Ward system was discontinued. When the Third Ward was established before the Civil War, its boundaries were set as Main Street, Congress/Harrisburg Avenue, and all the area to the south, including much of present-day downtown and the Texas Medical Center. According to the Houston Third Ward Redevelopment Council, the Houston Belt & Terminal Railroad is the present-day eastern boundary of the Third Ward area. The western boundary comprises the Texas Medical Center, Hermann Park, and the Houston Museum District according to the council, but commonly the third ward is largely east of Texas State Highway 288. The southern boundary may be defined by some as Loop 610 South.^[5]

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The Houston Police Department's South Central Patrol Division ^[11], headquartered at 2022 St. Emanuel in the Third Ward,^[12] serves the neighborhood. Fire and Emergency Medical Services are provided by Houston Fire Department Station 25 Third Ward. The station is in Fire District 46.^[13] The city operates the Third Ward Multi-Service Center at 3611 Ennis Street.^[14] The city multi-service centers provide several services such as child care, programs for elderly residents, and rental space.^[15]

In the 1991 Mayor of Houston election most Third Ward voters voted for Sylvester Turner.^[16][17]

The Quent Mease Community Hospital, operated by the Harris County Hospital District, is located in the Third Ward area. In addition, the district operates the Martin Luther King Health Center in the first and third floors of Quentin Mease.^[18] In 2009 MLK's standalone facility on Cullen Boulevard will open, freeing space at Quentin Mease.^[19]

County, state, and federal representation

The Third Ward is in Texas's 18th congressional district.^[20] Its representative as of 2008 is Sheila Jackson Lee.

Education

Colleges and universities

The Greater Third Ward area is home to two universities: the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Area students attend schools in the Houston Independent School District. The community is within Trustee District IV, represented by Paula M. Harris as of 2009.^[21][22][23]

Elementary schools serving sections of the Third Ward include Blackshear (located in the Third Ward),^[24] Dodson (located in East Downtown),^[25][26] and Lockart in Riverside Terrace,^[27][28] All area residents are zoned to Ryan Middle School and Yates High School.^[21][29][30]

The Texas Southern University/Houston Independent School District Charter Laboratory School is in the Third Ward.^[31] KIPP: the Knowledge Is Power Program operates the KIPP Liberation College Preparatory School, a middle school charter school, in the Third Ward. The University of Houston operates the University of Houston Charter School, a charter elementary school.

History of public schools

Allen Elementary School opened as an elementary school for White people on February 1, 1907; back then the schools were segregated.^[32] Longfellow Junior High School, located at 2202 St. Emanuel Street, opened in 1913. Blackshear Elementary School opened in 1916. Bowie Elementary School opened in 1921. Douglass opened in 1927. Bowie was renamed to Dodson Elementary School in 1945; for a period it was the second-largest Black elementary school in the Third Ward area.^[33] In 1955 a new Allen elementary opened in another area not in proximity to the Third Ward. The former Allen campus became the Yates Annex, a school for Black 7th Graders meant to relieve Yates High School. In 1956 the campus was renamed J. Will Jones Elementary School, relieving Blackshear and Dunbar schools.^[32][33]

Blackshear received an expansion in 1960. In 1961 the Longfellow building began to house Dunbar Elementary School. Blackshear received expansions in 1965.^[33] In 1966 J. Will Jones received a 12 classroom annex.^[32] Blackshear received an expansion in 1980. Dunbar closed in 1981.^[33] HISD closed Douglass Elementary School in May 2005.^[33][34] In spring 2005 Douglass Elementary had 274 students and had faced a 26 percent decline in enrollment in a five year period leading to 2005.^[35] After Hurricane Katrina struck in the fall of that year Douglass temporarily reopened to accommodate Katrina evacuees.^[34] The TSU/HISD Lab School opened in fall 2006.^[31] Before the start of the 2009-2010 school year J. Will Jones Elementary School, which was located in Midtown Houston and served sections of the Third Ward,^[36][37] was consolidated into Blackshear.^[38][39] During its final year of enrollment J. Will Jones had more students than Blackshear. Many J. Will Jones parents referred to Blackshear as "that prison school" and said that they will not send their children to Blackshear. Jones will house Houston Community College classes after its closure as a school.^[40] Turner Elementary School, a school in Riverside Terrace which served a section of the Third Ward,^[28][41] closed in 2009 and consolidated into Lockhart; by Spring 2011 a new campus will appear on the Lockhart site.^[42]

Private schools

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Houston operates area Roman Catholic private schools. St. Mary of the Purification School (Kindergarten through grade 5) and St. Peter the Apostle Middle School (grades 6 through 8), are in the area.^[43][44]. St. Mary, located in the Riverside Terrace area, opened in a temporary building on September 8, 1930. The building was blessed on October 27. The Sisters of Dominic operated the school until it closed in 1967. The school reopened in 1980 as a Montessori school.^[43]

Yellowstone Academy, a Christian private school, is in the Third Ward.^[45]

Public libraries

The Third Ward is served by the Houston Public Library Smith Neighborhood Library at 3624 Scott Street.^[46]

Parks and recreation

Emancipation Park and Emancipation Community Center are located at 3018 Dowling.^[47] The community center includes an indoor gymnasium, a weight room, and meeting rooms. The park has an outdoor basketball pavilion, lighted sports fields, lighted tennis courts, a swimming pool, a playground, and picnic areas.^[48] Moses Leroy Park is located at 3100 Trulley Street.^[49] Our Park is located at 2604 Alabama Street. Zurrie M. Malone Park is located at 2901 Nettleton Street, near Anita Street.^[50]

Notable residents

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Famous people who have lived in Third Ward include: Debbie Allen,^{[citation needed]} Phylicia Rashad (Formerly Phylicia Ayers-Allen),^{[citation needed]} Beyoncé,^{[citation needed]} Sam Lightnin' Hopkins,^[51] rapper Scarface,^{[citation needed]} Dexter Manley,^{[citation needed]} Big Moe,^{[citation needed]} and Pat Parker^{[52][page needed]}.

• Garnet Coleman (State representative)^[10]

See also

References

External links

• Third Ward Community Cloth Cooperative
• Third Ward Rising - Houston Press
• 2005 Third Ward Urban Redevelopment Plan
• Third Ward at Texas Southern University

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Coordinates: 29°44′N 95°22′W / 29.73°N 95.36°W / 29.73; -95.36