Afton Oaks, Houston
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Afton Oaks is a deed-restricted Inner Loop residential community of approximately 525 homes in Houston, Texas, United States. [1] Afton Oaks is located inside Interstate 610 near the Galleria and Highland Village. The neighborhood is bounded on the north by Westheimer Road, on the east by Union Pacific railroad tracks, on the south by U.S. Highway 59 (Southwest Freeway), and on the west by Interstate 610. The major thoroughfares in Afton Oaks include Kettering Drive, Newcastle Drive, and Richmond Avenue.
The notable signature elements of Afton Oaks include the esplanade along Newcastle Drive, the canopy of large, older hardwood trees, and a set of dual small, triangular parks.
Due to its ideal location in Houston, Afton Oaks is within close proximity to the several neighborhoods including Oak Estates, River Oaks, and Royden Oaks to the northeast, Lynn Park to the east, West University to the southeast, Bellaire to the south, and Tanglewood to the northwest. In addition to the Galleria and Highland Village shopping areas, Afton Oaks also enjoys adjacency to the Greenway Plaza business district.
Afton Oaks contains many single story ranch homes built in the 1950s. In recent years, like other neighborhoods with a close-in location, Afton Oaks has witnessed the effects of significant new home construction replacing these original homes. To date, these newer homes still comprise less than half of the homes in Afton Oaks.
Chartered in 1955, the Afton Oaks Civic Club remains active in preserving the continuity, history, and legacy of the neighborhood, maintaining the upkeep of common areas, arranging services including security and trash pickup, and monitoring deed restrictions.
Afton Oaks is served by the Houston City Council District G. Afton Oaks is in Texas's 7th congressional district.[1]
John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said about Afton Oaks in a 2008 article, "This hotbed of anti-rail activity has always seemed to me a place for adults who never quite gave up on college life, specifically, Greek life at state universities. There’s a kind of frat house feel to restaurants like Luling City Market (for UT grads) and the Ragin’ Cajun (for the LSU folks) that permeates the entire area. For a well-heeled residential area, it feels boozy, not just because of the aforementioned restaurants but also the bars and the big liquor store there.."[2]
History
In the early 1950s the farming and ranching land owned by the O'Meara and Stahlman families became primed for development. On it Afton Oaks opened in stages mainly between 1951 and 1959. Construction of newer two-story brick and stucco homes began in the 1980s.[3] By 2000 many older homes received renovation or faced demolition.[4]
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Afton Oaks is zoned to Houston Independent School District schools. The community is within Trustee District VII, represented by Harvin C. Moore as of 2008.[5]
Afton Oaks is zoned to St. George Place Elementary School,[6] Lanier Middle School,[7] and Lamar High School.[8] Before St. George Place opened, Afton Oaks was zoned to Will Rogers Elementary School.[9] In 2007 Afton Oaks was rezoned to St. George Place.[10]
Public libraries
The community is served by the Adele B. Looscan Neighborhood Library of Houston Public Library.[11] The current Looscan Branch building opened in September 2007. The former Americans with Disabilities Act non-compliant library, which was established in 1956, closed on August 27, 2005 and was demolished in February 2006.[12]
The previous Looscan branch had around 61,000 visitors in the fiscal year 2005. The original plans for Looscan called for the library to get a 5.37 million renovation. An Upper Kirby group proposed a new site near the Upper Kirby YMCA. Around that period the group Friends for Neighborhood Libraries began raising funds.[13] The replacement library, with a cost of $6.2 million, had twice the staff and two and one half times the size of the previous facility. Friends of Neighborhood Libraries had raised one million dollars in four months, and around 2.5 million in total to help fund the new library; the group spent about 30,000 dollars for the expenses.[11]
Police service
The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Central Patrol Division,[14] headquartered at 61 Riesner.[15] The Civic Club contracts with an organization of off-duty Houston Police Department officers to patrol the neighborhood.[16]
Transportation
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) operates bus services in Afton Oaks.
The neighborhood opposed a proposed expansion of the METRORail University Line through the neighborhood. Ultimately METRO revised the plans so that the line does not go through the neighborhood.[17][18]
Media
The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper.
The River Oaks Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community.[19]
References
- ^ "Congressional District 7." National Atlas of the United States.
- ^ Lomax, John Nova. "Sole of Houston: Richmond Avenue, Houston’s Street of Dreamz." Houston Press. May 1, 2008.
- ^ "Welcome to the Neighborhood!" Afton Oaks.
- ^ "Study Area 10." City of Houston. Accessed October 21, 2008.
- ^ "Trustee Districts Map." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 11, 2008.
- ^ "St. George Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 26, 2008.
- ^ "Lanier Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 26, 2008.
- ^ "Lamar High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 26, 2008.
- ^ "Will Rogers Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on December 16, 2010.
- ^ "St George Place ES Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on December 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Downing, Margaret. "Judging Books and Their Covers." Houston Press. August 21, 2007. 1. Retrieved on August 11, 2009.
- ^ "Adele B. Looscan Branch Replacement," Houston Public Library. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
- ^ Downing, Margaret. "Judging Books and Their Covers." Houston Press. August 21, 2007. 2. Retrieved on August 11, 2009.
- ^ "Crime Statistics for Central Patrol Division." City of Houston.
- ^ "VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES PROGRAM - Citizens Offering Police Support." City of Houston.
- ^ "Afton Oaks Patrol Service." Afton Oaks.
- ^ Grant, Alexis and Matt Stiles. "METRO BYPASSES OBSTACLE, BUT RAIL FIGHT ISN'T OVER / Afton Oaks may be spared, but other foes remain along Richmond." Houston Chronicle. Friday December 22, 2006. A1. Retrieved on July 29, 2009.
- ^ Sallee, Rad. "Richmond or Westpark? Both sides speed it up / Foes in rail fight intensify efforts as Culbertson, Metro get set to reveal preferences." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday August 1, 2006. B1 MetFront. Retrieved on July 29, 2009.
- ^ "About Us." Examiner News.
