Woodland Heights, Houston

The Woodland Heights neighborhood is one of the oldest and most historic in Houston, Texas. It encompasses approximately 2000 homes in the 77009 ZIP code and is bounded on the north by Pecore Street, on the west by Studewood Street, on the east by I-45, and on the south by I-10.

When platted in 1907 by William A. Wilson, the neighborhood was a 20-minute streetcar ride north of downtown via Houston Avenue. Although originally designed as an independent streetcar suburb, it was eventually incorporated into the city of Houston and is now one of the closest residential neighborhoods to downtown (aside from the much smaller Sixth Ward).

Nestled as it is in the crook of two major Interstate highways, it is often overlooked or is assumed to be part of the much larger and somewhat older Houston Heights neighborhood to its west. (Studewood Street is the dividing line between the two neighborhoods.) However, if one knows what to look for, it becomes apparent that the architecture of the Woodland Heights is somewhat distinct from that of the Houston Heights. The Houston Heights was platted in 1891, while the Woodland Heights was platted more than 15 years later. During that period, American architecture had undergone a transition from the larger and more ornate Victorian-style homes of the late 19th century to the smaller, simpler and more modest bungalow style of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts era, and the two neighborhoods reflect this shift. In fact, its architecture is much closer to that of the Norhill neighborhood to its north and the Eastwood neighborhood on the east side of downtown (which was also platted by William A. Wilson in 1911 as a somewhat more upscale counterpart to his Woodland Heights development).

Both the upscale Houston Heights and Eastwood neighborhoods suffered a slow decline following World War II, followed by a gradual recovery at the end of the 20th century.