Rebecca Nolen, Historical Diaries, writing

In the extreme heat of the summer here in Houston there is one place where you can find something cool to spark your interest year-round. The variety of housing and occupants, which prompted the signage stating “East Montrose, a living mosaic” is one cool thing I will focus on with this page. The variety of walkable businesses and cool places to sit and watch the world go by is another thing I will bring to your attention. And I’ve only just begun.

Stay tuned as I bring to light some of the most fascinating things in the world.

To get it out of the way, the first picture is of my house and of course, the pond.

It was a long time getting to this point.

I’m not a little proud. But keep in mind it is one of many very cool places around this little community.

East Montrose is part of a larger neighborhood in Houston called Montrose. Home to World renown museums (Menil, Rothko Chapel), nationally acclaimed restaurants dot the area. Montrose is bordered by Richmond Avenue to the south, Shepherd to the West, Bagby to the East and Allen Parkway to the North. Montrose is also mentioned in the Houstonia magazine as fourth in the top 25 best Houston neighborhoods. Did I mention that Montrose was also listed in the National news (U.S. News magazine) as one of the top 10 best places to live in the U.S.? Oh. Okay. I boast. Forgive me.

If Montrose is cool, East Montrose is the ice. The best little place to live within blocks of the tall downtown buildings of the fastest growing city in the U.S. It is roughly bordered by Genesee a few blocks East of Taft, Montrose Rd. on the West, Gray on the North, and Fairview on the South. In the late 1800’s Montrose had a train track running along north and south. Fairview St. had an electric trolley that ran East and West at that time. The streets of East Montrose are pigglety-wigglety as a result. Some find it difficult to maneuver their cars through these streets. Huge semi-trucks find it impossible. I saw a larger than usual truck the other day. The driver found himself in a pickle. He tore up my neighbor’s city water meter trying to get away.

Of 150 neighborhoods between Huntsville to the North and Galveston to the south of Houston, Montrose was rated highest in bike-ability and walk-ability. I guess that means that you can walk or take a bike to anything you need, from restaurants to shopping and then home again.