SPECIAL EVENTS

The Woodland Heights Civic Association presents the  2011 Woodland Heights Historic Home Tour.

The 2011 Home Tour will include six historic homes representing a range of sizes and architectural styles. The Woodland Heights is one of Houston’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods. The 2011 Home Tour activities include a preview party on Friday evening, March 25, and a preservation fair on Sunday, March 27, co-hosted with Friends of Woodland Park.

Kickoff this year’s home tour with a special preview opportunity and neighborhood party on Friday, March 25. Tour the six homes at your leisure and without waiting in line from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. while enjoying wine and cheese at each stop. Then head over to beautiful original William Wilson home at 530 Byrne for the preview party (check with those who attended the debut event in 2009 – it was loads of fun!). The party will feature delicious heavy hors d’oeuvres donated by area restaurants, libations including wine, beer and soft drinks, and music.

Party space is limited so get your preview tickets early! Sold only online for $75 or at the door (if available) for $85. Your home tour preview ticket is good all weekend.

Visit an eclectic mix of historic homes
Our neighborhood struts its stuff for the city with six homes featured Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, from 1 to 6 p.m. each day.

• 3008 Morrison: original 1910 William Wilson home, carefully preserved and expanded
• 3015 Morrison: 1908 mix of early 20th century English styles
• 215 W Norma #202: darling 2-2 condo in 1925 Baptist church, converted in 2005
• 902 Redan: Arts & Crafts-inspired 2-1 Craftsman cottage from the late ‘teens
• 602 Teetshorn: 1920 raised Craftsman bungalow with converted crawlspace and attic
• 209 E. Woodland: traditional 1930s bungalow with new addition, including huge screened porch with fireplace

Tickets are $15 in advance, starting Feb. 1 online and March 1 also at area merchants. On March 23, ticket prices increase to $20 so buy early and save! (Online-purchased tickets will be available for pick-up home tour weekend at the ticket booth at Woodland Park.)

Fair showcases renovation products and services
New this year, a Preservation Fair featuring vendors and demonstrations on home restoration projects will be held at Woodland Park from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 27.

Your home tour ticket price includes admission to the Preservation Fair or tickets for the fair only can be purchased online or at the door for $5.

The fair is sponsored by WHCA Home Tour with Friends of Woodland Park, with proceeds benefiting the park.

The charm of Woodland Heights, a near-in Houston neighborhood that traces its roots to 1907, has reflections across the country. Developed primarily over a 30 year span, it is a mix of architectural styles with a few "pure" types. The homes, situated close to the street and to each other, catered to a mix of class levels from lower to upper middle class. The developers, largely practical men building practical houses, drew their inspiration from a variety...

The main route into the neighborhood, Studewood Street, is a three-lane reversible road, in which the middle lane is dedicated to southbound traffic (toward downtown) during the morning rush hour, and northbound traffic (into the neighborhood) during the evening rush hour. It is one of only a few such streets in Houston. The Woodland Heights is home to Lights In the Heights, where most homes are decorated with lights and various performances can be found around the neighborhood.

The walking paths, baseball fields, and public swimming pool along White Oak Bayou, which runs along the neighborhood's southern border, provide views of the Downtown Houston skyline. The White Oak Bayou watershed is a notable floodplain, where the bayou has overflowed its banks in 1992, 1998 (from Tropical Storm Frances), and in 2001 during Tropical Storm Allison.