Bellaire, Texas
Encyclopedia
Bellaire is a city in southwest Harris County
, Texas
, United States
, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston
and West University Place
.
Bellaire is known as the "City of Homes" as the city is mostly residential, while there are offices along the 610 Loop within the city limits. As of 2000, Bellaire is the 27th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income
.
, was well known as the vice president of the Burlington Railroad. Bellaire was founded on what was part of William Marsh Rice
's 9449 acres (38.2 km²) ranch
. Baldwin surveyed the eastern 1000 acres (4 km²) of the ranch into small truck farms. He named those farms "Westmoreland Farms". Baldwin started Bellaire in the middle of "Westmoreland Farms" to serve as a residential neighborhood and an agricultural trading center. South End Land Company advertised to farmers in the Midwestern United States
. Baldwin stated that the town was named "Bellaire", or "Good Air
" for its breezes". Bellaire may have been named after Bellaire, Ohio
, a town served by one of Baldwin's rail lines.
Six miles of prairie was a buffer zone
between Houston and Bellaire. Originally the town was bounded by Palmetto, First, Jessamine, and Sixth (now Ferris) Streets. In 1910 Edward Teas, a horticulturist, moved his nursery to Bellaire from Missouri so Teas could implement Sid Hare's landscaping plans. Bellaire was incorporated as a city with a general charter in 1918, ten years after its founding. Bellaire had a population of 200 at the time. Because of the 1918 incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Bellaire's territory into its city limits, while Houston annexed surrounding areas that were unincorporated
.
Bellaire's population had reached 1,124 in 1940. After 1940, Bellaire had a rapid population explosion in the post-World War II
building boom. On December 31, 1948, the city of Houston had annexed the land around the city of Bellaire, stopping the city of Bellaire's land growth. Bellaire remained independent of Houston; Bellaire adopted a home rule charter with a council-manager government in April 1949. By 1950 the city's residents had numbered 10,150. Bellaire High School was established in 1955.
According to a Bellaire resident quoted in the Houston Post
, prior to 1992, the tax base of the city of Bellaire had been decreasing. After neighbor West University Place
eased restrictions on developers, new houses were constructed in West University Place, and the city gained a larger tax base. Bellaire decided to also liberalize its development restrictions to allow for new development by streamlining its no-growth building permit process. According to Karl Lewis, a vice president and sales manager at John Daugherty Realtors, when the prices of West University Place land reached about $20 per square foot, area home buyers began to consider Bellaire, which had an average price of $10–12 per square foot. Don Stowers of the Houston Press
said that Bellaire and West University Place had "comparable" attributes such as independent fire and police departments, zoning, recreation facilities and parks, and schools "among the best in Houston." Michael Blum, president of Blum & Associates Realty, said "Bellaire is a bargain." Blum added that Bellaire was affordable compared to similar American neighborhoods and that Bellaire had proximity to business districts, "excellent" municipal services, and "superior" schools.
In 2002 the City of Bellaire attempted to acquire all or part of the 10 acres (4 ha) Teas Nursery, Bellaire's oldest business and the oldest nursery in Greater Houston
, for park development. The company fought the city's take-over attempt. During that year the owners of Teas sold 5 acres (2 ha) at the rear of the property to Lovett Homes, a home developer. Frank Liu, the owner of Lovett Homes, said that it had an option to buy the remaining 5 acres (20,234.3 m²). When the City of Bellaire denied a replat application sent by Teas Nursery, in June 2002 the nursery filed a lawsuit against the city and its zoning commission. In 2005 the lawsuit was settled out of court.
During the Hurricane Rita
evacuation, a bus filled with residents from Brighton Gardens, a nursing home
in Bellaire, caught on fire and exploded in the city of Wilmer
. The September 23, 2005 explosion killed 24 people out of the 38 residents and employees in the bus. The resulting lawsuit was settled in June 2009. On March 23, 2008, a tour bus carrying Tejano
singer Emilio
crashed in Bellaire. By 2008, an increasing number of houses sold for over $1,000,000.
On December 31, 2008, Bellaire police officers confronted Robbie Tolan, the son of former Major League Baseball player Bobby Tolan
, in the driveway of his house at the 800 block of Woodstock. Officers suspected Tolan, who was unarmed, of stealing a sports utility vehicle in the driveway and shot Tolan in the chest; Tolan's family owned the vehicle. Tolan was hospitalized with injuries to one lung and a liver. The incident sparked allegations of racial profiling
. Members of minority groups reported that Bellaire police racially profiled people; José Cruz, Jr.
, son of baseball player José Cruz
, moved from Bellaire, his hometown, was stopped since his vehicle was missing a front license plate, and he arrested by Bellaire police and spent one night in jail in 2002 after Bellaire law enforcement told him that he had an arrest for his warrant. The Houston Chronicle said that the Bellaire police decision to arrest Cruz was a mistake. In January 2009, Cruz accused the police of racially profiling. Mayor Cindy Siegel said that she was unaware of racial profiling by police. Siegel announced that the city will investigate racial profiling and hire an independent consultant to look at traffic stop data. The local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) branch said that it established a pact with the City of Bellaire; people may report civil rights violations from Bellaire Police to the branch if the people do not wish to contact the City of Bellaire. However, the NAACP branch has not yet provided the city with any civil rights violations. On April 6, 2009 a Harris County grand jury indicted Sergeant Jeffrey Cotton, the police officer, for aggravated assault by a public servant. If convicted, Cotton could face up to life in prison. In addition the family sued the police department and the police officer. The upcoming trial in Harris County District Court on criminal felony charges against Cotton began on January 25, 2010. Jury selection was scheduled to begin on May 3, 2010. The officer was found not guilty in his criminal trial in May 2010.
Teas Nursery closed in 2010; the company president, Tom Teas, intended for the property to be redeveloped into single family houses. The Teas Nursery business was either going to move to a new location or be liquidated. In December the Rubenstein family bought the Teas property; the family planned to donate it to the City of Bellaire for community purposes. The Teas property has two historic buildings. Scott Rubenstein, who handled negotiations for the Rubenstein family, described the Teas lot as "the last largely undeveloped tract in the city and, frankly, in the inner loop of the city of Houston where you can do something that can be used by people from all around the city." Mayor of Bellaire Cindy Seigel said "I am just thrilled we’ll be able to preserve a historical property that is an important piece of Bellaire’s history."
In January 2010 Siegel announced that she would oppose a plan to locate a permanent, privately-funded Houston Dynamo stadium
at the intersection of South Rice and Westpark, near Bellaire. In April 2010 it was announced that the Dynamo stadium will be built in East Downtown Houston.
Bellaire is located at 29°42′11"N 95°28′06"W. According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²), all of it land.
The city is surrounded by Houston, West University Place
, and Southside Place
.
house described by Don Stowers of the Houston Post
as "lot-hugging." The more spacious and inexpensive housing lots prompted area home seekers to consider Bellaire.
The original Bellaire housing stock typically consisted of 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom post-World War II
houses described by Stowers as "smallish." Because of the attributes, developers did not hesitate to tear these houses down and build new houses. Some individuals chose to renovate their houses instead of having them torn down. Many individuals who would otherwise renovate the houses reconsidered their decisions as the land value increased. In some cases the land value was higher than the value of the structure on the lot. Some subdivisions had larger houses, particularly the Carroll subdivision south of Bellaire Boulevard
and the Braeburn Country Club Estates subdivision between Chimney Rock and Rice. Many of the houses in those subdivisions were built in the 1950s and early 1960s, and many were on 0.5 acre (0.202343 ha) lots. Karl Lewis, the vice president and sales manager of John Daugherty Realtors, said that many of the houses were "still quite attractive" and "similar to the large Tanglewood homes." In 1992 smaller lots in Bellaire were about $50,000 and up, while larger lots were $300,000 to $500,000.
In a 2007 Houston Press
article John Nova Lomax, a journalist, said that parts of Bellaire's downtown had "a certain raffish 1950s charm – the Bellaire Broiler Burger, for example – but it’s boring." Lomax stated in a 2008 Houston Press article that, due to the growth and dominance of Houston, municipal enclaves with their own services, including Bellaire, "are little more than glorified neighborhoods."
Many Bellaire streets, such as "Holly," "Holt," "Maple," and "Pine," are named after trees. The word "Holt" means a small grove or a forest of trees.
of 2000, there were 15,642 people, 6,019 households, and 4,321 families residing in the city. The population density
was 4,319.0 people per square mile (1,668.3/km²). There were 6,315 housing units at an average density of 1,743.7 per square mile (673.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.11% White, 0.84% African American, 0.27% Native American, 6.35% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.85% from other races
, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.81% of the population.
There were 6,019 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples
living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $89,775, and the median income for a family was $104,200. Males had a median income of $72,295 versus $49,766 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $46,674. About 1.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
The median income for a household in the city was $144,432 in 2009. Estimated per capita income was$71,059 in 2009.
Bellaire currently has a city manager
style of government. The home rule government was established on April 2, 1949, replacing the general law form of government. The city council is made up of the mayor and six city council members. All are elected at large. The mayor is elected for two-year terms, while each city council member is elected for four-year terms. The mayor may not serve for more than four terms in that position. A council members may have no more than two terms as a city council member. Bellaire has zoning ordinances that dictate types of structures and uses throughout sections of the city. As of 2010, the mayor is Cindy Siegel. The six council members are, in order of position, Will Hickman (1), Jim Avioli (2), Corbett Daniel Parker (3), Phil Nauert (4), Andrew Friedberg (5), and Mandy Nathan (6).
The Bellaire Fire Department is housed at 5101 Jessamine Street. The fire station includes two fire engines (a main engine and a volunteer/backup engine), two medic units (a main medic unit and a backup unit), an on shift commander vehicle, a vehicle for each the chief and assistant chief, a cascade unit, and a hazardous materials trailer. The fire department operates the Citizens Fire Academy, a fire and life safety program for Bellaire citizens held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The old fire station was demolished on December 4, 2009 with demolition continuing on Monday December 7, 2009, and operations are temporarily relocated at the Chevron
building. A new fire station was scheduled to in the location of the previous fire station. The groundbreaking for the new station was held on December 17, 2009.
The Bellaire Police Department is housed at 5110 Jessamine Street. As of 2008 the Chief of Police is Randall Mack. The police department's patrol division, the organization's largest division, includes patrol, detention, K-9, and bicycle units. The support services division includes court, records, and communications divisions. The police department offers the "House Watch Program," where interested residents allow police to check their houses while they are away on vacation.
. Bans of texting while driving were passed in Bellaire and West University Place, Texas
within hours of one another. In 2010 the city voted 5-2 to ban the feeding of cats on public property and establish a rule requiring the permission of the owner of a piece of private property in order to feed cats on private property. The city received negative e-mail feedback from various locations, including Switzerland
.
In 2011 Phil Nauert was elected as the new Mayor of Bellaire.
Bellaire is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives
. As of 2008 Ellen Cohen
represents the district. Bellaire is within District 17
of the Texas Senate
.
Bellaire is in Texas's 7th congressional district
; as of 2008 John Culberson
is the representative. The designated United States Postal Service
office is the Bellaire Post Office along Bellaire Boulevard
in Bellaire. Bellaire first received a post office in 1911.
Bellaire is a member city of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
(METRO). The city is served by bus lines 2 (Bellaire), 17, 33 (Post Oak Crosstown), 49 (Chimney Rock Crosstown), and 65 (Bissonnet). The Bellaire Transit Center, located at 5100 Bellaire Boulevard
at South Rice Avenue, has four lines (2, 33, 49, 65). As of 2010 METRO has proposed to build the Bellaire Station as part of the METRORail
University Line
.
In Bellaire's early history, Bellaire Boulevard and a historic street car line connected Bellaire to Houston. The street car line, which ran a four mile (6 km) stretch from central Bellaire to Houston's Main Street, started construction in 1909. The streetcar line consisted of one railway track and an overhead electric wire. A waiting pavilion and a turnaround loop were located at the terminus in Bellaire. The Houston Electric Company had simultaneously constructed a south end line from Eagle Avenue to what is now Fannin Street to connect to the Bellaire Boulevard line. Service, with one required transfer at Eagle Avenue, began on December 28, 1910. The streetcar was nicknamed the "Toonerville Trolley". On September 26, 1927 the trolley line was abandoned and replaced by a bus line. This was due to frequent derailments caused by a worn-out track and the advent of the automobile
.
operates its Houston-area headquarters in an office building at 6500 West Loop South in Bellaire; the building was with SBC Corporation before it absorbed the former AT&T
. The main offices of the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce are located in Bellaire. The chamber assists economy activity in Bellaire. Chevron
has a 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) campus at 4800 Fournace Place in Bellaire that is the headquarters for the Chevron Pipe Line Company along with several other business units. Prior to the merger between Chevron and Texaco
, the facility belonged to Texaco. Texaco built the 502000 square foot square foot facility.
In 1953 the Consulate-General of Sweden
moved to Bellaire. At one point the Consulate-General of Honduras in Houston
was located in Suite 360 at 6700 West Loop South
in Bellaire. As of 2009 the Honduran Consulate-General and the Swedish Honorary Consulate are located in Houston.
Bellaire had 8,120 employed civilians as of the 2000 Census, including 3,835 females. Of the civilian workers, 5,368 (66.1%) were private for profit wage and salary workers. Of them 689 (8.5% of the total Bellaire civilian workforce) were employees of their own corporations. 952 (11.7%) were private non-profit wage and salary workers. 446 (5.5%) worked for local governments. 479 (5.9%) were state government workers. 111 (1.4%) were federal workers. 754 (9.3%) were self-employed; none of them worked in agriculture, forestry, fishing, or hunting. 10 (.1%) were unpaid family workers.
Bellaire has several parks within the city limits operated by the city. Bellaire Zindler Park, a 7.5 acres (30,351.5 m²) park , was given its current name in honor of Marvin Zindler
, a Houston journalist; it was originally named Bellaire Park. Bellaire Zindler Park includes a neighborhood pool, two lighted tennis courts, a gazebo, a picnic area, a jogging trail, an open playground, the Bellaire Recreation Center, and the Bellaire Civic Center, which includes auditoriums and meeting rooms. The 0.875 acres (3,541 m²) Vic Driscoll Park consists entirely of open green space. The 2.1 acres (8,498.4 m²) Evergreen Park includes a neighborhood pool and a playground and picnic area. The 4.7 acres (19,020.2 m²) Feld Park includes an adult softball
field, a playground, two lighted tennis courts, and the Feld Scout House. The 0.2 acres (809.4 m²) Joe Gaither Park includes a play structure with swings and green space. The 3.1 acres (12,545.3 m²) Horn Field (Avenue B at Holly Street) includes two lighted baseball
fields, youth soccer (football)
fields, and a T-Ball field. The 0.489 acres (1,978.9 m²) Jacquet Park consists of a playground and picnic area. The 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) Lafayette Park includes a playground and picnic area, an open play area, and the Officer Lucy Dog Park, a dog park
. The 0.75 acres (3,035.1 m²) Locust Park consists of an open play area and a shaded picnic area. The 1.795 acres (7,264.1 m²) Loftin Park consists of open green space. The 2.547 acres (10,307.4 m²) Mulberry Park at 700 Mulberry Lane includes a playground area, a picnic shelter, a youth baseball field, and three lighted tennis courts. The 6.6 acres (26,709.3 m²) Paseo Park along Bellaire Boulevard
includes an esplanade, the Bellaire Trolley and the Special Event area. The 7 acres (28,328 m²) Pin Oak Park along the West Loop South (610 Loop) includes two lighted baseball fields, one lighted soccer and American football
field, one jogging track, and three basketball
/tennis courts. The 4.1 acres (16,592.1 m²) Russ Pitman Park includes the Henshaw House, the Nature Discovery Area, a playground area, a sheltered picnic area, a self-guided nature trail, two pavilions, and an aviary. The dedication ceremony of the future Evelyn's Park was held on June 25, 2011.
As of 1996 Bellaire prohibits smoking in public parks and dogs in all non-dog public parks; as of that year smoking in public parks brings a fine of $500. The ordinance was adopted around 1996 on a 4-3 vote.
Bellaire holds annual Fourth of July parades and annual "'snow' in the park" Christmas
celebrations. Bellaire's Little League
baseball team entered the Little League World Series
in 2000; the team lost to the team of Maracaibo
, Venezuela
.
(HISD). Bellaire is within Trustee District V.
Pupils who live in Bellaire inside of the 610 Loop
are zoned to Paul W. Horn Academy for elementary school, while students in Bellaire outside of the 610 Loop are zoned to either Condit Elementary School or Lovett Elementary School, the latter of which is in Houston
. In addition, all Bellaire pupils are zoned to Pershing Middle School
in the Braeswood Place neighborhood of Houston and Bellaire High School in Bellaire. In addition, a middle school called Pin Oak Middle School
, which was built in 2002, is located in Bellaire. Students zoned to Johnston, Long, and Pershing Middle Schools may choose to attend Pin Oak instead; therefore Bellaire students may attend Pin Oak. Pin Oak was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2008.
Maud W. Gordon Elementary School in Bellaire does not have a zoning boundary; it draws excess students from apartments west of Bellaire, in Houston, to relieve other schools in Houston west of Bellaire such as Benavidez, Cunningham, Elrod, and Milne. From its opening to 1953 to 1983 Gordon served as a neighborhood school. After its closure Gordon temporarily housed the Post Oak School and later served as administrative offices. It re-opened as a relief school in 1988 for Elrod and Cunningham schools.
Bellaire's first school opened in 1909; the school moved to a new site in 1914 and an addition opened in 1927; when the addition opened the school was renamed "Condit." Horn opened in 1949, Pershing opened in 1927, Bellaire High School opened in 1955, and Pin Oak opened in 2002. Pershing's current campus opened in January 2007. The current The current Horn and Lovett buildings will open in August 2011. The rebuilds of Horn, Lovett, and Herod Elementary of Houston together had a cost of $49 million and were a part of a $1 billion bond program approved by HISD voters in 2007.
Gabriela Mistral Early Childhood Center is the closest public early childhood center to the city of Bellaire and Kolter Elementary School is the closest school with a tuition-based early childhood program. Only economically disadvantaged students, homeless students, students who are not proficient in English, or children of active-duty members of the U.S. military or whose parent has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty may be enrolled in tuition-free HISD preschools. Students who are eligible for HISD's preschools may attend any Early Childhood Center in Houston ISD for free. Students not eligible may enroll in tuition-based HISD preschool programs.
Three independent (private) schools
, including Episcopal High School
(9-12), The Post Oak School
(Montessori K-8), and the Veritas Christian Academy (K-8), are located in Bellaire. Episcopal High School opened in fall 1984; its campus previously housed Marion High School and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, a Roman Catholic school operated by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament and within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
. The current campus of The Post Oak School opened in 1986; the school had been previously housed in the Gordon Elementary School campus. Holy Ghost School, a Catholic private K-8 school, is located at 6920 Chimney Rock Road in Houston and adjacent to the Bellaire city limits. Private schools near Bellaire in areas of Houston include Saint Agnes Academy, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
, St. Francis Episcopal Day School (Texas)
, and St. Thomas' Episcopal School
.
(HCCS). The community college district operates the HCCS Gulfton Center, located at 5407 Gulfton Drive in the Gulfton area of Houston. Gulfton Center, a 35100 square feet (3,260.9 m²) campus building owned by HCCS, opened in 1990 after Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. sold the building to HCCS for $700,000 (1990 dollars). The West Loop Center, an HCCS-owned campus at 5601 West Loop South which opened in Spring 1999, is in Houston and in close proximity to Bellaire. Both the Gulfton and West Loop campuses are part of the district's Southwest College.
The city of Bellaire also operates its own library, the Bellaire City Library, at 5111 Jessamine Street. The Friends of the Bellaire Library, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was established in 1951 to support the City of Bellaire Library.
is the area regional newspaper. Residents receive the Bellaire/West U
/River Oaks
/Meyerland
local section. The Southwest News is the oldest local paper currently published in Bellaire; offices are at 5160 Spruce Street. The Bellaire Examiner is a newspaper also distributed free to residents.BellaireConnect.com is a community web site for Bellaire and its surrounding neighborhoods.
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and West University Place
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
.
Bellaire is known as the "City of Homes" as the city is mostly residential, while there are offices along the 610 Loop within the city limits. As of 2000, Bellaire is the 27th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income
Texas locations by per capita income
Texas is the thirty-second richest state in the United States of America, with a per capita income of $19,617 .-Texas counties ranked by per capita income:...
.
History
Bellaire was founded in 1908 by William Wright Baldwin, who was the president of the South End Land Company. Baldwin, a native of IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, was well known as the vice president of the Burlington Railroad. Bellaire was founded on what was part of William Marsh Rice
William Marsh Rice
William Marsh Rice was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas.-Biography:...
's 9449 acres (38.2 km²) ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
. Baldwin surveyed the eastern 1000 acres (4 km²) of the ranch into small truck farms. He named those farms "Westmoreland Farms". Baldwin started Bellaire in the middle of "Westmoreland Farms" to serve as a residential neighborhood and an agricultural trading center. South End Land Company advertised to farmers in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. Baldwin stated that the town was named "Bellaire", or "Good Air
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
" for its breezes". Bellaire may have been named after Bellaire, Ohio
Bellaire, Ohio
Bellaire is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,278 at the 2010 census. The village is located along the Ohio River...
, a town served by one of Baldwin's rail lines.
Six miles of prairie was a buffer zone
Buffer zone
A buffer zone is generally a zonal area that lies between two or more other areas , but depending on the type of buffer zone, the reason for it may be to segregate regions or to conjoin them....
between Houston and Bellaire. Originally the town was bounded by Palmetto, First, Jessamine, and Sixth (now Ferris) Streets. In 1910 Edward Teas, a horticulturist, moved his nursery to Bellaire from Missouri so Teas could implement Sid Hare's landscaping plans. Bellaire was incorporated as a city with a general charter in 1918, ten years after its founding. Bellaire had a population of 200 at the time. Because of the 1918 incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Bellaire's territory into its city limits, while Houston annexed surrounding areas that were unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
.
Bellaire's population had reached 1,124 in 1940. After 1940, Bellaire had a rapid population explosion in the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
building boom. On December 31, 1948, the city of Houston had annexed the land around the city of Bellaire, stopping the city of Bellaire's land growth. Bellaire remained independent of Houston; Bellaire adopted a home rule charter with a council-manager government in April 1949. By 1950 the city's residents had numbered 10,150. Bellaire High School was established in 1955.
According to a Bellaire resident quoted in the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
, prior to 1992, the tax base of the city of Bellaire had been decreasing. After neighbor West University Place
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
eased restrictions on developers, new houses were constructed in West University Place, and the city gained a larger tax base. Bellaire decided to also liberalize its development restrictions to allow for new development by streamlining its no-growth building permit process. According to Karl Lewis, a vice president and sales manager at John Daugherty Realtors, when the prices of West University Place land reached about $20 per square foot, area home buyers began to consider Bellaire, which had an average price of $10–12 per square foot. Don Stowers of the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
said that Bellaire and West University Place had "comparable" attributes such as independent fire and police departments, zoning, recreation facilities and parks, and schools "among the best in Houston." Michael Blum, president of Blum & Associates Realty, said "Bellaire is a bargain." Blum added that Bellaire was affordable compared to similar American neighborhoods and that Bellaire had proximity to business districts, "excellent" municipal services, and "superior" schools.
In 2002 the City of Bellaire attempted to acquire all or part of the 10 acres (4 ha) Teas Nursery, Bellaire's oldest business and the oldest nursery in Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
, for park development. The company fought the city's take-over attempt. During that year the owners of Teas sold 5 acres (2 ha) at the rear of the property to Lovett Homes, a home developer. Frank Liu, the owner of Lovett Homes, said that it had an option to buy the remaining 5 acres (20,234.3 m²). When the City of Bellaire denied a replat application sent by Teas Nursery, in June 2002 the nursery filed a lawsuit against the city and its zoning commission. In 2005 the lawsuit was settled out of court.
During the Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
evacuation, a bus filled with residents from Brighton Gardens, a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
in Bellaire, caught on fire and exploded in the city of Wilmer
Wilmer, Texas
Wilmer is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,393 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 3,576...
. The September 23, 2005 explosion killed 24 people out of the 38 residents and employees in the bus. The resulting lawsuit was settled in June 2009. On March 23, 2008, a tour bus carrying Tejano
Tejano
Tejano or Texano is a term used to identify a Texan of Mexican heritage.Historically, the Spanish term Tejano has been used to identify different groups of people...
singer Emilio
Emilio
Emilio Navaira III is an American musician of Mexican descent, who performs both Country and Tejano music. Known to most by the mononym Emilio, he has charted more than ten singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks charts, in addition to six singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks...
crashed in Bellaire. By 2008, an increasing number of houses sold for over $1,000,000.
On December 31, 2008, Bellaire police officers confronted Robbie Tolan, the son of former Major League Baseball player Bobby Tolan
Bobby Tolan
Robert Tolan is a former center and right fielder in Major League Baseball. Tolan, who batted and threw left-handed, played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Cincinnati Reds , San Diego Padres , Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates...
, in the driveway of his house at the 800 block of Woodstock. Officers suspected Tolan, who was unarmed, of stealing a sports utility vehicle in the driveway and shot Tolan in the chest; Tolan's family owned the vehicle. Tolan was hospitalized with injuries to one lung and a liver. The incident sparked allegations of racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
. Members of minority groups reported that Bellaire police racially profiled people; José Cruz, Jr.
José Cruz, Jr.
José Luis Cruz, Jr. is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Over his nine year playing career, Cruz played for eight different teams. Standing 6'0" tall and weighing 210 pounds, Cruz was a right-handed switch hitter...
, son of baseball player José Cruz
José Cruz
José Cruz Dilan is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is also the former first base coach for the Houston Astros. During his 19-year baseball career, he played from 1970-1988 for three different teams, playing primarily for the Astros...
, moved from Bellaire, his hometown, was stopped since his vehicle was missing a front license plate, and he arrested by Bellaire police and spent one night in jail in 2002 after Bellaire law enforcement told him that he had an arrest for his warrant. The Houston Chronicle said that the Bellaire police decision to arrest Cruz was a mistake. In January 2009, Cruz accused the police of racially profiling. Mayor Cindy Siegel said that she was unaware of racial profiling by police. Siegel announced that the city will investigate racial profiling and hire an independent consultant to look at traffic stop data. The local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) branch said that it established a pact with the City of Bellaire; people may report civil rights violations from Bellaire Police to the branch if the people do not wish to contact the City of Bellaire. However, the NAACP branch has not yet provided the city with any civil rights violations. On April 6, 2009 a Harris County grand jury indicted Sergeant Jeffrey Cotton, the police officer, for aggravated assault by a public servant. If convicted, Cotton could face up to life in prison. In addition the family sued the police department and the police officer. The upcoming trial in Harris County District Court on criminal felony charges against Cotton began on January 25, 2010. Jury selection was scheduled to begin on May 3, 2010. The officer was found not guilty in his criminal trial in May 2010.
Teas Nursery closed in 2010; the company president, Tom Teas, intended for the property to be redeveloped into single family houses. The Teas Nursery business was either going to move to a new location or be liquidated. In December the Rubenstein family bought the Teas property; the family planned to donate it to the City of Bellaire for community purposes. The Teas property has two historic buildings. Scott Rubenstein, who handled negotiations for the Rubenstein family, described the Teas lot as "the last largely undeveloped tract in the city and, frankly, in the inner loop of the city of Houston where you can do something that can be used by people from all around the city." Mayor of Bellaire Cindy Seigel said "I am just thrilled we’ll be able to preserve a historical property that is an important piece of Bellaire’s history."
In January 2010 Siegel announced that she would oppose a plan to locate a permanent, privately-funded Houston Dynamo stadium
New Houston Dynamo stadium
Houston Dynamo stadium is a planned soccer specific stadium in Houston. The 16 to 18 month project is planned to be completed during the month of May in the 2012 Major League Soccer season and is expected to cost $110 million...
at the intersection of South Rice and Westpark, near Bellaire. In April 2010 it was announced that the Dynamo stadium will be built in East Downtown Houston.
Geography and climate
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²), all of it land.
The city is surrounded by Houston, West University Place
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
, and Southside Place
Southside Place, Texas
Southside Place is a city in west central Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,546 at the 2000 census.As of 2000, Southside Place is the 13th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income....
.
Cityscape
Bellaire's housing lots are 75 feet (22.9 m) by 130 feet (39.6 m), allowing for houses larger than those that could be built on typical 50 feet (15.2 m) by 120 feet (36.6 m) West University Place lots. A Bellaire lot can accommodate a house with a detached garage and a swimming pool, while the typical West University Place lot could accommodate a newly constructed GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
house described by Don Stowers of the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
as "lot-hugging." The more spacious and inexpensive housing lots prompted area home seekers to consider Bellaire.
The original Bellaire housing stock typically consisted of 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
houses described by Stowers as "smallish." Because of the attributes, developers did not hesitate to tear these houses down and build new houses. Some individuals chose to renovate their houses instead of having them torn down. Many individuals who would otherwise renovate the houses reconsidered their decisions as the land value increased. In some cases the land value was higher than the value of the structure on the lot. Some subdivisions had larger houses, particularly the Carroll subdivision south of Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated areas in Harris County and the cities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and West University Place....
and the Braeburn Country Club Estates subdivision between Chimney Rock and Rice. Many of the houses in those subdivisions were built in the 1950s and early 1960s, and many were on 0.5 acre (0.202343 ha) lots. Karl Lewis, the vice president and sales manager of John Daugherty Realtors, said that many of the houses were "still quite attractive" and "similar to the large Tanglewood homes." In 1992 smaller lots in Bellaire were about $50,000 and up, while larger lots were $300,000 to $500,000.
In a 2007 Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
article John Nova Lomax, a journalist, said that parts of Bellaire's downtown had "a certain raffish 1950s charm – the Bellaire Broiler Burger, for example – but it’s boring." Lomax stated in a 2008 Houston Press article that, due to the growth and dominance of Houston, municipal enclaves with their own services, including Bellaire, "are little more than glorified neighborhoods."
Many Bellaire streets, such as "Holly," "Holt," "Maple," and "Pine," are named after trees. The word "Holt" means a small grove or a forest of trees.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 15,642 people, 6,019 households, and 4,321 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 4,319.0 people per square mile (1,668.3/km²). There were 6,315 housing units at an average density of 1,743.7 per square mile (673.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.11% White, 0.84% African American, 0.27% Native American, 6.35% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.85% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.81% of the population.
There were 6,019 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $89,775, and the median income for a family was $104,200. Males had a median income of $72,295 versus $49,766 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $46,674. About 1.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
The median income for a household in the city was $144,432 in 2009. Estimated per capita income was$71,059 in 2009.
Local government
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
style of government. The home rule government was established on April 2, 1949, replacing the general law form of government. The city council is made up of the mayor and six city council members. All are elected at large. The mayor is elected for two-year terms, while each city council member is elected for four-year terms. The mayor may not serve for more than four terms in that position. A council members may have no more than two terms as a city council member. Bellaire has zoning ordinances that dictate types of structures and uses throughout sections of the city. As of 2010, the mayor is Cindy Siegel. The six council members are, in order of position, Will Hickman (1), Jim Avioli (2), Corbett Daniel Parker (3), Phil Nauert (4), Andrew Friedberg (5), and Mandy Nathan (6).
The Bellaire Fire Department is housed at 5101 Jessamine Street. The fire station includes two fire engines (a main engine and a volunteer/backup engine), two medic units (a main medic unit and a backup unit), an on shift commander vehicle, a vehicle for each the chief and assistant chief, a cascade unit, and a hazardous materials trailer. The fire department operates the Citizens Fire Academy, a fire and life safety program for Bellaire citizens held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The old fire station was demolished on December 4, 2009 with demolition continuing on Monday December 7, 2009, and operations are temporarily relocated at the Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
building. A new fire station was scheduled to in the location of the previous fire station. The groundbreaking for the new station was held on December 17, 2009.
Local politics
Zoning and land use controversies, common throughout Bellaire's history, resulted in the 1977 recall of the mayor and three council members. The City of Bellaire voted against banning smoking in bars and restaurants on Monday January 15, 2007. Mayor Cindy Siegel and Pat McLaughlan, one council member, voted for the ban, while the other five members, including Peggy Faulk, voted against the ban. The National Restaurant Association asked Bellaire to consider adopting a smoking ban to put it in sync with the City of Houston, which adopted a similar ordinance in 2005. In December 2009 the city voted to ban texting while drivingTexting while driving
Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the web on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. The practice has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor...
. Bans of texting while driving were passed in Bellaire and West University Place, Texas
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
within hours of one another. In 2010 the city voted 5-2 to ban the feeding of cats on public property and establish a rule requiring the permission of the owner of a piece of private property in order to feed cats on private property. The city received negative e-mail feedback from various locations, including Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In 2011 Phil Nauert was elected as the new Mayor of Bellaire.
County, state, and federal government
Bellaire is within Harris County Precinct 3. As of 2008 Steve Radack serves as the commissioner of that precinct. It is in Constable Precinct One. As of 2008 Jack Abercia heads the constable precinct.Bellaire is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. As of 2008 Ellen Cohen
Ellen Cohen
Ellen Cohen was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 134 from 2006 to 2010.-Personal Life and Career:Before moving to Houston in 1977, Cohen and her late husband, Lyon, lived in Lyon's hometown of Montreal with their two children, Marcie and Eric.Shortly after...
represents the district. Bellaire is within District 17
Texas Senate, District 17
District 17 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Senator Kyle Janek announced his resignation on May 29, 2008. Governor Rick Perry called for a special...
of the Texas Senate
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the...
.
Bellaire is in Texas's 7th congressional district
Texas's 7th congressional district
Texas District 7 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that serves a small area of western Harris County...
; as of 2008 John Culberson
John Culberson
John Abney Culberson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party caucus...
is the representative. The designated United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
office is the Bellaire Post Office along Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated areas in Harris County and the cities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and West University Place....
in Bellaire. Bellaire first received a post office in 1911.
Transportation
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is a major public transportation agency based in Houston . It operates bus, light rail, future commuter rail, and paratransit service in the city as well as most of Harris County...
(METRO). The city is served by bus lines 2 (Bellaire), 17, 33 (Post Oak Crosstown), 49 (Chimney Rock Crosstown), and 65 (Bissonnet). The Bellaire Transit Center, located at 5100 Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated areas in Harris County and the cities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and West University Place....
at South Rice Avenue, has four lines (2, 33, 49, 65). As of 2010 METRO has proposed to build the Bellaire Station as part of the METRORail
METRORail
METRORail is the light rail line in Houston . It is the second major light rail service in Texas following the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. With an approximate daily ridership of 34,155, the METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the...
University Line
University Line (METRORail)
The University/Blue Line is a planned METRORail light rail route to be designed, constructed, and operated by METRO in Houston, Texas.-Opposition:...
.
In Bellaire's early history, Bellaire Boulevard and a historic street car line connected Bellaire to Houston. The street car line, which ran a four mile (6 km) stretch from central Bellaire to Houston's Main Street, started construction in 1909. The streetcar line consisted of one railway track and an overhead electric wire. A waiting pavilion and a turnaround loop were located at the terminus in Bellaire. The Houston Electric Company had simultaneously constructed a south end line from Eagle Avenue to what is now Fannin Street to connect to the Bellaire Boulevard line. Service, with one required transfer at Eagle Avenue, began on December 28, 1910. The streetcar was nicknamed the "Toonerville Trolley". On September 26, 1927 the trolley line was abandoned and replaced by a bus line. This was due to frequent derailments caused by a worn-out track and the advent of the automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
.
Economy and workforce
The City of Bellaire has property zoned for light industrial, commercial, and mixed-use residential and commercial uses. Bellaire has some high-rise office buildings along Interstate 610. Frost Bank's Houston-area offices are located in Bellaire. AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
operates its Houston-area headquarters in an office building at 6500 West Loop South in Bellaire; the building was with SBC Corporation before it absorbed the former AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
. The main offices of the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce are located in Bellaire. The chamber assists economy activity in Bellaire. Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
has a 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) campus at 4800 Fournace Place in Bellaire that is the headquarters for the Chevron Pipe Line Company along with several other business units. Prior to the merger between Chevron and Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
, the facility belonged to Texaco. Texaco built the 502000 square foot square foot facility.
In 1953 the Consulate-General of Sweden
Diplomatic missions of Sweden
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Sweden. Sweden has a moderately sized diplomatic network of 78 embassies and 13 consulates general, supplemented by honorary consulates, cultural centres and trade missions that are operated separately. Of note Sweden was the first Western country to have...
moved to Bellaire. At one point the Consulate-General of Honduras in Houston
Diplomatic missions of Honduras
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Honduras, excluding honorary consulates. Honduras is a Central American country.-Europe:** Brussels ** Paris ** Berlin ** Hamburg ** Vatican City...
was located in Suite 360 at 6700 West Loop South
Interstate 610
Interstate 610 may refer to:* Interstate 610 , an alternate in New Orleans, Louisiana* Interstate 610 , a beltway around Houston, Texas...
in Bellaire. As of 2009 the Honduran Consulate-General and the Swedish Honorary Consulate are located in Houston.
Bellaire had 8,120 employed civilians as of the 2000 Census, including 3,835 females. Of the civilian workers, 5,368 (66.1%) were private for profit wage and salary workers. Of them 689 (8.5% of the total Bellaire civilian workforce) were employees of their own corporations. 952 (11.7%) were private non-profit wage and salary workers. 446 (5.5%) worked for local governments. 479 (5.9%) were state government workers. 111 (1.4%) were federal workers. 754 (9.3%) were self-employed; none of them worked in agriculture, forestry, fishing, or hunting. 10 (.1%) were unpaid family workers.
Parks and recreation
Marvin Zindler
Marvin Harold Zindler was a news reporter for television station KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, United States. His investigative journalism, through which he mostly represented the city's elderly and working class, made him one of the city's most influential and well-known media personalities.-Early...
, a Houston journalist; it was originally named Bellaire Park. Bellaire Zindler Park includes a neighborhood pool, two lighted tennis courts, a gazebo, a picnic area, a jogging trail, an open playground, the Bellaire Recreation Center, and the Bellaire Civic Center, which includes auditoriums and meeting rooms. The 0.875 acres (3,541 m²) Vic Driscoll Park consists entirely of open green space. The 2.1 acres (8,498.4 m²) Evergreen Park includes a neighborhood pool and a playground and picnic area. The 4.7 acres (19,020.2 m²) Feld Park includes an adult softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
field, a playground, two lighted tennis courts, and the Feld Scout House. The 0.2 acres (809.4 m²) Joe Gaither Park includes a play structure with swings and green space. The 3.1 acres (12,545.3 m²) Horn Field (Avenue B at Holly Street) includes two lighted baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fields, youth soccer (football)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
fields, and a T-Ball field. The 0.489 acres (1,978.9 m²) Jacquet Park consists of a playground and picnic area. The 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) Lafayette Park includes a playground and picnic area, an open play area, and the Officer Lucy Dog Park, a dog park
Dog park
A dog park is a facility set aside for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners...
. The 0.75 acres (3,035.1 m²) Locust Park consists of an open play area and a shaded picnic area. The 1.795 acres (7,264.1 m²) Loftin Park consists of open green space. The 2.547 acres (10,307.4 m²) Mulberry Park at 700 Mulberry Lane includes a playground area, a picnic shelter, a youth baseball field, and three lighted tennis courts. The 6.6 acres (26,709.3 m²) Paseo Park along Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated areas in Harris County and the cities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and West University Place....
includes an esplanade, the Bellaire Trolley and the Special Event area. The 7 acres (28,328 m²) Pin Oak Park along the West Loop South (610 Loop) includes two lighted baseball fields, one lighted soccer and American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
field, one jogging track, and three basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
/tennis courts. The 4.1 acres (16,592.1 m²) Russ Pitman Park includes the Henshaw House, the Nature Discovery Area, a playground area, a sheltered picnic area, a self-guided nature trail, two pavilions, and an aviary. The dedication ceremony of the future Evelyn's Park was held on June 25, 2011.
As of 1996 Bellaire prohibits smoking in public parks and dogs in all non-dog public parks; as of that year smoking in public parks brings a fine of $500. The ordinance was adopted around 1996 on a 4-3 vote.
Bellaire holds annual Fourth of July parades and annual "'snow' in the park" Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
celebrations. Bellaire's Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball team entered the Little League World Series
Little League World Series
The Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
in 2000; the team lost to the team of Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Education
Primary and secondary public schools
The city is served by Houston Independent School DistrictHouston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
(HISD). Bellaire is within Trustee District V.
Pupils who live in Bellaire inside of the 610 Loop
Interstate 610 (Texas)
Interstate 610 is a freeway that forms a forty-two-mile loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as "The Loop", "Loop 610", "The 610 Loop", or just "610", traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston and its surrounding areas...
are zoned to Paul W. Horn Academy for elementary school, while students in Bellaire outside of the 610 Loop are zoned to either Condit Elementary School or Lovett Elementary School, the latter of which is in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. In addition, all Bellaire pupils are zoned to Pershing Middle School
Pershing Middle School (Houston)
John J. Pershing Middle School is a secondary school located at 3838 Bluebonnet in Houston, Texas with a zip code of 77025.Pershing, located in the Braeswood Place neighborhood, serves grades 6 through 8 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.Pershing has a neighborhood program, a...
in the Braeswood Place neighborhood of Houston and Bellaire High School in Bellaire. In addition, a middle school called Pin Oak Middle School
Pin Oak Middle School
Pin Oak Middle School is a secondary school that is located in Bellaire, Texas, United States. Pin Oak, which serves grades 6 through 8, is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located near the intersection of the 610 Loop and U.S. Route 59...
, which was built in 2002, is located in Bellaire. Students zoned to Johnston, Long, and Pershing Middle Schools may choose to attend Pin Oak instead; therefore Bellaire students may attend Pin Oak. Pin Oak was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2008.
Maud W. Gordon Elementary School in Bellaire does not have a zoning boundary; it draws excess students from apartments west of Bellaire, in Houston, to relieve other schools in Houston west of Bellaire such as Benavidez, Cunningham, Elrod, and Milne. From its opening to 1953 to 1983 Gordon served as a neighborhood school. After its closure Gordon temporarily housed the Post Oak School and later served as administrative offices. It re-opened as a relief school in 1988 for Elrod and Cunningham schools.
Bellaire's first school opened in 1909; the school moved to a new site in 1914 and an addition opened in 1927; when the addition opened the school was renamed "Condit." Horn opened in 1949, Pershing opened in 1927, Bellaire High School opened in 1955, and Pin Oak opened in 2002. Pershing's current campus opened in January 2007. The current The current Horn and Lovett buildings will open in August 2011. The rebuilds of Horn, Lovett, and Herod Elementary of Houston together had a cost of $49 million and were a part of a $1 billion bond program approved by HISD voters in 2007.
Gabriela Mistral Early Childhood Center is the closest public early childhood center to the city of Bellaire and Kolter Elementary School is the closest school with a tuition-based early childhood program. Only economically disadvantaged students, homeless students, students who are not proficient in English, or children of active-duty members of the U.S. military or whose parent has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty may be enrolled in tuition-free HISD preschools. Students who are eligible for HISD's preschools may attend any Early Childhood Center in Houston ISD for free. Students not eligible may enroll in tuition-based HISD preschool programs.
Primary and secondary private schools
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, including Episcopal High School
Episcopal High School (Bellaire, Texas)
Episcopal High School is a co-educational private day school in Bellaire, Texas, United States. The high school is located on a campus in the city, which is partially surrounded by the city of Houston....
(9-12), The Post Oak School
The Post Oak School
The Post Oak School is a Montessori school located in Bellaire, Texas, United States, near Houston.Founded in 1963, the school is a non-profit corporation. It is accredited by the Association Montessori Internationale and the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest...
(Montessori K-8), and the Veritas Christian Academy (K-8), are located in Bellaire. Episcopal High School opened in fall 1984; its campus previously housed Marion High School and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, a Roman Catholic school operated by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament and within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston encompasses of ten counties in the southeastern area of Texas: Galveston; Harris; Austin; Brazoria; Fort Bend; Grimes; Montgomery; San Jacinto; Walker; and Waller.The chancery of the diocese is located in Downtown Houston. The Archdiocese's...
. The current campus of The Post Oak School opened in 1986; the school had been previously housed in the Gordon Elementary School campus. Holy Ghost School, a Catholic private K-8 school, is located at 6920 Chimney Rock Road in Houston and adjacent to the Bellaire city limits. Private schools near Bellaire in areas of Houston include Saint Agnes Academy, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory is an all-men's Jesuit, university-preparatory school for grades 9-12 in the Greater Sharpstown area of Houston, Texas. It is located in proximity to Alief....
, St. Francis Episcopal Day School (Texas)
St. Francis Episcopal Day School (Texas)
St. Francis Episcopal Day School is a private Episcopal elementary and middle school located at 335 Piney Point Road in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States, near the city of Houston....
, and St. Thomas' Episcopal School
St. Thomas' Episcopal School
St. Thomas' Episcopal School is a private, Episcopal institution serving grades Kindergarten through 12. It is located in the Meyerland area of Houston, Texas. The school has 645 students and 100 dedicated faculty members...
.
Community colleges
Bellaire is served by the Houston Community College SystemHouston Community College System
Houston Community College System is a community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, and Stafford in Texas....
(HCCS). The community college district operates the HCCS Gulfton Center, located at 5407 Gulfton Drive in the Gulfton area of Houston. Gulfton Center, a 35100 square feet (3,260.9 m²) campus building owned by HCCS, opened in 1990 after Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. sold the building to HCCS for $700,000 (1990 dollars). The West Loop Center, an HCCS-owned campus at 5601 West Loop South which opened in Spring 1999, is in Houston and in close proximity to Bellaire. Both the Gulfton and West Loop campuses are part of the district's Southwest College.
Public libraries
Media
The Bellaire Buzz is a monthly magazine about people, products and services in the community. It is mailed free of charge to all residents the first week of each month. The Houston ChronicleHouston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
is the area regional newspaper. Residents receive the Bellaire/West U
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
/River Oaks
River Oaks, Houston, Texas
River Oaks is an affluent community located in the geographic center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans . Established in the 1920s by brothers William and Michael Hogg, the community became a well-publicized national...
/Meyerland
Meyerland, Houston, Texas
Meyerland is a community in southwest Houston, Texas, outside of the 610 Loop and inside Beltway 8.A notable feature of Meyerland is Meyerland Plaza, a large outdoor shopping center. Meyerland also is the center of Houston's Jewish community...
local section. The Southwest News is the oldest local paper currently published in Bellaire; offices are at 5160 Spruce Street. The Bellaire Examiner is a newspaper also distributed free to residents.BellaireConnect.com is a community web site for Bellaire and its surrounding neighborhoods.
External links
- City of Bellaire
- Bellaire Police Department
- Bellaire Fire Department
- Bellaire Jewish Community
- Bellaire City Digital Archives - Houston Public LibraryHouston Public LibraryHouston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
- Bellaire Little League
- Gonzalez, J.R. "Bellaire Triangle Shopping Center." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. January 20, 2010—Link showing historical photographs