Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Houston's River Oaks
    Houston's River Oaks
    Houston's River Oaks
    Ebook134 pages46 minutes

    Houston's River Oaks

    By Charles Dain Becker, Joan Blaffer Johnson and Ann Dunphy Becker

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    River Oaks is a name that has rung out in Houston, Texas, since its founding in 1923. The neighborhood's uncertain geographical boundaries may be a point of controversy, but the impact River Oaks has had on the city is indisputable. River Oaks has been home to astronauts who have contributed to American space exploration; lawyers who are involved in the interworking of the United States' legal system; oil tycoons who have helped Houston grow; and doctors who are responsible for inventing lifesaving medical procedures. The neighborhood is also home to one of the country's most exclusive country clubs, and River Oaks has been served by some of the same schools, churches, stores, and restaurants since its founding. This book explores how River Oaks not only celebrates, grieves, and lives life day-to-day, but also how it changes the world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 7, 2016
    ISBN9781439658451
    Houston's River Oaks
    Author

    Charles Dain Becker

    Charles Dain Becker and Joan Blaffer Johnson are native Houstonians. Charles recently completed a double master's degree from the University of Houston, and Joan is a fifth-generation Texan who was born, married, and has raised her three children in River Oaks. Ann Dunphy Becker has a passion for local history and is the author of Arcadia's Images of America: Houston's River Oaks and Houston: 1860-1900.

    Related to Houston's River Oaks

    Related ebooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How Austin Got Weird

      Mar 15, 2019

      A new book, Austin to ATX, explains the creative, contrarian history of the Texas capital. As South By Southwest ravages a large swath of the city, let's take a look back.

      16 min read

    • Article

      Steve Lopez: They're Leaving California For Las Vegas To Find The Middle-class Life That Eluded Them

      Dec 7, 2017

      LAS VEGAS - The rent steals so much of your paycheck, you might have to move back in with your parents, and half your life is spent staring at the rear end of the car in front of you. You'd like to think it will get better, but when? All around you,

      5 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Waltz, Boys!

      Jul 16, 2019

      Let’s Waltz, Boys!
      9 min read

    • Article

      Navasota

      Sep 17, 2019

      Navasota has long stoked history buffs’ imaginations. It was, after all, the area where historians believe French explorer Sieur de La Salle was murdered in 1687. Then, as a 19th-century railhead on the Navasota River, the town bustled with both comm

      2 min read

    • Article

      Best Of Indy

      Nov 25, 2022

      Best Of Indy
      10 min read

    • Article

      Shaped By Water

      Aug 13, 2018

      Shaped By Water
      4 min read

    • Article

      American Interior

      Dec 5, 2018

      American Interior
      7 min read

    • Article

      TEXANA Making Space

      Jul 18, 2023

      TEXANA Making Space
      5 min read

    • Article

      Crescent City Wordsmiths

      Dec 12, 2023

      Crescent City Wordsmiths
      3 min read

    • Article

      Historic Background

      Apr 19, 2022

      Historic Background
      2 min read

    • Article

      Rocking the Suburbs

      Mar 1, 2020

      RADICAL SUBURBS: EXPERIMENTAL LIVING ON THE FRINGES OF THE AMERICAN CITY By Amanda Kolson Hurley BELT PUBLISHING $16.95; 174 PAGES LONE STAR SUBURBS: LIFE ON THE TEXAS METROPOLITAN FRONTIER Edited by Paul J. P. Sandul and M. Scott Sosebee UNIVERSITY

      4 min read

    • Article

      Reinventing Cowtown

      Sep 29, 2022

      Reinventing Cowtown
      10 min read

    • Article

      How Southern Are You?

      Nov 16, 2020

      How Southern Are You?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Books With The Most Impact

      Mar 15, 2023

      Books With The Most Impact
      9 min read

    • Article

      Cast in Iron?

      Apr 2, 2020

      Cast in Iron?
      7 min read

    • Article

      America's music road

      May 1, 2023

      America's music road
      11 min read

    • Article

      ARTS, CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

      Jun 27, 2023

      St. Louis was recently treated to two womanled shows dedicated to icons. In the fall, Laka led a history lesson with St. Louis Woman, in which she took on the roles of Tina Turner, Josephine Baker, and others. Then, this spring, Kelly Howe embraced t

      12 min read

    • Article

      Creative Character

      Jul 27, 2021

      Creative Character
      3 min read

    • Article

      Enduring Spirit

      Jul 30, 2020

      Enduring Spirit
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Houston's River Oaks

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Houston's River Oaks - Charles Dain Becker

      Norton.

      INTRODUCTION

      With no context, the name River Oaks conjures images of tall trees next to a coursing river in the heart of a dense forest. To many in Houston, this is not the case. There are trees in River Oaks, but the longest shadows there are cast by the great men and women who have called River Oaks their home. There are bayous in River Oaks, but the strongest current one would feel there is the current of power and influence running through it. River Oaks is indeed surrounded, although not by dense forest, but by the thriving metropolis of Houston, Texas.

      River Oaks is a neighborhood. To be exact, it is 1,100 acres of neighborhood, spanning east-west from Shepherd Drive to Buffalo Bayou and north-south from Willowick Drive to Westheimer Road. Known for wide, expansive boulevards and big, lavish houses, River Oaks is some of the most valuable real estate in the Houston area. The most valuable River Oaks plot, however, is the place that it holds in the hearts and minds of Houstonians.

      There are many nice neighborhoods in the Houston area, many of which have houses and acreages that rival those in River Oaks, but none have quite the storied history and elaborate reputation. Originally built as a suburb of a rapidly expanding Houston, River Oaks is now—at least in terms of the Houston metropolitan area—centrally located. There is no other neighborhood in the Houston area that has the aspirational quality that River Oaks does. Some are born into River Oaks, but to many, to live in River Oaks is to have made it. It has been home to astronauts, oil barons, doctors, teachers, and everything in between. What makes a neighborhood a community are the people. What makes River Oaks such an extraordinary community are the extraordinary people who have lived there.

      Many of Houston’s greatest philanthropic and artistic endeavors trace their roots to River Oaks. Parks enjoyed by Houstonians throughout the year are built and cared for through funds raised by River Oaks residents. Every Christmas, people from all over the city pour into River Oaks to drive up and down the boulevards, admiring the Christmas decorations. The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Glassell School of Art, the Houston Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Houston Ballet have all been touched by the patronage of residents of River Oaks at one time or another. Furthermore, River Oaks residents are counted among the nation’s most prolific political donors.

      The stature of the residents and the community’s high profile may make it seem like River Oaks is all about philanthropy, politics, and the arts. In this book, River Oaks is examined not as a political, cultural, and commercial powerhouse, but as a place where people come together to have fun, be with family, and practice their faith. In short, this book shows what makes River Oaks the neighborhood River Oaks the community. The book follows several families through several decades to give an intimate portrait of their lives and homes to give the most authentic sense of time and place possible.

      One

      1960–1989

      On any given day or night in Houston, one might see the residents of River Oaks out and about, acting as the city’s biggest tastemakers, tycoons, philanthropists, and socialites. When they return home, however, they want what any Houstonian might want: family, friends, privacy, luxury, and safety. For the past 93 years, River Oaks residents have enjoyed all that and more in their little corner of the world between Lamar High School and River Oaks Country Club.

      What has brought families to River Oaks over the years may have been different, but they all seem to enjoy the same things about it. When the families represented in this book and other longtime residents of River Oaks were interviewed and

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1