Woodland Heights

During this month’s GHPA walking tour, I strolled through the oak shaded streets of Houston’s Woodland Heights. This neighborhood of approximately 2000 houses was developed by William A Wilson starting from 1907. The architecture of these houses is of the bungalow style, with a number of interesting variations.

This neighborhood was one of the street car neighborhoods, at a distance of a 20 minutes street car ride from downtown Houston.


One of the most common types of bungalow is the two story square (floor plan) bungalow.


And the one story bungalow.


Another common type of bungalow is the L-shaped bungalow. This bungalow still has the asbestos shingles on the roof. The owner shot himself in the foot with these very durable shingles, because by now it is costly to remove the shingles.


A number of owners decided to extend the floor space of their bungalows. It is probably costly to stay close to the original design. I think one of the most successful of a once square bungalow is shown below.


It was decided that businesses were not allowed in the neighborhood; therefore a strip of shops was located at the end of Bayland Ave.


Probably soon, this phone boot will be part of a museum too.


As someone from the Netherlands, I was surprised when the tour guide indicated that this house was one of the four houses in Houston build after the (Neo) Dutch Colonial Style. At that point I didn’t recognize anything Dutch in the bungalow, but that was because I was thinking of bungalows in the Netherlands. The Dutch bungalows are built following the more recent Californian style. Also the patio, the non-symmetrical entrance, no identical chimneys at both ends and the huge dormer confused me.

The Dutch Colonial Style is named after the houses which were built by the first Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania in 1600s and 1700s. When I studied the Dutch Colonial Style I realized that the typical gambrel shaped roof was a copy of the one story houses and storage sheds in the area where I was raised. However those houses where not as heavily detailed and richly designed as this bungalow.

Developing a neighborhood probably generates significant revenue, because William Wilson has built this house for himself.


For only $10 you can also join the hour long monthly walking tour, which is lead by a knowledgeable tour guide. To sign up for walking tour updates, visit GHPA walking tours