About this property
Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village, formerly Allen Parkway Village (APV) and San Felipe Courts Apartments, is a public housing complex in the northern Fourth Ward, Houston, Texas, operated by the Houston Housing Authority (HHA). Allen Parkway Village occupies 37 acres (15 ha) of land. At one time the headquarters of the HHA, previously known as the Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), were at APV. In 1988 it was the largest HACH facility. The construction of Allen Parkway Village, originally known as San Felipe Courts Apartments, was completed in 1944, with 963 units built. A group of architectural firms with MacKie & Kamrath being the leader completed the facility. As part of the development process, about 900 bodies were moved from the former New City Cemetery, a cemetery that was operated beginning in 1880 and ending in 1920, to Brookside Cemetery. However the effort missed around 355 bodies. Allen Parkway Village, which was built over the site of a former red light district, "The Reservation", was designed to beautify Allen Parkway. It was originally reserved for White people. Mike Snyder of the Houston Chronicle said that local historians indicated the development of the complex as a factor that lead to the decline of the Fourth Ward. It was renamed "Allen Parkway Village" in 1964. In 1968 African-Americans were permitted to move to APV. Circa 1976 most of the residents were African-Americans who wished to be near Downtown Houston and the Fourth Ward, and the occupancy rate was over 95%. Brian Wallstin of the Houston Press stated that at the time APV "was considered the best of the city's public housing complexes." In December 1984 about 2,000 people lived in APV, which was almost 50% of the total number of people residing in HACH properties. Starting in the 1970s the HACH wanted to demolish Allen Parkway Village while residents fought to have the entire structure remain. In 1977 Robert Wood, the director of the Housing Authority of the City of Houston, wrote a letter proposing that Allen Parkway Village be demolished. In 1979 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized $10 million for modernizing APV, but HACH only spent below $50,000 for this purpose, and instead left around 500 units vacant. The city officials had proposed building other low income housing elsewhere in the city. Public housing officials and private developers were in favor of demolishing the housing, while preservationists and residents were in favor of keeping the housing. The private developers hoped to have higher income housing and commercial use. The HACH, during this time, moved its headquarters into a building in River Oaks. Jim Sherman of the Houston Press stated in 1993 that in addition to the practical desire for redevelopment, much of the impetus was a determination of the politically connected to get the complex demolished after initially running into roadblocks against the goal. Sherman stated that the population loss and decline of APV were "by design".
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about San Felipe Courts Historic District
This page lists San Felipe Courts Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
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Questions about this property
When was San Felipe Courts Historic District listed on the National Register?
San Felipe Courts Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1988.
What type of historic resource is San Felipe Courts Historic District?
San Felipe Courts Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for San Felipe Courts Historic District?
The period of significance for San Felipe Courts Historic District is recorded as the modern era, specifically around 1988.
Can I research the history near San Felipe Courts Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near San Felipe Courts Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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