Where is Third Ward?
Third Ward is a neighborhood southeast of downtown Houston. The City of Houston recognized the Greater Third Ward super neighborhood (No. 67) on June 20, 2002. The city describes it as bounded by I-45 on the east, State Highway 288 on the west, Wentworth and Blodgett to the south, and then along Spur 5 up to I-45. It is in City Council District D.
The University of Houston describes a larger area. Its western boundary is Almeda Road. Its southern border is Old Spanish Trail and Griggs Road, and railroad tracks form its eastern edge. The Gulf Freeway is the unofficial northern border. The ward was first rooted downtown at Main and Congress streets.
History
In 1872, freed people led by Rev. Jack Yates bought the land for Emancipation Park to hold Juneteenth celebrations. The park was donated to the City of Houston in 1916. For more than twenty years it was the only public park in Houston open to African Americans.
The Houston Negro Hospital opened in 1926. It was later known as Riverside General Hospital and closed in 2015. Harris County approved a plan to acquire and renovate the building and move the Harris County Health Department there.
The old Eldorado Ballroom is at 2310 Elgin, at Dowling. It hosted performers from Count Basie to B.B. King. In 1961, Black college students sat down at a segregated Third Ward lunch counter to protest. In 1993, seven African American artists began Project Row Houses with a block and a half of shotgun houses at Holman and Live Oak. The site now covers five city blocks and 39 structures.
Which universities are in Third Ward?
Texas Southern University began in 1927 as Houston Colored Junior College. It became Houston College for Negroes in 1934. In fall 1946 the college moved to a 53-acre property in Third Ward. The Legislature created Texas State University for Negroes in 1947, and it took the name Texas Southern University on June 1, 1951. The campus is at 3100 Cleburne Street.
The University of Houston’s 675-acre campus is in the northeast corner of Third Ward, by the university’s own description.
Schools
The super neighborhood is entirely within Houston ISD. Jack Yates High School opened on February 8, 1926, at 2610 Elgin with 600 students. It moved to 3703 Sampson Street in 1958 and to 3650 Alabama Street in 2018.
Land use and services
Houston is not a zoned city. Development follows Chapter 42, the city’s land development ordinance. All construction within city limits needs a City of Houston permit. Deed restrictions are the only tool that limits land use, and not all areas have them. The Greater Southeast Management District covers the super neighborhood.
City parks include Emancipation Park, Bennett (Mills) Park, Leroy (Moses) Park, Malone (Zurrie M.) Park and Our Park.