Meyerland

A family's land

The land came from Joseph F. Meyer, who began buying acreage in southwest Houston in the 1890s and eventually held more than 6,000 acres. His son George developed 1,200 of them as Meyerland. It was built in stages, and each new section was given a number and its own set of deed restrictions.

Meyerland is part of the City of Houston and has no government of its own. What it has instead is the Meyerland Community Improvement Association, a Texas nonprofit formed on September 24, 1954, months before the subdivision opened. It is a neighborhood with a civic association where a city hall would be, and it has run that way from the start.

The country noticed early. Look magazine gave Meyerland four pages in 1957, and House and Home featured it as an "ideal plan" subdivision in 1958. In October 1957 Meyerland Plaza Shopping Center opened with a celebration called "Around the Shopping World in 80 Acres," complete with a hot-air balloon to the Shamrock Hotel.

Growing up here

The Meyerland Club opened formally on May 24, 1958, and soon became a popular place for families; its strong swim team carried the Meyerland name well beyond its streets. The club closed in 1996 and was sold to the Jewish Community Center, and the site became the Merfish Teen Center.

It is a neighborhood with a civic association where a city hall would be, and it has run that way from the start.

For open space today there are two parks: Meyerland Park, a neighborhood park at 5151 Jason, and Herbert Godwin Park, a community park at 5101 Rutherglen.

Schools arrived in a rush. From 1955 until 1958, a Meyerland bus carried elementary children to Horn Elementary in Bellaire, until Lovett Elementary opened in September 1958. Johnston Junior High, now Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School, followed in 1959, Kolter Elementary in 1960, and Herod Elementary, at the edge of Section 10, in 1961.

Meyerland and Bellaire

The link has lasted. Bellaire High's attendance zone still takes in Meyerland, and Lovett Elementary feeds it entirely. Meyerland lies immediately south of Bellaire, outside Loop 610. The Weekley YMCA counts Meyerland in its service area, and the local edition of Community Impact covers Bellaire, Meyerland and West University as a single beat.

The Meyerland Community Improvement Association office is at 4999 West Bellfort Avenue, Houston 77035; its site, meyerland.net, keeps the neighborhood's history.

Sources

• Meyerland Community Improvement Association, "The History of Meyerland": https://meyerland.net/about/the-history-of-meyerland/
• Bellaire High School, school history (HISD): https://bellaire.houstonisd.org/our-school/school-history
• Wikipedia, "Bellaire High School (Texas)" (zoning and feeders): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellaire_High_School_(Texas)
• Wikipedia, "Meyerland (Houston)" (location, parks, Weekley YMCA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyerland_(Houston)
• Community Impact, Bellaire / Meyerland / West University edition: https://communityimpact.com/news/houston/bellaire-meyerland-west-university/

En español

Meyerland es un barrio de la ciudad de Houston, no una ciudad; en lugar de ayuntamiento tiene una asociación cívica, la Meyerland Community Improvement Association, fundada el 24 de septiembre de 1954. El barrio abrió en la primavera de 1955 sobre antiguos arrozales, y el vicepresidente Richard Nixon cortó la cinta. La tierra era de Joseph F. Meyer; su hijo George urbanizó 1,200 acres. Hoy tiene 2,309 lotes. Meyerland Plaza abrió en octubre de 1957. De 1955 a 1958, un autobús llevaba a los niños a Horn Elementary, en Bellaire, hasta que abrió Lovett Elementary. Meyerland sigue asignado a Bellaire High School. La oficina de la asociación está en 4999 West Bellfort Avenue, Houston 77035; su sitio es meyerland.net.