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OUR HISTORIC HOUSING  

Our vision is to work together to preserve our historic housing and build new housing that reflects the different contexts that characterize our neighborhood. Many of our houses have passed their original prime, but are also of historical value. The Historic Third Ward served as home for many African Americans in Texas post-Civil War as they settled in Freedman's town also known as Fourth Ward. Prior to those events, the area had a large Jewish presence that is reflected in the styling characteristics of Third Ward homes.

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Our neighborhood dates back more than 100 years.
(1%) of our housing was built after 2010.
Most of our housing was constructed in the early twentieth century.

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS

Anchor 1
​Some characteristics that make Third Ward housing distinct:
  • Shotgun styles homes
    • Gabled front porch
    • One or two rooms laid out in a straight line
  • Bungalow style homes
    • Low-pitched rooflines, usually done in a hip or gable (triangular) style
    • Square/Tapered columns
    • Pillars lining the entry
    • Wide, overhanging eaves
    • Covered front porch
    • Exposed rafters under the eaves​
    • mixed styles
  • Du​plexes, Triplexes, and Quadplexes
    • Designed for two separate families
    • Comes in various shapes and configurations​
    • Multiple dedicated entrances
  • Other housing characteristics
    • Steep rooves
    • Extended eaves
    • Wrought iron porch columns and railing details
    • Cladding materials ​
      • Wood paneling/siding ​
      • Brick 
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Referenced from the Northern Third Ward Plan

HISTORIC HOUSING THREATS

Anchor 2
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As development pressures rise, the destruction of our historic housing accelerates. Not only does this threatens the character of the neighborhood, but it also displaces our residents and decreases the number of affordable housing units available to our most vulnerable residents. 

Between 2011 and 2016, 513 homes were demolished.

NORTHERN THIRD WARD GOALS​

Anchor 3

  • Preserve existing historic housing by developing or supporting a program to assist with home maintenance and repairs; explore the potential for this to be a neighborhood volunteer corps or workforce program for local residents.

  • Identify historic housing that is at risk of being demolished; create partnerships to move (if necessary) and renovate this housing to provide truly affordable units and infill vacant lots.

  • Acquire vacant or abandoned homes and buildings for new housing.

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