Brentwood is a residential subdivision in the

Hiram Clarke Hiram Clarke is an area in Houston, Texas, United States, southwest of NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park). History Hiram Clarke Road was named after Hiram Clarke, a Houston Lighting & Power Co. assistant general manager and executive vice president ...

community,Schwartz, Matt.
Restrictions get boost from law / New city enforcement unlikely
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Saturday July 5, 2003. A33 MetFront. Retrieved on October 27, 2011. Available from the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 1 ...

, accessible with a library card. in

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

.Brentwood offers stability to residents
" ''

''. Sunday July 28, 1996. Business 10. Retrieved on October 26, 2011. Available from the

, accessible with a library card. Jennifer Frey of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' said in 2001 that Brentwood was "a medium-size, lower-middle class neighborhood ..Frey, Jennifer.
Bush's School Master
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''. March 8, 2001. C01 Style. Retrieved on October 26, 2011.

History

Originally Brentwood was a

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community, settled in the 1960s. Claudia Kolker of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' said that the first generation of settlers, who were White, as well as the second and third, who were Black, came for the "small-town quality."Kolker, Claudia. "The Battle Over Brentwood." ''

''. Thursday March 16, 1995
1
Retrieved on October 26, 2011. By the mid-1970s the community was changing into an

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

. Kolker said "the transition by most accounts was fairly gentle -- and if anything, scaled Brentwood even further up economically." Kolker added "Over the years, most of the white residents moved out and Brentwood became a sought-after prize for successful Black Houstonians tired of the city. And in contrast to the stereotype of what happens when a neighborhood changes hue, Brentwood became if anything more pristine, more fiercely nurtured, as its Black residents multiplied."Kolker, Claudia. "The Battle Over Brentwood." ''

''. Thursday March 16, 1995
2
Retrieved on October 26, 2011. During the transition period there was a conflict between area White people and area Black people who wanted to assume control of a local church. The church later evolved into a multimillion-dollar organization. As the community matured, some portions decayed.

Rod Paige Roderick Raynor Paige (born June 17, 1933) served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from college football coach and classroom teacher to college dean and school superinten ...

, a man who would later become the superintendent of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

and the

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, spearheaded a move to excise a dump from the edge of the community. The

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of ...

eventually sided with the residents. In the 1990s the Brentwood Baptist Church, a local church, suggested housing AIDS victims on the property. This led to controversy and paranoia within the neighborhood. Some residents felt that the church had betrayed their community, and moved to keep their families away from the AIDS victims.Downing, Margaret. "Downing." ''

''. Thursday December 30, 1999
1
Retrieved on October 6, 2011. As of 1996, the subdivision has a lot of stability in its pool of residents since relatively few people moved in and out of the community. This differed from nearby areas which have many rental units, such as

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, Meredith Manor, and Pamela Heights. Stanley O'Bryant, a realty agent of B E Henson & Associates and a letter carrier, said that Brentwood was "a very stable neighborhood. Hardly anybody moves." By 1996 the Hiram Clarke Civic Club had prevented the establishment of a correctional facility and an animal shelter on Brentwood's periphery. In late August 1997, after legal wrangling, the AIDS housing opened. By 1999, the controversy over the church's AIDS victim housing cooled when the community's perception of the disease as a disease for

White people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

waned and the community recognized AIDS as a problem affecting the African American community. By 2002 Brentwood residents lobbied against the installation of an affordable housing project.Neighbors say no to housing projects / Developers contend opposition makes it hard to find acceptable sites
" ''

''. Friday March 14, 2003. A31 MetFront. Retrieved on October 27, 2011. Available from the

, accessible with a library card.

Cityscape

Brentwood is near West Airport Boulevard and Hiram Clarke Road.South side residents take extreme measures to protect homes
" ''

KTRK-TV KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Bissonnet Stre ...

''. Wednesday October 17, 2007. Retrieved on October 26, 2011. Brentwood is from the intersection of the

610 Loop Interstate 610 (I-610) is a freeway that forms a loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the ...

and U.S. Route 59 (Southwest Freeway). Most houses in Brentwood have one story each, and are made of brick. In 1995 Claudia Kolker of the ''

'' described Brentwood as "pristine" and "orderly" which contains "decorously maintained homes." Kolker said "It's the very intimacy between these places that impresses a visitor: the way the

ranch-style houses Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

nudge against the grade school grounds, and how the playground stretches toward the parking lot that fronts the church. Almost a physical definition of the word community, this piece of Brentwood seems an icon of a time when home, education and religion all clasped together into one, universally accepted whole." In regards to the surrounding area, Kolker said "a skein of high tension wires laces a long pasture nibbled by cows. Buildings are few, and sound seems somehow muffled out here along Hiram Clarke Road, the thoroughfare that borders these fields. Here in the southwest suburbs, even the grimy Eagle Food Mart, stocked with requisite ATM machines, gas pumps and parking lot loiterers, retains the air of a small country store." Kolker said "Today, to pass the redwood "Brentwood" sign on Airport Street beside Eagle Food Mart is to enter a lapidary haven of gemlike lawns, immaculate houses and burnished cars" and that the local elementary school is "a brief walk from streets with storybook names such as Wuthering Heights, White Heather and Regency." She concluded "While Brentwood's population has changed over the past three decades, its charms have remained much the same." In 1996 few of the houses had burglar bars. Houses had few "for sale" signs and lawns were manicured. Many lawns had "poodle bushes." Around that time houses were listed for sale in the range $42,000 ($ in today's money) to $74,900 ($ in today's money). The houses were more inexpensive than similar houses in Fondren Southwest and sections of Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City. As of 2007 most houses have burglar bars, and many have placed cameras at the corners of their houses. One woman installed motion sensors, rigged her doors and windows, and booby trapped her backyard gate.

Government and infrastructure

The Hiram Clarke Civic Club is an area civic club that covers the community. Covers Brentwood and one other subdivisions, with almost 1,200 households living in the two subdivisions combined. As of 2003 it had 175 members who paid dues. Matt Schwartz of the ''

'' said "Even with dues of $50 a year, enforcing restrictions with letters from attorneys or lawsuits can quickly drain resources."

Culture

Brentwood Baptist Church is located in Brentwood. It originally had a small congregation; as of 1996 its membership had over 10,000 people. Katherine Feser of the ''

'' said in 1996 that the church "anchored" Brentwood. In 1995 Claudia Kolker of the ''

'' said that Brentwood Baptist Church does not function as a community church, and that many residents go to church in the Six wards of Houston, original "wards" where they had been raised.

Education

Residents are zoned to the

. Hobby Elementary School is located inside the neighborhood. Residents are zoned to Hobby, Lawson Middle School (formerly Dowling Middle School), and Madison High School (Houston), Madison High School.Madison High School Attendance Zone
." ''

''. Residents are also zoned to the Houston Community College system.

Parks and recreation

Residents are served by Brentwood Park, a City of Houston park.

Notable residents

(would later become the superintendent of the

and the United States Secretary of Education) - He served as the president of the

Civic Club.Markley, Melanie.
Paige captures HISD District 9 seat
" ''

''. Sunday December 10, 1989. A26. Retrieved on October 26, 2011. Available from the

, accessible with a library card. ** Paige lives in a one-story brick and wood house with a driveway and a garage. Its front windows have tinted glass. Paige bought the house after he moved to Houston in the early 1970s. As of 2001 Paige still resides in this house; he said that he has no interest in living elsewhere. Jennifer Frey of ''

'' described Paige's house as "modest".

References

External links

Hobby Elementary School
!--Old URL: http://es.houstonisd.org/HobbyES/--> {{coord, 29.64, -95.44, type:city_region:US-TX, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston