Bellaire, Texas
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEL : Bellaire, Texas
Bellaire is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston and West University Place.
Bellaire is famed for its Little League baseball team, which had gotten into the World Series on one occasion. In addition, the city's sole public high school, Bellaire High School, is well-known for its academic and athletic programs. The Bellaire High School baseball team, Bellaire Cardinals, which has won the Texas High School Baseball championship seven times with several former or current Major League Baseball players.
Bellaire is known as the "City of Homes" as the city is mostly residential; the city mainly functions as a bedroom community for upper-middle class families. There are a few offices along the 610 Loop within the city limits. As of 2000, Bellaire is the 27th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income. The median house price in central Bellaire for 2006 was $519,494.
History
Bellaire was founded in 1908 by William Wright Baldwin, who was the president of the South End Land Company. Baldwin, a native of Iowa, was well known as the vice president of the Burlington Railroad. Bellaire was founded on what was part of William Marsh Rice's 9,449 acre (38 km²) ranch. Baldwin surveyed the eastern 1,000 acres (4 km²) of the ranch into small truck farms. He named those farms "Westmoreland Farms". Baldwin started Bellaire in the middle of "Westmoreland Farms" to serve as a residential neighborhood and an agricultural trading center. South End Land Company advertised to farmers in the Midwestern United States. Baldwin stated that the town as named "Bellaire", or "Good Air" for its breezes". Bellaire may have been named after Bellaire, Ohio, a town served by one of Baldwin's rail lines.
Six miles of prairie was a buffer zone between Houston and Bellaire. Originally the town was bounded by Palmetto, First, Jessamine, and Sixth (now Ferris) Streets.
Bellaire Boulevard and a street car line connected Bellaire to Houston. The street car line, which ran a four mile stretch from central Bellaire to Houston's Main Street, started construction in 1909. The streetcar line consisted of one railway track and an overhead electric wire. A waiting pavilion and a turnaround loop were located at the terminus in Bellaire. The Houston Electric Company had simultaneously constructed a south end line from Eagle Avenue to what is now Fannin Street to connect to the Bellaire Boulevard line. Service, with one required transfer at Eagle Avenue, began on December 28, 1910. The streetcar was nicknamed the "Toonerville Trolley".
Bellaire was incorporated as a city with a general charter in 1918, ten years after its founding. Bellaire had a population of 200 at the time.
On September 26, 1927 the trolley line was abandoned and replaced by a bus line. This was due to frequent derailments caused by a worn-out track and the advent of the automobile.
Bellaire's population had reached 1,124 in 1940. After 1940, Bellaire had a rapid population explosion in the post-World War II building boom. On December 31, 1948, the city of Houston had annexed the land around the city of Bellaire, stopping the city of Bellaire's land growth. Bellaire remained independent of Houston; Bellaire adopted a home rule charter with a council-manager government in April 1949. By 1950 the city's residents had numbered 10,150. In 1953, the Swedish general consulate moved to Bellaire. Bellaire High School was established in 1955.
During the Hurricane Rita evacuation, a bus filled with residents from Brighton Gardens, a nursing home in Bellaire, caught on fire and exploded in an area of Dallas County, Texas, near the city of Wilmer. The September 23, 2005 explosion killed 24 people out of the 38 residents and employees in the bus. [link] and [link]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 km² (3.6 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 15,642 people, 6,019 households, and 4,321 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,668.3/km² (4,319.0/mi²). There were 6,315 housing units at an average density of 673.5/km² (1,743.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.11% White, 0.84% African American, 0.27% Native American, 6.35% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.85% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.81% of the population.There were 6,019 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $89,775, and the median income for a family was $104,200. Males had a median income of $72,295 versus $49,766 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,674. About 1.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Bellaire currently has a city manager style of government.
The city council is made up of the mayor and six city council members. All are elected at large. The mayor is elected for two-year terms, while each city council member is elected for four-year terms. The mayor may not serve for more than four terms in that position. A council members may have no more than two terms as a city council member.
As of 2005, the mayor is Cindy Siegel. The six council members are, in order of position, Phil Nauert (1), John Monday (2), Peggy Faulk (3), Debra Marz Davison (4), Pat McLaughlan (5), and John Jeffery (6).
Bellaire is in Texas's 7th congressional district [link].
Subdivisions
There are several subdivisions in the city of Bellaire. They include Bellaire Oaks, Sylvania Courts, Southdale, Teas Gardens, Westmoreland Farms, Braeburn Hollow, Blume Acres, Elmhurst, Hollywview, Post Oak Terrace, Bellaire Oaks, Evergreen Plaza, Pin Oak Estates, Cranford Place, Braeburn Gardens, Oak Terrace, West Post Oak, Peaceful Valley, and Braeburn Country Club estates.Transportation
Bellaire is a member city of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO). The city is served by bus lines 2 (Bellaire), 17, 33 (Post Oak Crosstown), 49 (Chimney Rock Crosstown), and 65 (Bissonnet). Bellaire is the site of the Bellaire Transit Center, which has four lines (2, 33, 49, 65).The 610 Loop, the inner loop of the Houston area, runs through the city of Bellaire. Commuters get onto the 610 Loop and then U.S. Highway 59 to get to work in Downtown Houston.
Education
The city is served by Houston Independent School District and the Houston Community College System.
Pupils who live in Bellaire inside of the 610 Loop are zoned to Horn Academy for elementary school, while students in Bellaire outside of the 610 Loop are zoned to either Condit or Lovett, the latter of which is in Houston. In addition, all Bellaire pupils are zoned to Pershing Middle School in the Braeswood Place neighborhood of Houston and Bellaire High School in Bellaire. In addition, a middle school called Pin Oak Middle School, which was built in 2002, is located in Bellaire. Students zoned to Johnston, Long, and Pershing Middle Schools may choose to attend Pin Oak instead; therefore Bellaire students may attend Pin Oak.
Two early childhood centers, Gabriela Mistral Early Childhood Center, and Las Americas Early Childhood Development (both of which are in Houston's Gulfton neighborhood), are closest to the city of Bellaire. Since only poor students, homeless students, or students who are not proficient in English may be enrolled in HISD preschools, most Bellaire residents rely on private preschools. Students who are eligible for HISD's preschools may attend any Early Childhood Center in Houston ISD.
Two independent (private) schools, including Episcopal High School and the Post Oak Montessori School, are located in Bellaire. Nearby independent schools include St. Marks Episcopal School in the city of West University Place and St. Vincent De Paul Catholic School in the city of Houston.
The city of Bellaire also operates its own library.
Public schools located in the city limits of Bellaire
Secondary Schools
High schools
Middle schools
Primary Schools
- Condit Elementary School
- Paul W. Horn Academy
- Maud W. Gordon Elementary School (the school does not have a zoning boundary, it draws students from apartments west of Bellaire, in Houston)
Independent schools located in the city limits of Bellaire
- Episcopal High School (9 - 12)
- Faith Lutheran Day School (Pre-Kindergarten - Kindergarten)
- Post Oak Montessori School (Pre-Kindergarten - 8) [link]
- Richmond Plaza Baptist School (Pre-Kindergarten - Kindergarten)
Community information
The closest YMCA is the Weekley Family YMCA in the Braeswood Place neighborhood in Houston.The closest mainstream movie theater to Bellaire is the AMC Theatres Meyer Park 16 in the Meyer Park Shopping Center in Houston.
Bellaire has a little league team called the Bellaire Little League. The little league is famous for getting into the little league playoffs.
External links
- [City of Bellaire]
- [Bellaire Police Department]
- [Bellaire House Statistics]
- [Bellaire article] of the Handbook of Texas Online
- [Bellaire Little League]
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