- Shoppers on Westheimer. (The Houston Chronicle)
Score one for Houston’s gays. The city’s gayborhood, Montrose, is being honored today as one of the country’s 10 great neighborhoods by the American Planning Association, according to The Houston Chronicle. The story says that long before it became the gayborhood, Montrose was an elite master-planned suburb. The Chronicle also notes that Montrose has been the setting for several important chapters in the city’s history, including the 1991 hate crime murder of gay banker Paul Broussard. But ultimately the stark contrast between Montrose and the rest of Houston may have been the clincher.
David Morley, a research associate at the American Planning Association, said Montrose’s pedestrian-friendly nature was an important factor in the award.
“It’s one of the few places in Houston where people get out of their cars and walk around,” Morley said.
