Downtown Houston - Composition

Composition

Downtown Houston is a 1,178-acre (1.841 sq mi) area bounded by Interstate 45, U.S. Highway 59, and Interstate 10. Several areas exist in Downtown Houston. They include:

• The Historic District was the original town center of Houston and dates from the 19th century. The center of the historic district is the Market Square, where the original city hall building stood. The district includes the Harris County courts complex, and the University of Houston–Downtown is on the edge of the district.
• Main Street Square has a pavilion and fountains built around the Main Street Square Station and the Downtown Macy's (formerly a Foley's) – Houston Pavilions is in the area
• Skyline District – Includes many skyscrapers and forms the base of Downtown's employment
• Sports & Convention – Includes Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Center
• Theater District – The 17 block area includes many performing arts venues, Bayou Place, the Houston Public Library Central Library, and the Houston Aquarium restaurant

Downtown Houston is close to the Sixth Ward, Houston Heights, and the Houston Museum District.

Some areas in Downtown Houston, prior to the development of the interstate highway system, were distinct neighborhoods. Catfish Reef, one area, was in the 400 block of lower Milam Street. The writer Sigman Byrd, active from the late 1940s until the early 1960s, reported in articles, which were re-published in Sig Byrd's Houston, that Catfish Reef was "a quietly cruel street, where rents are high and laughter comes easy, where violence flares quickly and briefly in the neon twilight, and if a dream ever comes true it's apt to be a nightmare." Byrd wrote that one could "buy practically anything" in Catfish Reef, including food, illegal drugs, firearms, jewelry, a haircut, a shoe shine, and other goods and service. He also reported that it was a "bi-racial" area where "he light and the dark meet" and that "Generally speaking, the odd numbers, on the east side, are dark, the even numbers light; but the exception proves the rule." By 1994 the area that was Catfish Reef was replaced with parking lots and parking garages. As of 2009 parking spaces still occupy the former Catfish Reef.

By the late 1980s, 35% of Downtown Houston's land area consisted of surface parking. In early 1995, 900 apartment and condominium units were available in Downtown Houston. By the end of 1999, the number was expected to increase to almost 2,000 units.

Most of the residential units in downtown are conversions of older buildings into modern loft spaces. The lofts are located around the performance halls of the theatre district and near Main Street in the Historic District. In spring 2009, luxury high-rise One Park Place opened-up with 346 units.

Developers have invested more than 4 billion US$ in the first decade of the 21st century to transform downtown into an active city center with residential housing, a nightlife scene and new transportation. The Cotswold Project, a $62 million project started in 1998, has helped to rebuild the streets and transform 90 downtown blocks into a pedestrian-friendly environment by adding greenery, trees and public art. January 1, 2004 marked the opening of the "new" Main Street, a plaza with many eateries, bars and nightclubs, which brings many visitors to a newly renovated locale.

In 2010 Phoenicia Specialty Foods announced its plans to be the first major grocery store in Downtown. It opened on November 10, 2011. Prior to the opening of Phoenicia, many Houstonians perceived Downtown to be a relatively undesirable place to live, despite the cultural and recreational attractions, owing to the lack of grocery options.