Third Ward is an area of Houston, Texas, United States which evolved from one of the six historic wards of the same name. It is located in the southeast Houston management district.
Third Ward, located inside the 610 Loop is immediately southeast of Downtown Houston and to the east of the Texas Medical Center. The ward became the center of Houston's African-American community. Third Ward is nicknamed "The Tre". Sylvester Turner stated: "[...]stopped off in Freedman's Town — Fourth Ward — transferred over to Third Ward, the Tre, then migrated to Fifth Ward — the Nickel — didn't stay there,[...]" "[...]the lifelong Third Ward -- or Tre, as the neighborhood is affectionately called -- resident[...]"
Robert D. Bullard, a sociologist teaching at Texas Southern University, stated that Third Ward is "the city's most diverse black neighborhood and a microcosm of the larger black Houston community."Wood, Roger. Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues (Issue 8 of Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture). 2003, University of Texas Press. 1st Edition. , 9780292786639. 71.
History
Soon after the 1836 establishment of Houston, the City Council established four wards as political subdivisions of the city. The original Third Ward district extended south of Congress Street and east of Main Street and ended at the north shore of the Brays Bayou; what was then the district includes what is today portions of Downtown Houston and Midtown Houston in addition to residential African-American area currently identified as Third Ward, which is located southeast of Downtown Houston. As of 2003 the usage of the land within the boundaries of the historic Third Ward is more diverse than the land usage in the current Third Ward.Wood, Roger. Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues (Issue 8 of Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture). 2003, University of Texas Press. 1st Edition. , 9780292786639. 72.
In the 1800s much of what was Third Ward, the present-day east side of Downtown Houston, was what Stephen Fox, an architectural historian who lectured at Rice University, referred to as "the elite neighborhood of late 19th-century Houston." Ralph Bivins of the Houston Chronicle said that Fox said that area was "a silk-stocking neighborhood of Victorian-era homes." Bivins said that the construction of Union Station, which occurred around 1910, caused the "residential character" of the area to "deteriorate." Hotels opened in the area to service travelers. Afterwards, according to Bivins, the area "began a long downward slide toward the skid row of the 1990s" and the hotels were changed into flophouses. Passenger trains stopped going to Union Station.Bivins, Ralph. "ON DECK/The stadium vote/Stadium gives hope to downtown landowners ." Houston Chronicle. Sunday September 29, 1996. A1. Retrieved on August 12, 2010. The City of Houston abolished the ward system in the early 1900s, but the name "Third Ward" was continued to be used to refer to the territory that it used to cover.
Historically, Whites lived in the southern part of Third Ward, while African Americans were economically segregated and lived north of Truxillo Street. By the 1930s the White and Black populations of Third Ward were about even. After World War II White residents and the Temple Beth Israel moved from Third Ward to newly developed suburbs on the southwest side, and Third Ward became mostly African-American.Wood, Roger. Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues (Issue 8 of Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture). 2003, University of Texas Press. 1st Edition. , 9780292786639. 73. In the post-World War II period a large number of black migrants, many of them from Louisiana and some from East Texas and other areas in the Deep South, settled in Third Ward. The community became characterized by poverty since many of these migrants were unable to get non-menial jobs. In the era of racial segregation, Almeda Road, a road located in Third Ward area that at that time served as a corridor to Downtown Houston, was a busy commercial corridor.Duggins, Kamilah. "Third-Ward Rebound." Houston Press. November 16, 2000. 1. Retrieved on April 13, 2009. The construction of Interstate 45 in the 1950s separated portions of the historic Third Ward from the rest of Third Ward and brought those portions into Downtown.
The People's Party II, a community activist organization that eventually became the Houston Chapter of the Black Panther Party was originally led by Carl Hampton - a charismatic speaker who organized the PPII at 2800 Dowling Street in the spring of 1970 to address police brutality and corruption towards Black and Brown people in the community. Hampton died after being shot without provocation by police from a top of a church on July 26, 1970."Parting shots Political activists recall the shooting death of a Black Panther leader by Houston police and the turmoil preceding it." Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 26, 1999. 4 METRO. Retrieved on April 4, 2009. J. R. Gonzales of the Houston Chronicle stated that there were disputes between southern whites and blacks regarding the nature of Hampton's death. Carl Hampton's contribution to Third Ward Community was the Rainbow Coalition that included The MAYO group - a Mexican community activist group - and The John Brown Revolutionary League, a group of white community activists. These groups worked together to bring about positive changes in their working class communities by supporting each other's "survival" programs. Programs included free childcare, free food giveaway, free fumigation for poor people, assisting the elderly in the community and free sickle cell anemia testing. Charles Boko Freeman became the PPII/local Black Panther Party Chairman. Party activity continued until membership dropped in late 1974 and early 1975 due to constant police repression.
In the 1960s and 1970s many families in Third Ward relocated to racially integrated suburbs; racial integration allowed many Blacks to move to the suburbs, therefore Third Ward lost some of its population with decades of neglect and economic traffic. Despite the relocations the Almeda Road commercial corridor remained busy. Kent Hadnot, the executive director of Third Ward Redevelopment Council, said in a 2000 Houston Press article that blockbusting beginning in the 1970s began to drive homeowners and business owners away from the Third Ward and into suburbs including Missouri City. The construction of Texas State Highway 288, which offered a quicker alternative into Downtown, caused Almeda Road's commercial properties to decline. In addition 288's construction had divided existing parts of Third Ward. Many children of Third Ward area business owners, educated in universities, had no desire to work in their parents' businesses, reducing the employee base of the Third Ward businesses. The 1980s oil bust hurt the economy of Third Ward and the nearby Almeda Road commercial corridor.
From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African Americans left traditional African-American neighborhoods such as Third Ward and went into areas in Southwest Houston.Rodriguez, Lori. "Census tracks rapid growth of suburbia." Houston Chronicle. Sunday March 10, 1991. Section A, Page 1.
In 1987 Dr. Joyce Williams, the chairperson of the Southeast Area Council, an organization within the Mayor's Citizens Assistance Council, said that her group stopped referring to the area as "Third Ward." The practice became official on Wednesday June 3, 1987. The group itself was formerly named Third Ward Area Council.Cobb, Kim. "Move afoot to train Houstonians to erase `ward' from vocabularies." Houston Chronicle. Saturday June 6, 1987. Section 1, Page 27. Retrieved on October 20, 2011. Williams said "The city has become a cosmopolitan city. The term 'ward' is stagnant, unsophisticated, and places areas in isolation.""Looking back wards ." City Savvy Online (City of Houston). (northern hemisphere) Winter 2008. Retrieved on October 20, 2011. Williams hoped that fellow Houstonians would also stop referring to sections of the city as "wards." Kim Cobb of the Houston Chronicle explained that "She's particularly concerned about the Riverside-MacGregor area near the Medical Center that her group represents. She thinks the term "Third Ward" implies an economic division that will get in the way of the benefits that will come to the rest of the city from the opening of the George Brown Convention Center." Betty Chapman, a historian, said in 2007 "The wards haven’t had any real meaning since 1905. But people are very interested in them. They’re an important part of our history."
In 1998, a report by Third Ward Redevelopment Council concluded that the area had 55,000 residents. In addition, the report concluded that area shoppers and residents spend $345 million outside of the Third Ward per year; the residents and shoppers spend the money in other areas such as The Galleria, Meyerland, Pearland, Rice Village, and Sharpstown. By 2000 younger business owners began to increase activity in the Almeda Road corridor. Old Spanish Trail/Almeda TIRZ funded area businesses with collected property taxes and offered incentives to prospective business owners. The redevelopment council offered prospective entrepreneurs lists of contacts and other forms of assistance.Duggins, Kamilah. "Third-Ward Rebound." Houston Press. November 16, 2000. 2. Retrieved on April 13, 2009. Between 1990 and 2000 the Hispanic population of Third Ward increased by between 5 and 10 percent as Hispanics in the Houston area moved into majority black neighborhoods.Rodriguez, Lori. "SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS / Latinos bringing change to black neighborhoods / Newcomers are finding acceptance comes gradually." Houston Chronicle. Monday May 2, 2005. A1. Retrieved on February 4, 2009. In the same period the black population of the area declined by 1,272 as majority African-American neighborhoods in Houston had declines in their black populations. In 2002 the City of Houston planned to build its Olympic village in Third Ward if its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games was successful; many Third Ward residents and activists stated that they needed to receive some form of economic benefit from the proposed facilities."Third Ward wants to get in the games." Houston Business Journal. Friday March 29, 2002. 1. Retrieved on December 5, 2009. Houston's bid was rejected later that year.Shipley, Amy. "D.C. Bid for Olympic Games Rejected; San Francisco, New York Are U.S. Finalists for 2012." The Washington Post. August 28, 2002. A01. Retrieved on December 5, 2009.