Sharpstown, Houston, Texas

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A sign in a median indicating Sharpstown

Sharpstown is a master-planned community in southwest Houston, Texas. It was one of the first communities to be built as a master-planned, automobile centered community and the first in Houston. Frank Sharp, the developer of the subdivision, made provisions not only for homes but also for schools, shopping and recreation areas. While this model has been duplicated countless times in the past fifty years, at the time it was quite revolutionary, attracting national media attention. The development was dedicated with much fanfare on March 13, 1955.

1 Overview
2 Fire service
3 Police service
4 Parks
5 Education
6 Community services
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Overview

Sharpstown

Sharpstown Center

The residential architecture in Sharpstown consists of post–World War II bungalows, modern and traditional homes. The materials used in building these homes were of sound quality and have withstood the wear and tear of the baby boomer generation as well as the test of time.

Robindell, a small neighborhood within Sharpstown is built of homes similar to that of Memorial Bend. Robindell also has an L-shaped neighborhood swimming pool. The first pool manager was a neighbor, J.W. Puryear. College men from Georgetown University were recruited to take lifeguarding jobs at the pool each summer. The lifeguards trained the neighborhood children to be racing swimmers and took many ribbons at Houston swimming competitions.

Sharp also donated a 300-foot-wide strip of land through the development to the state of Texas for construction of the Southwest Freeway (U.S. Highway 59). This routing ensured easy access from Downtown Houston to homes in the neighborhood, as well as to Sharpstown Center (1961), Houston's first air-conditioned, enclosed shopping mall.

Sharpstown was affected by the Sharpstown scandal. The scandal combined with a set of apartment complexes that became run-down ensured that Sharpstown became a neighborhood surrounded by crime by the 1990s. However, with Sharpstown's close-in location, there is renewed interest in revitalizing the neighborhood. In 2005, median home prices in Sharpstown had roughly doubled since 2000.

The City of Houston instituted the current nine city council districts in 1979. Sharpstown has been districted in District F since 1980. District councilmembers elected to the Houston City Council have been past presidents of the Sharpstown Civic Association - John Goodner (1980-1993), Ray Driscoll (1994-1999), Mark Ellis (2000-2003), and M.J. Khan (2004-present).

Like most Houston neighborhoods, the diversity of its population has increased over time. It has a significant number of persons of Asian descent, especially, Chinese and Vietnamese.

Due to the large Asian population, the street signs in western Sharpstown, within the new Chinatown, are in both English and Chinese

Sharpstown has a little league team called "Bayland Park Little League" (formerly Sharpstown Little League).

[edit] Fire service

The Houston Fire Department operates the Fire Station 51 Sharpstown at 6902 Bellaire Boulevard at Bintliff.

[edit] Police service

The neighborhood is served by two Houston Police Department patrol divisions.

Areas north and west of U.S. Route 59 are served by the Midwest Patrol Division, which was formed by dividing Westside Division [1].
Areas south and east of U.S. 59 are served by the Fondren Patrol Division [2].

[edit] Parks

The city operates the Sharpstown Park, Sharpstown Community Center, and Lansdale Community Center.

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

Houston Baptist University is located in Sharpstown.

[edit] Primary and secondary education

[edit] Public schools

Sharpstown High School

Sharpstown is served by several schools in the Houston Independent School District.

Bonham, Neff, McNamara, and Sutton Elementary Schools serve Sharpstown. Ed White Elementary School serves several subdivisions around Sharpstown Middle School.

From there, pupils progress to either Jane Long Middle School (any student zoned to Long may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program) or Sharpstown Middle School, followed by Sharpstown High School.

Sharpview Elementary School was temporarily established at 7734 Mary Bates in order to relieve some Sharpstown-area elementary schools; Sharpview opened fall 2000 and closed in spring 2004. Plans to establish a permanent reliever elementary and/or middle school are, as of 2006, on hold [3].

KIPP: the Knowledge Is Power Program operates several charter schools along KIPP Way, west of Sharpstown.

KIPP SHINE Preparatory School (Elementary school)
KIPP Academy Middle School
Kipp Sharpstown College Preparatory School (Middle school)
KIPP Houston High School [4]

[edit] Gallery of public schools

Sharpstown Middle School

Long Middle School

[edit] Private schools

Saint Agnes Academy

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

Sharpstown also has three private schools. St. Francis de Sales Catholic School (grades K-8), Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and Saint Agnes Academy, are located in Sharpstown.

Houston Baptist University is also located in Sharpstown, at the intersection of Beechnut St. and Fondren Dr.

[edit] Public libraries

The area is served by the Houston Public Library.

M. E. Walter Neighborhood Library, a full service branch, is west of Sharpstown. HPL Express Southwest is located within the Southwest Multi-Service Center east of Sharpstown.