South Park, Houston
Reflecting its postwar origins, many streets in South Park are named after World War II battle sites and persons.
Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press said "South Park is an overgrown garden these days, its soil only able to be tilled by the most determined or the most desperate.
"[1] South Park, a post-World War II development, had mostly middle class White American families during the 1950s and early 1960s.
[note 1][3][4] When South Park served as a suburb, lawns were neatly trimmed and area children traveled to places by bicycle.
Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press stated that some residents believed that the opening of 610 marked the beginning of South Park's decline.
[8] Shilcutt said that South Park was no longer considered a suburb by the late 1980s, and that crime became a major concern.
[9] Schilcutt said that when the White population in South Park became insignificant in the 1990s, the City of Houston government began to ignore the remaining residents.
[9] By 1993 the infrastructure of the neighborhood had severely declined, with the sewer and water lines beginning to rust and buckle.
Al Calloway, a member of the Houston City Council proposed spending a $57.5 million cash surplus on improving the sewer and water lines of South Park; Calloway said "residents in neighborhoods such as South Park or Sunnyside may die before the projects are done.
[10] In 2005 Lori Rodriguez of the Houston Chronicle said that South Park was among a group of mostly African American neighborhoods that could become as much as 25% Hispanic and Latino by the end of the decade of the 2000s.
[21][22] The wider South Park area is bounded by the 610 Loop, Cullen Boulevard, the Sims Bayou, and Mykawa Road.
[3] Several small and well-maintained houses share the area with mostly deteriorating properties and vacant lots.
[10] Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press said that "abandoned businesses, junked-out cars and empty houses crest the landscape" of Martin Luther King Boulevard.
When South Park was newly built, hamburger stands were located throughout the neighborhood including one that offered "secret sauce".
Shilcutt said that the schools,churches and the Scout troops,reflected "the rock solid nature of the residents.
"[3] Many of the streets are named after World War II military events, such as Bataan, Dunkirk, Iwo Jima, and Kassarine Pass.
Tony Gelat, an engineer, made attempts to make the city government change the name.
[8] Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press said "South Park became the stuff of legend as it almost cannibalized itself in the '80s and '90s with violent robberies and drive-by shootings.
Straughn stated that many Whites were very fearful of racial integration, so they very quickly left the neighborhood when African Americans moved in.
The houses began to age and required increasing maintenance, of which the newer low-income residents generally would not be able to afford.
Straughn also cited South Park's proximity to Telephone Road, which he said "had a national reputation for being pretty wild.
"[9] Shilcutt said that many South Park residents did not attend the area's Neighborhood Nights Out as they were too afraid to leave their homes.
[6] Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times said in 1993 that South Park was "a tough Houston ghetto dominated by drug-dealing, prostitution and gang warfare-where automatic rifles can be purchased almost as easily as rap cassettes.
"[24] In 1993 Ronald Ray Howard, a convicted killer and drug dealer, said, in the words of Houston Chronicle reporter Roy Bragg, that South Park was "a war zone, a place of nightly shootings, fistfights, police harassment and strife.
[10] In 2005 Lori Rodriguez of the Houston Chronicle said that South Park had an obvious drug dealer presence.
Peggy O'Hare of the Houston Chronicle said "It worked reasonably well, taking only five minutes to travel the 10-block area with restricted lane use.
[27] Elementary schools serving sections of South Park include Alcott,[28] Bastian,[29] and Kelso.
[10] Kandy Stripe Academy, an early education to 8th grade HISD-affiliated charter school, is in the subdivision.
[34] Jesse Jackson Academy, a state charter school, is located north of South Park, inside the 610 Loop.
