[1] The plot of land that would later house Westbury Square was originally undeveloped and a leftover from development of the subdivision; Berne was not sure what should be placed there.
Alisa Rogillio-Strength of the Houston Business Journal said that Berne's "dream was to recreate a similar environment in Houston in a shopping center where people would come to spend the day, strolling down the brick boulevards, dining at cafes, treating themselves to ice cream and visiting master craftsman in their shops.
[8] Owners of Westbury Square stores and people described by Alisa Rogillio-Strength of the Houston Business Journal as "hip urbanites" occupied the apartments.
[7] Gray said "To car-dependent Houstonians, its pedestrian world seemed as dreamlike as its evocation of Italy: Surely this city couldn't offer a pretty place to walk, or for kids to ride their bikes.
[5] The opening of the Galleria caused tenants to move there from smaller shopping centers in suburban areas, such as Westbury Square.
[1] Allison Rogillio-Strength of the Houston Business Journal said " As the glitz of new indoor shopping palaces lured shoppers by the thousands, the Westbury Square property began to see less traffic.
"[8] Lisa Gray of the Houston Chronicle said "candle-making demonstrations couldn't compete against" the Galleria's ice skating rink.
Addison McElroy, an owner of three Westbury Square shops quoted in the Houston Business Journal, said "[t]hey would yell back and forth and the ladies just didn't want to be around that.
[1] In 2002 Alisa Rogillio-Strength said that the center was "a much bedraggled specter of its former self" and that "Residents in the area are hopeful that Westbury Square will undergo a transformation similar to that of Meyerland Plaza.
Gary Loh, one of the two brokers who put Westbury Square for sale, stated that while there was sentimental value, but he expected the buyer to destroy the buildings.
[9] In September 2012 Gray said "These days, the rickety remaining buildings look more like an Old West ghost town than an Italian village" and that the area residents "hope that it'll be razed soon.
Lisa Gray of the Houston Chronicle said that the resulting design was "a walkable, two-story place full of plazas, brick walkways, fountains and antique street lights - all the scaled-down trappings of an imaginary Italian past, there in the Space Age, moon shot-proud city of the future.
"[1] Lisa Gray of the Houston Chronicle said that "Urban-design nerds often say that mixed-use, walkable Westbury Square was 50 years ahead of its time.
"[5] Mike McGuff of KIAH said "The square was ahead of its time and could be compared to Uptown Park or the shopping plazas in The Woodlands, Sugar Land or Pearland.
[12] In the northern hemisphere fall of that year, some businesses scheduled to open in Westbury square included a 24-hour daycare for children of the ages zero through four; Caravanserai, a non-profit arts education gallery; and "Ribs & Thangs," a barbecue restaurant that offered takeout service.
[11] In 2010 Dorit Golan, an employee of the Keller Williams subsidiary KW Commercial, said that very few tenants were left in Westbury Square.