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95-446: The area now known as Brays Oaks was originally the ranch property of Walter Fondren , an oil businessperson. In the late 1970s and early 1980s many apartments opened in an 8 square miles (21 km) area then known as Fondren Southwest. The community was mostly White and Jewish . The newly established apartments attracted young, White professionals who were leaving Stella Link and other declining areas. The area economy benefited from

190-530: A state charter school provider, operates 6-12 grade. It opened in 2009. Other charter schools include The Varnett Public School Southwest Campus, Meyerpark Elementary, Girls and Boys Prep, and La Amistad Academy. Westbury High School opened in 1961. Elrod opened in 1964. Fondren Middle School opened in 1966; afterwards the Fondren family donated land for an access road into the school. Foerster opened in 1967. Sharpstown Junior–Senior High School opened in 1968;

285-707: A City of Houston-defined area with different boundaries from the management district, had 64,548 people. 45% were non-Hispanic black, 33% were Hispanic or Latino, 13% were non-Hispanic White, 6% were non-Hispanic Asian, and 2% were non-Hispanic others. The per square mile population was 8.160. In 2000 the super neighborhood, then known as the Greater Fondren Southwest Super Neighborhood, had 49,436 residents. 53% were non-Hispanic black, 25% were Hispanic or Latino, 15% were non-Hispanic whites, 6% were non-Hispanic Asians, and 2% were non-Hispanic others. The number of persons per square mile

380-656: A Methodist conference. He was first buried in Houston at Glenwood Cemetery , but re-interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery . In 1946, the family granted $ 1 million to Rice University to build the Walter W. Fondren Library . Two years later Ella and the family created the Fondren Foundation. Under Ella's management, the foundation funded new construction for facilities at hospitals and institutions of higher learning. Houston Chronicle The Houston Chronicle

475-502: A bookkeeper. Jones took an interest in the young man's career, and put him through law school. Creekmore passed the bar exam in 1932 and returned to work for Jones. He held several positions in the Jones business empire. In 1959, he was named to the board of Houston Endowment, and was promoted to president of the board in 1964. By 1965, Creekmore had persuaded other directors of Houston Endowment to sell several business properties, including

570-473: A citywide program that provides needy children between the ages of two and ten with toys during the winter holidays . In 2003, Goodfellows distributed almost 250,000 toys to more than 100,000 needy children in the Greater Houston area. In 1926, Jesse H. Jones became the sole owner of the paper. He had approached Foster about selling, and Foster had answered, "What will you give me?" Jones described

665-466: A former Food Lion building in what is now Brays Oaks and began remodeling it. Valley West moved into the former grocery store in July 1997. Halpin was dedicated during that year. In 1996 Welch had 1,700 students, making it over capacity. There were also issues with the sewage system in the temporary building area as well as roof leaks and water issues from condensation. Argyle Elementary School, occupying

760-600: A former skating rink opened in a shopping center in 1999; it expanded by taking spaces formerly held by church offices, a dollar store, and a fitness equipment store. In fall 2001 Gross opened in the campus formerly occupied by I. Weiner Jewish Secondary School, now The Emery/Weiner School . Gross was named after real estate developer Jenard M. Gross, who owned and operated over 14,000 apartment units in various U.S. states. Argyle closed in May 2005. Sugar Grove in Sharpstown received

855-644: A grade 5-6 attendance boundary in 2009. When the management district expanded in 2011, Anderson Elementary School, McNamara Elementary School, Parker Elementary School, Westbury High School, Meyerpark Elementary, and Varnet Charter became a part of the management district. Gordon Elementary School in the City of Bellaire served as a relief school for Elrod and Milne in Fondren Southwest/Brays Oaks and two elementary schools in Gulfton . until it

950-604: A major renovation and modernization project, which was completed in the late 1960s. On April 25, 2017, it was imploded and reduced to rubble. The site is now occupied by the Texas Tower. The newspaper and its staff have several times been Pulitzer finalists: In April 2004 the Houston Chronicle began carrying a Spanish-language supplement, the entertainment magazine La Vibra . La Vibra caters to speakers of Spanish and bilingual English-Spanish speakers, and

1045-417: A maze of corridors, cul-de-sacs and steps that seemed to spring on strollers at the most unexpected times." The facility, which was 106 years old in 2016, was originally four separate structures, which were joined to make one building. Jesse H. Jones erected the first Chronicle building, a long, narrow structure clad in granite, on the corner of Travis Street and Texas Avenue in 1910. The second building,

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1140-433: A mostly Black community. The black population increased from 22,942 to 36,625, a 60% increase. The White population decreased from 23,994 to 13,328, a 44% decrease. Fondren Southwest is home to one of the centers of Orthodox Jewish life in Houston. The neighborhood is home to three Orthodox synagogues: Chabad Lubavitch Center of Houston , Young Israel of Houston , and Congregation Beth Rambam . The neighborhoods surrounding

1235-475: A note for 500,000 secured by a mortgage on the Chronicle Building, the note to be payable (interest and principal) at the rate of 35,000 a year for thirty-five years, which I figured was about his expectancy. I would also pay him 20,000 dollars a year as editor of the paper and 6,000 dollars a year to continue writing the daily front-page column, "MEFO", on the condition that either of us could cancel

1330-539: A press release announcing that one of her reporters bad been caught making up sources over the course of several years. Barnes never explained why the Chronicle decided against being transparent to it readers immediately, instead of waiting for word to leak to the extent that other news outlets started planning stories. The sources being questioned in Ward's reporting were the product of "man-on-the-street" interviews from

1425-575: A resident quoted in the Houston Chronicle , said "It was like living in the middle of the city, but in the country". In 1990, of the housing facilities in Fondren Southwest community, 60% were multifamily facilities, and 40% were single family facilities. Of the housing units, 54% were occupied by renters, 31% were occupied by owners, and the remainder were vacant. In 1997 Fondren Southwest had about 60 apartment complexes. Many of

1520-495: A standalone library. The original 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m) Frank Neighborhood Library opened in 1983. In 2005 about 2.5 million dollars in funds were approved to overhaul the branch. Shortly afterwards library officials found that the location was within a Harris County floodplain. Wendy Hegar, the assistant director for planning and facilities at the Houston Public Library, said that in order to keep using

1615-469: A story dealing with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Harvey . Barnes said Houston Chronicle researchers had problems finding a number of sources quoted in Ward's story, so the newspaper hired investigative journalist David Wood, a Pulitzer Prize winner. On November 8, 2018, one day before Barnes left for a position as senior vice president of news at National Public Radio, the Houston Chronicle released some of Wood's findings. The paper announced it

1710-556: A yellow sun. The tree represents strength. Its branches represent the partners of the Brays Oaks community. The tree roots represent what the district says is the commitment to the community from its partners. The water represents the Brays Bayou. The sun represents what the district calls the "community’s commitment to its revitalization." Walter Fondren, Sr. Walter William Fondren Sr. (June 6, 1877 – January 5, 1939)

1805-539: Is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center . The Consulate General of Mexico was once housed at suite 555 of the 10103 tower from 1998 to early 2001. As of 2002 the crime in Fondren Southwest largely affected apartment complexes, with homeowner subdivisions largely unaffected. After the mid-1980s apartment complex managers lowered leasing standards and allowed known drug dealers, gang members, and individuals described by Craig Malislow of

1900-401: Is a subscriber-only site that contains everything found in the daily print edition. From its inception, the practices and policies of the Houston Chronicle were shaped by strong-willed personalities who were the publishers. The history of the newspaper can be best understood when divided into the eras of these individuals. The Houston Chronicle was founded in 1901 by a former reporter for

1995-696: Is mainly distributed in Hispanic neighborhoods. In December 2004 the Chronicle acquired the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz de Houston . In the weeks following the September 11 attacks , the Houston Chronicle published a series of opinion articles by University of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen that asserted the United States was "just as guilty" as the hijackers in committing acts of violence and compared that attack with

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2090-494: Is now rededicated." Under Jones' watch, the Chronicle bought KTRH , one of Houston's oldest radio stations, in 1937. In 1954, Jones led a syndicate that signed on Houston's third television station, KTRK-TV . The board of Houston Endowment named John T. Jones, nephew of Jesse H. Jones, as editor of the Chronicle . Houston Endowment president, J. Howard Creekmore, was named publisher. In 1961, John T. Jones hired William P. Steven as editor. Steven had previously been editor of

2185-686: Is now the Fondren Patrol Division was a storefront under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Patrol Division, headquartered on Beechnut Street outside of Brays Oaks. In 1998 the Fondren Patrol division had been established. On September 13, 2010, the City of Houston held a groundbreaking for the new Fondren Police Station. The station, which will house 176 police officers and serve about 124,000 Houston residents,

2280-481: Is scheduled to be completed by August 2011. The Houston City Council approved $ 6.3 million for the construction of the new police station. The Fondren Patrol Division operates the Braeburn Storefront Station at 10101 Fondren, also in Brays Oaks. The storefront relocated there from a previous location. The current station opened on Wednesday October 12, 2011. A portion of Brays Oaks is served by

2375-613: Is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas , United States. As of April 2016, it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times . With the 1995 buyout of its longtime rival the Houston Post , the Chronicle became Houston's newspaper of record . The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper owned and operated by

2470-424: Is uninfluenced by unworthy motives, and unbought by the desire for gain. A newspaper which can be neither bought nor bullied is the greatest asset of a city or state. Naturally, a newspaper makes mistakes in judgment, as it does in type; but, so long as errors are honestly made, they are not serious when general results are considered. The success or failure of a particular issue is of little consequence compared with

2565-502: Is zoned to Bellaire High School . A small portion is within the Alief Independent School District . Residents are zoned to Best Elementary School, Klentzman Intermediate School, and Olle Middle School. High school attendance is chosen by a computer lottery, which can result in the student going to Alief Elsik High School , Alief Hastings High School or Alief Taylor High School . YES Prep Bray Oaks ,

2660-793: The Houston Press as "undesireables" to rent rooms. Several gangs, such as the 8900 Braeswood Bounty Hunter Bloods, the Latinos, and the Southwest Cholos, marked complexes as their territory. Innocent individuals died from stray bullets and deliberate shots from gang members. In the early 1990s residents of area subdivisions and apartment owners began to resist the increase in crime. Apartment managers began to screen tenants, add off-duty police patrols, and add additional security measures. Residential groups, police officers, and apartment managers began sharing information to prevent crime. In

2755-402: The Houston Press , Fondren Southwest complexes "rush to rent to virtually anyone." During that year the Fondren Southwest crime statistics showed an overall reduction from the statistics from one decade earlier. Aggravated assault, automobile theft, burglary, and robbery had increased from 2000 to 2001. By 2002 the rate of sexual offenses had never decreased from the 82 reported in 1991. In 2001

2850-590: The Tulsa Tribune and the Minneapolis Star Tribune , and credited with turning around the declining readership of both papers. One of his innovations was the creation of a regular help column called "Watchem", where ordinary citizens could voice their complaints. The Chicago Tribune later called this column a pioneer and prototype of the modern newspaper "Action Line". Steven's progressive political philosophy soon created conflict with

2945-399: The Chronicle endorsed Wendy Davis for governor in 2014 , and Sylvester Turner for mayor in 2015. Additionally, the Chronicle initially endorsed Jeb Bush for the 2016 Republican primary, but did not endorse any other candidate after he dropped out. In September 2018, then-executive editor Nancy Barnes released a statement on the Chronicle ' s website notifying readers for

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3040-607: The Chronicle switched to being a morning-only paper. With the demise of the Houston Post on April 18 the next year, the Chronicle became Houston's sole major daily newspaper. On October 18, 2008, the paper endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election , the first Democrat to be endorsed by the newspaper since 1964, when it endorsed Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. It endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, but endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020. Locally,

3135-558: The Chronicle . Everett D. Collier replaced Steven as editor. Collier remained in this position until his retirement in 1979. J. Howard Creekmore was born in Abilene, Texas, in 1905. His parents died while he was young, so he was raised by his stepmother. The family moved to Houston in 1920. Howard enrolled in Rice Institute, where he graduated with degrees in history and English. After graduation, he went to work for Jesse Jones as

3230-483: The Chronicle . Houston oilman John Mecom offered $ 85 million for the newspaper, its building, a 30 percent interest in Texas National Bank of Commerce, and the historic Rice Hotel. Early in 1966, Mecom encountered problems raising the additional cash to complete the transaction. He then began lining up potential buyers for the newspaper, which included non-Houstonians such as Sam Newhouse, Otis Chandler and

3325-541: The City of Houston and Harris County , has 15 square miles (39 km) of territory, centered on the historical Fondren Southwest area. The district is bounded by Interstate 69 / U.S. Route 59 , Bissonnet Road, U.S. Route 90A /Main Street, and South Post Oak. As of 2011 it has about 73,000 residents in about 2,700 households. Several subdivisions, including Braeburn Valley West, Glenshire , and Westbury are in Brays Oaks. The district expanded in size in 2011. Originally,

3420-534: The Hearst Corporation , a privately held multinational corporate media conglomerate with $ 10 billion in revenues. The paper employs nearly 2,000 people, including approximately 300 journalists , editors , and photographers . The Chronicle has bureaus in Washington, D.C. , and Austin . The paper reports that its web site averages 125 million page views per month. The publication serves as

3515-479: The Ku Klux Klan (KKK). He sold the rest of his interest to Jesse H. Jones on June 26, 1926, and promptly retired. In 1911, city editor George Kepple started Goodfellows. On Christmas Eve 1911, Kepple passed a hat among the Chronicle ' s reporters to collect money to buy toys for a shoe-shine boy. Goodfellows continues today through donations made by the newspaper and its readers. It has grown into

3610-581: The Wilson administration , helping to found the Red Cross during World War I, and later famously under the Roosevelt administration, described the paper's mission in these terms: I regard the publication of a newspaper as a distinct public trust, and one not to be treated lightly or abused for selfish purposes or to gratify selfish whims. A great daily newspaper can remain a power for good only so long as it

3705-514: The " newspaper of record " of the Houston area. Previously headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building at 801 Texas Avenue, Downtown Houston , the Houston Chronicle is now located at 4747 Southwest Freeway . While Houston Chronicle staff formerly published on the ad-supported, non-subscriber site Chron.com, today Chron and Houston Chronicle have separate websites and newsrooms. Houstonchronicle.com, launched in 2012,

3800-416: The 120 reported sexual offenses were the second-highest recorded in the category in a ten-year span. Femin said that the increases in the crime rates are due to a post- September 11 attacks willingness to report crime instead of a true increase in crime. In 2005 the City of Houston closed a pool hall and sports bar, Breakers I, in Fondren Southwest after neighbors complained about a spillover of violence into

3895-607: The 1990s Residents of the Southmeadow subdivision sued the owners of the West Fondren and Village of the Green complexes for negligence in allowing crime in the area to increase since the complex owners failed to adequately screen tenants, did not hire security guards, and did not provide proper lighting. The residents collected a multimillion-dollar settlement, bought out the apartment complexes, and had them demolished. By 1998

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3990-529: The 610 Loop campus, at the intersection of the 610 Loop and U.S. Route 59 / I-69 ( Southwest Freeway ). The facility, previously used as the Houston Post headquarters, will have a total of seven buildings with a total of over 440,000 square feet (41,000 m ) of space. The original building is a 1970s four-story " New Brutalist " building. As of 2016, the building housed the Chronicle Production Department, as well as

4085-622: The African-American community) and the Houston Tribune (an ultra-conservative paper). Both papers had rather small circulations and no influence among the city's business community. The two major newspapers in Houston never mentioned Steven for many years thereafter. John J. Jones left the Chronicle not long after Steven's ouster. J. Howard Creekmore, president of the Houston Endowment, took John Jones' place at

4180-538: The Brays Oaks Towers. By December 2009 the former Frank library facility was for sale. Morris Frank HPL Express Library was established in the Brays Oaks Towers. The branch was located in a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m) section within one half of the first floor of 10103 Fondren Road. HPL Express Frank was scheduled to have around half of the 90,000 items in the standalone Frank Neighborhood Library. The standalone Frank library had about 105,000 visitors in

4275-1218: The Brays Oaks management district include Anderson, Bell, Elrod, Foerster, Gross, McNamara, Milne, Parker, Tinsley, and Valley West. Bonham Elementary School in Sharpstown serves a small section of Brays Oaks. Halpin Early Childhood Center has the Kindergarten classes feeding into Tinsley. Two middle schools in Brays Oaks, Fondren Middle School and Welch Middle School, serve sections of Brays Oaks. Other HISD middle schools serving sections of Brays Oaks include Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School (formerly Johnston Middle School) in Meyerland and Sugar Grove Middle School in Sharpstown. Persons in portions assigned to Meyerland Middle are eligible for Pin Oak Middle School . Areas south of West Bellfort Street and east of Fondren Road are zoned to Westbury High School in Brays Oaks, while most other areas are zoned to Sharpstown High School . A small portion

4370-502: The Downtown facility, the presses there were decommissioned in the late 2000s. The newsroom within the facility had bullpen-style offices with a few private cubicles and offices on the edges. The facility was connected to the downtown Houston tunnel system . Turner wrote that "in recent decades," 801 Texas Avenue "offered viewers an architectural visage of unadorned boxiness.... An accretion of five buildings made into one, it featured

4465-463: The Endowment board had ordered him to dismiss Steven. Jones had to comply. On September 3, the paper published a story announcing that Everett Collier was now the new editor. No mention was made of Steven or the Houston Endowment board. Houston Post staff wrote an article about the change, but top management killed it. Only two weekly papers in Houston mentioned it: Forward Times (which targeted

4560-835: The Fondren Lectures in Religious Thought at Southern Methodist University in 1919. They gave major financial support for the construction of a new building at St. Paul's Methodist Church in 1929. In 1938 they donated nearly half a million dollars to SMU to build the Fondren Library. Walter Fondren also made large contributions to the Methodist Home for Orphans at Waco. Fondren married Ella Florence Cochrum on 14 February 1904. Fondren died on January 5, 1939, in San Antonio, Texas while attending

4655-576: The Fondren Patrol Division had been established and advocates from Fondren Southwest pressured the city government to assist them in preventing crime. Because of the upgrade the division received its own anti-gang unit. In 2002 Lieutenant Greg Femin, the acting supervisor of the Fondren substation, said that the crime rates Fondren Southwest area had not improved as much as the Greenspoint area had due to economics; many apartment complexes still had $ 99 move-in specials and, as stated by Craig Mallislow of

4750-509: The Fondren Southwest area. In 2007 ten Texas Southern University students did a study on the Fondren Southwest area. They concluded that an excess supply of apartment complex units was the main cause of crime, a lack of pride in the community, and unsupervised children. They also concluded that the oversupply was the reason why many apartment units were of a low quality, poorly maintained, and/or vacant. The Houston Independent School District serves most of Brays Oaks. Elementary schools within

4845-474: The Majestic Theater, was built west of the Chronicle building. The second building built by Jones opened in 1910. In 1918, the third Jones building, Milam Building, opened west of the theater. An annex was built on the north side of the main building in 1938 and gained a fifth floor in the 1960s. The fifth building was a production plant, built north of the original four buildings. They were joined in

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4940-521: The Scripps-Howard organization. Creekmore strongly believed that local persons should own the paper. He insisted that Mecom pay the $ 84 million debt immediately in cash. Mecom cancelled his purchase agreement. In 1968, the Chronicle set a Texas newspaper circulation record. In 1981, the business pages—which until then had been combined with sports—became its own section of the newspaper. Creekmore remained as publisher until Houston Endowment sold

5035-693: The Southwest Patrol Division. The Westbury Storefront Station is a part of the Southwest Patrol District. The Houston Fire Department operates Station 82 Fondren Southwest at 11250 Braesridge; it is a part of Fire District 68. Station 82 was built in 1995. It also operates Fire Station 48 Westbury, located in Fire District 59. Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated Valbona Health Center (formerly People's Health Center) for ZIP codes 77031, 77035, 77071, 77074, and 77096. The nearest public hospital

5130-607: The Walker Branch. The district gained more parks when it expanded in 2011. Marian Park and Community Center is located on South Gessner Road. The community center includes a fitness center, an indoor gymnasium, meeting rooms, and a volleyball court. The park includes an outdoor basketball pavilion, a 0.25 mile hike and bicycle trail, a playground, and a lighted sports field. Other municipal parks include Braeburn Glen Park, Chimney Rock Park, Hagar Park, Haviland Park, Glenshire Park, Willow Waterhole, and Westbury Park. In addition,

5225-549: The Westbury Civi Club operates the Westbury Community Garden. In regards to Fondren Southwest, Lori Rodriguez said in 1997, "Green space is at a premium; free recreational facilities, almost nil. Hundreds of latch-key children of single, working mothers wander the streets with nothing to do; nowhere to go." The logo adopted by the district includes an oak tree with several branches, water, and

5320-533: The addition of the library branch as a potential for his complex, as he believed several businesses considering whether to move into the complex would view the presence of the library as a benefit. HPL was to replace HPL Frank with a new library, which also was to replace the George B. Meyer Branch in Meyerland , was established at 5505 Belrose on a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) plot of land in Westbury. This library became

5415-420: The all-important principle of a fearless and honest newspaper. This I intend the Chronicle shall always be, a newspaper for all the people, democratic in fact and in principle, standing for the greatest good to the greatest number, championing and defending what it believes to be right, and condemning and opposing what it believes to be wrong. Such have always been the policies of the Chronicle and to such it

5510-559: The apartment complexes were not designed to house children. As of 2005 the area that would become the original Brays Oaks district boundaries had between 200 and 300 businesses. State of Texas guidelines consider apartment complexes to be commercial businesses, so the figure includes apartment complexes. Foodarama has its corporate headquarters in Store #1 in Brays Oaks. In 2015 the Brays Oaks Super Neighborhood,

5605-412: The apartments. The expensive restaurants left the area, since the young professionals left. The owners of the apartments lowered rent rates and offered "free move-in" specials. Many poor African-American and Hispanic families moved into units originally designated for singles and couples. Apartment complexes failed and received foreclosure. Many apartments had changed of ownership around every two years;

5700-688: The area in two decades. Most of Braes Oaks is within Houston City Council District K. Portions are within districts C and J. In the 2000s all of what is now Brays Oaks was in District C. In the 1990s almost all of it was in district C, with a small portion in District F. Most of Brays Oaks is served by the Houston Police Department 's South Gessner Division (formerly Fondren Patrol Division), with headquarters at 11168 Fondren Road in Brays Oaks. In 1992 what

5795-478: The boundaries of South Braeswood, U.S. 90A, Hillcroft, and I-69/U.S. 59. Most apartments in Fondren Southwest have between 300 and 400 units. Lori Rodriguez of the Houston Chronicle said that many of them "bear names evocative of more idyllic times: Sandpiper. Rainy Meadows." Originally the only residential establishments in Fondren Southwest were houses. Gessner Road was a dirt road, and the pavement along South Braeswood Boulevard ended at Fondren Road. Ruth Hurst,

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5890-517: The buyout of Foster as follows: Wanting to be liberal with Foster if I bought him out, since he had created the paper and originally owned most of the stock, and had made a success of it, I thought for a while before answering and finally asked him how much he owed. He replied, "On real estate and everything about 200,000 dollars." I then said to him that I would give him 300,000 dollars in cash, having in mind that this would pay his debts and give him 100,000 spending money. In addition, I would give him

5985-418: The city decided to relocate into the Brays Oaks Towers, spending around $ 3.9 million. Sandra Fernandez, a spokesperson for Houston Public Library, said that the estimated cost to build a new standalone library branch was 6 to 7 million dollars. The $ 2.5 million originally earmarked for the standalone Frank library was moved to a different project. The City of Houston entered into a 10-year lease to occupy space in

6080-546: The complexes existed when Elrod was originally built. In 1986 the Elrod administration expected to receive 800 students for the upcoming school year; 974 appeared on the first day of school. In 1988 Gordon re-opened to take overflow students for Elrod and one other school. Milne opened in 1991. In August 1996 Valley West opened in ten classrooms in the Sugar Grove Elementary School campus. HISD purchased

6175-454: The construction of a proposed trash transfer station. The area sits on a landfill previously used by the cities of Bellaire and West University Place . In 2009 the district began a $ 250,000 master plan to increase identification of the area and to beautify esplanades. Ten 800-pound (360 kg) boulders were placed in the district esplanades beginning on January 22, 2009. In 2011 the district expanded in size. The district, entirely within

6270-556: The district had about 9 square miles (23 km) of land. It was bounded by Interstate 69 / U.S. Route 59 , Brays Bayou, Hillcroft Avenue , and U.S. Route 90A (South Main), including areas within the City of Houston and excluding areas within the Westbury subdivision. In 2005 what would become the original boundaries include 37 neighborhoods with about 12,000 single-family houses. It also included about 76 apartment complexes with over 15,000 units. The original Fondren Southwest area has

6365-517: The editorship and/or the MEFO-column contracts on six months' notice, and that, if I canceled both the column and the editorship, I would give him an additional 6,000 dollars a year for life. I considered the offer substantially more than the Chronicle was worth at the time. No sooner had I finished stating my proposition than he said, "I will take it", and the transaction was completed accordingly. In 1937, Jesse H. Jones transferred ownership of

6460-465: The end of its first month in operation, the Chronicle had a circulation of 4,378—roughly one tenth of the population of Houston at the time. Within the first year of operation, the paper purchased and consolidated the Daily Herald . In 1908, Foster asked Jesse H. Jones, a local businessman and prominent builder, to construct a new office and plant for the paper, "and offered [a] half-interest in

6555-512: The fact that one of their reporters had been cheating for years under their noses. In many instances over the course of years, Loeb worked directly with Ward and even rewrote his stories for final publication. The Austin American Statesman , where Ward worked as a reporter for 25 years covering the state's political class prior to joining the Houston Chronicle in 2014, also conducted an internal review of "his final years" of work at

6650-469: The first time that the paper's Austin bureau chief, Mike Ward, had resigned and was the subject of an internal investigation after questions were raised by a staff member over fabricating sources. Barnes opted not to disclose the source-fabrication or Ward's resignation to Chronicle readers and the general public until she was contacted by reporters at other outlets pursuing a story about the Chronicle ' s scandal—one full week after Ward had resigned. By

6745-427: The fiscal year 2007. In the Brays Oaks Towers location, contractors rebuilt the space to prepare the housing of a library branch, adding a separate air conditioning system, additional electrical infrastructure, additional toilets, and a redesign of the layout of the space. Etan Mirwis, president of Houston-based property management company Rockwell Management Corp, which owns the Brays Oaks Towers complex, said that he saw

6840-573: The following year the school split into Sharpstown Middle School , in the existing campus, and Sharpstown High School , on a new campus. Bell opened in 1978. Welch opened in 1979. Welch's campus was built for about 1,133 students. In the 1980s area schools became overcrowded as more students moved in. Enrollments in area schools increased when several adults-only apartments began allowing children to live in them. For instance, Elrod's enrollment had increased steadily from 1983 onwards. In 1986 Elrod served Maplewood South and ten apartment complexes; none of

6935-454: The growth to the changes instigated by Steven. In the summer of 1965, Jones decided to buy a local television station that was already owned by the Houston Endowment. He resigned from the Houston Endowment board to avoid a conflict of interest, though he remained as publisher of the Chronicle . On September 2, 1965, Jones made a late-night visit to the Steven home, where he broke the news that

7030-534: The impacts of rapid economic growth on life in the city. It did not perform investigative journalism. This resulted in a stodgy newspaper that failed to capture the interests of newcomers to the city. By 1959, circulation of the rival Houston Post had pulled ahead of the Chronicle . Jones, a lifelong Democrat who organized the Democratic National Convention to be in Houston in 1928, and who spent long years in public service first under

7125-568: The increase in population, and many expensive restaurants and strip malls opened in Fondren Southwest. At one time many members of the Houston Rockets and other sports teams resided in the Northfield subdivision, which was among the outermost parts of the city in 1974, in Fondren Southwest. In the mid-1980s the oil-based economy collapsed . Property values decreased and apartment complexes began to decline. The young professionals left

7220-594: The management district is headquartered in Suite 301 at 10103 Fondren. The two structures, each with five stories and 100,000 square feet (9,300 m) of space, opened in 1981 as Chancellor Atrium 1 and 2. Rockwell Management, operating as Brays Oaks Towers LP, purchased them in September 2006. After a multimillion-dollar renovation the towers re-opened in June 2007. They were the first commercial buildings to be redeveloped in

7315-594: The merger of Houston's National Bank of Commerce, in which Jones had a financial interest, with another Houston bank, the Texas National. In 1964, the Chronicle purchased the assets of its evening newspaper competitor, the Houston Press , becoming the only evening newspaper in the city. By then, the Chronicle had a circulation of 254,000—the largest of any paper in Texas. The Atlantic Monthly credited

7410-457: The newspaper as a down payment, with twenty years to pay the remainder. Jones agreed, and the resulting Chronicle Building was one of the finest in the South." Under Foster, the paper's circulation grew from about 7,000 in 1901 to 75,000 on weekdays and 85,000 on Sundays by 1926. Foster continued to write columns under the pen name Mefo , and drew much attention in the 1920s for his opposition to

7505-620: The nonprofit group Southwest Houston 2000 Inc., lobbied the state government, asking the state to create what was originally called the Fondren Ranch Management District . In June 2005 the 79th Texas Legislature created the Brays Oaks Management District in the area. KTRK-TV described the name change as a rebranding for the community. In 2005 residents of an area at the intersection of Beltway 8 and West Bellfort Road protested against

7600-605: The now-defunct Houston Post , Marcellus E. Foster. Foster, who had been covering the Spindletop oil boom for the Post , invested in Spindletop and took $ 30 of the return on that investment—at the time equivalent to a week's wages—and used it to fund the Chronicle . The Chronicle ' s first edition was published on October 14, 1901, and sold for two cents per copy, at a time when most papers sold for five cents each. At

7695-568: The offices of the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Houston . The Houston Chronicle building in Downtown Houston was the headquarters of the Houston Chronicle . The facility included a loading dock, office space, a press room, and production areas. It had ten stories above ground and three stories below ground. The printing presses used by the newspaper spanned three stories. The presses were two stories below ground and one above. In

7790-492: The original location, the library system would have had to spend millions of dollars to raise the floor of the facility by 1 foot (0.30 m) or to build a 2-foot-tall (0.61 m) concrete flood wall . Jim Myers, the community services director of the Brays Oaks District, said that the building would have had to have been raised by 18 inches (460 mm) in order for the library system to keep using it. Instead

7885-607: The out of state owners were more interested in maximizing profits and less interested in the maintenance of the complexes. In the late 1980s the White population decreased and the Black and Hispanic populations increased. By the mid-1990s property values in the area began to increase and several middle class minorities moved into Fondren Southwest. Around the 2000s Orthodox Jewish congregations moved to Fondren Southwest. In 2005 Houston City Council Member Mark Goldberg and Jim Myers, head of

7980-488: The paper to the Hearst Corporation. On May 1, 1987, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Houston Chronicle from Houston Endowment for $ 415 million. Richard J. V. Johnson, who had joined the paper as a copy editor in 1956, and worked up to executive vice president in 1972, and president in 1973, remained as chairman and publisher until he retired on April 1, 2002. He was succeeded by Jack Sweeney. In 1994,

8075-516: The paper to the newly established Houston Endowment Inc. Jones retained the title of publisher until his death in 1956. According to the Handbook of Texas online, the Chronicle generally represented very conservative political views during the 1950s: ... the Chronicle generally represented the very conservative political interests of the Houston business establishment. As such, it eschewed controversial political topics, such as integration or

8170-450: The paper. A copy of the original story that led to the investigation has been removed from the Chronicle ' s website. But Austin-based NPR affiliate KUT interviewed Ward for the radio in the days after the story ran and still has the story posted on its website, despite the fact that the sources used in Ward's reporting are suspected of being fake. On July 21, 2014, the Chronicle announced that its Downtown employees were moving to

8265-621: The surrounding communities. In 2006 the Brays Oaks district and the Fondren Patrol combined efforts to stop graffiti. Brays Oaks contracted the gang abatement crew of the East End Management District . Martin Chavez, the head of the gang abatement crew, said that La Primera and Sureños, Mexican-American gangs, tagged sites to promote their messages. During the same year, the Houstone Tango Blast surfaced in

8360-407: The synagogues have an eruv maintained by Young Israel of Houston. There are also two Orthodox Jewish day schools in the area: Torah Day School of Houston and Yeshivat Torat Emet . There is also an Orthodox Jewish girls' high school, Torah Girls Academy of Texas . The Brays Oaks Towers, located at 10101 and 10103 Fondren Road at Dumfries, contain various agencies and services for the community;

8455-539: The time Barnes informed the public about what would turn into the biggest journalism scandal of 2018, it had already become one of the worst kept secrets in Austin among the capitol press corps that writes about Texas politicians. The scandal had also become popular fodder among staffers who work at the capital. Within 45 minutes of being contacted by a freelance reporter for the Texas Observer , Barnes hastily issued

8550-498: The time Fondren was twenty, he translated his knowledge of drilling water wells on farms to the oilfields of Corsicana, Texas . Within a few years he was an expert oil worker and struck out on his own to extract oil from Spindletop . He was involved with the Texas Oil Boom period. In 1911, Fondren, with Ross S. Sterling and others, founded Humble Oil . It was later acquired by ExxonMobil . The Fondrens established

8645-536: The very conservative views of the Houston Endowment board, especially when he editorially supported the election of Lyndon B. Johnson , the Democratic candidate for president. However, more than political philosophy was involved: Robert A. Caro revealed in his biography of Johnson that written assurance of this support from John T. Jones had been the price demanded by Johnson in January 1964 in return for approval of

8740-424: Was 6,250. In the late 1980s the White population in the Fondren Southwest area decreased from 74 percent to 41 percent. During the same decade the African-American population increased from 14 percent to 47 percent and the Hispanic population increased from 8 percent to 21 percent. Between the 1990 U.S. Census and the 2000 U.S. Census , Fondren Southwest finished shifting from a mostly White and Jewish community to

8835-574: Was an American oil industry businessperson and philanthropist in Texas . He co-founded Humble Oil Company , an antecedent to ExxonMobil . Walter William Fondren was born in Union City, Tennessee to two first cousins, Thomas and Susannah Fondren. His father died when he was a young child, and his mother moved the family to Arkansas. His mother died when he was ten years old, when he was already working on farms. He moved to Texas six years later. By

8930-618: Was converted into a Mandarin immersion school in 2012. Houston Community College (HCC) operates the Brays Oaks Campus, a part of the Southwest College. Groundbreaking was scheduled for May 26, 2015. Effective 2023, Dr. Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library of the Houston Public Library (HPL) is the library location for Fondren Southwest. Its namesake is Shannon Walker . Originally Brays Oaks had

9025-441: Was retracting a total of eight stories. Barnes later went on to tell Columbia Journalism Review that the widespread fabrication apparent in Ward's articles was unprecedented, in her experience: "I've been an editor a long time and I have never seen anything like this, period.". None of the Chronicle ' s editors responsible for overseeing Ward's stories—including then-managing editor Vernon Loeb—assumed any responsibility for

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