Saturday in the 6th Ward
An arts district, Victorian houses, and Howard Hughes sum up the 6th ward neighborhood Reserve Supply has called home for the past 7 years and it has been continually changing since it first became its own ward in 1877. Trade mostly dictated where people lived instead of wealth, and in its earliest years most people living in the 6th ward were in the Railroad industry. For example you could have a track laborer living next to a business professional because the neighborhood didn't stick to a socioeconomic class system.
6th Ward has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and received Protected Historic District status in 2007 making it the first protected district in Houston and there is good reason for the preservation efforts. Other than Galveston, 6th ward has the highest concentration of Victorian houses in the area and many of the buildings around the area were built between 1870 and 1900. If you drive down Hemphill past the shop you go into an architectural time slip of Classical Revival, Victorian and bungalow style homes with corner stores you would expect to see in an old black and white photo.
Go west on Washington Ave and you pass Glenwood cemetery where Houston renaissance man Howard Hughes eternally rests. Hughes was an aviator, director, producer, and all around eccentric that broke numerous aeronautic world records in machines that he himself conceived. North of Washington is a budding arts district called Sawyer yards. It's an art collective that has converted warehouse to studio spaces, galleries, and shops. It also houses Holler beer, Future Buff Brew, and Platypus Brewing Company. Head east and you see Liberty station. An old service station that was converted to a bar and has served as the local watering hole, along with Henderson Heights, for the neighborhood with downtown Houston as its backdrop. Two of Austin's favorite restaurants have also popped up across the street from each other, Gus's Fried Chicken and Taco Deli.
Or park your car and just walk the block. Darkhorse Tavern, Cutthroat barbers, Catalina Coffee, and Taqueria Barba are all neighbors that have provided a Saturday agenda for a lot of people looking to get out of the house and see what the area has to offer. The location of all four could not have worked out any better and we know we are lucky to have settled into the growing 6th ward and be a part of its history and future.
