Boxed in by “Kirby Drive to the east, Union Pacific St. Louis Southwestern Railway railroad track to the west, Bellaire Boulevard/West Holcombe Boulevard to the South, and Bissonnet and Law Streets to the north,” the Neighborhood City has become home to the area’s affluent professionals over the years. (Family Median Income: $157,312.)
Despite its illustrious ranking as Houston’s third most exclusive neighborhood, West University houses the Rice Village shopping center, whose patronage, matched in variety only by the stores within itself, runs the gamut from scenesters to soccer moms.
The Village’s wingspan stretches out over nearly sixteen blocks now and houses over 300 shops, boutiques, and restaurants ranging from specialized local shops to national chains. It’d take a few days to traverse, chronicle (and read) a walking tour of the Rice Village in its entirety, so we’ll focus on a two block venture.
Several of the streets in the nearly century old locale are named for poets, scholars, and institutions of higher learning (because of its proximity to Rice University); accordingly, this walking tour begins on University blvd, headed east away from Kirby.
First stop, a little light reading at Half Price Books.
