Port Houston is a neighborhood located on the East Side ofHouston,Texas,United States.
Port Houston is an industrial, mostlyHispanic community[1] located near theHouston Ship Channel and thePort of Houston. In a 2007 article John Nova Lomax of theHouston Press described Port Houston as "a blue-collar Mexican neighborhood of wrought-iron fences and wood-framed houses."[2] Port Houston has many small houses. Petrochemical businesses and trucking companies have operations in the community. Laura Isensee ofKUHF wrote that Port Houston is "not a typical neighborhood".[3]
Residents are inHouston City Council District H.[4]
The firstfireboat to operate in the Houston area was named thePort Houston.[5]
Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated Ripley Health Center in theEast End for ZIP code 77029.[6] In 2000 Ripley was replaced by the Gulfgate Health Center.[7] The designated public hospital isBen Taub General Hospital in theTexas Medical Center.[6]
Residents are within theHouston Independent School District. Zoned schools include Port Houston Elementary School,[8] Holland Middle School,[9] andFurr High School.[10] Port Houston has an afterschool program and offersEnglish as a second language classes for parents.[3]
Port Houston was constructed in 1909, Furr was built in 1961, and Holland was built in 1979.[11] At one time Port Houston Elementary School had an international shipping magnet program.[2]
In 2014 HISD proposed closing Port Houston Elementary. In response, several members of the community argued against closing the school. The plans call for Port Houston to be combined with Pleasantville Elementary. Opposition argued that the walk to Pleasantville would be unsafe, that closing the school would harm the community, and that the school in 2013 had distinguished scores in mathematics and reading in state tests.[3] Later in 2014, HISD announced that Port Houston will stay open.[12]
As a result, the fireboatPort Houston was built in 1925 and delivered the following year to the delight of thousands of spectators watching its arrival. The following day, another 4,000 citizens turned out for a demonstration of the fireboat pumping water.
