Alief, Houston

Alief ( ) is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in unincorporated Harris County.

First settled in 1894 as a rural farm community, Alief experienced rapid population growth in the 1970s and 1980s. The community became one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Houston.

History

Early settlement (1861–1917)

In 1861, Reynolds Reynolds claimed of land near Brays Bayou. The land was sold to Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty in 1888 and in the following year, he allowed the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway to build on his land. On August 16, 1895, the post office opened. The postal service referred to the office as "Alief" in her honor to help avoid confusion with mail intended for the similarly named town of Daisy, Texas. Alief Ozelda Magee, who died in 1899, is buried in the cemetery. Trustees S.B. (Shorter) Burleson and Will and Eddie Garmond for the Prairie Grove Missionary Baptist Church purchased land in 1910 which would later become the church's home. The historic African American church's congregation met in the home of S.B. (Shorter) Burleson before the construction of the sanctuary.

The town was officially renamed "Alief, Texas" in 1917 Daugherty promoted the canal, which was used for irrigation by rice farmers. Population fluctuated wildly, ranging from a low of 35 in the 1930s to 200 by 1942. E.W.K. "Andy" Andrau opened Andrau Airpark In 1964, Alief ISD built its oldest remaining school, Alief Elementary School (later renamed for teacher Cynthia Youens). and Alief continued to grow as people came to the area in search of housing. Many of the new residents were low-income apartment dwellers. the community began to diversify. In 1978, close to 80% of the people in the community were white. Less than 4% of the people in the community were African American. By the late 1980s, white students accounted for less than half of the students enrolled in Alief ISD. The City of Houston voted to annex the Alief-Fondren area on November 23, 1977. In 1978, Brown and Root built a large engineering complex at the corner of Bellaire Blvd. and Beltway 8. Houston continued to annex pieces of Alief into the 1980s. West Oaks Mall opened in 1984 and was annexed by the City of Houston the same year. Agriculture began to fade. The last cotton gin in Alief closed in 1976, The Alief Branch Library (since renamed the David M. Henington-Alief Regional Library) was also opened in 1985. As a sign of the community's growing diversity, the Houston Chronicle noted that the library staff spoke, "a variety of languages, including Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Farsi (referring to Persian)," when the library first opened. The Alief General Hospital building was abandoned. The Fame City entertainment complex and water park (which later became Fun Plex and Adventure Bay) held its grand opening in 1986. Fame City featured roller skating, movie theaters, a sound studio, miniature golf, bumper-cars, bowling, alley, games, rides, an arcade, restaurants and shops indoors, and a 10-acre water park outdoors. By 1991, Alief ISD was growing at a rate of approximately 1,500 new students per year. Houston City Council District F (which included Alief and Sharpstown) had a population that was approximately 46% white with quickly growing African American, Hispanic, and Asian segments. Previously, District F had a mostly white population. Canterbury United Methodist Church began offering services in Vietnamese in 1995. By 1996, Alief was one of the most ethnically diverse school districts in the country. The district's students spoke a total of 57 different languages. Christ the King Episcopal Church was offering an "African Thanksgiving Feast" since many of the church members had African heritage. The district's main high schools, Hastings and Elsik, were the two largest high schools in Texas.

In the first 1991 Mayor of Houston election, most Alief voters voted for Bob Lanier. However, in the community Sylvester Turner, Lanier's opponent, had a large second-most following in terms of votes. In 2008, M. J. Khan represented the District F (which includes Alief). By December 3, 1991, increases in crime and changes of demographics in southwestern Houston neighborhoods led to many challengers desiring to fill the city council seat of District F.

By 1997, street signs in Alief near Bellaire and Corporate were in both English and Chinese. The Chinese signs had the Chinese phonetic pronunciations of the English names so that English and Chinese speakers could understand each other. The developers hoped that building west of Beltway 8 would move the center of the growing Asian business community further west. At the same time that the African American, Hispanic, and Asian populations increased, the white population decreased. Researchers cited social class differences as the reason most white people moved away from Alief. Many parents protested the measure. In 1998, voters approved funds for Alief ISD to use to build a new high school, which would later become Alief "Doc" Taylor. The period was also marked with political scandals. In 1991, a ballot box from the Boone Elementary polling location containing over 700 ballots went missing after the poll closed.

In late 1994, David M. Henington, the director of the Houston Public Library, retired. In an article about his retirement plans he told the reporter he wanted personal computers placed in all of Houston's branch libraries so that all Houstonians could access the internet "information superhighway" during their visits. In 1996, the Henington-Alief Library began offering free internet access to the public. The service was text-only and was limited to 20 minutes when other users were waiting to use the computers.

In 2005, Alief became home to many Hurricane Katrina evacuees. More than 3,000 evacuees enrolled in Alief ISD schools. The United States government promised to reimburse the district, but in 2006 Alief had not yet received the money.

Cityscape

The Alief Community Association defines the boundaries of Alief as, "Westheimer on the north, Sam Houston Tollway on the east, Fort Bend County Line on the west and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 on the south," while the Alief Independent School District boundaries extend as far east as Gessner in some places. The Alief Super Neighborhood Council (ASNC) and the International Management District (IMD) have their own boundaries.

Government

Municipal

Alief is partially annexed by the City of Houston, and partially unincorporated. This section pertains only to the annexed portion of Alief. Please see the "County" section for unincorporated Alief.

As of 2011 Houston City Council District F covers the parts of Alief in Houston.

The portion of Alief in Houston is within Super Neighborhood #25 Alief. Its recognized council was established on June 25, 2000.

{| class=wikitable

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Represents

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| First Elected

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| District Boundaries

| style="background:#fff3f3"|District F

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Tiffany D. Thomas

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2019

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Map of District F (after 2011 redistricting)

| At-Large Position 1-->

County

{| class=wikitable

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Commissioner

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Party

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| First Elected

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Current Term Ends

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| District Boundaries

| style="background:blue;"| 

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Precinct 4

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Lesley Briones

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Democrat

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2022

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2026

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Map of Precinct 4

State representation

{| class=wikitable

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Senators

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Party

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| First Elected

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Current Term Ends

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| District Boundaries

| style="background:blue;"| 

| District 13

| Rodney Ellis

| Democrat

| 1990

| 2014

| Map of District 13

| style="background:red;"| 

| style="background:#fff3f3"|District 17

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Joan Huffman

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Republican

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2008

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2012

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Map of District 17

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Representatives

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Party

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| First Elected

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Current Term Ends

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| District Boundaries

| style="background:red;"| 

| style="background:#fff3f3"|District 133

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Jim Murphy

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Republican

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2010; Also served 2006-2008

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2012

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Map of District 133

| style="background:blue;"| 

| District 149

| Hubert Vo (unseated Talmadge L. Heflin)

| Democrat

| 2004

| 2012

| Map of District 149

National representation

{| class=wikitable

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Senators

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Party

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| First Elected

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Current Term Ends

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Level

| style="background:red;"| 

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Senate Class 1

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Ted Cruz

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Republican

| style="background:#fff3f3"|2012

| style="background:#fff3f3"|December 2024

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Junior Senator

| style="background:red;"| 

| style="background:#fff3f3"|Senate Class 2

| style="background:#fff3f3"|John Cornyn

| Al Green

| Democrat

| 2004

| January 2023

| Map of District 9

Demographics

In 2015 the Houston portion of the Alief Super Neighborhood had 106,657 people, with 7,544 people per square mile. 49% were Hispanic, 22% were non-Hispanic black, 19% were non-Hispanic Asians, 9% were non-Hispanic whites, and 1% were non-Hispanic others. The median income was $46,187.

The annexed portion of Alief had a population of 108,971 people which was growing at a rate of 1.15% annually in 2009. The City of Houston stated on its website that the "legendary diversity" in Alief "is evident in the large section of Asian residents and businesses along Bellaire Boulevard." According to the Alief Independent School District in 2011, "Virtually every culture of the modern world is represented in [the district's] 45,000 student enrollment; more than 80 languages and dialects are spoken" among its students. Youens Elementary and Chancellor Elementary go all the way to fifth grade, however most students are also zoned to an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade. The district has six intermediate schools as of 2011. The district has six middle schools as of 2011. They can also choose to apply for admission to Alief Kerr High School. Students selected to attend Hastings High School attend the Hastings Ninth Grade Center during their ninth grade year, and students selected to attend Elsik High School attend the Elsik Ninth Grade Center during their ninth grade year. It also operates Alief Early College High School, which opened in 2010 and allows students to take courses for dual credit and graduate with both a high school diploma and the equivalence of an associate degree at the same time. The district also has two alternative schools. while the Crossroads/ Night High School/ LINC/ SOAR (Crossroads) meets in the annex between Hastings and Elsik. The Crossroads program is designed for "at-risk students with discipline problems who are behind in academic credit and are at risk of not graduating from high school,

A portion of the City of Houston-defined Alief Super Neighborhood within Fort Bend County is in the Fort Bend Independent School District.

Charter schools

Alief is served by multiple charter schools, which are not affiliated with Alief ISD nor Fort Bend ISD.

Alief Montessori Community School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade school following Montessori philosophy. Students are typically between 3 and 12 years old. In 2011, Children at Risk, an education advocacy non-profit, ranked the Alief Montessori among the ten best Houston-area elementary schools. Its 2011 per-pupil spending of $3,587 was one of the lowest in Houston.

Harmony Public Schools offers two campuses in the Alief area, Harmony School of Innovation (grades K-8) and Harmony Science Academy High (grades 9-12). KIPP Academy Middle School (grades 5-8), KIPP Houston High School (grades 9-12), and KIPP Unity (pre-kindergarten through grade 2).

Private schools

Christ the Lord Lutheran School is located at 4410 S. Kirkwood Rd. The school instructs preschool through the eighth grade

The Darul Arqam Schools Southwest Campus is located in Alief, Houston, with a Sugar Land postal address.

Colleges, universities, and higher education

thumb|HCC Alief Campus in [[Westchase, Houston|Westchase]]

The Houston Community College System (HCCS) has served the Alief area since 1982. The HCC Alief Campus, a part of the Southwest College, is located at 2811 Hayes Road in the Westchase area of Houston. The HCC Alief Continuing Education Center is located at 13803 Bissonnet Road in an unincorporated area in Harris County. The branch is located at 7979 South Kirkwood Street and was originally named the Alief Branch Library when it opened in 1985. It's now a part of Alief Neighborhood Center. The area is also served by the Judson W. Robinson-Westchase Neighborhood Library of HPL at 3223 Wilcrest Drive, within the Alief ISD boundaries.

Residents of Alief within Harris County may obtain library cards for the Harris County Public Library (HCPL) system. There are no HCPL branches in the Alief area. Fort Bend County Libraries serves the Fort Bend County areas.

Emergency services

thumb|Houston Police Department Westside Division Police Substation and Municipal Courts

Fire service

Alief residents in Houston receive fire services from the Houston Fire Department. The Houston Fire Department has operated Station 76 Alief Community since 1985. A part of Fire District 83 is also in Alief.

For residents of unincorporated Harris County, emergency medical services (EMS) and fire service are provided by a volunteer fire department, the Community Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD). CVFD is a combination career and volunteer fire suppression and EMS provider which operates two stations in the Alief area. CVFD also has a training center in the Alief area, where a bi-yearly cadet program takes place. A new training center is proposed next door to the current Station 1.

Police services

Alief is served by the Houston Police Department, which has Alief in the Westside Patrol Division, headquartered at 3203 South Dairy Ashford Road, in the Alief area. In 2000 the police department's Westwood Storefront in the Westwood Mall was scheduled to open before May 2000; it is the first police storefront to open in Alief. Construction delays foiled plans to open the storefront at the end of 1999 and in March 2000.

Harris County Sheriff's Office serves unincorporated sections of Harris County. The Alief area outside of Houston is within the District IV Patrol Bureau, headquartered at the Clay Road Substation at 16715 Clay Road. The Mission Bend Storefront is located at 7043 Highway 6 South. The facility has 410 physicians, 742 total employees, The center houses an emergency room Prior to the opening, the closest facility was the People's Health Center. The district said in a 2006 Houston Chronicle article that it planned to build a health care facility in Alief. The center has of space. The previous designated health care center was People's Health Center, now Valbona Health Center. The nearest public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

Transportation

Mass transit

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) provides local bus services to the area.

METRO Park & Ride locations in Alief include:

Gessner Park & Ride located at Westpark at Gessner, Houston, TX 77036 (Considered to be located in Alief when Gessner is considered the boundary line for Alief)
Mission Bend Park & Ride located at 13855 Alief Clodine Rd. (at METRO Blvd.), Houston, TX 77083
Westchase Park & Ride located at 11050 Harwin Dr., Houston, TX 77072
Westwood Park & Ride located at 9990 Southwest Fwy. (south of Bissonnet), Houston, TX 77036 (Considered to be located in Alief when Gessner is considered the boundary line for Alief)

Major highways

20px20px Interstate 69 / U.S. Highway 59
20px Beltway 8
20px State Highway 6

Airports

Andrau Airpark operated in Alief from 1946 to 1998, when it was closed to make room for the Royal Oaks Country Club and subdivision.

thumb|Basketball Courts at Alief-Amity Park

Alief-Amity Park, an park located along Westpark Tollway adjacent to Alief Elsik High School. In 1975, the county acquired what is now the park site from the Cloud family. The park was dedicated in the early 1980s. The park, once upon a time, was the site of the original Alief railroad depot.
Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Park is located north of Westpark Tollway along Eldridge Road in northwest Alief. This park includes a trail. Located on part of a Harris County Flood Control District site acquired in 1988, the park was dedicated in June 1999. It is named after Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston archbishop Joseph Fiorenza.
Arthur Storey Park is a green space along Brays Bayou at the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and State Highway Beltway 8, immediately west of Chinatown. In August 1995, the Harris County Flood Control District began acquiring land along the bayou, and in October of that year it agreed to allow the establishment of a park. The commissioner's court voted to rename the park in January 1997 after Arthur L. Storey Jr., who worked for the Harris County Flood Control District. Storey is credited with "modernizing and streamlining the county's flood control district operations while simultaneously considering [the district's operations'] environmental implications." The park hosts a playground and a asphalt walking trail. thumb|Alief Community Park
Alief Community Park is a park located at the southwest corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Kirkwood Road. The park was acquired by the City of Houston in 1993 from the First United Methodist Church of Houston for $3.5 million. The city originally named the park Southwest Park, but changed the name to Alief Community Park in 1997. however, corporate donors Marathon Oil and ConocoPhillips agreed to sponsor the pool.
Boone Park is located on Boone Road between Bellaire Boulevard and Beechnut Street. The parks amenities include a walking trail system, cricket field, playground, picnic pavilion, and multi-purpose fields, as well as a nature preserve recognized by the Texas Forestry Department.
Hackberry Park is located west of Boone Park on South Dairy Ashford Road between Bellaire Boulevard and Kirkwood Road. The park features a outer-loop trail. In addition, the park has a community center, a sprayground, and a playground.

Ascension Chinese Mission () is in the Alief super neighborhood. It originated from a Chinese worship service that was established in the 1970s. The parish was created in 1988, initially operating out of a commercial center in the southwest Houston Chinatown area. It relocated to its current site in Spring 1991. It is one of five Vietnamese Catholic churches in the Houston area. The archdiocese operates another Alief church, St. Justin Martyr.

Wilcrest Baptist Church is in the area.

Other religions

Shri Krishna Vrundavana has a Sugar Land postal address, but is physically in the Alief super neighborhood in the Houston city limits. It occupies the 450-person, former La Festa Hall. It was established in 2011 with about 200 people in its congregation; originally the temple rented its property. In October 2015 the temple organizers bought the current site for $1.3 million. In December 2015 its congregation had numbered over 800. By the 2000s Alief had the highest percentage of Muslims in Houston and the Greater Houston area overall.

Community events and festivals

Lunar New Year Festival

The Lunar New Year Festival is an annual event which was first held in 1996. The parade is held annually near the end of September.