The cooler temps in the morning put an extra bounce in our steps, and after a long Texas summer, it feels wonderful to welcome the changing season to the Heights. Fall is always one of the liveliest, most beautiful times of year in our neighborhood, and our calendar for the coming weeks is packed with incredible events.
First, I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week for our Speakeasy Casino Night at the historic Houston Heights Fire Station! What an epic night it was—from the fantastic 1920s attire and lively casino tables to the
unbelievable spirit of neighborly camaraderie. Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, sponsors and underwriters as well as the enthusiastic crowd that came out, the evening was a resounding success for the Association!
The momentum continues all month long with a lineup of events for every age and interest:
Heights Fun Run – Saturday, October 10: Lace up your running shoes or come out to cheer on your neighbors! Whether you're running the 10K, 5K, 1K or walking with family, it’s a wonderful morning celebrating fitness and fun on Heights Boulevard. Meet us at Marmion Park bright and early.
General Meeting & Board Candidate Presentations – Monday, October 12: Join us for our regular monthly gathering. We will begin with candidate presentations where you can meet this year’s nominees for the HHA Board of Directors as they introduce themselves and share their vision for our neighborhood. Following the candidate presentations, we are pleased to welcome representatives from CarePartners, who will share their mission to provide care, education, and support to older adults, including those living with dementia and their family caregivers.
Urban Forestry Committee Tree Giveaway – Sunday, October 18: Help keep our neighborhood canopy vibrant and green! Our Urban Forestry Committee will be hosting their annual tree giveaway supplied by Trees For Houston. Stop by to pick up a free native tree to plant in your yard.
Halloween Party at Donovan Park – Saturday, October 31: Bring out the ghosts, ghouls, and little superheroes! We’ll be celebrating Halloween at Donovan Park with costume contests, festive games, and treats for the kids. And here’s the thing – after so much work and effort and planning by so many fabulous volunteers, the hightlight of the day will be the reveal of the Reimagine Donovan Park design.
Thank you to all of our committee members and volunteers who dedicate their time to making these events happen and to our sponsors and underwriters without whom we couldn’t make these events happen. I look forward to seeing many of you out walking, running, meeting, and celebrating throughout October!
Warmly,
Katye Tipton
HHA President
Join your neighbors on Monday, October 12 from 6:30pm-8:00pm at the historic Houston Heights Fire Station, 107 W. 12th Street, for the October General Meeting. This month you'll hear from the candidates running for the HHA Board of Directors. Each will share why they're running and what they hope to bring to the Heights. It's the best chance to put names to faces before you vote, so come with questions and get to know the people who want to help shape the neighborhood's future.
We'll also welcome CarePartners, a Houston nonprofit that has served older adults and caregivers since 1986. Their vision is "Creating Compassionate Communities of Care." Through caregiver education, one-on-one consultations, support groups, and activity programs, they help older adults, including people living with dementia, and the family members who care for them. They also run the Dementia Day Center, Houston's only adult day program for people in the early to late-moderate stages of dementia. Whether you're caring for a parent, a spouse, or a neighbor, or just want to know what help is out there, this presentation is worth hearing. General meetings are open to everyone, so bring a friend.
👟The 41st Houston Heights Fun Run is Saturday, October 10!👟
Since 1985, this neighborhood tradition has never missed a year, and this weekend runners and walkers take over Heights Boulevard once again. The 10K kicks off at 7:00 a.m. from Marmion Park, 1800 Heights Boulevad, followed by the 5K run and walk at 7:15 and the Kids' 1K at 8:00. Grab your coffee, bring the whole family and line the boulevard to cheer on your neighbors, then stick around for the finish-line party with a live DJ, Eureka Heights craft beer, Wonder Pops and a vendor village of local businesses. There's still time to sign-up with the button below, and you can pick-up your packet on Friday, October 9 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Grit Running Center, 521 E. 16th Street. See you on Saturday!
🎨 2026 Houston Heights Art Crawl: Studio Tour 🎨 Saturday, November 7 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
Explore the creative side of the Heights during the 2026 Houston Heights Art Crawl, a self-guided tour of working artist studios, sculptures, murals and creative spaces throughout the neighborhood.
Ticket holders can meet artists, view works in progress, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. The tour features 14 stops, including private studios, Redbud Arts Center, public sculptures and murals, and the True North Sculpture collection along Heights Boulevard.
Participating artists include Karin Broker, Paul Kittelson, Carter Ernst, Ed Wilson, Magda Boltz-Wilson, Tim Glover, Sharon Kopriva, Kelly Moran, Daniel Anguilu, and more.
Tickets are $50 per person. No children under 12. Net proceeds will benefit the Houston Heights Association.
💦 White Oak Bayou Association's Annual Meeting 💦 Wednesday, November 4 at 6:00pm
Please join the White Oak Bayou Association for their annual meeting with neighbors, volunteers, and partners who care about our watershed.
The meeting starts with a 6:00pm social hour featuring pizza, beer, and time to connect, followed by a 7:00pm presentation, Protecting Tomorrow’s Water, with Denise Ma from the Harris Galveston Subsidence District.
Your presence will help strengthen our community and our shared commitment to protecting White Oak Bayou. Please RSVP using the button below. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Holiday Home Tour Is Coming, and Your Home Could Be On It
Fall is here, which means the holidays are just around the corner! Planning for this year's Holiday Home Tour is in full swing! Co-Chairs Ryanne Ur and Eric Martinez are looking for Heights homes that shine brightest during the season, from glowing porches and garland-wrapped railings to living rooms dressed in their holiday best. If you love to decorate and want to share your home's holiday spirit with your neighbors, we'd love to hear from you.
Tour Dates & Times
Friday, December 4: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Saturday, December 5: 3:00pm – 9:00pm
Want to put your home on the tour, or know a neighbor whose decorations deserve the spotlight? Email info@houstonheights.org to submit a home or get more details.
In 2016, volunteers of the Urban Forestry Committee worked to create the first Green Corridor in the City of Houston. Utilizing the City of Houston Ordinance, this Yale Green Corridor protects trees in the right-of-way along Yale Street between 6th Street and 19th Street.
Today our Yale Green Corridor is 10 years old!
To honor this anniversary, the Committee is raising funds to replace and refresh the missing street sign toppers along the Yale Green Corridor. Your tax-deductible donation directly helps keep the Heights looking beautiful and distinct. Any contribution—big or small—makes a meaningful difference for our trees and streetscapes!
The link below will take you to the donation page on the HHA’s website. Thank you for your support!
To learn more about the Urban Forestry Committee, visit our page on the HHA website.
If you live in the Houston Heights, you may have heard about minimum building line restrictions—but did you know these protections can expire if they aren’t renewed?
A minimum building line determines how close new construction can be built to the street. These restrictions help preserve the spacing, scale, and historic character that make the Heights unique. Here’s the catch: many building line restrictions have expiration dates. When a restriction expires, the protection it provides can disappear, potentially allowing new construction to be built closer to the street than what is typical for your block. This can significantly change the look and feel of a neighborhood.
What You Can Do
Be on the lookout for official notices from the City of Houston regarding upcoming building line expirations. These notices may arrive by mail or be posted publicly.
If you receive a notice:
Don’t ignore it.
Contact the HHA or City of Houston Planning Department for assistance.
Begin the renewal process as early as possible.
Renewing a building line before it expires is much easier than trying to restore the protection after it has lapsed.
Why It Matters
Protecting your building line helps ensure that future development respects the established character of your block. A little attention now can help prevent significant changes later.
Bottom line: Keep an eye out for building line expiration notices—and when they arrive, ACT! If your block does not currently have a minimum building line because the protection has expired or was never established, contact the HHA Land Use Committee to learn more about options for protecting your block at hhalanduse@gmail.com for more information. Thank you!
As the weather FINALLY cools down, Gulf Coast Blood invites Heights neighbors to roll up a sleeve and share some warmth that truly matters. Every donation helps bring comfort and care to patients across our region, from accident victims and surgery patients to neighbors undergoing cancer treatment, and a single donation can help save up to three lives. All month long, from October 1 through 31, every successful donor takes home a cozy blanket as a thank-you, just in time for chilly fall evenings (while supplies last). Make an appointment ahead of time to keep check-in quick and your visit short, and bring a friend along to double the impact.
Jim Robertson's bright teal sculpture "Sanctuary" now stands on the 1600 block of Heights Boulevard. After serving in the Army, two years of it in Vietnam, the Houston native earned degrees from the University of Houston and UT Austin and taught art at Lone Star College for 29 years. He began as a painter, then turned to steel and found metal objects, gathered from industrial salvage yards. "Sanctuary" blends Egyptian pyramids, Gothic pointed arches and towering minarets into one almost ghostly piece. You may also spot him on the art car scene in his stainless steel Jet Car. Read his full artist profile on our website.
Congratulations to Joyce and Ed Lehotsky of 600 Peddie Street, our October Yard of the Month! Their garden has evolved along with their life together, shaped by a year in Japan and six years in Australia. Japanese Yews and a quiet "Zen Garden" patio recall the gardens of Japan, while succulents and white and brown boulders recall the Australian outback. Five Shumard Oaks along Peddie shade passersby and give young squirrels a playground. A
volunteer Redbud even grew right on the property line, and the neighbors trimmed a notch in their fence so it could thrive. Watch for their "China Hat" bushes to bloom a brilliant orange in November. Thank you to Buchanan's Native Plants for the gift card!
Join us Saturday, October 10, for a garden tour at 2215 Decatur Street in the Historic Old Sixth Ward. Bob and Cynthia Card have lived here for 25 years, and their cottage garden now wraps around both their 1893 bungalow and the artist studio in back. Cynthia treats her plants with tough love, so hardy favorites like Esperanza, Lantana, Mexican Mint Marigold and Rosemary re-seed
freely and draw a steady stream of pollinators. There's even a large Roselle Hibiscus they use for tea. Old bricks collected from the neighborhood make vintage paths throughout, and rain barrels water the garden. Streets are narrow, so park on a side street and enjoy a short walk past the block's original historic homes. Thank you to Wabash Feed & Garden for the gift card!
Arthur Murphy Cherri Carbonara John Young Jessica Rentfrow Mark Covington Caroline Payne Mark & Susan Wisniewski Catherine Swilley Elizabeth Butler Steve Colvin Dorothy Autin Ellen Brooks Ian McCutcheon Donna & Jim Bennett Christianne Gell Gerald Gallion Christina Rappazzo Teresa Tuerff Aaron Foster Kirk Girouard Jean Marie Howard Pamela Walker Alan Jackson Christen Siegel Thomas Mitro John B Douglas
Marcia O'Malley Grant Sovereign Jessica Holoubek Erica Sandberg Brooke DiMartino April Dardis
Mandy Fralick Mick Klein Sonia Verhagen Kevin Schultz Steven Crabtree Cheri Hanemann Reed Garber Sandy Uffelman Nick Stratigakis Lisa Dobey Lisa Pilkington Danae Stephenson Charlene Avocato Ricky Hopp Lloyd McWalters Tucker Irey Lindsay Munoz Paola Alvarez-Malo Debbie Markey Charles Krenzler Camille Fitzsimmons Beverlee Steinberg Pamela Price Dianna Rudolph Tim Surratt Sonja Vodehnal Jennifer White Jo Ann Coleman Kay Gilbreath Robert Heinrich Cynthia Meade David Lake
Business Members
YMCA of Greater Houston Houston Heights Lodge #225 IOOF
Design & Inspiration
Your Houston ENT
Replacement Windows of Katy The Heights Petite Shoppe
All Purpose Merchandise Solutions Rumor Has It Nail, Massage & Med Spa The Kinne Group GI Pressure Washing Guy GRIT Running Center Hiatus Spa The Learning Experience- Houston Heights Corcoran Prestige Realty
Stay proactive about neighborhood security by joining the 2026 Heights Constable Patrol Program. With subscriptions now prorated at $206 for the remainder of the year, it’s an ideal time to get involved. Your support directly funds dedicated patrols, vacation watch benefits, and rapid response times across our streets.
Secure your subscription today and help keep the Heights safe—click below to sign up!
Register for the 2026 Heights Constable Patrol Program
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