Riverside Terrace: From Jewish Enclave to Black Elite

South of downtown, along the tree-lined boulevards near the bayou, Riverside Terrace holds one of Houston's most remarkable stories of change. Laid out beginning in 1924, it became known as the 'Jewish River Oaks' — a wealthy enclave where Jewish families like the Weingartens and Fingers built mansions after being shut out of Houston's most exclusive neighborhoods. Then, in the 1950s and 60s, it transformed again: a wealthy Black cattleman moved in despite a bombing on his porch, and Riverside Terrace became the address of Houston's Black elite — doctors, lawyers, professors, and civil-rights leaders. Beside it, on the campuses of Texas Southern University, artists and scholars built a cultural powerhouse of Black Houston. This driving tour traces both chapters, from the Jewish golden age to the Black golden age and the institutions of the surrounding Third Ward. Drive with respect for a neighborhood still telling its story.