After your baller apartment lease is up in Midtown, you may find that falling asleep to the Drinkery’s bass isn’t your cup of tea anymore and become one of the many people who make the nearly inevitable migration to the next step in their Houston housing adventure and live in a “townhouse off Washington.”
Depending on exactly what block you’re in, this part of town goes by many names—Rice Military, West End, First Ward, Sixth Ward, even the Heights. We’re calling it Washington Corridor and defining it as anything north of Buffalo Bayou, south of I-10, east of Memorial Park and west of I-45—essentially anything immediately surrounding Washington Ave.
Washington Corridor is a neighborhood full of busy professionals who want to be spitting distance from major highways like I-10 and I-45 and a short hop, skip, and a jump away from Downtown Houston and the Galleria. You can even take a bus to many of these destinations if you wanted.
The neighborhood is a collection of bungalows dating back to the early 1900s, modern townhouses, art warehouses, emerging apartment complexes and a night life renaissance.
Where You Need to Go
- Best Breakfast Tacos: Laredo Taqueria
- Best Late Night Snack: Velvet Taco
- Best Fajitas: El Tiempo — prepare to wait
- Best Pizza: Pink’s — tucked away on Washington and rarely has a long wait
- Best Brunch: Cadillac Bar
- Best Place to Host a Work Event: Brenner’s on the Bayou
- Best Tea: The Teahouse — on Memorial, get bubble tea, obviously
- Best Cocktail: Julep
- Best Wine: Max’s Wine Dive
- Brewery: Holler Brewing – meet there on Thursday evenings for a RacePace social run
- Best Trivia Night: Darwin’s
- Best After Work Happy Hour: BB Lemon
- Best Bar: Kung Fu – zero chill
- Best Place to get Lit: tied between Concrete Cowboy and Handle Bar
- Best Beer and Wine Patio Bar: Spring Street Beer and Wine Garden
- Best Breweries: Holler Brewing Co. for IPAs and stouts and Platypus for Aussie-style brews
- Best Two Step: Daisy Dukes — formerly Rebel’s Honky Tonk
- Best Drink Specials: Nett Bar –$2 shots when the train goes by
- Best Hangover Cure: El Rey
- Best Study Spot: Catalina’s Coffee– no Wifi here, you’re expected to talk to each other
- Best Coffee Shop: Cafeza
- Best Spot to Carboload: Piada
- Best Spa: Massage Heights off Yale
- Best Park: Buffalo Bayou – access the trails via the pedestrian bridge at Jackson Hill
- Best Workout: RacePace Running Studio
- Best Spot to Watch the Houston Marathon: Urban Eats
- Best Running Club: Will’s Hills – meet MWF at Spotts Park at 5:30am for a serious workout
- Best Yoga: Salt Power Yoga
- Best Spin Studio: Cycle Bar
- Best Challenge: Momentum Rock Climbing — great date night!
- Best Place to Adventure: Bayou City Adventures – kayak, canoe or paddle board the Buffal Bayou
- Best Street Art: Sawyer Yards
- Best Mural: Rail to the Sea
- Best Tourist Spot: We Heart Houston sign
- Best Theatre: Winter Street Theatre
- Best Museum: Art Car Museum — yes that’s a thing! Also check out the Beer Can House!
- Best French Toast: Poitin
- Best Sports Bar: Fuego’s
- Best Booze and Bites while watching Rockets: FM Kitchen
- Best Avocado Toast: The Dunlavy
- Best Ramen: Samurai Noodle
- Best Poke: PokeWorks — download the app and get rewards here!
- Best Grocery Store: Sprouts (soon to be a new H-E-B!)
- Best Laugh: Station Theatre — for comedy!
What You Need to Know
Washington Corridor has a fantastic art scene centered around the refurbished warehouses at Sawyer Yards, Winter Street Studios and Spring Street Studios. In addition to the many outdoor murals that are constantly changing, the studios regularly host open houses where you can visit the artist in-resident studios to view and purchase work. The venue space is also very versatile and regularly home to many fun Houston events like Brewfest, Flea Style, Artopia, and more!
Probably for all these reasons, Washington Corridor is super residential, from apartments on every block to townhomes 3-4 stories high. Chances are, when you live here, you’ll know your neighbors or live less than a mile away from a guy on a dating app. Happens.
If you’re a runner, Washington Corridor is a prime location to hit many running trails without having to get into a car. You can access White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou at several different spots (check out the Bayou Greenways map) as well as run to Memorial Park. Kung Fu has a Wednesday night running club that does 3-5 miles. After 10 runs with them, you get a free beer each time you come!
This part of town has every grocery store you’ll ever need—Walmart, Sprouts, Kroger, and soon—H-E-B!
Just can’t get enough? Here’s everything we’ve written about Washington Corridor.
This post is sponsored by our friends at HumanHQ who are thoroughy convinved that we live in the most badass, vibrant city ever! Their mission is dedicated to connecting Houstonians in meaningful ways. They believe that people are better together–mostly because we are and science says so too. They curate small groups and host special events at thier location in the Heights for positive, driven, growth-oriented people. Together, they discuss life, reflect on where you want to take your path and help one another stay encouraged in the pursuit of the lives we cultivate for ourselves. Check out their small group sessions and events page for how you can get connected into their vibrant community!
