Avondale Architecture Walk

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this tour.

Avondale, a residential neighborhood in what is now the Montrose area, was part of the first wave of Houston’s southwestern suburban expansion in the early years of the 20th century. Fashionable residential development at the time was centered on Main Street, but new neighborhoods including Westmoreland, Courtlandt Place and Avondale were drawing upscale residents away from the old South End by 1910, beginning a trend toward the suburbs that would continue for decades.

Our 90-minute, docent-guided walking tour will explore the history of the neighborhood and the design of its homes, most of which date from the 1910s and ’20s. Some of the housing styles in Avondale no longer exist in other historic Houston neighborhoods, and some of the homes in the area are the city’s only surviving works by their architects and builders. We’ll discuss the design trends that influenced Avondale and will talk about the lives of some of its residents, who included leaders in finance, lumber, cotton and oil. As we walk the neighborhood, we will also learn how Avondale has changed over the years and the work that has been done to restore many of its outstanding historic homes.

Please note this is an exterior architecture tour only. The tour will not go inside any buildings. There are no public restrooms along the tour route.

Photo: Homes in the 400 block of Avondale Avenue / by Jim Parsons

About the tour

Advance ticket purchase is required for the tour; tickets are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We will not be able to accommodate walk-ups on the day of the tour. There are no refunds for tour tickets.

Registrants will receive parking and check-in information via e-mail.

Face masks are optional for all fully vaccinated individuals, including docents. We ask that tourgoers who are not fully vaccinated remain masked at all times during the tour, including at check in.

In the event of inclement weather that prevents the tour from being offered as planned, we will notify registrants as far in advance as possible about their options to attend a rescheduled tour or transfer their reservations to another Preservation Houston tour.

Do you have an Architecture Walks pass?

If you have joined Preservation Houston and received a pass for a free Architecture Walk, you may redeem the pass for admission to this tour. E-mail [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.

Passes are redeemable subject to ticket availability.