This Historic Houston Neighborhood Is Highly Walkable With Charming Vintage Homes

Bordering the lively urban hub of Midtown is one of Houston's most historic and charming pockets. Spanning across 40 blocks, the Fourth Ward neighborhood holds some of the city's most intriguing history, with a legacy spanning back to 1839 when it was first established by Houston. But its most notable role in history came a couple of decades later in 1865, when a portion of Fourth Ward was settled by around 1,000 formerly enslaved people after the Emancipation Proclamation, an area which became known as "Freedmen's Town."

Today, this neighborhood is not only home to historic sightseeing closely tied to Houston's Black community, but it's also where you'll find charming shotgun-style cottages — which largely sprouted up in the 1880s — and vibrant local businesses, all of which can be explored on foot. Houston has a number of walkable neighborhoods like Houston Heights, and according to Walk Score, Fourth Ward has a walkability rating of 74 out of 100, making it the city's fifth-most walkable neighborhood. Stay right in Houston's historic heart at Best Western Plus Downtown Inn & Suites, a three-star hotel with a 4.5 rating on Google and within close proximity to Fourth Ward's best sightseeing. From George Bush Intercontinental Airport, reaching Fourth Ward will take around 40 minutes by car, or an hour and 10 minutes by public transportation. 

Unfortunately, many of Fourth Ward's historic buildings have been demolished as the neighborhood has grappled with gentrification — according to Defender, fewer than 30 historic structures still stand within Freedman's Town. But, this beloved Texas city has a renowned museum scene, and you'll still get a taste of that within Fourth Ward, largely thanks to its three UNESCO-designated structures: the Kellum-Noble House, the Reverend Jack Yates House, and the Fourth Ward Cottage, all of which date back to the mid-1800s. The Kellum-Noble House, Houston's oldest surviving building, constructed in 1847, once served as one of the area's first schools and even had a brief stint as a site for a zoo. The Reverend Jack Yates House was built in 1870 by John Henry "Jack" Yates after his emancipation from slavery and still contains some of the original furniture owned by his family during that time. The Fourth Ward Cottage, for its part, was once home to a German immigrant family, before becoming a rental home between 1883 and 2001.

All three homes are located within Sam Houston Park and are available for tours from Wednesdays to Saturdays. Tours cost $15 (as of this writing), are operated by the Heritage Society Museum, and focus on Black American history in Houston prior to and following the Civil War. For more historic sightseeing, also visit Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum. The Queen Anne-style home, which dates back to 1912, was home to Rutherford Yates, who founded a printing company. Along Victor Street, around a 20-minute walk from Sam Houston Park, you'll find more examples of the Fourth Ward's charming vintage row homes, three of which have been restored to serve as the Freedmen's Town Visitor Center.

Apart from historic sightseeing, thanks to its walkability, checking out the Fourth Ward's many local businesses is easy. Start your day off with a coffee from Native Coffee, tucked within an unassuming century-old auto body shop around a mile from Sam Houston Park. When it comes to food, you'll have plenty of options, but Lost and Found is one of the area's top restaurants, with a 4.8-star rating and over 16,000 reviews on Google. Its menu features an array of Southern-style seafood and meat dishes like lemon pepper fried chicken and shrimp and crawfish dip, along with craft cocktails (it also serves weekend brunch).

For dinner, Bludorn is another popular choice in the Fourth Ward for its French-inspired, New American cuisine. Its seasonal, locally sourced menu includes dishes like oysters (served multiple ways), seafood, pasta, steaks, and other meat-based dishes. You'll also find diverse cuisines, like Oporto Fooding House & Wine, a Portuguese-style cafe with tapas, and Cafe Layal, which serves shawarma, gyro, and kabobs. While exploring Fourth Ward, also stop in one of its green spaces, like Wiley Park, which has a basketball court and picnic tables, or Eleanor Tinsley Park, which runs along the Buffalo Bayou and has trails and gardens.