We who live in Hammersmith consider it to be friendliest, most dynamic and most conveniently located neighborhood in Houston.

Though we may be one of the smallest and the least known neighborhoods in Houston, we are close to the best parks, restaurants, theaters and cultural attractions in the city. The downtown theater district, for example, is just a 20-minute ride along Woodway and through beautiful Memorial Park.

Hammersmith offers an eclectic mix of architectural styles and an equally interesting mix of residents - married, single, retirees, professionals, families with children of all ages, varied ethnic backgrounds - all calling Hammersmith home. And the best part is that it really is a close-knit community. You know your neighbors, and they know you. We look after one another. And we have a great time.

Where are We?

Hammersmith is a small oasis tucked away off Voss Road between Westheimer and San Felipe. We have all the convenience of shopping and restaurants only moments away. We're a 20-minute drive down Woodway and Memorial to downtown. Yet our quiet tree-lined streets invite you to walk, bicycle, talk to neighbors. And right in the middle is a beautiful park and pool. What could be better?

Click HERE to see where we are.

Hammersmith History
by Jerry Hill

Hammersmith Subdivision takes its name from the English town of Hammersmith, which is located in one of the boroughs of West London. We do not know who developed this portion of Houston but they must have had some type of a connection to London because one of our subdivision’s streets, Fulham Court, was named for a district in the same borough of that city. To reinforce that connection, the subdivision east of Hammersmith, across Voss Road, was named Marble Arch, the name of a well-known landmark near Hyde Park in London.

The original plat of Hammersmith subdivision was laid out in 1963. The 21-acre tract was divided into 226 individual lots with a private park or club area in the middle covering about ½ acre. The lots were originally laid out to be 25 to 25½ feet wide, except for a few end lots that were to be 30 feet wide where there was a curved entrance to an alleyway. The lots ranged from 90 to 100 feet deep. Ultimately, some builders purchased multiple adjacent lots and adjusted the widths of some to be as narrow as 20 feet and as wide as 30 feet, with most remaining at the 25 foot size. The total number of lots finally became 223.

At the time of development, the original land owners consisted of the Leggett-Cutbirth-Winston Corporation; Joseph Eckman, a builder; and a G.R. Jackson, serving as trustee for other interests. The original developers constructed streets and installed utilities based on the plat and the first homes started to be built a couple of years later. A set of deed restrictions and covenants was registered in the county records in June of 1966.

When Hammersmith was started, there was only one other similar townhouse development in Houston. That was Lafayette Place, located on Post Oak Blvd., just north of its intersection with Memorial Drive. Both developments had similar appearances and similar size homes.

There initially was a restriction on building abutting townhouses in Houston because the city’s building department was concerned about fire safety in multi-story homes. There was no precedent and the city was reluctant to issue building permits. Fernando Segura, a local architect and early Hammersmith resident, along with others, worked with Houston’s Building and Fire Departments to develop a design using an 8-inch firewall that could serve as a common wall between units. The firewall extended all the way from the foundation to above the roof and was supposed to delay any fire from penetrating to the other side for at least four hours.

In the mid 1960s, Voss Road was a quiet two-lane street lined with grass ditches to carry storm water. Much of the land in this part of the city still had a rural quality where some residents kept horses and riding stables operated. The only businesses between Westheimer and San Felipe were Cornelius Nursery and a veterinarian at the corner of Del Monte and Voss. Hammersmith was initially a quiet, residential area on the edge of the city that eventually became neighbored by a great deal of commerce.

Charter Properties was one of the original agents for sale of the lots and houses. Their offices were located on Del Monte, across Voss Road from Hammersmith. The location is now occupied by the Far East Chinese restaurant. A spec. house that was built at 7525 Chevy Chase served as their on-site sales office. Several builders purchased groups of lots and built more “spec” homes. When these houses were sold the builders would purchase additional lots and continue building.

Construction in Hammersmith started along the east end of Del Monte about 1967 and progressed westward from Voss Road. Jim West, another realtor, was involved early in the development of homes along Del Monte. He had a sales office on Del Monte that was initially in a trailer and then he put the office in one of the houses. There was a model home on the north side of Del Monte at Voss and the first houses were built adjacent to it.

Jerry Potter and her husband were the first to build in the 7600 block of Del Monte. In 1967 they picked out a lot on the north side of the street and engaged builder Joe Eckman to construct their three-story townhouse. When asked why they picked that particular lot to build on in the midst of an empty block, Jerry says it was because there was a nice brick wall behind the house across the alleyway – which she admits to later backing into and knocking down.

Some of the early homes built on Del Monte had carports, instead of enclosed garages. The carports all had corrugated metal roofs. Owners eventually converted the carports to closed garages but the metal roofs are still in evidence.

Among the initial builders was architect Fernando Segura, who built the first five homes on the south side of Del Monte and still lives in the house he built at 7503. Other builders included Betty Mitchell, Joe Eckman, Ernest Rowe, and Fred Lewis. Joe Eckman collaborated with architect Lucian Hood on several of his houses, while Segura served as his own architect. Eckman lived in several of the houses he built here and is also well known for homes he built in Tanglewood and River Oaks.

By 1968 houses started to appear on Chevy Chase. Most of the townhomes were initially sought out by many families who had lived in the Memorial area and sold larger properties after their children had left home. Hammersmith was generally always an adult-prone community although a few families raised their children here.

The construction in the houses was considered to be high quality and architects included fine details in their designs. The initial homes that were built in the mid to late 1960s sold for prices in the high $30,000 to low $40,000 range, while a 22-foot wide lot cost $8,050. A listing of the homes that were available about 1970 shows the selling prices for the “spec” homes then to range from about $57,500 to $68,500. This was at a time when a 3 or 4-bedroom tract home in Houston could be bought for $25,000 to $35,000 so Hammersmith homes were definitely “high-end.” By 1970, if someone wanted to buy a lot and engage their own builder, a 25 foot wide lot could be purchased for $9,750 then with larger sizes available for an additional $390 per front foot.

Building of new townhomes progressed along Del Monte back to Fulham Court and then into the center area along Chevy Chase. Construction along Olympia was slower and many of the homes on that street were completed later.

The park area was developed with the swimming pool and clubhouse relatively early. These were initially surrounded by a hedge of bushes. The original design for the clubhouse included a Swedish style hot sauna but this part of it either was never installed or only operated briefly. The hedge was replaced at some time with a six-foot high cedar fence to enclose the pool area. Eventually, in the mid or late 1980s the wood fence was replaced with the current open metal fence that allows more air circulation and provides a more appealing view of the common area.

The apartments along Voss Road on the south side of Hammersmith, now known as La Scala, were built before Hammersmith. Because the area along Olympia was slow to develop, the apartment residents had a clear view to the Hammersmith swimming pool area. Since the pool did not initially have a fence around it there were problems with apartment dwellers who would sneak through the bushes and enjoy a dip in our pool.

Picture of home under construction on north side of Olympia in 7500 block. Note the empty lot across the street on the south side of Olympia and the apartment building beyond.

A home owners association called the Hammersmith Community Improvement Association was formed among the first residents in order to enforce the deed restrictions and arrange for common services. The financial assessment was initially $10 per month. This amount provided for not only such items as lawn and pool maintenance, but there was also 24-hour security. Currently the assessment is $450 per year without a security service, which is a measure of how inflation has affected the upkeep of the community over the years. The first president of the association was Joe Upham, who still resides in Hammersmith with his wife. Joe was the resident salesman for Charter Properties and manned their sales office at 7525 Chevy Chase. Since his home was next door at 7523 Chevy Chase, Joe had probably the shortest commute to work of anyone who lived in the development.

Several well-known Houstonians have lived in Hammersmith over the years. Warner Roberts, who lived on Olympia, was a local television personality and talk-show host. Also in the television business was resident Jim Masucci, who lived on Fulham Court and was president of KTRK television, Channel 13. The neighborhood seemed to particularly attract people in the restaurant industry. These included Erik Worscheh, who managed the restaurant at the famous Shamrock Hotel; Camille Berman and her son Ron who owned Maxim’s restaurant; Clive Berkman, who operated Charley’s 517 restaurant downtown for several years; and Adriano Farinola, who operated Pino’s restaurant at Westheimer and Hillcroft with his brother, Pino.

Hammersmith was apparently photogenically appealing to some motion picture and television producers because filming was done for at least two productions in our neighborhood. One was shot at a townhouse on Olympia and the other on location in Olympia Court.

Hammersmith also gained some mention in the printed media too. Author David Lindsey, who lives in Austin and writes popular mystery novels, used Hammersmith as the setting for one of the scenes in his 1990 book titled Mercy. In the book a fictional murder takes place in one of the townhomes and a Houston police detective responds to the scene. The author describes Hammersmith as follows:

“The Hammersmith complex …was a mingle of small wooded lanes where the buildings were joined together like row houses, different styles and colors butted up against each other in an imperfect harmony, their various rooflines and chimneys bouncing up and down like the individual notes on a musical score.”

Hammersmith has been a unique community in Houston and will continue to be so in the future. Residents take pride in the appearance of the neighborhood and many of those who lived here before left us an architectural legacy that we can all be proud of.

Special thanks to our neighbors and original residents who contributed by sharing their memories with me. These include Fernando Segura, Myrna Klein, Carolyn Jones, Joe Upham, Jerry Potter, and Elizabeth Binkley.