Historical Value
Little White Oak/Hollywood Bayou has a distinctive history within Houston that is worth preserving.
Arthur Comey’s landmark 1912 Houston parks plan specifically mentions
Hollywood Bayou/Little White Oak Bayou as one of his top 3 bayous for parks planning. Connecting the historical Woodland and Moody Parks comprises the likely initial leg of the Trail.
Woodland Park is Houston’s second oldest park; its opening by the Houston Electric
Company, to promote their electric trams running from the “city” of downtown to the
“country” in Woodland Heights, was attended by 5,000 Houstonians on July 4, 1903.
Moody Park was founded in 1923 and now comprises 35 acres with many recreational facilities widely used by local families. On a tragic note, the Moody Park Riots of 1978 interrupted a Cinco de Mayo celebration along Little White Oak Bayou, and the story of how this event affected the local community is deserving of greater remembrance.
The trail passes along Historic Hollywood Cemetery, the resting place of over 30,000 souls including many prominent Houstonians, ranging from Houston’s first female lawyer to the founder of Houston’s beloved Shipley’s Donuts.
Hollywood Trail would pass through the Independence Heights neighborhood - established between 1905-1915 by some 600 African American people seeking a better life – an independent municipality known as the first city incorporated by African Americans in the State of Texas.
