Courtlandt Place

Defining Features

This Historic District Profile was developed to help property owners. It explains the typical features of buildings found in Courtlandt Place. This can be helpful when you are planning a project that would change your home’s exterior.

All homes in Courtlandt Place are two or two-and-a-half stories tall. Most houses contain between 4,000 and 8,000 square feet of living space. They were designed for entertaining, with grand foyers and curving staircases. The exteriors of these houses vary widely, but all were carefully designed.

Historic District designations are used to maintain the character of a neighborhood. Once an Historic District is created, certain rules apply to the entire neighborhood. These rules require that changes to properties in the District must be appropriate. In other words, the historic character of the property must stay the same.

Exterior changes must be approved in advance. The Planning Department can help with this process. If the project is approved, the property owner receives a Certificate of Appropriateness. In many Houston neighborhoods, deed restrictions require that the neighborhood civic association also approve changes to a property. The civic association’s regulations and standards may differ from those of the City. The information shown here refers only to City requirements. Property owners should check with their neighborhood association before beginning any project.

When planning a building project within the Courtlandt Place Historic District, please refer to this chart. It shows which building elements are compatible and which are not. Definitions of common architectural terms can be found in the glossary.

	Compatible	Incompatible
Foundation	Raised pier and beam	Slab on grade
Porch	Front porch (may be large or small) or inset portico Fluted classical columns Ionic or Corinthian capitals Square or round columns (Colonial Revival) Squared/tapered porch supports (Prairie)	Porch that wraps around house
Roof	Hipped or gabled roof shapes Low or steep pitch Gable ornamentation Wide boxed eave overhang Dentils or classical eave moldings Dormers Composition shingles Slate or tile roof	Shed, flat, gambrel or mansard roof shapes Cupolas or towers
Exterior Wall Cladding	Horizontal lapped, bevel, or drop wood siding Patterned or plain brick masonry Stucco Half-timbering (Tudor)	Vertical siding Corrugated metal Flat modular panels
Front Door	Single door that faces street Double doors Recessed panels Glass lights Sidelights Masonry arches Transoms Round fanlights Pediments Pilasters	Single door that faces side property line
Windows	Large, vertically or horizontally proportioned Double-hung, single-hung, or casement Wood or wood clad May have group (ribbon) of two or three windows in a row Patterned upper panes Masonry arches or hoods Pediments above windows Fanlights	Aluminum Large plate glass