The boundaries of the Rice Military neighborhood are Washington Avenue on the north, Memorial Drive on the south, Shepherd Drive on the east, and Westcott Street on the west. Rice Military, which is inside the 610 Loop, is next to Memorial Park.  The majority of the neighborhood lies within the boundaries of the 77007 zipcode.

Rice Military has an increasingly large population of new construction town homes being built in the area. With its proximity to downtown and ample nightlife, young professionals and empty nesters are flocking to the area to take advantage of the spacious town homes with low property tax rates.

Source: Rice Military Civic Club

photo courtesy of Memorial Park Conservancy, Inc.

On the western side of downtown Houston is one of the city's greatest treasures. Memorial Park was created in 1924, from land sold to the city by Mike and Will Hogg, to commemorate the tremendous loss of life during World War I.

In 1917-1918, Memorial Park had been the site of a 1,400-acre U.S. Army training facility called Camp Logan, whose namesake was Captain John A. Logan, the founder of Memorial Day. At this camp, more than 30,000 soldiers prepared for service on the Western Front. Soldiers from Camp Logan were involved in the infamous riot of August 23, 1917, which resulted in the largest court martial in U.S. history. An original Camp Logan building at 5801 Washington Avenue and a Logan Street exist in the Rice Military neighborhood, which borders the original camp entrance at the intersection of Westcott Street and Washington. Apart from this, there are few visual reminders of this chapter in Houston history.

Interestingly, the Rice Military subdivision, bounded by Buffalo Bayou, Westcott, Asbury, and the old Houston and Texas Central Railway, predates Camp Logan by nearly eight years. The neighborhood was created after land owned by J.S. and W.M. Rice was sold to Bankers Trust Co. on August 29, 1910. Within a few months, much of the Rice estate's remaining land holdings were sold, presumably in preparation for the groundbreaking of the new Rice Institute (now Rice University).

Although the meaning behind the "Rice Military" name remains something of a mystery, the association with the William Marsh Rice estate is clear. There is even a connection between Rice Institute and Camp Logan, albeit a tenuous one. For a brief period during America's involvement in World War I, Rice Institute was converted to an ROTC-type curriculum, complete with morning Reveille and evening Taps. On occasion, the Rice Owl teams even played against their Camp Logan rivals. Apart from a few World War I reminders, Camp Logan, Rice Military, and Rice University have all settled into decidedly more tranquil roles.

Source: Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA)