1964 South Belt

The other aerials from the University of Houston Foley's Files of the coming Almeda Mall area were taken in March and September 1964 from slightly different angles.

Since the 1961 aerial, the turn-abouts at Fuqua have been completed but no road yet.

here's a more zoomed in section of the aerial of Beverly Hills homes and schools

Had the aerial been a bit more wide, we likely would have seen the earlier construction of the first homes in Sagemont, as this memo dated in June of that year reports 48 homes already completed with another 9 being sold each week.

The September 1964 flyover shot was further south so we can account for Sagewood, Sageville, Sageway, and Sagedowne which was the first section, as well as the next phase (on the other side of the ditch) getting started on Sageoak and what appears to be the first home at the corner of Sageland and Sagedowne completed. 


The only connecting road between Beverly Hills and Sagemont was the Gulf Freeway.

Note that they were not building home sites up to the South Belt road itself. Those homes would be added later. The first home built, on Sageville, was at the southwest corner of Sageville and Sageway. A blog post about that home's first owners is here. 

That piece recounted a move in date of July 1964, so this September aerial would be  just a couple of months after the first owners were able to move in. I count about 75 driveways in the photo, which means sales were picking up between July and September if they are selling 9 a week.

Three years later, and it appears all the homes on Sagehaven and Sagearbor, up to where the Texas Commerce Bank will be built in 1979, are visible.

by permission, Bob Bailey Studios Photographic Archive, e_bb_6429

The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin

from the September 1967 Ayreshire files, here's what those first streets looked like with 3 year old trees: