Westbury Square, Shopping center in Southwest Houston, United States
Westbury Square was a shopping center in Southwest Houston, Texas, built around a circular piazza with a central fountain and European-style architecture. Separate retail buildings were arranged around this open plaza, giving the site a layout quite different from enclosed American malls.
Developer Ira Berne opened the center in 1960 after traveling through Europe, commissioning architect William F. Wortham Jr. to draw on Italian urban design. The arrival of The Galleria in 1970 drew shoppers away and set off a long decline that eventually led to the site's closure.
Westbury Square drew visitors from across the region during the 1960s, hosting outdoor art festivals and choral performances around its central plaza. The European-inspired design made it feel different from typical American shopping centers of that era.
The site sits near the intersection of Chimney Rock Road and West Bellfort Avenue in Southwest Houston, making it easy to locate by car. It is now a private gated residential community, so the grounds are no longer open to visitors.
Home Depot acquired part of the property in 1995, and the remaining structures were torn down in 2015. A gated residential community now occupies the land where shoppers once walked through an open European-style plaza.
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