Women's History Tours

We offer 3 completely different 5-hour tours that focus on women’s history and culture. All three tours normally begin at 10:00 AM to end at 3:00 PM. Each tour has at least 2 museums, houses, or institutions to tour, a possible comfort food stop at a site found by and or run by women, a lunch stop, and several places that we drive-by. Each person is responsible for paying for his/her snacks and lunch.

In 1982, the United States (US) Congress designated the week of March 8th week as Women’s History Week. The US Congress expanded the recognition to the whole month of March as Women’s History Month, in 1987. However, one does not have to celebrate the achievements of over one-half of the population in only 1 month. These tours are offered throughout the year.

Women's History Tour A

Tour A focuses on the east and central part of Houston. It covers downtown, the 3rd Ward, the Lawndale area, the Texas Medical Center (TMC), Rice Village, and Hermann Park. Bold-faced areas are potential stops.
The sites include:

  • The Julia B. Ideson (1880 – 1945) Library (1923), named for the long-time head of the Houston Public Library with the 1935 New Deal mural “The First Subscription Committee, 1854” by Ruth Pershing Uhler
  • Market Square Park and Discovery Green Park redesigned by Lauren Griffith Associates. See the bust and memorial to Lauren Grandcolas. She was a victim on UA Flight 93 of the Arab attacks on September 11, 2001.
  • Incarnate Word Academy established in 1873 and built in 1905
  • The former Church of Christ, Scientist – 1st Church. Mary Baker Eddy (1821 – 1910) found this denomination in 1904.
  • 1931 Houston Negro Hospital School of Nursing
  • Married Ladies Social Art & Charity Club (1902; in 1966, the group bought the current building)
  • Blue Triangle Community Center, formerly the Blue Triangle Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). It was found in 1919. The current building opened in 1951. It became independent of the YWCA by January 2000.
  • Abandoned St. Nicholas Convent
  • Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Inc. Headquarters.
  • Villa de Matel Convent of the Sisters of Charity (1866 came to Galveston, 1887 opened St. Joseph’s Infirmary, now St. Joseph’s Hospital, 1928 established the Motherhouse here in Houston) when possible.
  • 2015 John P. McGovern Centennial Gardens and or the Japanese Garden (weather permitting).
  • 1936 Log Cabin in the Texas Medical Center erected by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. It is open by appointment only.
  • Prairie View A & M University: College of Nursing – It has operated in the TMC since 1982.
  • Texas Women’s University (TWU) Hospital and its College of Nursing. The current building opened in 2006.
  • 1976 The Women’s Hospital of Texas (only on Sundays at 1 PM).
  • This tour can include a break at Tiff’s Treat, a great cookie shop. A woman, Tiffany Taylor, co-found it in Austin, in 1999.
  • Lunch is generally at the Dinner Bell Cafe, in the Rice Village, the southeast side of town, or in downtown.

Women's History Tour B

Tour B focuses on the near west and southwest areas of Houston. It includes the Memorial, Greenway Plaza, and River Oaks area and is inside the I-610 Loop. Bold-faced areas are potential stops.
The sites include:

  • Sheltering Arms. It was found in 1893. It is open Monday through Friday.
  • Girl Scouts Museum. Juliette Gordon Low found the Girl Scouts in 1912 and it spread to Houston in 1922. The museum opened in 2007. It is open Monday through Saturday.
  • Tour of Bayou Bend. Ima Hogg (1882 – 1975) had this home built in 1928. It has one of the finest collections of American art and furnishings in the nation. It is open Sunday and Tuesday through Saturday.
  • Depelchin Children’s Center. Kezia Payne Depelchin found it in 1982.
  • Houston Area Women’s Center. It is opened in 1978. It is open Monday through Saturday.
  • Blue Bird Circle Resale Shop. It opened in 1959. It is open Monday through Saturday.
  • The Junior League of Houston, Inc. It was found in 1925. It is open Monday through Saturday.
  • This tour can include a break at Tiff’s Treat, a great cookie shop. A woman, Tiffany Taylor, co-found it in Austin, in 1999. >
  • This tour can include a break at Amy’s Ice Creams. A woman, Amy Simmons, found it in Austin, in 1984.
  • Lunch is generally at a restaurant in Highland Village, the River Oaks District, or the Junior League’s Tea Room.

Women's History Tour C

Tour C focuses on the west and north side of Houston. It covers Fondren Southwest, Bellaire, Maplewood, and Houston Heights areas. It is outside of I-610 and on the near north side. Bold-faced areas are potential stops.
The sites include:

  • Houston Baptist University Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts and the Dunham Bible Museum. They are open Monday through Saturday while college classes are in session.
  • Hadassah Houston Chapter. Henrietta Szold found Hadassah in 1912.
  • League of Women Voters. The League was established nationally and locally in 1920, the year women attained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment.
  • Telephone Museum. It originally opened in 1966. It has had three homes, including its current location twice. It was at its current site from 1991 to 1996 and again since 2013. It is open by appointment.
  • Houston Heights Woman’s Club. It was found in 1900 and constructed its current building built in 1912. It is open by appointment.
  • Houston Junior Forum in the Houston Heights. It was found in 1946. It is open Monday through Saturday.
  • Antique shopping along Ashland Street and 19th Street.
  • 14 Pews. This is a former church and now movie theater dedicated to female issues. It opened in 2011. It is open by appointment.
  • This tour can include a break at a locally women’s owned bakery in the Heights.
  • Lunch is generally on the HBU campus, in Bellaire, Uptown Park, or the Houston Heights.