Individual Post 2: Westminster Heights

The Westminster Heights walkabout was one of our shortest to be sure. The core of this neighborhood is the Westminster college campus and the surrounding houses sprawl out from it. The further east you travel the houses increase in size and quality. The houses closest to the school are most likely owned or rented by college students as they were quite a bit more rundown. Also, the empty beer cans (PBR to be specific) littering several of the front yards were a pretty good indicator that a younger, college aged person lived there.

The architecture of the houses was very similar to one another. There were many bungalow style homes whose main feature was a small porch and a window facing the street. Above the porch was typically some sort of pitched roof (the steepness of the pitch varied from house to house) and at times they were adorned with “gingerbread” trim or faux tudor style woodwork. These elements were most likely added to evoke a more whimsical, exotic look and to give the space more individuality. There was also the occasional ranch style home which featured a lower to the ground, rectangular style and a few remodeled homes that looked like they did not fit in with the neighborhood.

Overall, Westminster Heights would be a nice, quiet neighborhood to live in. It was also a very private place which is what one would expect from a suburban neighborhood. There was little interaction between residents at the time of our visit, but as we walked around we spotted a few college students on their way to class and few people coming home from work. This means that people there probably tend to keep to themselves and relax in the privacy of their own home, and Westminster Heights does an excellent job at meeting this need.