The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
When friends visit our neighborhood for the first time, their initial impression never wavers.
“My goodness, the trees!” they inevitably say. The green canopy that envelops the Harmony Hills neighborhood, well, it’s a vibe. In fact, Harmony Hills is alternately known as “Enchanted Forest,” a name that is more descriptive of our relatively flat properties.
We were initially drawn to Harmony Hills because my parents had moved there after they became empty-nesters in the early 2000s. There are entire blocks where a canopy of majestic oaks completely covers the street. On our quarter-acre lot, dozens of oaks provide ample shade — so much so that a solar company told us we don’t have enough direct sun to benefit from panels.
Even after the initial awe about the trees wanes, there’s so much more that makes Harmony Hills such an attractive place to live.
Nestled between Blanco to the west, San Pedro to the east and West Avenue to the north, Harmony Hills is just 20 minutes or less from all but the farthest reaches of San Antonio. We have quick access to Loop 410, U.S. Highway 281 and Wurzbach Parkway. Commuting home from downtown on U.S. Highway 281, the exit for our neighborhood comes just before gridlock seizes the northbound lanes. By bicycle, Walker Ranch Park and the Salado Creek Greenway are only three minutes away. In just a few more, we can be at McAllister Park or Hardberger Park, too.
The neighborhood was developed in the 1960s by the H.B. Zachry Corp. with more than a dozen individual home builders constructing what were then considered cutting-edge one- and two-story homes. Having that relatively large number of homebuilders working in a single neighborhood meant that there were architectural motifs throughout but never a feel of cookie-cutter homes with predetermined floor plans.
There are still original homeowners living in the neighborhood. When we bought our second home in Harmony Hills in 2015, it was from the family who’d built it in the mid-1960s. But as the properties are turning over, we’re seeing a steady clip of renovations that are done in a way that preserves the character of Harmony Hills. By and large, the fabric of the neighborhood remains unchanged.
A key anchor point for our community, which happens to be at the end of our block, is the Harmony Hills Cabana Club. Listed as a “community park” on Google Maps, its reality is a bit more complicated. It exists for the community and will only exist if the community keeps it alive. But the club is thriving. There are dozens of dedicated club members who keep up the grounds, a veritable oasis in the heart of the neighborhood.
The club has three pools — one for small children, one for adults and one for everyone. And unlike any modern-day neighborhood pool I’ve ever seen, ours has a diving board!
The Cabana Club is home to the Harmony Hills Dolphins, the powerhouse summer swim club that wins championship banners every year. It’s also where Olympian swimmer Josh Davis honed his skills.
Families flock to the pool during the summer months, where they can float and soak while sipping on the cold beverage of their choice. There’s a sand volleyball court, a shuffleboard deck (though I’ve never actually seen anyone play), four lighted tennis courts and a clubhouse that hosts sundry community and private events. Speakers in the trees play a menagerie of tunes — often classics that would have been contemporary pop hits when the pool opened in the ‘60s.
On most Fridays, you can take a dip in the pool and pick up a neighborhood-famous burger from Bob’s Burgers. Bob is one of the folks who make the place run. He was doing pop-up dinner service long before that was a thing. Beneath a rickety awning, he grills on one of two cinder-block barbecue pits that are probably original to the club.
The Harmony Hills Cabana Club is really a unique and special space. It’s brought together families that have formed friendships around the pool. It’s a safe place for kids to spend their summers. And the trees there are just as epic as in the rest of the neighborhood.
Harmony Hills is a special place for all of these reasons that make it a wonderful neighborhood to live. But it’s also unrivaled for my family and me because it’s not just our neighborhood — it’s home to three generations of my family.
My daughters get to grow up just a couple blocks from all three of their grandparents. If those aren’t roots, I don’t know what is.
