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Queen City was an historic [[African-American]] neighborhood which existed in East Lubbock from the 1930s to the early 1960s. With 1,150 residents in 275 homes and a few small businesses, including a grocery store, beauth shop, barber shop, and a "hotel" that was really a bawdy house and [[gambling]] den. Most of the houses were built from scrap lumber, tin, or cardboard. In its issue of February-March 1981, the African-American newspaper ''The Lubbock Digest,'' reported that some residents had leased “small, unfurnished dilapidated units renting from $30 or $50 per month.” Most of these "shotgun" houses, as they were called, were no larger than  288 square feet. Many of the structures had “sagging roofs, little or no foundations, flimsy and leaking walls, cracked and warped floors, dangerous wiring, little or no plumbing, and very little space.”<ref name=pcarlson/>At first, bathroom accommodations were practically non-existent in Queen City until the city health department stepped in and ordered the landowners to close the “pit-type" facilities that served as bathrooms. Landowners replaced them with commodes, which stood in privies at the end of a path outside the residences. No water lines existed in Queen City until the middle 1930s, and residents used [[kerosene]] lamps and wood and [[coal]]-burning stoves. Eventually [[natural gas]], water, and electric lines were brought into Queen City.<ref name=pcarlson>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20200306/caprock-chronicles-lubbocks-queen-city-neighborhood|title=Caprock Chronicles: Lubbock's Queen City Neighborhood|author=[[Paul H. Carlson]]|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=March 6, 2020|accessdate=May 10, 2020}}</ref>

Queen City was an historic [[African-American]] neighborhood which existed in East Lubbock from the 1930s to the early 1960s. With 1,150 residents in 275 homes and a few small businesses, including a grocery store, beauth shop, barber shop, and a "hotel" that was really a bawdy house and [[gambling]] den. Most of the houses were built from scrap lumber, tin, or cardboard. In its issue of February-March 1981, the African-American newspaper ''The Lubbock Digest,'' reported that some residents had leased “small, unfurnished dilapidated units renting from $30 or $50 per month.” Most of these "shotgun" houses, as they were called, were no larger than  288 square feet. Many of the structures had “sagging roofs, little or no foundations, flimsy and leaking walls, cracked and warped floors, dangerous wiring, little or no plumbing, and very little space.”<ref name=pcarlson/>At first, bathroom accommodations were practically non-existent in Queen City until the city health department stepped in and ordered the landowners to close the “pit-type" facilities that served as bathrooms. Landowners replaced them with commodes, which stood in privies at the end of a path outside the residences. No water lines existed in Queen City until the middle 1930s, and residents used [[kerosene]] lamps and wood and [[coal]]-burning stoves. Eventually [[natural gas]], water, and electric lines were brought into Queen City.<ref name=pcarlson>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20200306/caprock-chronicles-lubbocks-queen-city-neighborhood|title=Caprock Chronicles: Lubbock's Queen City Neighborhood|author=[[Paul H. Carlson]]|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=March 6, 2020|accessdate=May 10, 2020}}</ref>

In its early years, Queen City was plagued with crime. In 1981, according to ''The Lubbock Digest,'' "almost one-fourth” of Queen City households received incomes “under $150 per month with about 60 percent of the household income being under $225 per month.” Frustration and desperation may have spurred the crime wave. Still daily activities continued. Children played in empty lots and unpaved streets. On Sundays, many residents attended  [[Methodist]] or [[Baptist]] churches in the Carver Heights subdivision, since the Chatman Heights. In 1932, an elementary school opened on Date Avenue in Carver Heights, and in 1955, the private Mary and Mac Elementary School opened at 902 East 28th St. According to Kati Parks, the “school began with pre-school ages four to five years old. The first kindergarten commencement was held at the New Hope Baptist Church.” Junior and senior high school students attended the historically black Dunbar High School.<ref name=pcarlson/>

In its early years, Queen City was plagued with crime. In 1981, according to ''The Lubbock Digest,'' "almost one-fourth” of Queen City households received incomes “under $150 per month with about 60 percent of the household income being under $225 per month.” Frustration and desperation may have spurred the crime wave. Still daily activities continued. Children played in empty lots and unpaved streets. On Sundays, many residents attended  [[Methodist]] or [[Baptist]] churches in the Carver Heights subdivision, since the Chatman Heights. In 1932, an elementary school opened on Date Avenue in Carver Heights, and in 1955, the private Mary and Mac Elementary School opened at 902 East 28th St. The school began with four and five-year olds. The first kindergarten commencement was held at the New Hope Baptist Church. Junior and senior high school students attended the historically black Dunbar High School.<ref name=pcarlson/>

Then, in the fall of 1960, Lubbock municipal officials began “slum clearance," and residents were forced to relocate from the neighborhood. Developers built a cul-de-sac at the south end of Juniper Avenue with sidewalks in the southern half of the community, and encouraged new home construction. Federal aid financed the Coronado Apartments between East 28th and East 29th streets. ''The Lubbock Digest'' reported that  Queen City had fallen apart. A week later the newspaper complained, “This is the worst case of reverse progress in Lubbock.”<ref name=pcarlson/>

Then, in the fall of 1960, Lubbock municipal officials began “slum clearance," and residents were forced to relocate from the neighborhood. Developers built a cul-de-sac at the south end of Juniper Avenue with sidewalks in the southern half of the community, and encouraged new home construction. Federal aid financed the Coronado Apartments between East 28th and East 29th streets. ''The Lubbock Digest'' reported that  Queen City had fallen apart. A week later the newspaper complained, “This is the worst case of reverse progress in Lubbock.”<ref name=pcarlson/>

Developers rebuilt and renamed eight large buildings as the Spanish Oaks Apartments, and citizens reoccupied them for a time. Today Queen City consists of  a few well-kept duplexes along Juniper Avenue. To the east are the abandoned Spanish Oaks Apartments and a deserted cul-de-sac sets on East 29th Street in a field of prairie dogs.<ref name=pcarlson/>

Developers rebuilt and renamed eight large buildings as the Spanish Oaks Apartments, and citizens reoccupied them for a time. Today Queen City consists of  a few well-kept duplexes along Juniper Avenue. To the east are the abandoned Spanish Oaks Apartments and a deserted cul-de-sac sets on East 29th Street in a field of prairie dogs.<ref name=pcarlson/>