Portal:Houston

The Houston Portal

Houston (pronounced /'hjuːstən/) is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States of America. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.14 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the seat of Harris County and an economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than 5.5 million.

Houston was founded on August 30, 1836 by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837 and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston—who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located.

Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and technology; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. The area is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. The city has a multicultural population with a large and growing international community. As a world city, it is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.

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The Stewart Building on Kempner Street in Galveston, Texas. The building was originally named the Kauffmann and Runge Building, designed by Eugene T. Heiner and built 1881-82.

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The Free State of Galveston (sometimes the "Republic of Galveston Island") was a whimsical name given to the island city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the first half of the 20th century. Today the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era. This free-wheeling period was at its peak during the Prohibition and Depression eras, but lasted well past even the end of World War II.

During the Roaring 20s Galveston Island emerged as a nationally-known resort town attracting celebrities from around the nation. Gambling, illegal liquor and other vice-oriented businesses were a major part of tourism. The "Free State" moniker embodied a belief held by many locals that Galveston was beyond what they perceived were repressive mores and laws of Texas and the United States. Two of the most important figures of the era were the organized crime bosses Sam and Rosario Maceo who ran the major casinos and clubs on the island and were heavily involved in the government and the tourism industry in general. The success of vice on the island, despite being illegal, was enabled by lax attitudes in the society and the government, both on the island and in the county.

Much of this period represented a high point in Galveston's economy. It is sometimes referred to as the "Open Era" or the "Wide-Open Era" because the business owners and the community made little effort to hide vice activities. By the 1950s this era had ended.

Selected biography

Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American stage, television and film actor who played the title character on the situation comedy My Favorite Martian and Judge Henry Bone on the drama series Picket Fences.

He was born Herman Walston in New Orleans, Louisiana (some sources indicate Laurel, Mississippi) to working-class parents Mittie (née Kimball) and Harry Norman Walston, a lumber man. He started acting at an early age, beginning his tenure as a "spear carrier" rounding out productions at many New Orleans theaters. He mostly played small roles with stock companies, where he not only starred in travelling shows but also worked at a movie theater, selling tickets and cleaning the stage floors. His family moved to Houston, Texas, where he joined the Houston Civic Theater's repertory company under Margo Jones, debuting in 1938.

Walston was very popular with Margo Jones's team of actors before he travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent three years with the Cleveland Playhouse. He then traveled to New York City, where he made his Broadway debut in a 1945 production of Hamlet. In 1949, he appeared in the short-lived play Mrs. Gibbons' Boys directed by George Abbott, who later cast him as Satan in the musical Damn Yankees opposite Gwen Verdon as his sexy aide Lola. The chemistry between the two was such that they both garnered critical success and won awards for their roles. After a decade in New York theater, he won a Tony Award, and he and Verdon were invited to reprise their roles in the 1958 film version.

Music, arts and culture

The architecture of Houston includes a wide variety of award-winning and historic examples located in various areas of the city. From early in its history to current times, the city inspired innovative and challenging building design and construction, as it quickly grew into an internationally recognized commercial and industrial hub of Texas and the United States.

Some of Houston's oldest and most distinctive architecture are found downtown, as the city grew around Allen's Landing and the Market Square historic district. During the middle and late century, Downtown Houston was a modest collection of mid-rise office structures, but has since grown into the third largest skyline in the United States. The Uptown District experienced rapid growth along with Houston during the 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1990s Uptown Houston saw construction of many mid and high-rise residential buildings. The Uptown District is also home to other structures designed by architects such as I. M. Pei, César Pelli and Philip Johnson.

Houston has many examples of residential architecture of varying styles, from the mansions of River Oaks and Memorial to row houses in the several wards. A number of Houston's earliest homes are now located in Sam Houston Park. Homes in the Heights have varied architectural styles, including Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival. Post-war housing constructed throughout Houston reflects many architectural styles.

Did you know...

• ...that the Houston Volunteers signed up to replace those lost aboard USS Houston after its sinking in 1942 by the Japanese Navy?

• ...the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space Center is where the first astronauts returning from the moon were quarantined and where samples of lunar soil and moon rock are stored?

• ...many buildings in downtown are linked by a system of tunnels and skywalks. The tunnel system also includes shops, restaurants, and convenience stores?

• ...in 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 39 inches of rain on parts of the city, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 43 people. To date, the flooding caused by Allison was the worst in the city's history?

• ...University of Houston is ranked second among national universities for Campus Ethnic Diversity in U.S. News & World Report 2007 America's Best Colleges?

• ... construction of the 610 Loop began in 1950? The loop was completed in 1976 with the interchange that connects Loop 610 to Interstate 10 east of Houston?

• ... Howard Hughes died en route to the The Methodist Hospital on April 5, 1976 on an airplane that departed Mexico?

• ... Kathryn J. Whitmire former Mayor of the city of Houston, Texas, from 1982 to 1991, is now living in Hawaii where she is in the real estate business?

• ... the Houston Comets have won more championships than any other team in the WNBA?

• ... Lakewood Church is the largest and fastest growing church in the United States with more than 40,000 attendees during its services?

Houston categories

Recommended articles

Featured articles

• Houston, Texas
• Tropical Storm Allison
• Nicknames of Houston
• Ima Hogg
• List of tallest buildings in Houston
• Yao Ming
• Millennium '73

Good articles

• Galveston, Texas
• Bellaire, Texas
• Gulfton, Houston
• Vengeance: Night of Champions
• Enron scandal
• Ellington Field
• Architecture of Houston
• University of Houston
• USS Texas (BB-35)
• George H. W. Bush
• Shamrock Hotel
• LeToya Luckett
• Hakeem Olajuwon
• Mercury Hayes
• Beyonce Knowles
• Ron Paul
• Destiny's Child
• River Oaks, Houston
• Houston Rockets
• Bacliff, Texas

Wikiprojects

You are invited to participate in WikiProject Houston, a project dedicated to developing and improving articles about the Greater Houston area.

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• Article assessment procedures and worklists
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You are invited to participate in WikiProject University of Houston, a WikiProject intended to improve contributions relating to the University of Houston.

Houston news

• Houston Red Light Camera Report undermines Texas Department of Transportation camera study. The study finds accidents doubled at the city's red light camera intersections undermining the conclusions of a statewide report. [1]
• California musician is fighting in federal court for the right to dig for treasure he believes is buried along the Texas Gulf Coast with the help of satellite imagery of Google Earth and a metal detector.[2]
• Texas Lottery ticket revenues plummeted by $45.1 million since last fiscal year, a sales plunge that state officials attribute to Hurricane Ike and the recession. The hurricane season wiped out lucrative sales across Houston and Galveston, a region that accounts for one-fourth of state lottery retailers.[3]
• Houston company plans to help light up the Big Apple with a project to build high-voltage transmission lines under the Hudson River. Cavallo Energy will begin raising $600 million for the 700-megawatt project in the next few weeks with the help of Credit Suisse. [4]

Quotes

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