Facts about Houston
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America. Houston is the largest city within the state of Texas. 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. As of July 2006 estimate Houston is 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. 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. 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. 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. In 1863, a Houston saloon keeper Dick Dowling led 44 Houston dockworkers to a stunning victory over 5,000 troops at the battle of Sabine Pass. Dowling became the city's first nationally known personality. In 1895 Houston was slammed by its heaviest snowfall on record in mid February. Over 20 inches were burried the city and does not melt for days. In 1902 - President Theodore Roosevelt approved a one-million dollar fund for the construction of the Houston Ship Channel. Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library opened in 1904. Houston Municipal Airport, which later became William P. Hobby Airport, was opened in 1937. In 1947 the Houston voters defeated the first-ever referendum for citywide zoning. 1947 - The predecessor to Texas Southern University, Texas State College for Negroes, is the first state university in the Houston area. Its name changed took place in 1951. 1948 - The Gulf Freeway, Texas' first freeway opens as U.S. Highway 75, signalling the beginning of freeway construction in the city. 1961 - Sharpstown Mall opens on September 14 and is the first indoor air-conditioned mall in the world. 1962 - Houston voters defeat a referendum for zoning for a second-time. 1963 - The University of Houston ends its status as a private institution and becomes a state university by entering into the Texas State System of Higher Education after a long battle with opponents from other state universities blocking the change. 1963 - The Manned Spacecraft Center, which would become the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center opens on land donated by Rice University. 1963 - The Humble Building is completed, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time. April 9, 1965 - The Astrodome opens. At the same time, the Houston Colt .45s are rechristened as the Houston Astros. 1969 - Houston Intercontinental Airport, currently George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is opened to the public. July 20, 1969 - "Houston" becomes the first word spoken from the moon, by astronaut Neil Armstrong of the Apollo 11 mission. 1970s - The Arab Oil Embargo causes demand for Texas oil to boom. People from the "Rust Belt" states such as New York and Pennsylvania move into Houston. 1977 - The University of Houston celebrates its 50th anniversary as the Texas Legislature establishes the University of Houston System, a state system of higher education that includes three other universities. 1978 - The headquarters of Continental Airlines move to Houston after buying out Texas International. 1978-1980 - Traffic signal signage at major intersections were improved. Houston is the first in the nation to modernize their signage, which is still done to this present day. 1979 - a portion of the master-planned community of "Clear Lake City" that is in Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and an area east of Missouri City in Fort Bend County are annexed into the corporate limits of Houston. 1980s - The end of the Embargo causes the Houston growth bubble to burst. 1981 - Kathryn J. Whitmire is elected as the first woman mayor. She would appoint Lee P. Brown as the first African American police chief. 1982 - Texas Commerce Bank Tower is completed in Downtown Houston, making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi until the late 1980s, and presently the tallest five-sided building in the world. 1985 - The University of Houston changes its name to the University of Houston-University Park to separate its identity and confusion with the other three universities within the UH System. April 5, 1986 - City takes part in celebration of Texas' Sesquicentennial, 25th Anniversary of NASA, and the Houston International Festival with Rendez-vous Houston concert. At the time it is the largest outdoor concert in history, and is entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. June 1, 1987 - The former Shamrock Hilton hotel is demolished as part of the Texas Medical Center expansion efforts despite protests from historical preservationists. 1988 - The University of Houston-University Park reverts its name back to the University of Houston after much controversy with the name change. 1989 - Outer Belt Drive (a major thoroughfare which serves Hermann Park and Ben Taub Hospital in the Texas Medical Center is renamed North MacGregor Way; a section of North MacGregor between Outer Belt and Holcombe Boulevard is renamed North Braeswood. July 9-11, 1990 - Houston hosts the 16th G7 Summit November 1991 - Elected officials within the City of Houston (the mayor, city council, and controller) were imposed with term limits, which passed by a referendum vote. The term limit referendum amended the current city charter. April 1993 - The Westheimer Colony Art Festival is held on a stretch of Calhoun Road (now St. Joseph Parkway) in Downtown Houston; it was the first time the art festival was not held in Montrose. After 1996, the festival was renamed the Bayou City Art Festival. November 1993 - Houston voters defeated a zoning referendum for the third time in almost 50 years. 1996 - The master-planned community of Kingwood is annexed by the city of Houston. November 1997 - Former Houston Police Chief Lee P. Brown is elected as Houston's first African American mayor; at the same time, Annise Parker is the first openly gay or lesbian city council member. May 6-May 7, 2000 - After 27 years of holding the Westheimer Street Festival in Montrose, the festival was held in Eleanor Tinsley Park west of Downtown Houston. Promoters of the festival were denied a street closure permit back in January 2000 under a revised festival ordinance where public hearings are held. Attendance figures declined. June 5-June 9, 2001 - Tropical Storm Allison devastates the Houston area flooding much of the city including the Central Business District, several cultural institutions and major hospitals and research facilities in the Texas Medical Center. The storm is called a 500-year event. November 5, 2002 - Houston City Controller Sylvia R. Garcia (in her third term) successfully campaigns for Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2, making her the first Hispanic female to hold office in the Harris County Commissioners Court. After Garcia's victory, the Houston City Council appoints Judy Gray Johnson to fill her unexpired term until the November 2003 elections. May 2003 - For the first time, the Houston Art Car Parade is not held on the same weekend with the Houston International Festival. June 28-June 29, 2003 - The Westheimer Street Festival staged their homecoming on Westheimer during Gay Pride Weekend after promoters decided to move the festival back to Montrose because of it declining attendance when the festival was on Allen Parkway since May 2000. Fall 2003 - Halliburton's headquarters move from Dallas to Houston. December 6, 2003 - Annise Parker defeats fellow council member Bruce Tatro to become Houston's first openly lesbian city controller. Both Parker and Tatro are term-limited in their current seats. At the same time, Pakistani-American realtor Masur Javed "M.J." Khan is elected as a district councilmember in District F, encompassing most of West and parts of Southwest Houston in the Sharpstown area where incumbent Mark Ellis won his final term as an at-large member of the Houston City Council. January 1, 2004 - METRORail is opened to the public at 1 p.m. CST - this marks the reintroduction of rail service, the city's first since June 1940. July 30, 2004 - The Houston City Council unanimously votes for a change in the curbside parking ordinance where Saturday metered parking is enforced. The original proposal for paid curbside parking between 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. was not popular with Downtown-area restaurant owners. (Before the 1980s, metered parking was enforced 24 hours a day - seven days a week, including holidays.) The ordinance took effect on October 22, 2004. 2004 - Houston hosts the Super Bowl as well as the MLB All-Star Game. 2004 - Citgo's headquarters move from Tulsa to Houston. December 24, 2004 - Freak snowstorm hits, causing record Christmas snowfall in the region. 2005 - The Parking Management division of the City of Houston Municipal Courts Administration is incorporated into the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. September 1, 2005 - Houston welcomes displaced residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, who number more than 125,000. The Reliant Astrodome was converted to provide food and shelter. The Governor of Texas reaffirmed his state's commitment to provide basic needs and education for victims of Katrina. December 10, 2005 - Sue Lovell is elected as an at-large member of the Houston City Council, replacing term-limited councilmember Gordon Quan. This marks the second time an out lesbian is elected to the Houston City Council, making Lovell and Houston City Controller Annise Parker the only two openly-GLBT elected officials within a major metropolitan city. June 19, 2006 - Major flooding in Southeast Houston causes homes and roads to fill up with water. This was the most rain since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 September 1, 2006 - Red light cameras ten major intersections within the Houston City Limits (three of the first ten intersections are located in the Downtown/Midtown area). The red light camera measure passed by a majority vote on the Houston City Council in December 2004. Motorists who run a red light face $75 civil fines ($150 for subsequent violations) instead of a $220 moving violation when cited by a police officer. September 11, 1961 - Hurricane Carla struck the Texas Coast to the east of Port Lavaca, Texas, bringing heavy rainfall and wind damage to the Houston area. August 18, 1983 - Hurricane Alicia hits Houston and Galveston. June 5 – June 9, 2001 - Tropical Storm Allison devastates the Houston area flooding much of the city including the Central Business District, several cultural institutions and major hospitals and research facilities in the Texas Medical Center. The storm is called a 500-year event. June 19, 2006 - Major flooding in Southeast Houston causes homes and roads to fill up with water. This was the most rain since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 August 1973 - "Houston Mass Murders" occur. 27 boys are killed by 3 men. July 1978 - Race Riots occur in the Moody Park section of the city (in response to the drowning of Jose Campos Torres by two Houston Police officers, and are documented by KPRC-TV, whose reporters are attacked and injured during their report. April 16, 1997 - Doris Angleton is murdered in her River Oaks home. Her husband, Robert Angleton, and his brother, Roger Angleton, would be suspected for the crime. June 4, 1999 - Noemi Dominguez was shot dead in her home by Angel Maturino Resendiz, a serial killer. June 20, 2001 - Andrea Pia Yates drowns her children in a bathtub. She was found to be suffering from postpartum depression. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 601.7 square miles (1,558.4 km²); this comprises 579.4 square miles (1,500.7 km²) of land and 22.3 square miles (57.7 km²) of water. it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F (32 °C), with an average of 99 days per year above 90 °F (32 °C). Summer mornings average over 90 percent relative humidity and approximately 60 percent in the afternoon. To cope with the heat, people use air conditioning in nearly every vehicle and building in the city; in fact, in 1980 Houston was described as the "most air-conditioned place on earth". Scattered afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summer. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 109 °F (43 °C) on September 4, 2000. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F (17 °C), while the average low is 45 °F (7 °C). Snowfall is quite rare in Houston. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 5 °F (-15 °C) on January 23, 1940. Houston receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 54 inches a year. These rains tend to cause floods over portions of the city. American Lung Association rated the Houston's metropolitan area's ozone level as the 6th worst in the United States in 2006. Houston's murder rate ranked 18th of U.S. cities with a population over 250,000 in 2005. nonviolent crime in the city dropped by 2 percent in 2005 compared to 2004 In 2005 number of homicides rose by 23.5 percent as compared to 2004 in Houston. After Katrina, Houston's murder rate increased 70 percent in November and December 2005 compared to levels in 2004. The city recorded 336 murders in 2005,[61] compared to 272 in 2004. Houston's homicide rate per 100,000 residents increased from 16.33 in 2005 to 17.24 in 2006. The number of murders in the city increased to 379 in 2006. In 1996, there were about 380 gangs in Houston with 8,000 members; of which 2,500 were juveniles. Houston ranks second in employment growth rate and fourth in nominal employment growth among the 10 most populous metro areas in the U.S. In 2008, Houston ranked fourth for highest increase in the local technological innovation over the preceding 15 years, according to Forbes magazine. In 2006, the Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes magazine. Twenty foreign banks representing 10 nations operate in Houston, providing financial assistance to the international community. Over 90 languages are spoken in the city.[2007] According to 2000 Census, the city has the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican population in the United States. According to Houston Chronicle, an estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in Houston, as of 2006-02-21. Houston has one of the largest South Asian (i.e., Indian and Pakistani) communities in the United States. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,953,631 people in Houston and the population density was 3,371.7 people per square mile (1,301.8/km²). The racial makeup of Houston according to 2000 Census was 49.27 percent White, 25.31 percent Black, 5.31 percent Asian, 0.44 percent American Indian, 0.06 percent Pacific Islander, 16.46 percent from some other race, and 3.15 percent from two or more races. |
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