The city of Houston was founded оn August 30, 1836 on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou (now known as Allen's Landing) by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. It was incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837.
The city was named after General Sam Houston, who fought for Texas freedom. His victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 secured the independence of Texas from Mexico. He was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas on September 5, 1836.
Early advertisements to entice people to move to Houston show the town as a bustling port city nestled next to a range of mountains, despite the port had yet to be built and the closest mountain is over 500 miles away.
A severe hurricane hit Houston during World War II but was kept largely a secret to the public by government authorities to prevent Axis knowledge of lost industrial capacities in the area.
The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston in 1953.
When Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachuted off a Houston skyscraper in 1981, they became the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
The widest freeway in the world is the I-10 in Houston, Texas at 26 lanes across.
The average Houston commuter wastes 57 hours and $1,171 in gas sitting in traffic per year.
Houston is the only major US city without single-use zoning. Retail, office enterprises, and homes are free to mix as the market demands.
The tallest building in the city is the JPMorgan Chase Tower, which rises 1,002 feet (305 m) in Downtown Houston and was completed in 1982. It also stands as the tallest building in Texas and the 16th-tallest building in the United States.
The Houston Astrodome was completed in 1965. It has a seating capacity of 66,000--more than triple that of a large indoor arena.
The Houston Astrodome was the first weather-free stadium in the world. Spectators are completely protected from weather by a dome of plastic panes that has a span of 642 feet and rises to 208 feet above the playing field. The interior is climate-controlled at 74 F (23 C).
Houston gets an average of 45 inches of rain every year, often falling in thick, heavy sheets. This is why Houston has a series of bayous, or waterways giving it its nickname of the Bayou City. As heavy rain falls on the flat terrain, the bayous are able to collect the water and carry it away.
The Houston metro area takes up 8,778 square miles, making it bigger than the state of New Jersey
Houston's population doubled between 1950 and 1970, jumping from 596,163 to 1,233,505, and since then, it has roughly doubled yet again to 2,242,193, making it the fourth largest city in the U.S.
Sources About.com, Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.
The city was named after General Sam Houston, who fought for Texas freedom. His victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 secured the independence of Texas from Mexico. He was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas on September 5, 1836.
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| Sam Houston |
Early advertisements to entice people to move to Houston show the town as a bustling port city nestled next to a range of mountains, despite the port had yet to be built and the closest mountain is over 500 miles away.
A severe hurricane hit Houston during World War II but was kept largely a secret to the public by government authorities to prevent Axis knowledge of lost industrial capacities in the area.
The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston in 1953.
When Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachuted off a Houston skyscraper in 1981, they became the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
The widest freeway in the world is the I-10 in Houston, Texas at 26 lanes across.
The average Houston commuter wastes 57 hours and $1,171 in gas sitting in traffic per year.
Houston is the only major US city without single-use zoning. Retail, office enterprises, and homes are free to mix as the market demands.
The tallest building in the city is the JPMorgan Chase Tower, which rises 1,002 feet (305 m) in Downtown Houston and was completed in 1982. It also stands as the tallest building in Texas and the 16th-tallest building in the United States.
The Houston Astrodome was completed in 1965. It has a seating capacity of 66,000--more than triple that of a large indoor arena.
The Houston Astrodome was the first weather-free stadium in the world. Spectators are completely protected from weather by a dome of plastic panes that has a span of 642 feet and rises to 208 feet above the playing field. The interior is climate-controlled at 74 F (23 C).
Houston gets an average of 45 inches of rain every year, often falling in thick, heavy sheets. This is why Houston has a series of bayous, or waterways giving it its nickname of the Bayou City. As heavy rain falls on the flat terrain, the bayous are able to collect the water and carry it away.
Houston's population doubled between 1950 and 1970, jumping from 596,163 to 1,233,505, and since then, it has roughly doubled yet again to 2,242,193, making it the fourth largest city in the U.S.
Sources About.com, Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.
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