city of houston
Houston city is in north-west of the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of Galveston Bay. During the 20th century Houston has grown rapidly, becoming the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Its population is more than 2 million.
HISTORY
first European settlement in the Houston area was made by John Harris in 1826. Harrisburg, as the settlement was known, was destroyed in 1836 by the Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, shortly before his defeat by the Texan army of San Jacinto. Same year, two land speculators, the brothers Augustus and John Allen, laid out a new settlement, named in honor of the victorious military commander at San Jacinto, General Sam Houston. The community served as the capital of Texas, from 1837 to 1839 and from 1842 to 1845. Until 1900 Houston grew slowly as the transport centre of south-eastern Texas, taking advantage of the confluence of rail and water routes. Modern industrial growth began in earnest after the discovery, in 1901, of major oil deposits in nearby salt domes and the completion, in 1914, of the Houston Ship Channel. The construction of refineries and other oil-related industries began during World War I further industrial expansion was spurred by World War II. Rapid industrialization and the absence of strict zoning laws meant that between 1950 and 1970 Houston's population doubled. During this period NASA established its Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, in 1963, which set the stage for space, flights throughout the 1960s and thereafter. In 1969 Houston?s Texas Medical Center was the site of the first artificial heart transplant.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Houston's institutions of higher education include the state-supported University of Houston (1927) and Texas Southern University (1947), and private universities such as Rice University (1891). The huge complex of the Texas Medical Center is world renowned for its pioneering work in cardiac and organ-transplant surgery and cancer treatment. The Civic Center complex includes the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Gus Wortham Theater Center, and the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, which is the home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Houston Ballet. Major museums include the Museum of Fine Arts, the Contemporary Arts Museum, and the Museum of Natural Science. Other attractions include the Space Center and the Six Flags Astroworld and Waterworld theme parks. The Astrodome, the world's first enclosed sports stadium, is the home of the city's professional American football and baseball teams. Houston is also home to a professional basketball team.
ECONOMY
An inland seaport at the head of the Houston Ship Channel, Houston is the major financial and commercial centre of Texas and the southern United States and is one of the nation's leading manufacturing centers. Situated near a major oil and natural-gas field, Houston is the heart of the national petroleum industry. The metropolitan region is the country's largest petrochemical manufacturing area and is leads in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, insecticides, and fertilizers. Houston is also the world's leading centre for the manufacture of oilfield equipment. Other important manufactured goods include paper products, electrical and electronic machinery, and iron and steel, as well as milled rice, which is the dominant crop of the surrounding agricultural region. Also important to the city's economy is the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and world famous as the mission control headquarters for staffed space flights. The Houston Ship Channel allows ocean-going vessels to travel within 3.2 km of the downtown area; the city ranks among the busiest American ports. Exports include petroleum, petrochemical products and sulphur, as well as cattle and local agricultural products such as rice, cotton, and sorghum grain.
Other Articles
