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| pixabay.com |
Houston is the most populous city in the US state of Texas and the southern United States. Located in southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County; As the principal city of the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area, it is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas, after Dallas-Fort Worth. With a population of 2,314,157 in 2023, Houston is the fourth most populous city in the United States, after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the sixth most populous city in North America. Houston is the southeastern anchor of the great megaregion known as the Texas Triangle. With a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km2), Houston is the ninth most sprawling city in the United States (including incorporated city-states). It is the largest city in the United States by total land area that is unconsolidated with a state, parish, or territory. Although primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, and border Sugar Land and The Woodlands, other major communities in Greater Houston. Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (now Allen's Landing), and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The town is named after former General Sam. Houston was president of the Republic of Texas and won Texas independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto, 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's Landing. After briefly serving as the capital of the Republic of Texas in the late 1830s, Houston steadily grew into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century.
The turn of the 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that led to Houston's rapid growth, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas' primary port after a devastating hurricane in 1900, the subsequent construction of the Houston Ship Channel, and the Texas oil boom. In the mid-20th century, Houston's economy diversified, becoming home to the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest health care and research institute—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, home to the Mission Control Center.
Since the late 19th century, Houston's economy has had a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. A leader in the healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has the second most Fortune 500 headquarters of any US municipality within its city limits (after New York City). The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage and second in total cargo tonnage handled. Nicknamed "Bay City", "Space City", "H-Town" and "713", Houston has become a global city with strengths in culture, medicine and research. The city's population is made up of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse metropolis in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major city in the United States, home to many cultural institutions and exhibitions such as the Houston Museum District and the Houston Theater District.
1. Space Center Houston
The Houston Space Center is a science museum that serves as the official visitor center of the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It was named a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum in 2014. The organization is owned by NASA and operated under contract by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Johnson Space Center is home to mission control and astronaut training. The center opened in 1992, replacing the old visitor center in Johnson Space Center Building 2. The museum is 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) and displays more than 400 space artifacts, including the Mercury 9, Gemini 5 and Apollo 17 space capsules.
2. The Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science (abbreviated as HMNS) is a natural history museum located on the northern edge of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, whose goals were to provide a free institution for Houstonians with a focus on education and science. The museum complex consists of a four-story central facility with natural science halls and exhibits, the Burke Baker Planetarium, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theater (formerly the Wortham IMAX Theater). In 2022, the museum received 1,520,000 visitors, making it the seventh most visited museum in the United States, and the third most visited United States science museum. Guest exhibitions.
3. The Galleria
The Galleria, also known as Stylized Galleria and Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping complex located in the Uptown district of Houston, Texas, United States. The development consists of a retail complex as well as a Galleria office tower complex, two Westin hotels and a private health club. Office towers and hotels are owned and operated separately from the mall. It includes Macy's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. With 400 stores totaling 2,400,838 square feet (223,045.1 m2) of 3 million square feet (280,000 m2) of space, the Galleria is the largest mall in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States.
The Galleria, also known as Stylized Galleria and Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping complex located in the Uptown district of Houston, Texas, United States. The development consists of a retail complex as well as a Galleria office tower complex, two Westin hotels and a private health club. Office towers and hotels are owned and operated separately from the mall. It includes Macy's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. With 400 stores totaling 2,400,838 square feet (223,045.1 m2) of 3 million square feet (280,000 m2) of space, the Galleria is the largest mall in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States.
4. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District in Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building in 2020, it is the 12th largest art museum in the world based on square feet of gallery space.[citation needed] The permanent museum's collection includes approximately 70,000 works from six continents. Spanning over 6,000 years of history. In 2023, the museum received over 900,000 visitors, making it the 20th most visited museum in the United States.
5. Houston Zoo
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District in Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building in 2020, it is the 12th largest art museum in the world based on square feet of gallery space.[citation needed] The permanent museum's collection includes approximately 70,000 works from six continents. Spanning over 6,000 years of history. In 2023, the museum received over 900,000 visitors, making it the 20th most visited museum in the United States.
6. Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park, nicknamed "The Juice Box", is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. The ballpark has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 luxury suites with a natural grass playing field. It was built to replace the Astrodome, the first domed stadium ever built, which opened in 1965.
7. Children's Museum Houston
The Children's Museum Houston (CMH) is a non-profit children's museum in the Museum District of Houston, Texas. Founded in 1980 and created by Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, it offers exhibits and bilingual learning programs for children ages 0-12. It is one of 190 children's museums in the United States and one of 15 children's museums in Texas.
9. National Museum of Funeral History
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| By Jim Evans - Own work |
The National Museum of Mortuary History is a museum located in Houston, Texas, that contains a collection of artifacts and relics that aims to "educate the public and preserve the legacy of mortuary care." The 35,000 square foot museum opened in 1992.The museum, according to its website, has "the nation's largest collection of funeral service artifacts and prestigious exhibits on man's earliest cultural practices." For its landmark exhibit, Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes, the museum collaborated with the Vatican to highlight the festivities surrounding the pope's funeral. As of October 2020, the museum has a presidential exhibit, including Abraham Lincoln's death mask. The "Houston National Funeral Museum" also exhibits several facts and information about the influence of African-American history on the funeral industry as well as famous African-American figures and their influence on the world. The "National Funeral Museum of Houston" also exhibits customs and traditions created and enacted by the African-American community when members of their communities die. These traditions were originally held in New Orleans, Louisiana, where everyone in the community comes together to honor the dead. Displays go back in time to ancient Egyptian funerary practices and include items such as funeraries and unusual coffins. It also accommodates a presidential funeral gallery. Among other items, it has the original $99.25 funeral bill for George Washington.
10. NRG Stadium
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By VOA News - B Allen
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NRG Stadium (formerly Reliant Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002 at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility with a retractable roof.
The stadium is home to the Houston Texans of the National Football League, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, many games of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, Mexico National Soccer Team friendlies hosting El Tri, and more. events. The stadium served as the host facility for Super Bowls XXXVIII (2004) and LI (2017), the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, and WrestleMania 25 (2009). The stadium will host several matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
NRG Stadium is part of a collection of venues (including the Stadium) collectively known as NRG Park. In 2000, the entire complex was named to NRG Energy under a 32-year, $300 million naming rights agreement.
11. Houston Museum District
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| By WhisperToMe Public Domain |
The Houston Museum District is an association of 19 museums, galleries, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting the arts, sciences, history and culture. The Houston Museum District currently includes 19 museums that report a collective attendance of over 8.7 million visitors per year. All museums offer free hours or days and 11 museums are always free. On Thursdays, the Museum District is especially crowded due to Museum Free Days. On Thursdays, the Houston Museum of Natural Science is free after 2 p.m., the Children's Museum of Houston is free after 5 p.m., the Health Museum is free from 2-7 p.m., and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston is free all day. Houston's Museum District is walkable and bikeable. The sidewalks are wide and well-maintained, and attractions and restaurants are close to each other.
The district is roughly bounded by Texas State Highway 288, Hermann Park, US Route 59 and the Texas Medical Center. The Museum District Civic Association covers the area in Washington, DC. compared to Georgetown and the French Quarter in New Orleans. The Museum District is served by four METRORail stops, one designated for itself, and is easily accessible via the main entrance to Rice University from I-69/US 59, State Highway 288 and Main Street.
The beginnings of the Museum District were discovered in 1977, when it became apparent that some action needed to be taken to make museums in the area easier to access. This call for community improvement grew into the nonprofit Montrose Project by the mid-1980s, but shortly thereafter changed to the Museum District Development Association of Houston (MDDAH). Based on the work of this organization, the Museum District was formally recognized by the City of Houston in 1989. The original organization disbanded in 1994, but the museum district is now under the auspices of the Houston Museum District Association, founded in 1997. The Museum District attracts visitors, students and volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities to learn about and celebrate art, history, culture and nature from around the world. More information about the Houston Museum District's 20 institutions can be found on their official websites.
