05.20.07
Posted in What's Hot at 10:27 pm by idxsi
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02.18.07
Posted in Houston MLS Homes Real Estate for Sale at 9:27 am by idxsi
Houston MLS - Buyer Agents Realty, Houston, TX
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Buyer Agents Realty - AbrahamTieh and Associates, Houston, TX, Protecting The Texas Home Buyer, Office: (832) 331-4650, buyeragentsrealty@houstonhomesre.com
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Posted in Houston Information at 9:26 am by idxsi
Houston Information
Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and fourth-largest in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, Houston had a population of more than 2 million. The city covers more than 600 square miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the county seat of Harris County and part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of 5.3 million.
Houston is known for its broad industrial base in the energy, aeronautics, and technology industries. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international cargo and second in total cargo tonnage. Only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than Houston. The city is home to the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions.
Houston has a large and active visual and performing arts scene. It is one of only five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts. The Houston Theater District is ranked second in the country for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area per capita.
Houston is home to NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, the reason for its official nickname of “Space City.”
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Posted in Houston History at 9:20 am by idxsi
History
In August 1836, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York City, purchased 6,642 acres (27 km²) of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the popular president of the new Republic of Texas. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5, 1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor. In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County) and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. In 1840, the community established a Chamber of Commerce in part to promote shipping and waterborne business at the newly created port on Buffalo Bayou.
By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton. Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in Houston, where they met rail lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont. During the Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for General John Bankhead Magruder, who used Houston as an organization point for the Battle of Galveston. After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initiated efforts to widen the city’s extensive system of bayous so the city could accept more commerce between downtown and the nearby port of Galveston.
In 1901, oil discovery at Spindletop, an oil field near Beaumont, prompted the development of the U.S. petroleum industry. In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt approved a $1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel. President Woodrow Wilson opened the Port of Houston in 1914, 74 years after digging began.
Houston began having growing pains by the end of the 1930s: the city was no longer a frontier town, and its air service was inadequate for its needs. By 1930, Houston had become Texas’s most populous city. When World War II started, tonnage levels fell and five shipping lines ended service to Houston; however, the war did provide economic benefits for the city. Ellington Field, initially built during World War I, was revitalized as a training center for bombardiers. The M. D. Anderson Foundation formed the Texas Medical Center in 1945. After the war, Houston’s economy reverted to being primarily port-driven. In 1948, several unincorporated areas were annexed into the city limits, which more than doubled the city’s size, and Houston proper began to spread across the prairie.
Shipbuilding during World War II spurred Houston’s growth, as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA’s “Manned Spacecraft Center” (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973), which created the city’s aerospace industry. The Astrodome, nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World“, opened in 1965 as the world’s first indoor domed sports stadium.
During the late 1970s, Houston experienced a population boom as people from Rust Belt states moved en masse into Texas.The new residents came for the numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry as a result of the Arab Oil Embargo. The population boom ended abruptly when oil prices fell in 1986, due to the embargo being lifted. The space industry also suffered in 1986 after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch. The late 1980s saw a recession for the city’s economy. Since the 1990s, as a result of the recession, Houston has made efforts to diversify its economy by focusing on aerospace and biotechnology and by reducing its dependence on the petroleum industry. In 1997, Houstonians elected Lee P. Brown to be the city’s first African American mayor./p>
In July 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 37 inches of rain on parts of Houston, causing the worst flooding in the city’s history; the storm cost billions of dollars in damage and killed 20 people in Texas. Many neighborhoods and communities have changed since the storm. By December of that same year, Houston-based energy company Enron collapsed into the second-largest ever U.S. bankruptcy during an investigation surrounding fabricated partnerships that were allegedly used to hide debt and inflate profits. In August 2005, Houston became a shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina. One month later, approximately 2.5 million Houston area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast, leaving little damage to the Houston area. This event marked the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States.
All Houston History text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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Posted in Houston Geography at 9:12 am by idxsi
Houston Geography
A simulated-color image of Houston
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.
Most of Houston is located on the gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and forest. Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie, which are all still visible in surrounding areas. As most of Houston is very flat, flooding is a recurring problem for its residents. Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, and the highest point in far northwest Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation. The city once relied on groundwater for its needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston and Lake Conroe.
Houston has four major bayous passing through the city. Buffalo Bayou runs through downtown and the Houston Ship Channel, and has three tributaries: White Oak Bayou, which runs through the Heights neighborhood and towards downtown; Brays Bayou, which runs along the Texas Medical Center; and Sims Bayou, which runs through the south of Houston and downtown Houston. The ship channel goes past Galveston and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Houston Geology
Underpinning Houston’s land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly-cemented sands up to several miles deep. The region’s geology developed from stream deposits formed from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. This thick, rich, sometimes black soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban outskirts where the city continues to grow.
Despite over 150 active surface faults (estimated to be 300 active faults) with an aggregate length of up to 310 miles (500 km) within the the city of Houston, the clay below the surface precludes the build-up of friction that produces ground shaking in earthquakes; this keeps the Houston region generally earthquake-free. These faults usually move at a smooth rate in what is termed “fault creep.”
Houston Cityscape
Houston was incorporated in 1837 under the ward system of representation. The ward designation is the progenitor of the nine current-day Houston City Council districts. Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside the Interstate 610 Loop. The inside encompasses the central business district and many residential neighborhoods that predate World War II. More recently, high-density residential areas have been developed within the loop. The city’s outlying areas, suburbs and enclaves are located outside of the loop. Beltway 8 encircles the city another 5 miles (8 km) farther out.
Houston is the largest city in the United States without zoning regulations. Rather than a single central business district as the center of the city’s employment, multiple business districts have grown throughout the city in addition to downtown which include Uptown, Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, Westchase, and Greenspoint.
All Houston Geography text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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Posted in Houston Climate at 9:03 am by idxsi
HoustonClimate
Houston’s climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa in Köppen climate classification system). The average yearly precipitation is approximately 48 inches (1,220 mm). Spring supercell thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Prevailing winds are from the south and southwest during most of the year, bringing heat across the continent from the deserts of Mexico and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
During the summer months, it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F (34 °C), with an average of 99 days per year above 90 °F (32 °C).However, the humidity (summer mornings averaging over 90 percent relative humidity and approximately 60 percent in the afternoon) results in a heat index higher than the actual temperature. Winds are often light in the summer and offer little relief, except near the immediate coast, To cope with the heat, people use air conditioning in nearly every car 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.
Winters in Houston are cool and temperate. While the average high in January, the coldest month, is 61 °F (16 °C), Houston sees an average of 18 days per year of 32 °F (0 °C) or less. Snowfall is rare. The last snowstorm to hit Houston was on December 24, 2004. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 5 °F (-15 °C) on January 23, 1940.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
61 (16) |
66 (18) |
73 (22) |
79 (26) |
85 (29) |
91 (32) |
94 (34) |
93 (33) |
89 (31) |
82 (27) |
72 (22) |
65 (18) |
79 (26) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
41 (5) |
44 (6) |
51 (10) |
58 (14) |
65 (18) |
71 (21) |
73 (22) |
73 (22) |
68 (20) |
59 (15) |
50 (10) |
44 (6) |
58 (14) |
Average precipitation:
inches (mm) |
3.9 (99) |
2.9 (74) |
3.5 (89) |
3.6 (91) |
5.6 (142) |
5.1 (129) |
3.4 (86) |
3.7 (94) |
4.3 (109) |
4.7 (119) |
3.7 (94) |
3.6 (91) |
47.9 (1217) |
| Source: Weatherbase |
All Houston Climate text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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Posted in Houston Economy at 8:58 am by idxsi
Houston Economy
Houston’s energy industry is recognized worldwide—particularly for oil—and biomedical research, aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of its industrial base. The area is the world’s leading center for building oilfield equipment. Much of Houston’s success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston. The port ranks first in the country in international commerce, and is the sixth-largest port in the world. Unlike most places, where high oil and gasoline prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston as many are employed in the energy industry.
The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA’s Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4 percent from 2004 in constant dollars. When comparing Houston’s economy to a national economy, only 29 nations have a gross domestic product exceeding Houston’s regional gross area product. Mining, which in Houston is almost entirely exploration and production of oil and gas, accounts for 11 percent of Houston’s GAP; this is down from 21 percent in 1985. The reduced role of oil and gas in Houston’s GAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors, such as engineering services, health services, and manufacturing.
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 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. Forty foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here and the city has 23 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations. Twenty foreign banks representing 10 nations operate in Houston, providing financial assistance to the international community.
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Posted in Houston Demographics at 8:52 am by idxsi
Houston Demographics
Houston International Festival
Houston is a diverse and international city, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong industries. Over 90 languages are spoken in the city. Houston has among the youngest populations in the nation, partly due to an influx of immigrants into Texas. The city has the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican population in the United States. An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in Houston.
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,953,631 people and the population density was 3,371.7 people per square mile (1,301.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.27 percent White, 25.31 percent Black, 0.44 percent Native American, 5.31 percent Asian, 0.06 percent Pacific Islander, 16.46 percent from other races, and 3.15 percent from two or more races. Persons of Hispanic origin, regardless of race, accounted for 37 percent of the population.
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Posted in Houston Culture at 8:42 am by idxsi
Houston Culture
Houston is a multicultural city with an international community. This is reflected by the nation’s third largest concentration of consular offices representing 86 nations. The city is designated as a world-class city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network. Officially, Houston is nicknamed the “Space City” because it is home to NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Other nicknames include “Bayou City”, “H-Town”, “Clutch City” and “Magnolia City”.
Many annual events celebrate the diverse cultures of Houston. The largest and longest running is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, held over 20 days from late February to early March. Another large celebration is the annual night-time Houston Pride Parade, held at the end of June. Other annual events include the Greek Festival,[74] Art Car Parade, and the Houston International Festival.
Houston Arts and theater
![Theater District]] of Downtown Houston](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Wortham_Center.jpg/250px-Wortham_Center.jpg)
Theater District of Downtown Houston
Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene. The Theater District is located downtown and is home to nine major performing arts organizations and six performance halls. It is the second largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area in the United States. Houston is one of only five United States cities with permanent, professional, resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theater (The Alley Theatre). Houston is also home to many local folk artists, art groups and various smaller progressive arts organizations. Houston attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions for a variety of interests.
The Museum District is home to many popular cultural institutions and exhibits, attracting more than 6 million visitors a year. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Holocaust Museum Houston, and the Houston Zoo are just a few examples of what the Museum District has to offer. Located in the nearby Montrose area are The Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel.
Many venues scattered across Houston regularly host local and touring musical acts. Unfortunately, there has never been a widely renowned music scene in Houston. Artists seem to relocate to other parts of the country once attaining some level of success. A notable exception to the rule is Houston hip-hop, which celebrates the unique southern flavor and attitude of its roots. This has given rise to a strong, independent hip-hop music scene, influencing and influenced by the larger Southern hip hop and gangsta rap communities. Many Houstonian hip-hop artists have attained commercial success, including Bun-B, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall.
Houston Tourism and recreation
Space Center Houston is the official visitors’ center of NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Here one will find many interactive exhibits including moon rocks, a shuttle simulator, and presentations about the history of NASA’s manned space flight program.
The Theater District is a 17-block area in the center of downtown Houston that is home to the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks. Bayou Place is a large multilevel building containing full-service restaurants, bars, live music, billiards, and art house films. The Houston Verizon Wireless Theater stages live concerts, stage plays, and stand-up comedy; and the Angelika Film Center presents the latest in art and foreign and independent films.
Houston is home to many parks including Hermann Park, which houses the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Lake Houston Park, Memorial Park, and Sam Houston Park. The city has 337 city parks and over 200 greenspaces—totaling over 19,600 acres that are managed by the city—including the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. The Houston Civic Center was replaced by the George R. Brown Convention Center—one of the nation’s largest—and the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. The Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall have been replaced by the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
Other tourist attractions include the Galleria (Texas’s largest shopping mall located in the Uptown District), Old Market Square, Tranquility Park, the Downtown Aquarium, and Sam Houston Park (which contains restored and reconstructed homes which were originally built between 1823 and 1905). The San Jacinto Battlefield State Historic Site where the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution was fought is located on the Houston Ship channel east of the city.
Houston Sports
Houston has teams for nearly every major professional sport. The Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Texans (NFL), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Comets (WNBA), Houston Aeros (AHL), Houston Undertakers (ABA) and Houston Dynamo (MLS) all call Houston home.
Houston has hosted major recent sporting events, including the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 2005 World Series, the 2005 Big 12 Conference football championship game, the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships from 2001-2006, and the Tennis Masters Cup in 2003 and 2004, as well as the annual Shell Houston Open golf tournament. The city hosts the annual the NCAA College Baseball Minute Maid Classic every February and NCAA football’s Texas Bowl in December. Houston hosted the Super Bowl championship game twice. Super Bowl VIII was played at Rice Stadium in 1974 and Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Reliant Stadium in 2004.
Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros) and Toyota Center (home of the Rockets, Comets, and Aeros) are located in a revived area of downtown. The city has the Reliant Astrodome, the first domed stadium in the United States; it also holds the NFL’s first retractable-roof stadium, Reliant Stadium. Other sports facilities in Houston include Hofheinz Pavilion and Robertson Stadium (both used for University of Houston collegiate sports), and Rice Stadium (home of the Rice University Owls football team). The infrequently used Reliant Astrodome hosted World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, where an attendance record of 67,925 was set. In early 2006, the Champ Car auto racing series returned to Houston for a yearly race, held on the streets of the Reliant Park complex.
On October 19, 2005, The Houston Astros advanced to the World Series for the first time in the team’s history, subsequently losing to the Chicago White Sox. In 2006, the Houston Dynamo won the MLS Cup in their first year after moving from San Jose, California.
All Houston Culture text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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Posted in Houston Transportation at 8:32 am by idxsi
Houston Transportation
Houston’s freeway system is made up of 575.5 miles of freeways and expressways in a 10-county metro area. Its highway system uses a hub-and-spoke freeway structure serviced by multiple loops. The innermost loop is Interstate 610, which encircles downtown, the medical center, and many core neighborhoods with around a 10-mile diameter. Beltway 8 and its freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, form the middle loop at a diameter of roughly 25 miles. A proposed highway project, State Highway 99 (The Grand Parkway), would form a third loop outside of Houston. Currently, the completed portion of State Highway 99 runs from just north of Interstate 10, west of Houston, to U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, and was completed in 1994.
Houston also lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 NAFTA superhighway that will link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico. Other spoke freeways either planned or under construction include the Fort Bend Parkway, Hardy Toll Road, Crosby Freeway, and the future Alvin Freeway.
METRORail along the Main Street Corridor in Downtown
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, light rail, trolleys, and lift vans. METRO’s various forms of public transportation still do not connect many of the suburbs to the greater city, causing Houstonians to rely on the automobile as a primary source of transportation.
METRO began running light rail service (METRORail) on January 1, 2004. The inaugural track runs about 8 miles (13 km) from northern Downtown at UH–Downtown to the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. METRO is currently in the design phase of a 10-year expansion plan that will add five more lines to the existing system.
Houston is served by two commercial airports. The largest is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the ninth-busiest in the United States for total passengers, and seventeenth-busiest worldwide. Bush Intercontinental currently ranks third in the United States for non-stop domestic and international service with 182 destinations. In 2006, the United States Department of Transportation named George Bush Intercontinental Airport the fastest-growing of the top ten airports in the United States. Houston is the headquarters of Continental Airlines and Bush Intercontinental is Continental Airlines’ largest hub. The airline offers more 1,100 daily departures from Houston.
The second-largest commercial airport in Houston is William P. Hobby Airport (named Houston International Airport until 1967). The airport operates primarily small to medium-haul flights and is the only airport in Houston served by Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Houston’s aviation history is showcased in the 1940 Air Terminal Museum located in the old terminal building on the west side of Hobby Airport. The third-largest airport is Ellington Field, a former U.S. Air Force base, used by the military, commercial, government and general aviation sectors.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the state of Texas selected the “Houston Airport System as Airport of the Year” for 2005,largely because of its multi-year, $3.1 billion airport improvement program for both major airports in Houston.
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![Theater District]] of Downtown Houston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wortham_Center.jpg)
