Then...
In 1925, Miss Ima Hogg and her brothers, Will and Mike, selected 14 acres of natural woodlands and winding ravines for their home in the newly developed Housto neighborhood of River Oaks. Miss Hogg began planning the gardens before construction began on the home in 1927. Bayou Bend is a collection of American fine and decorative arts in the former home of Miss Hogg, philanthropist and Houstonian.
The history of Houston starts with the Karankawa people, Native Americans, and the first inhabitants of the Gulf Coast. In 1836 two New York land speculators laid out a city named for Texas hero, Sam Houston, which served as the first capital of the Republic of Texas.
Houston's Buffalo Bayou became the main commercial connection to the deep-water port of Galveston, and in 1914 the Houston Ship Channel was inaugurated as an inland deep-water port.
General commerce and cotton were the economic lifelines of the city until oil was discovered at Spindletop in 1901. World War II generated demand for oil and gas byproducts. During the postwar period, Houston became the largest city in the South and is now the fourth largest in the nation. Houston is also home to NASA Johnson Space Center, where USAstronauts are trained and space missions controlled.
Texas Medical Center (TMC) with 49 member institutions—including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the No. 1 cancer hospital in the country—is the largest medical complex in the world.
In the arts, Houston is one of few US cities to maintain permanentcompanies in Ballet, Opera, Symphony and Theater and offers one of the largest museum districts in the nation featuring 18 museums. The city’spopulation is also diverse with over 83 languages spoken.
With more than 8,000 restaurants in the area, Houston is considered to have one of the best culinary scenes in the country, with cuisine from around the world.
Although Houston honors its western heritage, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is the world’s largest, the city has developed into a world class economic
cultural destination.
...& now