Author Archive | Houston History Magazine

JUlian Schnabel

50 Years of Blaffer Art Museum

In the early 1970s, Houston was shaking off its mid-century identity as a provincial backwater. The Johnson Space Center directed regular flights to the moon. The city’s major league ball club played in a futuristic, air-conditioned dome. The legalization of selling liquor by the glass in 1971 enlivened nightclub and restaurant culture. The rise of […]

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Blaffer’s Education Programs

The Blaffer has a particular energy, sparked by intellectual freedom and curiosity that motivates the best programs. Programs often begin with a simple query, “What if?” Their subsequent development is driven by a combination of perceived community needs, availability of funding, strong leadership, collaboration, and teamwork. Directors and curators continually bring challenging new ideas to […]

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Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Mayor Kathy Whitmire

Kathy Whitmire brought many firsts to Houston during her rapid rise in local politics. A native Houstonian, she spent her childhood in Huntsville and Houston, attending Berry Elementary School and Marshall Junior High in Northeast Houston, before graduating from San Jacinto High School. Acknowledging her keen interest in politics in her youth, Whitmire’s path towards […]

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Christine Ha Four Senses head shot (Varner Productions Ltd)

“The Blind Cook,” Christine Hà

Imagine cooking without seeing the ingredients, the measuring utensils, knives, pans, or burners on the stove. Add to that, the kitchen is considered one of the most dangerous rooms in the home with house fires, burns, spills, and cuts all being possibilities that may arise. Although cooking can be enjoyable and rewarding, some people find […]

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A Pioneer of Local Diversity: University of Houston’s Muslim Student Association 

If you visit the University of Houston’s Student Center South on a Monday, you might run into a group of students running the “Dawah Dollar Mondays” table event. The young men ask passing students one question about Islam, and if the participant answers correctly, they win cash. The University of Houston Muslim Student Association (UHMSA) […]

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Elizabeth D. Rockwell’s Legacy 

If you are familiar with the University of Houston (UH), you have probably seen or heard Elizabeth D. Rockwell’s name: the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion in the MD Anderson Library, the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership in the Hobby School, the Elizabeth D. Rockwell President’s Suite in the Alumni Center, the Elizabeth […]

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Keeland shows off his sleek roadster in front of one of the houses he designed. ark:/84475/do21504z636.

Burdette Keeland, Jr.: “The Bird” Who Built a Better Houston

By Robert Perla Ventura Known by his friends as ”Bird,” Keeland became one of Houston’s premier architects. Burdette Keeland, Jr. was a man as busy as they come. As an architect, professor, and chairperson of the Houston Planning Commission, Keeland was always working to better our city. A graduate of the University of Houston (UH) […]

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Public Art of the University of Houston

By Mercedes Del Riego Benches by Scott Burton, pink granite (1985). Best known for blurring the boundary between utilitarian objects and art, Burton was a minimalist sculptor inspired by the Bauhaus and abstract movements. This set of two benches sit nondescriptly in front of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design. All photos […]

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