Houston is a vast city that spreads to the horizon in all directions. Gleaming commercial districts punctuate its sprawl, but the landscape is a blanket of residential neighborhoods. They define its architectural character. They tell us how and when the city grew.
Archive | Communities
First Providence Then Prosperity
Past the easternmost boundaries of Houston lies the ancient Neches River, where various settlements formed along the banks long before our region’s towns, highways, and industries emerged. This “ideal place for a town” became Tevis Bluff…
Katy: West Houston Wonder
Long before the Katy Mills Mall bustled with customers, the Katy rice mills watched over the area. Earlier still, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) railroad traversed the fertile prairie near Cane Island Creek.
A Quest into the World of Rennies
By Taylor Mankin The Texas Renaissance Festival has been a popular form of entertainment for Houstonians since the early 1970s, with thousands making the trek each fall into a world that is part history and part fantasy. Upon entering the fairgrounds, tourists and visitors encounter performers, merchants, and artisans donning medieval-style garb and speaking in […]
Asian Americans: Expanding Our Horizons
The year 2015 marks a half century since the United States passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, a comprehensive immigration reform that abolished the racial quota system established in 1924 that was based on national origins. The new law admitted people based on criteria such as family reunification, skills needed in the U.S. workplace, and […]
An American Chinese in Houston
E. K. T. Chen spent half his life a Texan and died a patriot in Washington, DC, on October 16, 1957, while preventing Chinese internment during the Korean War. This is the story of the extraordinary things accomplished by this ordinary son of Chinese immigrants that benefited all Americans, and my efforts to continue his […]
From “Tom Brown” to Mykawa Road
In 2012, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University declared Houston to be the most diverse city in the nation, replacing Los Angeles and New York at the top of the list. Of the nearly 2.1 million people in the city, fewer than 130,000 were Asians according to the 2010 Census, with Japanese […]
Korean Americans in Houston
What do an oilman, a schoolteacher, a lawyer, a community advocate, and an energy guru have in common? They are among the 11,813 Korean Americans living in Harris County, although community leaders believe the number is twice as large.
Vietnamese and Chinese American Cultures
By Jessica Chew For many Vietnamese during the Vietnam War, an international refuge meant hope for survival. Other Asian ethnicities, including the Chinese, looked to the United States with optimism for a better future. Several Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants found their new home in Houston, raising first-generation, American-born children while trying to preserve a piece of their old society. Vietnam War refugees faced […]
From Gujarat to Houston
Walking into the George R. Brown Convention Center for the Navratri festival, I am whisked away by the South Asian culture – the vibrant colors, the smell of Indian food, the garba music, and conversations in my native tongue.