The Spring 2024 issue of Houston History magazine reflects on ways in which we celebrate and preserve our history.
Archive | Preservation
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Harris County Historical Society: A Century of Preserving and Sharing Local History
A call to action begins “A Plea for County Historical Societies,” published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) in the July 1923 issue of The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. The people of Harris County were the first to answer, founding the Harris County Historical Society (HCHS) in the fall of 1923. HCHS exemplifies how the […]
More than a Museum: Living History and a Vibrant Future at The Heritage Society in Sam Houston Park
Tucked between the high-rises that make up Houston’s iconic skyline sits Sam Houston Park. The city’s first municipal park, which was known as City Park until 1902, Sam Houston Park has long been a place where Houstonians go to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown, but it is more than that. With several of […]
Twenty Years of Houston History
In 1999 one door closed on Houston history and a new one opened thanks to the vision of Joe Pratt, then the University of Houston’s (UH) Cullen and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in History and Business, and Marty Melosi, director of the Institute for Public History, now the Center for Public History (CPH). […]
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) […]
Making Memories at Miller Outdoor Theatre: A Centennial of the Arts
By Samantha de León Miller Outdoor Theatre during a summer symphony night. All photos courtesy of Miller Outdoor Theatre. In February 1969, forty-six years after Miller Outdoor Theatre opened and a year after moving into its new facility, Houston Chronicle fine arts editor Ann Holmes questioned what was next for the outdoor amphitheater. Nestled in […]
A Place of Reinvention
By Marie-Theresa Hernández Pierced Heart by Daniel Galvez-Zuniga. The stained glass at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church carries intense symbolism with a heart pierced by a sword, bringing to mind church members and visitors who lived through enslavement, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow. In 2022, when University of Houston photography students from my World Cultures and Anthropology […]
University of Houston Integration Records: A Difficult Path to Desegregation
By Bethany Scott The Houstonian yearbook highlighted the need for financial aid as a major reason for the University’s bid to become a state school. Houstonian yearbook, 1961. Despite its current status as one of the country’s most diverse universities, the University of Houston, like numerous institutions of higher education, was founded in an era […]
Discovering Greens Bayou
By Teresa Tomkins-Walsh Greens Bayou watershed imposed on rendering of Harris County. Photo courtesy of Bayou Preservation Association. Greens Bayou watershed is contained wholly within Harris County, in contrast to some regional watersheds that tap into adjoining counties. Comprising 212 square miles of drainage and including 308 miles of open streams, Greens Bayou watershed sprawls […]
Latino cARTographies: Mapping the Past, Present, and Future of Houston’s Latino Visual Art
“A 21ST Century Mode of Accessing Art and Experiencing Culture” By Dr. Pamela Anne Quiroz and Juana Guzmán Under the leadership of Dr. Pamela Anne Quiroz, Director of the University of Houston’s (UH) Center for Mexican American and Latino Studies (CMALS), plans are underway to launch the groundbreaking digital board, Latino cARTographies: Mapping the Past, […]