This issue looks at ways our community has evolved in its attitudes, politics, neighborhoods, and culture. In the 1920s or 1930s, an unknown artist painted this futuristic vision of Houston in 1980 that is at once fantasy and truth. Houston has evolved to include elevated freeways that encircle downtown as the artist anticipated, although they […]
Houston’s Fourth Ward as seen through the lens of Roxanne Quezada Chartouni’s camera in 1987.
Those familiar with Houston history may be able to tell you that the oldest house in the city still standing on its original property is the 1847 Kellum-Noble House in Sam Houston Park. Although owned by the City, The Heritage Society (THS), a non-profit organization, has maintained the home for the past sixty-five years. Recently, […]
After forty years of teaching and thirteen years at the helm of Houston History, our editor-in-chief Joe Pratt has retired. This is the last letter from the editor he will write, but we are hopeful he will get bored with his gorgeous view of the mountains and write articles for us from time to time, sharing his wealth […]
Since opening in 1974 The Woodlands has grown dramatically as a distant suburb where people can live and work without commuting daily to downtown Houston. It has partially fulfilled its aspiration to be an environmentally friendly place to live for people from all economic strata of life, with housing for the rich, the middle class, […]
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…
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 […]
The Heritage Society and Houston History have teamed up to present the magazine’s fall issue along with a complementary exhibit in the museum gallery featuring images, documents, artifacts, and personal items related to the articles. The exhibit is on display now at The Heritage Society, 1100 Bagby in downtown Houston. The magazine will be available […]
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 […]
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 […]
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