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 […]
Tag Archives | Houston
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 […]
Musical Migrations
The soul of Houston has been shaped by the journeys of its people. One of the most ethnically diverse large cities in the United States, Houston reflects a mosaic of experiences from people all over the world. The path to this distinction began at the onset of the twentieth century, as the migrations of three […]
Preserving History: The Importance of Independence Heights
I remember the first time I saw the sign that read “Independence Heights: Historic Houston Community.” It piqued my curiosity, and that interest stayed with me. As the years went by, townhomes that reigned on the other side of the 610 Loop began creeping into the historic neighborhood. As the landscape changed and the old […]
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 […]
Not If, but When – Renu Khator and the Evolution of the University of Houston
By Samantha de León President Khator reacts to being inducted into the UH Athletics Hall of Honor in 2018. Leading up to this recognition, UH had reached the American Athletic Conference Championships in football and basketball, the Elite Eight and Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and consistently ranked in Top-25 polls in […]
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) […]
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 […]
Arte Público Press
By Aileen Mendoza Arte Público Press has become the largest publisher of U.S. Hispanic contemporary and recovered literature in the United States. All photo courtesy of Arte Público Press unless otherwise noted. “As a child, Nicolás Kanellos couldn’t find books that accurately portrayed his Hispanic heritage. As an adult, he sought out and published the […]
Houston’s East End: Past in the Present
By Marie-Theresa Hernández The plane, with the name “Tommy Joe” painted on its nose, is in the front yard of a private home on Navigation Boulevard. I wish Tommy Joe was still around to tell us stories about the plane in action. Photo by Golnar Makvandi. In spring 2021, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, […]