Houston has been designated as a world-class city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network. Houston received the official nickname of "Space City" in 1967 because it is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Other nicknames include "H-Town," "Screwston," "The Big Heart," "Bayou City," "Clutch City," "Hustletown," and "Magnolia City." The largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, Houston is a multicultural city, with a large and growing international community. The Museum District is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, attracting more than 7 million visitors a year. Houston was founded on August 30, 1836 by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York City, on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837 and named after General Sam Houston, commander at the Battle of San Jacinto. Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside the Interstate 610 Loop. Rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple districts have grown throughout the city in addition to downtown which include Uptown, Texas Medical Center, Midtown, the Energy Corridor, Greenway Plaza, Westchase, and Greenspoint. Houston's energy industry is recognized worldwide—particularly for oil—and biomedical research, aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of its economic base. The area is the world's leading center for building oilfield equipment Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene. The Theater District is located downtown and is home to nine major performing arts organizations and six performance halls. It is the second largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area in the United States. It is also home to the Bayou City Art Festival, which is considered to be one of the top five art festivals in the United States. Some info courteous of www.wikipedia.org |