All Blog Entries by Sam Houston History 
There are currently 11 blog entries published by Sam Houston History.
Texas Cyclone, Greased Lightning, Snow, and Fresh-Baked Bread: Astroworld USA in Houston Texas
Sunday, June 26th, 2011 at 10:48am. 4048 Views, 0 Comments.
For almost 40 years, summer in Houston meant two things: air conditioning and Astroworld. Our own private Disneyland, the Astroworld theme park was a requisite childhood destination, someplace everybody went at least once and a repeat trip for many. And like so many Houston landmarks, it was the brainchild of an exceptional person.
That person was Roy Hofheinz, a Rice University-educated lawyer, who served as Harris County judge (thus securing his most enduring title, "Judge Roy") and later as Houston mayor. After presiding over two contentious terms, during which he was impeached and had four city council members arrested for boycotting a special meeting he'd called, he returned to private law practice and business ventures.
Part of that business was the…
Houston Backyard Brouha Heard Around the World
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 at 5:56pm. 3240 Views, 0 Comments.
Last month, Texans celebrated 175 years of independence; nearly two centuries ago Texas settlers shook off the yoke of Mexican rule to become a sovereign republic (how many states can say that?), and later the 28th state of our union. And while March 2, Texas Independence Day, marks the day revolutionaries adopted a declaration of independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos, an equally (if not more) significant event in the fight for independence took place a stone’s throw from modern-day Houston: the battle of San Jacinto.
First, though, let’s go back to the 1820’s, when the United States territories stopped at Louisiana and Mexico was fighting a revolution of their own to win independence from Spain. In an effort to protect their northern borders from…
The Long and Winding Road ~ A History of Houston Freeways
Thursday, March 17th, 2011 at 1:46am. 3093 Views, 0 Comments.
As the last section of the Sam Houston Tollway opened last month, nearly 23 years after its first section opened, it seems an apt time to take a look back at how Houston’s freeways came into being.
At once a salvation and the bane of our existence, these concrete roadways define our daily lives. Their names, such as I-45 or the Gulf Freeway, Hwy 59N or the Eastex Freeway, I-10W or the Katy Freeway (amongst many many other numbers and names) are part of a Houstonian's vernacular, as well as a source of convenience, commerce, traffic congestion, and constant conversation.
There was a time, of course, when Houston didn’t have freeways. In fact, it barely had a system of roads. After the Allen brothers diligently laid out a downtown grid that lives on today,…
The Changing Face of Riverside Terrace: The Other River Oaks of Houston
Thursday, February 24th, 2011 at 12:40pm. 2196 Views, 0 Comments.
Tobias and Simon Sakowitz were something akin to local celebrities around Houston. Their store, Sakowitz, was a local institution - known for its high-end wares and genteel service. They gave frequently to local charities and regularly made news with their lavish store openings. But, when they wanted to move into tony River Oaks, the neighborhood where the wealthiest and most successful Houstonians lived, they were denied. They were Jewish.
Such was life in the 1930’s: the so-called “five o’clock curtain” was in force to keep Jews and Gentiles separate after business hours. The Houston and River Oaks Country Clubs didn’t allow Jews as members, and the various club rooms in which business deals were made over cigars and brandy were closed to them as…
Texas-Sized Personalities - and Wallets - Shaped the Texas Medical Center
Monday, January 31st, 2011 at 12:27am. 1511 Views, 0 Comments.
For those casually familiar with Houston, the city conjures a number of images: oil fields, cowboy hats, barbecue, perhaps even spaceships. But for those needing medical care, Houston means one thing: the Texas Medical Center. This 1,000-acre complex is renowned for having many of the top medical facilities in the country, or the world, drawing upwards of 6 million patients every year, including many from outside the U.S. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that this expansive center began with a similarly grand vision, and a Texas-sized helping of generosity.
One of Houston’s most prolific philanthropists died long before the Texas Medical Center came into being, but he helped it come into being nonetheless. George Henry Hermann was the son of early…
Houston Heights Homes Make Old New Again
Saturday, January 8th, 2011 at 10:50am. 3807 Views, 1 Comments.
Take a stroll through the Houston Heights neighborhood and you’ll find home after home built at the turn of the 20th century - Greek revival homes with expansive porches and Victorian mansions with soaring turrets and gabled roofs. Given that some 116 properties in the Heights are on the National Registry of Historic Places, it’s no surprise that this area is steeped in history - one of the few parts of Houston where original structures remain and the past easily mingles with the present.
The Heights - like the rest of Houston - owes its origins to (gasp) northerners. The famed Allen brothers bought the league of land upon which the Heights sits for $1 an acre in 1836, but quickly had to sell it to settle debts. The land changed hands several more times…
Apollo 8 Touched Houston and the World on Christmas Eve
Saturday, December 11th, 2010 at 5:42pm. 2231 Views, 0 Comments.
1968 was a tough year. The dual assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, along with the mounting conflict in Vietnam, created a pervasive climate of tension and unrest. NASA and Houston’s Johnson Space Center - while so separate from much of that - was also facing difficult times. A launch pad fire had claimed the lives of three astronauts in 1967, and major hardware issues had put their promise to land astronauts on the moon - and return them safely home - in jeopardy. NASA faced an uphill battle - culturally, politically and technologically.
Of course, NASA had enjoyed enthusiastic support in Houston ever since relocating their Manned Spacecraft Center here in 1961. Parades had been held in their honor, welcoming committees had…
From Dust to Diamonds to Courtroom Drama - The Sakowitz Brothers of Houston Texas
Monday, November 22nd, 2010 at 12:53am. 1219 Views, 2 Comments.
With the busiest shopping day of the year just around the corner, it seems fitting to take a look back at one of the most iconic stores in Houston history - Sakowitz. Whereas the northeast had R.H. Macy’s and Gimbels, and Dallas had Neiman Marcus, Houston had Sakowitz - our very own, home-grown luxury department store, started from the ground up. And while times have changed, the impact of those old Sakowitz stores can still be felt in Houston’s retail world.
In 1900, Simon and Tobias Sakowitz were 15- and 17-year-old sons of Ukranian immigrants living in Galveston, working as store clerks for 10 cents a day. Within two years, the two ambitious teenagers had saved enough money to open a new store, one with a dramatically different notion than simply…
Houston: We have a Space City
Monday, November 1st, 2010 at 4:17pm. 1669 Views, 0 Comments.
Many of us are familiar with that iconic speech by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, in which he famously said, “We choose to go to the moon...and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” This speech, delivered at Houston’s Rice University, marked one of the first rallying cries for our most glorious achievement in space exploration: manned flight to the moon. It also marked a major turning point in Houston’s history.
The path to the moon began as much in politics as in science. JFK and LBJ (...our last "great-initialed" Commanders-in-Chief) consulted Wernher von Braun, former Nazi rocket engineer and then-head of the Marshall Space Flight Center, on what space initiatives would give the U.S. the best chance of beating…
Oil Boom of the Past Shaped Houston's Present and Future
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 11:26am. 2021 Views, 0 Comments.
It has been said that each city has its own word - one single word which captures the essence of the town and the focus of its people. Houston’s could very well be “business.” Houstonians have always focused on commerce, dating back to the earliest days of the city. In fact, as the young community of Houston was struggling with lack of infrastructure, the creation of the local Chamber of Commerce and its subsequent development efforts was credited with turning the town around. Of course, the residents of this town - literally saved by business - couldn’t have imagined the role one particular business would play in their community’s future.
Two precipitous events truly helped shape Houston’s future and put it on the path of tremendous wealth and growth.…
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