Houston, Texas

Houston is the largest city within the state of Texas, fourth in the United States, and the second-largest economic area of the Gulf Coast region. The city is the county seat of Harris County, the third most populous county in the country. A portion of southwest Houston extends into Fort Bend County and a small portion in the northeast extends into Montgomery County.

People and culture

See: List of famous people raised in Houston

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Officially, Houston has been nicknamed the Space City because of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center nearby. "Houston" was the first word uttered on the moon, as Neil Armstrong reported back to NASA. Many locals, however, prefer to call it the Bayou City. Other nicknames include "H-Town", "Clutch City", and "Magnolia City".

Related Topics:
Nickname - Neil Armstrong - NASA - Magnolia

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Because the Greater Houston area and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex are the major economic centers of Texas, the two areas enjoy a friendly rivalry. Houstonians often consider themselves more "down to earth" than their neighbors to the north, and some Houstonians complain that Dallas seems to get more attention nationally, even though Houston has a larger population. This rivalry often leads to comparison of the assets of one city to the assets of the other. For example, although Dallas has more restaurants per person than even New York City, Houstonians eat out more often than residents of any other city in the United States. The only city in which eating out is cheaper than Houston is New Orleans, Louisiana.

Related Topics:
Greater Houston - Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex - New York City - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Several Houston-based restaurants (most notably Ninfa Laurenzo's Mama Ninfa's Mexican restaurant chain, Johnny Carrabba's Carrabba's, and Kim Su Tran La's Kim S?n Vietnamese restaurant chain) have become well known in Texas and throughout the country. The design for the first Compaq computer was sketched on a napkin at House of Pies, a well-known diner in the Upper Kirby district, near the Montrose area.

Related Topics:
Mama Ninfa's - Mexican - Carrabba's - Kim S?n - Vietnamese - Compaq - Upper Kirby - Montrose

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A cosmopolitan city

Houston is a diverse and international city, in part because of its its many academic institutions and strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries. A port city, Houston also has large populations of immigrants from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. This influx of immigrants is partially responsible for Houston having a population that is younger than the national average.

Related Topics:
Biomedical - Energy - Aerospace - Port city - Immigrant - China - Indonesia - Philippines - Taiwan - South Korea - Japan - India - Pakistan - Vietnam

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Houston has two Chinatowns, as well as the third largest Vietnamese American population in the United States. Recent redevelopment of Midtown from run-down to upscale has increased property values and property taxes, but has also forced some Vietnamese Americans into other areas of the city.

Related Topics:
Chinatowns - Vietnamese American

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About 90 languages are spoken in the area. Some neighborhoods with high populations of Vietnamese and Chinese residents have Chinese and Vietnamese street signs in addition to English ones. Houston has the second highest South African population in the United States, after Miami, Florida. The city is also noted for its large Nigerian population with about one hundred thousand native Nigerian residentshttp://usembassy.state.gov/nigeria/wwwhxjan03g.html.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Vietnamese - South African - Miami, Florida - Nigerian

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The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more and more people from Latin countries try to find work in Houston — Houston has the third largest Hispanic population in the United States.

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Aided by the popularity of the late hip-hop artist DJ Screw, Houston is known among youth, primarily in the South, as having its own distinctive style of hip-hop commonly known as screw music (referred to locally as simply "screw.") Many young Houstonians of all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds in touch with local hip-hop culture may remember the advent of this form of Southern rap which began to take place around late 1999, helping the city earn an appropriate nickname given by artists and fans: "Screwston".

Related Topics:
DJ Screw - The South - Screw music - 1999

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Health and fitness

In 2005, Men's Fitness magazine named Houston the fattest city in the United States (the fourth time the city has received such an award since 2001). In 2005, the magazine based its rating on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey listing 23 percent of Houstonians as clinically obese, as well as other statistics such as Houston having twice the number of doughnut shops per capita compared to the national average, and statistics showing Houstonians eat out more than any other city's population.

Related Topics:
2005 - Fat - 2001 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Doughnut shops - Per capita

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Cultural institutions

See also: List of museums outside of the Museum District

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Known for the vibrancy of its visual and performing arts, Houston's theater district is ranked second in the country (behind New York City) in the amount of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area. Houston has world-class visual and performing arts organizations, along with a dose of homegrown folk art such as Art Cars. Houston is also one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines (the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, and The Alley Theatre)http://www.visithoustontexas.com/arts_and_culture.asp?pageid=232. Houston is one of only five cities in the country with these year-round visual and performing arts available, and is widely recognized as the nation's third most important city for contemporary visual arts.

Related Topics:
Visual - Performing arts - New York City - Performing art - Folk art - Houston Grand Opera - Houston Symphony Orchestra - Houston Ballet - The Alley Theatre

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The New York Times has called Houston possibly the most interesting city in the United States for young artists. For nearly 100 years, Houston?s rich culture has invigorated the artistic and academic pursuits of students and faculty alike. Houston is one of only six American cities with resident professional companies in all four major performing arts: ballet, opera, theater and symphony. It's a prime stop for touring companies from Broadway; concerts and shows, from The Rolling Stones to Cirque du Soleil; and exhibitions for every interest, ranging from the nation's largest quilting show to auto, boat and home shows.

Related Topics:
The New York Times - Artist - Performing art - Ballet - Opera - Theater - Symphony - The Rolling Stones - Cirque du Soleil

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Adjacent to the Texas Medical Center is the Museum District, including Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum, The Menil Collection, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Related Topics:
Texas Medical Center - Museum District - The Menil Collection

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Tourism

Space Center Houston is the official visitors center of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Space Center Houston is a place where people can experience space — from its history and present to its future. Space Center Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA's manned space flight program. SCH is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA. It also features Texas? largest IMAX theater.

Related Topics:
NASA - Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center - Astronaut - Moon rock - Shuttle

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Houston's many parks include Hermann Park, which has a zoo, a museum of natural science, and a planetarium. Houston has several notable art museums, the Space Center Houston museum, and a children's museum. The Wortham Theater Center houses the opera and ballet companies; the city is also home to The Alley Theatre, one of the country's foremost repertory companies. The civic center was replaced by the George R. Brown Convention Center, one of the nation's largest; and the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the symphony orchestra. Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall have been replaced by the Hobby Center for the Proforming Arts.

Related Topics:
Zoo - Museum - Natural science - Planetarium - The Alley Theatre - George R. Brown Convention Center - Symphony orchestra

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Other tourist attractions include the Galleria, a huge enclosed shopping mall noted for its luxury stores; Old Market Square; Sam Houston Historical Park, which contains restored homes (built 1824?68) and reconstructed buildings; and the Astrodome (opened 1965) and its adjacent Astroworld, an amusement park. The San Jacinto battlefield is in the nearby city of Deer Park. Less than an hour from the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is close to sunny beaches, one of the nation's largest concentrations of pleasure boats, and tourist attractions such as the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston Island.

Related Topics:
Tourist - The Galleria - Shopping mall - Astrodome - Astroworld - Amusement park - San Jacinto battlefield - Deer Park - Beach - Kemah Boardwalk - Galveston Island

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Media and entertainment

See also: List of famous events in Houston, List of newspapers in Houston, List of television stations in Houston, List of movies set in Houston

Related Topics:
List of famous events in Houston - List of newspapers in Houston - List of television stations in Houston - List of movies set in Houston

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Less than an hour from the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is close to sunny beaches, one of the nation's largest concentrations of pleasure boats, and tourist attractions such as the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston Island.

Related Topics:
Kemah Boardwalk - Galveston Island

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Houston has Six Flags Astroworld, one of the larger Six Flags amusement parks in the country was just announced to be closed. AstroWorld is home to the only pipe-line barrel roll roller coaster in North America. Its other major claims to fame are the Texas Cyclone (which when first built was one of the largest wooden roller coasters in the United States), and the Ultra Twister, which is widely regarded as one of the most unique rides in the United States. AstroWorld is adjacent to Six Flags Waterworld, a water park that has been incorporated into the amusement park. The amusement parks are a few blocks away from the Reliant Park complex, located in south 610 loop. Six Flags AstroWorld is scheduled to close permanently after the 2005 season (after October). The park sits on valuable land, and will likely be converted into luxury apartments or condominiums or other such residential high-rises, another parking lot adjacent to Reliant Stadium, or a large shopping mall.

Related Topics:
Six Flags Astroworld - Six Flags - Roller coaster - North America - Reliant Park - Reliant Stadium - Shopping mall

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Houston is served by the Houston Chronicle, its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. Houston also is home to several TV stations and radio stations that serve the metro area.

Related Topics:
Houston Chronicle - TV stations - Radio stations

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KTRK TV's Marvin Zindler is a well-known figure in Houston, recognizable as much for his voice as for his trademark blue eyeglasses. His week-long exposé on the Chicken Ranch brothel later became the basis for the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Related Topics:
KTRK TV - Marvin Zindler - Chicken Ranch - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

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KHOU-TV's team of "Defenders" began and led an investigation into the failure of Firestone Wilderness AT tires in several vehicles that ended up becoming a national story with wide-reaching implications. These reports garnered the reporters and the station national and international attention and awards.

Related Topics:
KHOU - Firestone

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Univision Affiliate KXLN-TV is among the highest rated Spanish-language television stations in the United States. Its "En Su Defensa" (in your defense) segments have garnered regional acclaim, and En Su Defensa month was proclaimed by Mayor Bill White in 2004.

Related Topics:
Univision - KXLN

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