{"id":11176,"date":"2019-04-08T16:45:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T23:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=11176"},"modified":"2020-12-31T21:04:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-01T05:04:00","slug":"hanging-in-houston-americas-city-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/hanging-in-houston-americas-city-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging in Houston: Five Days in America\u2019s City of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"high-rise
It\u2019s big, and so is everything else in Houston.<\/span> Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhere are all the people<\/em>?\u201d I asked. It was a midweek workday in downtown Houston, and there was barely a soul on the streets. \u201cThey\u2019re 20 feet below<\/em>,\u201d laughed my guide. \u201cDuring the summer, it\u2019s so damned hot that it\u2019s dangerous to be outside. So we live underground in seven miles or so of 95 air conditioned blocks connected by tunnels<\/em>.\u201d I recalled reading that Houston can hit blistering 100 degree temperatures with up to 99% humidity.\u00a0 Their underground world reminded me of a similar one used in Montreal<\/a> during their brutal winters, which I learned Houston\u2019s was modeled after.<\/p>\n

\"Joan
Just outside of the Chase Tower is Joan Miro\u2019s “Personage and Birds,” a painted bronze and stainless steel abstract of a woman with three shapes above her head. The tower\u2019s architect, I.M. Pei, chose this sculpture in 1982 for its colorful and humorous qualities.<\/span> Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the top of the double-decker tour bus we passed blocks of commanding, almost futuristic-looking office towers that dwarfed the remaining older buildings in the modest downtown. The office towers were impressive, many with innovative sculptures out front. Nevertheless, I was a bit underwhelmed, still trying to get a handle on this city. After all, Houston was the city of the future, generated by the energy industry, as well as a prominent center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration<\/a> (NASA). Truth be told, with its wide expanses of unremarkable landscape stretching out to seemingly endless bulldozed flatlands, it was hard to believe that Space City, H-Town<\/em>, Bayou City<\/em> was now the 4th<\/sup> largest city in the U.S. We passed a few \u2018pocket parks\u2019 where the city fathers had relocated historic homes in an attempt to add a little historical significance to the modern downtown.<\/p>\n

\"Seven
LEFT: Dramatically rising above Buffalo Bayou is Seven Wonders, a laser cut stainless steel sculpture by Mel Chin. Its seven towers feature 150 drawings by Houston school children.<\/span> Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp. RIGHT: Detail: Seven Wonders.<\/span> Photo courtesy of Mel Chin\/melchin.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A stop on McKee Street Bridge over Buffalo Bayou, a 52-mile slow-moving waterway, and the site of Houston’s founding in 1836, proved to be a welcomed highpoint. Nestled on the edge of Sesquicentennial Park, the 10.4-acre park commemorates Houston’s 150th birthday, while also serving as a recreational destination for the\u00a0Houstonians of today. Rising dramatically above Buffalo Bayou is the stunning \u201cSeven Wonders,\u201d\u00a0a laser cut stainless steel sculpture by Mel Chin. Consisting of seven dramatic 70-foot towers, each column illustrates 150 children\u2019s drawings, etched in stainless steel plate. With \u201cHeroic Themes\u201d as a mandate,\u00a0every one of the Houston children had to be born in the year of the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the city. Buffalo Bayou waterway was the epicenter of 2017\u2019s Hurricane Harvey,\u00a0the costliest tropical cyclone,\u00a0along with Hurricane Katrina, on record. The rainfall triggered catastrophic flooding in downtown Houston,<\/a>\u00a0inflicting $125\u00a0billion in damage. But the city quickly rebounded as “The Big Heart,” with its citizens remaining strong and neighbors helping neighbors.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Old Hanging Oak of Houston.<\/span> Photos courtesy of Visit Houston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the tour continued, an oak tree situated behind a gate caught my attention. The guide informed me that it was the Old Hanging Oak, a 400-year-old tree, the oldest in Houston. The official word was that it had been used to hang over eleven criminals between 1836 and 1845. Unofficially, I learned it was the source\u00a0of an untold number of lynchings, generally of African-Americans. Perhaps only the tree could tell the real story of all the atrocities in which it has played a part. It\u2019s not unusual to bury unsavory parts of history. There was barely a mention of the now defunct Enron, whose branding was once proudly displayed throughout the city. The Old Hanging Oak made me think how much Houston had progressed, and I was interested in learning more about this city of yesterday, today and the future.<\/p>\n

\"James
LEFT: Sports have always been an essential component in the lives of Houstonians; that\u2019s James Merton Jones at West End Park, circa 1908.<\/span> Photo courtesy of J.R. Gonzales. RIGHT: John Milkovisch spent 18 years covering his house with over 50,000 beer cans. Now know as the Beer Can House, it is a monument to recycling.<\/span> Photo courtesy of\u00a0 Janice Rubbin 2001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

Back Story \u2013 It’s Complicated<\/h2>\n

In\u00a01519 when the Spanish<\/a> conquistadors<\/a> arrived in what is now downtown Houston, the area was the wet and marshy homeland of the Akokisas Nation. Their nation perished as the result of European diseases, or merged with other tribes. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821<\/a>, Mexican Texas<\/a> became part of the new nation. To encourage settlement, Mexican authorities allowed organized immigration from the United States, and soon over 30,000\u00a0Anglos lived in Texas, compared to 7,800\u00a0Mexicans. This resulted in a rebellion of the U.S. colonists and Tejanos<\/a> (Texas Mexicans) in the Texas Revolution<\/a>. The Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. Mexico, of course, was proven right. The Texan forces<\/a> fought and won their independence in 1836, with General Sam Houston becoming the first president of the Republic of Texas. It soon became the 28th U.S. state.\u00a0 German immigrants started arriving in Texas and Houston after the German States Revolutions of 1848<\/a> (think German smokehaus <\/em>for BBQ) for the rewards of dirt cheap land. A railroad was established, and Texas joined the Confederacy in the Civil War, only to return to the Union upon its victory. The humiliation of defeat and fear of violence by African-Americans led to an outbreak of horrific lynch-mob violence. Like the rest of the South,\u00a0\u00a0Houston later adhered to the horrific rules of Jim Crow, which made life for black Houstonians even worse.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By 1913, twelve oil companies had located themselves in Houston which began the civic theme of energy. The port of Galveston was established, giving Houston an important world-wide trading component. The racial atrocities ended when Houstonians embraced President LBJ\u2019s Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since then, Houston has had two African-American mayors, and has one of the nation\u2019s grandest Martin Luther King parades.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"top
LEFT: The top of the Heritage Plaza Tower resembles a Maya temple. Its architect Mohammed Nasr reportedly was inspired by a trip to Yucatan which led him to turn the top of the building into granite stepping stones to honor the Mayan temples he’d seen on his vacation. RIGHT: Look closely, and you\u2019ll see that Market Square Tower has a swimming pool 40-stories up.<\/span> Photos courtesy of Deb Roskamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the independent nature of its populace, Houston is a regimented city with people driving to the Uptown District<\/a>\u2019s Galleria to dine and shop at its 339 stores, or to the 1,700 acre NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center to learn about human space exploration and scientific knowledge. I opted for the Museum District with its 19 museums<\/a>, galleries and cultural centers. An exhibition entitled, Vincent van Gogh: His Life in Art <\/em>was just kicking off at the Museum of Fine Arts. I had recently streamed At Eternity\u2019s Gate<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0a film bio of van Gogh\u2019s life, directed by painter Julian Schnabel, and was keen to see the exhibition.<\/p>\n

While chatting in line I noticed Houstonians tend to be easy going, extremely friendly and\u00a0often a tad overweight. A local, clearly on the heavy side,\u00a0told\u00a0me that when you move to Houston you automatically put on fifty pounds. I could already see why, for the city is a gastronomic heaven with a wide assortment of Mexican, Tex-Mex and Cajun restaurants, due to its proximity to the Louisiana Bayou<\/a>, and a seemingly endless array of unique ethnic restaurants. Statistics show that locals eat out more times a week than in any other city in America. Adding to this, Houston also takes the prize as the most ethnically diverse city in U.S.; fewer than half of its residents are of European descent, more than one-third are Hispanic, and about one-fourth are African-American<\/a>. A close Houston friend, originally from Nigeria, told me that every Nigerian food item that his family desires can be found right here in Houston.<\/p>\n

\"Galveston
A waitress demonstrates the correct etiquette for devouring a crawfish boil.<\/span> Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New food encounters included Hass avocadoes stuffed with shrimp and Mexican Oaxaca cheese, then battered and deep fried, and Houston-style BBQ (yes, it\u2019s different from other Texas regions), typically cooked over hickory wood (though post oak and pecan are often used) and marinated in a sweet, tomato-based sauce. The obsession with food is so great, that countless people informed me that it was crawfish season; so a revisit to a crawfish boil was definitely in order. Did I say it was easy to gain 50 pounds?<\/p>\n

\"Texas
The Texas Lone Star Flag stands out in the blue skies of Houston.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s interesting to note that Texas has existed under six different flags: Spain, France, Mexico,\u00a0Republic of Texas<\/a>, Confederate States of America<\/a> and the United States of America<\/a> (1846\u20131861; 1865\u2013present). With so many different governments ruling them, I can see why it makes sense that there is a certain sense of personal freedom and mistrust of government. The physical boundaries of Texas itself have been the one constant factor in their history, with citizens generally considering themselves Texans first, U.S. citizens second. The Texas flag has the distinction of being the only state flag that is displayed at the same height of the U.S. flag. Texans have even been known to pack a bag of Texas dirt, used for the births of out-of-state children, so that the first soil the newborn steps on is Texan soil.<\/p>\n

\"Sculptor
LEFT: Sculptor David Adickes’ “Virtuoso” is a 36-foot-tall cellist statue, outside the Lyric Centre. RIGHT: There\u2019s only 10 feet of space between Pennzoil Place\u2019s two 36-story towers.<\/span> Photos courtesy of Deb Roskamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But why do Houstonians continue to live in this unique city generation after generation, and why are they so fiercely proud to be a Texan? I approached a number of friendly locals who were, well, proud to respond to my question. I got everything from \u201cWe\u2019re proud \u2018cause everything is bigger and better in Texas,\u201d<\/em> to \u201cTexans never forget, or let anyone else forget, that we were once a separate country<\/em>.\u201d A young engineer replied, \u201cTexas feels like a very unique place in the United States, and it has a very unique culture. It’s not quite part of the South, the Midwest, or the Southwest. It has a different history, different food, a different ethnic background.\u201d<\/em> And finally, “The Battle of the Alamo<\/a><\/em> is a sacred event in our history and from that stems our pride.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1985, the \u201cDon\u2019t Mess With Texas\u201d<\/em> campaign was launched, discouraging littering on Texas roadways. Today, it has morphed into a slogan that is used to promote Texas pride.<\/p>\n

But, perhaps cowboy poet Don Cadden sums it up the best:<\/p>\n

\u201cTexans have an inherent sense of state pride.\u00a0 We are proud of our state and no other state can compare and they certainly do not understand. It is something that is bred into us.\u00a0 Why are Texans so prideful of their state?\u00a0 There are many reasons why Texas is so splendid. Texas has a lot to offer.\u00a0 There are the piney woods of east Texas, the flats of the panhandle, the west Texas skies, the canyons in Big Bend, the lush Hill Country and let\u2019s not forget; Texas has a coast. You can travel anywhere in Texas and feel like you are in another state. Texas was once its own country. From March 2, 1836 to February 1846, Texas was the Republic of Texas. Texas has a lot of history, a lot. One reason Texans are so proud is because our roots run deep. Many families have been here for hundreds of years and this pride has been passed on from generation to generation. Some people will never understand Texas pride but that\u2019s okay<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This video may help you understand (video courtesy of Jay B Sauceda):<\/p>\n