Welcome To Houston SAFeDATA

Houston (pronounced /`hju?st?n/) is the fourth-largest city in the US of America and the largest city inside the state of Texas. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a populus of 2.14 1,000,000 inside an area of 600 sq miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the seat of Harris County and an economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a populus of more than 5.5 1,000,000.

Houston`s economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and technology; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. Commercially, Houston is ranked as a world city, and the area is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. The Port of Houston ranks first in the US in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. The city has a multicultural populus with a large and growing international community. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 1,000,000 visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of 5 U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.

In August 1836, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York City, purchased 6,642 acres (27 km²) of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the popular general of the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, who was elected President in September 1836.

When WW2 started, tonnage levels at the port decreased and shipping activities were suspended; however, the war did provide economic benefits for the city. Petrochemical refineries and manufacturing plants were constructed along the ship channel because of the demand for petroleum and synthetic rubber products during the war. Ellington Field, initially built during World War I, was revitalized as an advanced training center for bombardiers and navigators. The M. D. Anderson Foundation formed the Texas Medical Center in 1945. After the war, Houston`s economy reverted to being primarily port-driven. In 1948, several unincorporated areas were annexed into the city limits, which more than doubled the city`s size, and Houston proper began to spread across the region.

The increased production of the local shipbuilding industry during WW2 furthered Houston`s growth, as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA`s "Manned Spacecraft Center" (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973), which created the city`s aerospace industry. The Astrodome, nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World," opened in 1965 as the world`s first indoor domed sports stadium.

The populus boom ended abruptly in the mid-1980s, as oil prices fell precipitously. The space industry also suffered in 1986 after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch. The late 1980s saw a recession affect the city`s economy.