Houston is the fourth-largest city proper in the United States and the largest in the famously large

Houston is the fourth-largest city proper in the United States and the largest in the famously large state of Texas (though the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the larger metropolitan area overall). It is also the largest city in "the South", the "South" here being the South east as defined cheap motels in daytona beach by the U.S. government. Culturally, it is also more "Southern" than most of Texas as well. Once upon a time, it was even the capital of the Republic of Texas, but that didn't last long. It has many nicknames, amongst them "the Bayou City", as the bayous are a major feature of the city, and it was founded at what was allegedly the head of navigation of Buffalo Bayou , "Space cheap motels in daytona beach City" (this one actually appeared on police cheap motels in daytona beach cars once, due to the fact that NASA's Johnson Space Center is located in the city near Clear Lake), and "Magnolia City" (almost exclusively in pre-World War I documents). It's also famous for its oil tycoons and unforgiving climate.
For much of its history, Houston was quite small and unimportant. In fact, nearby Galveston was more important and larger for a long time. After Galveston cheap motels in daytona beach was torn apart by a hurricane, the focus shifted to the more inland city of Houston, especially after the coming of oil. Despite the discovery of oil, Houston remained cheap motels in daytona beach a smaller, lesser-known city up until after World War II when one of the greatest revolutions in demographic shifts brought about by technology cheap motels in daytona beach happened: the "Air-Conditioning Revolution". This is not a joke. The coming of air conditioning made the once inhospitable Western and Southern climates of the United States more welcoming, and a massive population shift took place, as people moved from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt. Houston subsequently exploded like a weed, and it, along with other Sun Belt cities like Los Angeles and San Jose rose to prominence as some of the largest cities in the country. Houston spread in all directions, eventually surrounding some cities that incorporated to avoid annexation. These cities became enclaves, cities cheap motels in daytona beach surrounded by the entirety of the city of Houston (this is common for other major cities in Texas as well). Despite being independent, these enclaves are really nothing more than self-important neighborhoods, and could largely be considered apart of Houston, except they aren't on paper. This has lead to controversy, cheap motels in daytona beach as many of these enclaves, in both Houston and elsewhere, are some of the whitest, richest cities in not just Texas but the entire country . Discussing cheap motels in daytona beach the merits of their existence leads to unpleasantness . The City of Houston has been so kind as to document its unbelievably rapid growth for us here .
Interestingly, it also has the largest collection of skyscrapers in Texas, including the tallest building outside a central business district, the Williams Tower. It also has probably the most spread out skyline in the entire United States, owing to the fact that it is the largest city in the country without formal zoning laws. This is not an historical accident. It's been said that Social Security is the third rail of American politics, but that doesn't hold a candle to Houstonians' reaction to zoning proposals. More than one political career has been suddenly ended by embracing proposals cheap motels in daytona beach that, while not zoning cheap motels in daytona beach in themselves, could have led to it. This has led to a skyline that is more expansive than Los Angeles' cheap motels in daytona beach note the Uptown Area by itself, home to the Williams Tower, is home to more than 23 million square feet of office space and is bigger than the downtowns of Los Angeles, cheap motels in daytona beach Denver cheap motels in daytona beach , or Pittsburgh , but less dense than Chicago and New York City . This has also, unfortunately, led to one of the most infamous cases of urban sprawl in the country, with suburbs spread out for miles in every direction. Much of the area (and by much, we mean all) north and west of the city remains unincorporated, mainly because of Texas' extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) laws, thus placing it all effectively within the city of Houston, and making it so Houston doesn't have to annex it. Recently, a large area to Houston's north, The Woodlands, has been trying to incorporate. Houston has been amazingly conciliatory cheap motels in daytona beach (probably due to messy annexation fights cheap motels in daytona beach when Houston consumed the master planned communities of Clear Lake City and Kingwood), but Woodlands residents have been hit with sticker shock and this may not happen.
Traditionally, its sports teams have been hapless , though its professional soccer team, the Houston Dynamo club, has apparently not gotten that memo, winning two MLS championships in its first two years of the franchise and only missing the MLS playoffs once. The Astros did host the first two World Series games played in Texas (unsurprisingly, they lost note thereby allowing the Chicago White Sox, another erstwhile baseball cheap motels in daytona beach Butt Monkey , to complete a sweep and win their first World Series in 88 years ), the Rockets cheap motels in daytona beach actually cheap motels in daytona beach managed a couple of championships back in the 1990s, note but they were in the first two years of Michael Jordan's retirement, cheap motels in daytona beach so � was that a skewed cheap motels in daytona beach result? and Comets cheap motels in daytona beach (WNBA, now sadly defunct) were their league's first dynasty. cheap motels in daytona beach The Texans are the other NFL team from the state, once hapless like all the others until improvements made in 2011 turned them into the AFC South's new dominant power. It may be unwise to mention that Houston ever had another NFL team or what happened to them (for those wondering, here's a hint: Houston native Vincent Young used to play for them). The Astrodome is also obviously here, though that may not remain so for long: the place has seen better days and is dwarfed by the neighboring Reliant Stadium. As far as outside teams are concerned, Hurricane Katrina brought in a sizable amount of fans for the New Orleans Saints.
From the way people drive, one might assume that street racing is a popular participator sport amongst the populace. The reality is that in Houston proper, an officer issuing a speeding ticket is likely to get run over by another speeder, and as such, the local police don't even bother cheap motels in daytona beach anymore. This is not true in the suburbs, though, and some of them are speed traps out of nightmares. Despite this (or maybe because of it), traffic in Houston is infamously bad, and its best to avoid the expressways during certain times of the day. The beltway is usually cheap motels in daytona beach clear though (if you don't mind paying a toll).
Regrettably, despite the size, there's no highly cheap motels in daytona beach developed light rail system (a 2004 line runs through downtown and parts south, but a major expansion of the system is getting (and causing) continual delays) and the city's major theme park, Six Flags AstroWorld, was closed in 2005 after years of poor maintenance and declining attendance.
That said, the city does have resident companies in each of the performing arts, and has some interesting takes on art: it's pretty much the art car capital of at least America. The city has a notable music scene, at least amongst rap and hip hop fans. Tejano cheap motels in daytona beach music also rocketed to international fame here. Also, the city is fairly cheap motels in daytona beach well known for its rodeo, the largest such event in the world. Those who know the city's history, though, find this amusing: Houston was never a cow town it traded in cotton cheap motels in daytona beach before Spindletop. After Spindletop, oil was its stock in trade and has pretty much remained so ever since, despite efforts cheap motels in daytona beach to branch out into other sectors such as banking (the banks got bought out), aerospace (there's not as much money here as you'd think), and medicine (actually, those efforts have seen some moderate success).
When New Orleans sank beneath the waves during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Houston provided shelter for the bulk of the refugees . A number of them stayed. (And, because quite a few of them were � shall we say � rather hefty , Houston has now surpassed "N'awlins" as the fattest per capita city in the U.S.)
Media-wise, there's little set in Houston, and in fact, of the top five largest cities in the United States, it is probably the least publicized , with cities less than half its size ( Miami , San Francisco , New Orleans, etc.) getting more screen time, but it does have the nation's oldest public television station, KUHT.
Oh, and it's the place to call when you want to inform Mission Control that you have a problem . And For the love of GOD, if you are a fan of anything in Dallas and you are in Houston , keep it to it yourself .
Downtown is Houston's Central Business district. Located smack dab in the middle of the Greater Houston Area, it is bounded on all sides by large expressways that are always clogged with traffic. The Historic Center of the city, the oil boom led to a smorgasbord of skyscraper construction. Unfortunately, the 1980s oil bust and subsequent recession hit Houston like a sack of bricks, ending most large scale construction and ending the city's cheap motels in daytona beach dreams of surpassing Chicago or New York. Now the area is trying to reinvent itself as a city center, with entertainment and residential housing. Notable neighborhoods include:
Houston Skyline District - Where all those awesome skyscrapers are located. Generally seen as Houston's most recognizable feature, most of its tallest buildings are there. Also here is the Houston tunnel system, a subterranean mall that connects most of the skyscrapers.
Historic District - The historic center of the city where the original city hall was built. Is now pretty much home to a bunch of unsightly, and short, government office buildings, with the occasional historic structure. Pretty much Houston's equivalent to Los Angeles's Civic Center
Main Street Square - built around the Metrorail station of the same name and a Macy's department store. Is home to a brand new, huge shopping mall, called the Houston Pavilions, and thriving nightlife.
Sports and Convention District - the most boring and lifeless district, unless you are a fan of one of the city's many hapless sports teams, specifically either the Houston cheap motels in daytona beach Astros or the Houston Rockets. Home to Minute Mai