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Houston is a city typical of Texas and its history. It is essentially a city which has seen great changes in its times and also a huge amount of diversity. It traces its origins back to 1839 and was founded in what was then no more than a swamp. It gets its name from a Texan hero and folklore legend General Sam Houston and it was the capital of the Texas Republic until 1839. Prior to the civil war Houston was a goldmine as it was a centre for shipping cotton yet after the end of the war its fortunes subsided yet it still managed to develop into a major port when a channel of trade was opened up between the Gulf of Mexico. Fortune shined upon the city again and oil was discovered which ended up turning the city into a large petro chemical producer . This ended up transforming Houston into the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in The US. In true American style free enterprise is abundant in Houston and it is the home of the once mighty Enron. Outside of business Houston is home to some well respected and very choice art museums. In total Houston covers an area 600 of over square miles and due to the fact that it has been designed without a very good plan it can be a very confusing place to navigate. What makes things even worse is the lack of zoning codes, constant changes in street names and directions and bad traffic combined with an often skeleton public transport system. If you want to properly get to grips with Houston you must be prepared to drive and in doing this you will inevitably find yourself lost on more than one occasion. |