Midland, Texas

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City of Midland
Seal
Nickname: The Tall City
Location within the state of Texas
County	Midland County
Government
- Mayor	Mike Canon
Area
- City	173.0 km²  (66.8 sq mi)
- Land	172.5 km² (66.6 sq mi)
- Water	0.5 km² (0.2 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- City	100,346
- Density	550.6/km² (1,426/sq mi)
- Metro	251,842
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-6)
Website: www.ci.midland.tx.us

Midland is the county seat of Midland County^GR6 located on the Southern Plains of the western area of the U.S. State of Texas. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 100,378. The Midland–Odessa metropolitan area had a population of 251,842.

Midland was originally founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has received national recognition as the hometown of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

[edit] History

Midland was originally called Midway because of its location between Fort Worth and El Paso; however the name was soon changed to Midland to avoid confusion with other towns in Texas named Midway.

Once a small town based on farming and ranching, Midland was forever changed by the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923. Soon Midland was transformed into the administrative center of the West Texas oil fields. Today, the Permian Basin produces a fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output.

Nicknamed "The Tall City", Midland has a remarkable skyline for a city its size. For many years, the Wilco Building in downtown Midland was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, Midland's tallest building is the Bank of America Building, which stands at a height of 332 feet. Four buildings over 500 feet tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei^[1]. The great Oil Bust of the mid-1980s, however, killed any plans for future skyscrapers.

Today, Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum; however the city has also diversified to become a regional telecommunications and distribution center.

Midland is also the home to two local high schools: Midland High School and Lee High School both of which are part of the Midland Independent School District.

The Midland International Airport serves Midland, nearby Odessa, Texas and a large region of West Texas and southeast New Mexico. The airport is considered the gateway to the Big Bend Region of Texas, and Big Bend National Park.

John Howard Griffin wrote a history of Midland, Land of the High Sky (1959).

[edit] Geography and Climate

Midland is located at 32°0′18″N, 102°5′57″W (32.005072, -102.099239)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 173.0 km² (66.8 mi²). 172.5 km² (66.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.28%) is water.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Performing Arts

The Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale (MOSC) has performed in the Permian Basin for over 45 years, and is the region's largest orchestral organization, presenting both Pops and Masterworks concerts throughout the year. Comprised of professional musicians from the area as well as Lubbock, San Angelo and other surrounding cities, the MOSC also is home to three resident chamber ensembles, the Lone Star Brass, Permian Basin String Quartet and West Texas Winds. These ensembles are made up of principal musicians in the orchestra, who come to the area from across the United States.

The Midland Community Theatre (MCT) [2]has been entertaining the Permian Basin since 1946 with musicals, comedies, dramas, mysteries, children's theatre and melodramas. MCT produces 15 shows each year in three performance spaces - Davis Theatre I (485 seats) and Mabee Theatre II (155 seats) are located in the Cole Theatre along with the Box Office, Business Office, Technical Areas and Rehearsal and Classroom spaces. Midland Community Theatre also produces its annual fundraiser Summer Mummers [3] at the 1929 historic Yucca Theatre in downtown Midland. MCT has an extensive education program, including the Pickwick Players (teen performance troupe), Theatre School programs and OutReach classes. MCT operates with a professional staff of 20 and depends upon the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers in the Permian Basin to produce shows throughout the year. MCT is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre [4], and hosted the 2006 AACT International Theatrefest.

[edit] Tourism

Perched on the Llano Estacado, a stark treeless plain that has been extensively overgrazed by ranchers, Midland is not known for scenic beauty, unless the visitor is keen on seeing a Cormac McCarthy-esque landscape of pumpjacks, Texas Horned Lizards, mesquite and caliche. Midland's main attraction therefore is oil: lots and lots of oil. Sitting near the center of the Permian Basin, Midland welcomes geologists, petroleum engineers, landmen, and financial speculators to help extract the oil from one of the largest deposits in North America. For the Midland visitor curious to know more about this endeavor, there is the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. Located on the outskirts of town near Interstate 20, the museum houses numerous displays on the history, science, and technology of oil and gas development.

The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum also houses a collection of race cars designed by Jim Hall, a long time Midland resident who pioneered the use of aerodynamic downforce in the design of Formula One cars.

Midland is also home to The Museum of the Southwest. The Museum features a fine collection of paintings by various members of the Taos Society of Artists and Karl Bodmer plus hand colored engravings by John J. and John W. Audubon. It also includes a separate Children's Museum and the Marian W. Blakemore Planetarium. The main portion of the Museum is housed in the Turner Mansion, the historic 1934 home of Fred and Juliette Turner.

Another organization located in Midland is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). The origin of the CAF dates back to 1951, with the purchase of a surplus Curtiss P-40 Warhawk by Lloyd Nolen, a former World War II Army Air Corps flight instructor. In 1957, Nolen and four friends purchased a P-51 Mustang, each sharing in the $2,500 cost of the aircraft. With the purchase of the Mustang, known as Red Nose, the group was unofficially founded. Associated with the CAF is the American Airpower Heritage Museum. The CAF's internationally recognized museum is loaded with WWII artifacts and memorabilia. It is also one of only a handful of Texas museums to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. As part of the museum tour, visitors can see aircraft on display in the CAF hangar. The 14-20 aircraft on display change quarterly, so there's always something different to see. A research library and archives house a significant oral history collection and give the public access to the museum's abundant information resources. These CAF facilities provide students, teachers, historians and the community at large with educational and summer programs, tours, special events and seminar series.

Amateur and professional anthropologists alike will want to see the "Midland Man" (actually "Midland Woman" as it turns out), fragments of a ribcage and skull found by Keith Glasscock on the Scharbauer Ranch south of town. The remains were excavated and analyzed originally by a team of academics led by Dr. Fred Wendorf, Dr. Alex D. Krieger and Dr. Claude C. Albritton. Based on radiocarbon analysis of the bone fragments, the Wendorf team estimated that the remains were at least 10,000 years old. Later work by Dr. Curtis R. McKinney using uranium-thorium analysis confirmed that the bones are 11,600 ± 800 years old. Presenting his findings at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in 1992, Dr. McKinney said, "[T]he Midland Woman was related to the earliest ancestors of every Indian who lives today, and she is very likely the only representative of those who created the Clovis cultures."

The Midland Man exhibit is part of the Midland County Historical Museum, housed in the Midland Public Library. The exhibit shows only reproductions of the bones, the originals having been taken in mysterious circumstances by members of a secret society notorious for osteokleptocracy, one of whose members is former Midland resident George W. Bush.

Other Midland attractions of note include Dennis the Menace Park, Green Acres Miniature Golf Course, the "Festival of Lights" held each Christmas in the Racquet Club neighborhood, and San Jacinto Junior High School (where George W. Bush briefly attended school).

[edit] Sports

Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team. It is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The Rockhounds have played their home games in Citibank Ballpark since 2002.

[edit] Media

Midland is served by 10 local television stations: KMID - an American Broadcasting Company affiliate, KWES - an NBC affiliate, KOSA - a CBS affiliate and a MyNetwork TV affiliate on their digital cable station, KPEJ - a FOX affiliate, KPBT - a PBS affiliate, KWWT - The CW Television Network affiliate, KUPB - a Univision affiliate, KTLE-LP - a Telemundo affiliate, and K69IT- a Multimedios Television affiliate. It also has one local religious television station: KMLM- a God's Learning Channel affiliate that is a worldwide institution offering pro-Israel programming.

[edit] Climate

Bank of America building in downtown Midland, Texas, May 11, 2005.

Main Street of Midland, Texas during the town's frontier days.

Sand storm that passed over Midland, Texas, February 20, 1894 at 6:00 p.m. Windmills and houses visible just below the whirling sand.

[edit] Demographics

As of the U.S. census of 2006, there were 100,374 citizens in Midland. The population density was 550.6/km² (1,426.2/mi²). There were 39,855 housing units at an average density of 231.0/km² (598.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.51% White, 8.37% African American, 0.63% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.49% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.99% of the population.

There were 35,674 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,320, and the median income for a family was $48,290. Males had a median income of $37,566 versus $24,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,884. About 10.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Sister City

Dongying (China)

Midland is a sister city to Dongying, a city situated near China's second largest known oil field. A modest pagoda located at the Beal Complex, was donated by Dongying.

[edit] Famous citizens

• George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States
• George W. Bush, President of the United States
• Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
• Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida
• Barbara Bush, daughter of President Bush
• Jenna Bush, daughter of President Bush
• Cedric Benson, Running back for the Chicago Bears
• Mike Conaway, United States Congressman
• Tom Craddick, Texas State Speaker of the House
• Don Evans, former Secretary of Commerce
• Tommy Franks, retired General, United States Army
• Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
• Jim Hall, racecar designer
• Frederic C. Hamilton, Businessman, philanthropist
• Woody Harrelson, actor
• Bobby Hillin, NASCAR driver
• E.J. Holub, Kansas City Chief football player
• Tommy Lee Jones, actor
• J. Hugh Liedtke, founder of Pennzoil Company
• Jessica McClure, "Baby Jessica"
• Wahoo McDaniel, Professional Football Player and wrestler
• Douglas McGrath, screenwriter and filmmaker
• Laynce Nix, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
• Judy Rankin, LPGA all-time money winner
• T. C. Smythe, Singer/Songwriter, 4-time TMA nominee
• Mike Stanton, New York Yankees pitcher
• Mike Timlin, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Ross Tucker, Offensive Tackle for the Detroit Lions
• Ryan Tucker, Offensive Tackle for the Cleveland Browns
• Randy Velarde, Utility player in Major League Baseball
• Spud Webb, NBA Basketball Star
• Clayton Williams, businessman
• Eileen Wilks, Romance and Urban Fantasy author
• Eric Winston, Offensive Tackle for the Houston Texans
• Munaf Ryani, Mark Smith, and Michael James of Explosions in the Sky.

[edit] Lesser Known Trivia

Many major motion pictures have been filmed in and around Midland, including Hangar 18, Waltz Across Texas, Fandango, Blood Simple, Hard Country, Friday Night Lights, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, and others.

As of August 2006, a busy period of crude oil production had caused a significant workforce deficit. According to the Midland Chamber of Commerce, there were almost 2,000 more jobs available in the Permian Basin than there were workers to fill them.

[edit] External links

Texas Portal

• City of Midland, Texas
• Odessa-Midland Area Radio Stations
• Midland from the Handbook of Texas Online

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 32.005072° -102.099239°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

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