Portal:Houston/Selected article archive/2006
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The six wards of Houston are a social and cultural phenomenon. When the city of Houston was founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1837, its founders, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, divided it into political geographic districts called "wards". The ward system, a precursor to today's City Council districts, was a common political tool of the early 19th century.
In 1839, Houston's civic leaders divided the city into four wards. The Fifth Ward was added in 1866 to accommodate the city's growth and the Sixth Ward a decade or so later. The idea was not to have an equal number of residents in each. Instead, the lines were drawn along natural boundaries: Buffalo Bayou, Main Street, and Congress Street. (September 30)
METRORail is the light rail service in Houston, Texas, United States that started on January 1, 2004. It is the second major light rail service in Texas. It began operating about sixty years after a previous streetcar system was closed down, which had left Houston the largest city in the United States without a rail system. With a daily ridership of 40,000, the METRORail system is the eleventh most-ridden light rail system in the United States. (October 5)
The Port of Houston is the busiest seaport in the United States in terms of foreign tonnage, second-busiest in the United States in terms of overall tonnage, and sixth-busiest in the world. The post includes a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. (October 11)
Uptown Houston, or the Uptown District, is mainly centered around Post Oak Boulevard and the Galleria, the largest and most prestigious shopping mall in Houston. In its role as a high-end fashion and hotel district, it is approximately the Houston equivalent of San Francisco's Union Square and Los Angeles's Beverly Hills. At 23.6 million square feet (2,193,000 m²) of office space, Uptown is also known for its skyline - it is Houston's second largest business district, and the nation's 14th largest, about the size of downtown Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles. (October 16)
The Texas Medical Center, with more than five million patient visits annually and one of the highest densities of clinical facilities and basic science and translational research of any location, is the largest medical district in the world. The center is located in Houston, Texas. It contains 42 medicine-related institutions, 13 hospitals, and two medical schools. Adjacent to the center is Rice University, Hermann Park, Reliant Park and the Museum District. (October 21)
The Houston Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston. HPD currently employs approximately 4,700 officers throughout the city. According to the HPD, "The mission of the Houston Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in the City of Houston by working cooperatively with the public and within the framework of the U.S. Constitution to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear and provide for a safe environment." (October 29)
Reliant Astrodome, previously known as "the Astrodome", is a domed sports stadium, the first of its kind. It is located in Houston, Texas, and is part of the Reliant Park complex. It opened in 1965 as Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World". On August 31, 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Harris County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the State of Louisiana came to an agreement to allow at least 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans, especially those that were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome, to move to the Astrodome until they could return home.
Ellington Field is an airport located in southeast Houston that was established when aviation was in its infancy — in 1917, during the height of World War I. Originally created as a training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the field is now used by military, commercial, government and general aviation sectors. It is one of the few airfields built for WWI training purposes still in operation today.
Ellington Field has mostly been used for military purposes, for flying NASA aircraft, flying packages for the United Parcel Service, and for flying the United States President into the Houston area. For most of its history it has been an Army or Air Force base, but is now in civilian management. However, the Texas Air National Guard and National Guard still maintain a presence at the base, including the 147th Fighter Wing. The base is also the location of NASA's fleet of T-38 Talon jets, the Shuttle Training Aircraft, and the Vomit Comet, a zero-g trainer. All three types of aircraft are used for astronaut training.
