I should say, first off, that there are tons of good write-ups on the Internet on this already, so feel free to check around, talk to some other Houstonians, and compare it to this so you can rest assured that I'm right. You'll be sure to make some friends in the process too. Despite being the fourth largest city in America, most folk still nod their heads and give a hello when you’re walking down the street and have the common courtesy to open the door for you. Lack of mountains and cool weather aside, there’s plenty about Houston I miss when I’m away. Take it for what it is. This is nostalgia for those who would be nostalgic for Houston.
In general, you can get some basic tourist info and a calendar of events from sites like Visit Houston Texas and find out, for instance:
Houston Zoo: free the first Tuesday of the month after 2 p.m.
Museum of Fine Arts: free Thursday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Museum of Natural Science: free Thursday after 2 p.m. (3-6 permanent exhibits)
Children's Museum: free Thursday 5-8 p.m.
Although that Children's Museum is going to be crazy crowded at that time.
Some so-so audio tours here.
First, a couple disclaimers:
Shopping... I'm a guy so I don't know too well, but I hear Asian ladies talking about outlet malls around town that are inexpensive, like Premium Outlets on 290 or Katy Mills on I-10. Of course, there are tons of regular malls around town, but for name recognition the Galleria is still one of the most famous places to go. Some other malls have nicer or larger ice skating rings inside, but the Galleria's location on Westheimer Road offers a quintessential Houston experience.
NASA is typical, but not really all that special, unless maybe it's the "hush-hush" Level 9 Tour. You or your tourist friend might still want to check it out simply because it is "the thing to do", but I wouldn't have very high expectations. You might as well try to incorporate some other local places such as Galveston or Kema (the poor man's Galveston) or Bayou Wildlife Park to make the trip worth the while. More on those later.
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| There's Japanese astronaut Norishige "Nemo" Kanai |
Some things like the sports teams, our port (busiest in U.S. with foreign tonnage), the Texas Medical Center (the largest and best in the world), the oil and gas sector (energy capital of the world), or our Theater District with all its various performances means little to me since watching sports or going to operas or getting a questionable tumor removed is not my cup of tea. I'll stick to what I know.
First here's my overview of things categorized by place (buildings/areas), food, and parks, with the top 7 list to follow.
Places:
-Transco Tower and Waterwall; Galleria area; Lakes on Post Oak.
Now called the Williams Tower, but many native Houstonians still cherish it by its old name. At 64 stories, this neo-Deco masterpiece stands as one of the most iconic images of Houston, second perhaps only to the Astrodome (which has been out of use for years and will probably be torn down eventually). Houston may be flat as all get out, but the redeeming grace is that tall buildings, especially lone citadels like the Transco with its beacon, can be seen for miles out.
"The Lakes" just south of the Galleria and Waterwall has a lovely little park with ponds with the Transco as a backdrop. I couldn't find any photos in my files, but rather than drive ten minutes to take some, here's one from Google Earth. The blue in front of the Transco is the water.
Update: At the end of 2012 I noticed that the Lakes have been paved over and a building has been constructed on top. Could have seen that coming. Er, moving on...
-Charles Fondow’s "Wichita Mystery House"
From over the rooftops, one catches a peek of... a turret? Something grips you and you find yourself lured into the neighborhood to encounter one of the most fantastical finds around town. You can't go inside this Amityville-style haunt, but then again you might not make it out again if you did. Just kidding. Still, it's fun to wonder if inside Edward Scissorhands might be watching you.
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| Do not attempt to retrieve any balls that accidentally go over the fence. |
-St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
The architect that designed the Gulf Building, the San Jacinto Monument, and several other of Houston’s treasured edifices also bequeathed us this Gothic masterpiece in the heart of the museum district. St. Martin's Episcopal might be grander, like its European cathedral counterparts, but its ugly orange brick face can't compare to good ol' slate and limestone. Don't know why, but St. Paul's has an altar and chancel and all the rest, so I guess that means they're still Catholic/Judaizers in their soteriology.
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| At nightfall the gargoyles take flight to patrol the city. |
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| It's said Bruce Wayne parents are buried here. |
-Half-Price Books or the shops at Rice Village in general.
It's not particular to Houston, since HPB is around the country, but Half-Price is far more than just books. You can find new and used movies, music, comics, etc. for next to nothing. They've got like almost a dozen locations around town now. There are all kinds of coffee bars and cafes around the Village location. What I missed most in Japan besides Southern hospitality and hugs was Half-Price Books, Blue Bell ice cream, and heaping portions of Mexican food. Speaking of which...
Food:
Take your pick. Houston has more restaurants than any other city in America. Tex-Mex or Mexican food would be a list unto itself, and of course there are many such on the Internet. I’m not a foodie or any kind of connoisseur, but for starters I recommend El Ranchero, Guadalajara, Ninfas, Pico's, Spanish Village, Escalante's, Chacho’s, etc.
-House of Pies. Open 24 hours a day. Great pies. Brings back good memories from college days.
-It seems to come up a lot, the closing of cool places here. Well, Vargo's, that renowned restaurant amid nine acres of meandering garden with peacocks and a lake with its own bridge and swans, closed this year. Maybe it's karma, but a few weeks later the Pleasure Pier in Galveston opened. I wonder what they can do to take the place of the Forbidden Gardens in Katy.
-BBQ and steakhouses like Goode Co., Saltgrass, Texas Land and Cattle, Taste of Texas. If you go to the Kirby location for Goode Co. they have a giant statue of a Longhorn Armadillo. At the I-10 location with its classy country exterior, there's a Carter's Country next door when you can gaze at the guns and stock up on your ammo like a good Texian. At Saltgrass, enjoy free Texas-brewed Shiner Bock beer-battered bread before the meal. If that doesn't sound like heaven...
-Blue Bell ice cream. The creamery at Brenham, surrounded in a sea of bluebonnets in early Spring is like a pilgrimage. Be sure to get a picture of the infamous roadside signs "Don't Mess With Texas." You ain't just whistlin' Dixie, brother.
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| Kinda just brings out a little manly eye-sweat... |
Parks:
-Spotts Park and Buffalo Bayou Walk offer a great view of the downtown skyline and a nightly vantage point to see the hundreds of thousands of bats emerging from Waugh Bridge.
-Terry Hershey Park with its undulating trails is also nice and probably my favorite pick. It feels much more removed and enclosed as it follows the bayou than the other green spaces.
-Hermann Park in the center of it all is enjoyable enough and with its lovely little hill to break up the flat monotony of the Houston landscape. It also boasts McGovern Lake, a somewhat decent Japanese Garden, free summer shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre, and the nearby zoo. To be honest, without the zoo, HMNS, golf course, and parking lots, there are only maybe 30 acres there. The Japanese Garden takes up five acres. The big cities in Texas have similar Japanese Gardens, but it looks to me like the one in Fort Worth is the best. Also, it's a little bigger (seven acres out of a larger botanical garden of 109).
-Memorial Park has some great bike trails, but is otherwise bland in my opinion. If you're going to have that much space (1,500 acres), at least throw in some piles of dirt and make some earthworks. If you're into it, of course, they have facilities for different sports. And the Arboretum is right there.
-I wasn't going to include Bear Creek Park since I didn't find it all that compelling when I've been there before, but I hear they have a zoo so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
-At 7,800 acres, George Bush Park is plenty massive enough, but even more bland. However, if you can get off the beaten path, which happens to be a paved road that runs in a straight line forever, there are some rewarding sights among the woods and swamps.
-Brazos Bend State Park is okay, but past the outskirts of town, it might be a little far for some. Still, it's the best place to see some gators and there's always the George Observatory on the weekends. And while you're down there on a Saturday, you might as well stop by George Ranch for an authentic experience back in time to cowboy and pioneer days.
-Sesquicentennial Park, Downtown. I mention this primarily for the mysterious, unmarked red button at Preston Street Bridge near to the Wortham Center. Does it hold some sinister purpose? Would the whole island sink if it were pressed? No ones knows... Okay, not really. But it's sure fun to find out what strange thing it stirs up in the water. Highly recommended is if some kayakers happen to be passing by when you press it.
Other fringe places:
-East of Houston there's the Battleship Texas & San Jacinto Monument. The San Jacinto Monument (the world's tallest monumental column; taller than the Washington Monument). Go on April 21st and you'll get to see a nifty historical reenactment which I documented a bit in an earlier post in April. Across the way is the Battleship Texas (USS Texas), the oldest dreadnought battleship. She served in both World Wars, firing the first American shots of World War I, and was one-time flagship of the United States Fleet. 45 minutes away.
-If you happen to be heading a bit north of Houston (or coming back), don't forget the giant 67-foot-tall Sam Houston statue greeting you by the side of the highway just south of Huntsville also has its own visitor's center. Nice photo op ("Everything's Bigger in Texas"). 1 hour 15 minutes out. He left his boots in San Antonio though.
Now then, if you want to extend your mileage a bit, Galveston is the closest beach and despite its sometime rivalry with Houston, it's the best day trip around. At one time it was the second richest city in America. See the historic Strand district with its old ice cream parlor-style Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and pose in cowboy garb at Way Out West Old Time Photos. A few blocks away is the tall ship Elissa, Bishop’s Palace, Moody Mansion, Moody Gardens, the Grand 1894 Opera House, and so on. You can cruise for free the ferry and spot the porpoises, or float the day by at Schlitterbahn Water Park. In the winter, there's plenty of color and goblets of fun with Dickens on the Strand. In Springtime, Mardi Gras. 1 hour southeast.
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| Like Boardwalk Empire but without Steve Buscemi. |
Actually, I'd really like to stroll the new, oddly-named Historic Pleasure Pier, laid out with three football fields worth of rides, carnival games, and concession stands. Nice to finally see something replace Six Flags Astroworld. I guess it's meant to be the James Coney Island of the Gulf. I hope they have The Human Lobster, Madame Fortuna, and Jimmy the Dog-Faced Boy.
Finally, there are the seasonal attractions like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (the largest in the world), the Japan Festival (voted Best Festival in Houston by Houston Press), Renaissance Festival, and other mainstays that I've covered previously with pictures on this blog.
My Top 7 Awesome Things To Enjoy In And Around Houston
7. The Strand, Galveston. No, it’s not in Houston proper, so I’m already cheating a bit (until our city limits finally expand out and swallow it one day). The historic buildings here capped by the Art Deco-style Railroad Museum, trolley, horse and carriage rides, etc. get major points since Houston is all too prone to demolish its older architectural treasures.
6. Blue Bell ice cream. You already know why from description above about the scenic countryside and small town charm surrounding the creamery, and as a sidebar I think Promised Land Milk merits an honorable mention. It's a Texas original, which started out as an ice cream dairy. They also make an Egg Nog flavor, which might sound redundant since it’s already so rich and creamy, but they offer an Easter Egg Nog flavor so you don’t have to wait a whole year til Christmas.
5. Half-Price Books. No surprise there. But they do need reading areas, like parlors with chairs and Tiffany lamps and tumblers.
4. St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Already mentioned its exterior charm. Also, plenty of museums within walking distance. I've not been inside, but I can make an educated guess that their doctrine is full of fruit loops. For "spiritual" sites, most people list the gloomy Rothko Chapel, but I must say I detest that place in every possible way.
3. Transco Tower. I just feel better seeing its familiar beacon from afar, kind of like sighting the old Imperial Sugar Factory in Sugarland (now demolished). The only way it could be better is if they would expand the park and re-open the observation deck like it was before 9/11.
2. Spotts Park and Buffalo Bayou Walk. Did I mention the semblance of a change in elevation? As a public space, I just wish they would try to have more active edges to it, with sidewalk cafes and the like.
1. To be honest, for me, my favorite spot to meander around is the boondocks of my boyhood behind my neighborhood. It's a huge area near South Main and South Post Oak, about a half mile in length and a fifth of a mile in width, bounded on both sides by the railroad tracks - the freight trains wail in a lonesome way at night. And even though that's just outside the 610 Loop, it's like bordering on the edge of the wild wood.
Or was. Much of the woods have been cleared, clear-cut I should say, to make way for some Willow Waterhole Park or Tama Hills* or something that may never come. They want to flood most of the area with water as a "stormwater detention basin" to help manage flooding. To me, it's a terrible loss. Now one can see all the way to the other side, a bunch of industrial warehouses. Tons of noise pollution from Highway 90 too. Everything's much smaller than it was when I was twelve.
*Yes, a "Pom Poko" reference. Someone should make a Studio Ghibli feature on the destruction of my boondocks.
I've seen fawn near Meyer Park when I was in middle school (back when there was a small "Meyer Forest"), and of course we have the standard opossum and raccoons. Cranes are a common sight. A neighbor once told me she saw a bobcat out there around dawn and there have been lots of sightings of coyote around this part of town recently, so perhaps they hang out here from time to time. Used to be snakes back there when it was wooded.
But I guess most people will never have a chance to see that area. Therefore, I think I have to give the nod to Rice University for its gorgeous Old World grace and immensely satisfying Fondren Library.
Although it is just a coincidence that the university was started by a guy with the last name of "Rice", Houston has a lot of its origin in rice farming (thanks, Saibara-san) before oil was struck. Rice University, with its Byzantine towers and arcades and archways and cloisters and Hogwarts-esque doors, still has its foundations in the swampy marshlands of the past.
Well, how about you? Got a favorite on your list you like to share with visitors?
P.S. - You know, I feel a little bad about cheating on the whole Galveston thing. Tell you what. I'll balance things out by including a great getaway near Austin, Hamilton Pool.
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| Photo by Brent Schneeman |
