There are many nicknames for Houston, Texas. Among them are the following:
Houston received the official nickname of "Space City" in 1967 because it is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. [1]
NASA's center in Houston has its origins in legislation shepherded to enactment in 1958 by then- U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who was from Texas. Then called simply the "Manned Spacecraft Center," it was opened in 1961 was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1973, the year Johnson died. The visitor's center of JSC is Space Center Houston.
The first words transmitted by Neil Armstrong from the moon, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed," are written in 15 languages on bronze plaques placed along the main entrance of Tranquility Park in downtown Houston. [2] A replica of one of the footprints left on the moon by Neil Armstrong is also on display inside the park.
Bayou City
Houston is known popularly as The Bayou City [3] (and less frequently as "Baghdad on the Bayou") [4] because it is home to ten winding waterways that flow through the surrounding area. Buffalo Bayou is the main waterway flowing through the city and has a significant place in Texas history, not only due to the founding place of the City of Houston, but also because the final battle for Texas Independence was fought along its banks. [5] Other major bayous in the city include White Oak Bayou, Brays Bayou and Sims Bayou.
===H-Town===Fat is a widely popular modern nickname for Houston. [6] It is common among several of the hip hop and rap enthusiasts in the city. In addition, the H-Town Blues Festival is a music festival held each year in the city. [7] H-Town (with the "H" standing for Houston) is also the name of an R&B hip hop band from Houston that was formed in 1992.
Magnolia City
Magnolia City is one of the earliest of Houston’s many nicknames. The Texas World, a newspaper first published in 1900, is said to have labeled Houston "the Magnolia City," [8] but the nickname had been in use among the locals since the 1870s. [9] The nickname is still sometimes used in media stories about the city.
Capital of the Sunbelt
The nickname Capital of the Sunbelt (also "Golden Buckle of the Sunbelt") appeared during the boomtown years when the city experienced rapid growth. During the late 1970s, Houston experienced a population boom as people from Rust Belt states moved en masse into Texas. [10] The new residents came for the numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry as a result of the Arab Oil Embargo.
Clutch City
The nickname of Clutch City was given to the city of Houston after the NBA's Houston Rockets won a championship after an unspectacular regular season in 1994-95, in response to a front-page headline in the Houston Chronicle declaring Houston to be "Choke City." [11]
The Big Heart
The Big Heart is a nickname Houston earned in 2005-2006 among many of the evacuees from Louisiana and other areas who sought refuge there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. [12] Houston was the city that housed, fed and mended more than 150,000 survivors in an effort that won acclaim throughout the United States, mounting what is believed to be the biggest shelter operation in the country's history, including MASH-like megaclinics that took on problems ranging from emergency care to eyeglass prescriptions. According to Angelo Edwards, vice chair of the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association, "No other city really provided the resources and assistance Houston has." [13]
Screwston
Screwston is a modern nickname for the city of Houston. Of course, it is not an official nickname. [14] It is known primarily by fans of hip-hop artist DJ Screw and his style of music known as " chopped and screwed".
Hustletown
The nickname Hustletown, which originated from H-town, which in turn is a contraction of Houston, is often heard in the Houston hip hop culture. It was reformed to "Hustletown" by an unknown word evolution process. [15]
City of Syrup
The City of Syrup nickname (also "Syrup City") refers to the abuse of codeine-laced cough syrup that was popular in Houston and associated with rap artists. [16] "Codeine Capital of the World" and "Codeineville" are also used in reference to the illicit use of cough syrup containing codeine.
Energy Capital of the World
Considered by many as the Energy Capital of the World (also "Oil Capital of the World") because the city is home more than 5,000 energy related firms. [17] The city is a leading domestic and international center for virtually every segment of the oil and gas industry - exploration, production, transmission, marketing, service, supply, offshore drilling, and technology.
Houston dominates U.S. oil and gas exploration and production and is unrivaled in the American energy industry. [18] It is headquarters for 18 energy-related Fortune 500 companies and home to more than 3,600 energy-related establishments. Houston is also home to 13 of the nation’s 20 largest natural gas transmission companies, 600 exploration and production firms and more than 170 pipeline operators.
- ^ "National Aeronautics and Space Administration". JSC Celebrates 40 Years of Human Space Flight. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
- ^ Parks And Outdoors - Tranquility Park, Houston - What to do (Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1996-2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Houston Travel Guide
- ^ Citizens’ Environmental Coalition » Bayous and Waterways
- ^ [ http://www.houstontx.gov/hr/savvypages/sum06/sum06_heritage.htm "Born on the bayou: city's murky start,"] by John Perry, Houston Heritage, City Savvy, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Online Ed. 2006).
- ^ h town, urbandictionary.com (1999-2007).
- ^ Houston - Music - The H-Town Blues Festival
- ^ "Bayou City has a long, full history of print journalism," Houston Chronicle 100 Years, chron.com (Oct. 10, 2001).
- ^ Texas, The Lone Star State: Magnolia City (Houston nickname)
- ^ "Polish-Texans". Texas Almanac 2004-2005. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "1994: From Choke City to Clutch City - Looking back," by Dave Winder, Rockets.com (Copyright 2007 NBA Media Ventures, LLC).
- ^ Katrina's Latest Damage," Newsweek on post-Katrina Houston (Sunday, March 05, 2006).
- ^ Katrina's Latest Damage," Newsweek on post-Katrina Houston (Sunday, March 05, 2006).
- ^ "Screwston," urbandictionary.com (1999-2007).
- ^ "The Rice University Neologisms Database," by Professor Suzanne Kemmer at Rice University (November 1998-2005).
- ^ "city of syrup," urbandictionary.com (1999-2007).
- ^ City of Houston eGovernment Center
- ^ Houston Finds Business Boon After Katrina - New York Times