Houston’s builders created public and private institutions and made the city a center of transportation with railroads, highways, a ship channel, airports, and a seaport that today is the nation’s second busiest port, by tonnage, fifty miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. It is home to the largest medical center in the world, the Texas Medical Center. As the home of the Johnson Space Center, it is noteworthy that on July 20, 1969, “Houston” was the first word spoken from the surface of the Moon when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed the “Eagle” on the lunar surface.

Thinking broadly we will explore with experts how Houston emerged from the primitive settlement of its founding in 1836 to become the international city it is today. All are welcome to attend.

Building Houston's Cultural Arts: Lorraine Stuart, Archivist for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Barbara Hinton of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art; and Ginny Garrett, Board Member of the Houston Symphony will share the history and breadth of Houston's vibrant arts scene – from masterpieces and masterworks to mastery of free-spirited folk art.

            Building Houston's Transportation Infrastructure: Drew Coats, President and Chairman of the Board, Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society and past president of the Houston Aviation Alliance joins Doug Weiskopf, board member of the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society as they reflect on what has kept Houston moving since it was founded 176 years ago. Miki Norton of the Lancaster Hotel joins them to shar a history of her great-great grandfater Michele DeGeorge and his development projects along Houston' earliest transportation arteries.

            Building on Houston's Natural Wealth: Jaime González, Community Education Director for theKaty Prairie Conservancy will share the history of the coastal plain that made Houston possible; Robert L. Bradley Jr., author and founder of the Institute for Energy Research will address the evolution of the interstate natural gas transmission industry in Houston; and Louis F. Aulbach, author of Buffalo Bayou: An Echo of Houston’s Wilderness Beginnings, will bring a glimpse of the history around this iconic Houston waterway.

            The Modern Building Boom: an architectural analysis of Houston from the 1940s through the 1970s: Historic preservationist Anna Mod will join Ben Koush as they address Houston’s rich heritage of mid-century modern architecture and its intriguing connections to NASA. Mod will address the city’s physical transformation from “Bayou City” to “Space City;” Koush will discuss the early modern building in the Texas Medical Center as a microcosm of pro-business development in the 1940s through 1960s.

     Building Houston - Through the Great Depression: Adrian Melissinos, PhD, RN and Shirley Morrison, PhD, RN will discuss Houston's response to the need for nurses and nursing education during the Great Depression; Michael Mitchell, Librarian, Department Chair and American history instructor at Houston Community College, will speak on the Houston City Guide, a project of the Depression-era Federal Writers Project.

      Building Houston – To the Moon: Fifty years ago, NASA established a presence in Houston, and since that time the City and the Johnson Space Center have been entwined. Join Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Leslie Richards, Sandra Johnson and Rebecca Wright of the NASA history office for a visual and historical exploration of how we have turned a “Texas pasture into the command post for humankind’s greatest adventure.”

Houston History Conference 2012