Nicknames of Houston
Encyclopedia
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and fourth-largest city in the United States. The city's nicknames reflect its geography
Geography of Houston
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of — of it is land and of it is water. The total area is 3.7 percent water....
, economy
Economy of Houston
The economy of Houston is primarily based on the energy industry , however, biomedical research and aerospace are a large sectors of the city's economy. The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown area Gross Metropolitan Product in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4 percent from 2004 in constant dollars...
, multicultural population, and popular culture, including sports and music. They are often used by the media and in popular culture to reference the city.
Houston currently has one official nickname, "Space City", signifying the city's global importance to space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
and historical role as a prominent center of activity by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Cities adopt official nicknames such as this one to establish a civic identity, promote civic pride, and build community unity. Houston has had other nicknames in the past which have faded in common usage, going as far back as the 1870s.
The city has recently accumulated several unofficial nicknames from among sub-groups within the city, including several whose origins are in the local hip-hop subculture. The most recently added nickname is "The Big Heart", which refers to assistance given by Houston and its citizens to the victims of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005 and 2006.
Space City
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas, USA...
.
NASA's center in Houston has its origins in legislation shepherded to enactment in 1958 by then-U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, who was from Texas. Then called simply the "Manned Spacecraft Center", it was opened in 1961. It was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1973, the year Johnson died. The control center coordinates and monitors all human spaceflight for the United States and directs all Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
missions and activities aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. The visitor's center of JSC is Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston is the official visitors' center of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight activities—located in Houston...
.
The first words transmitted by Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
from the moon, "Houston, Tranquility Base
Tranquility Base
Tranquility Base was the name given by American astronaut Neil Armstrong to the landing site on the moon where the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle made the first moon landing....
here. The Eagle has landed", are written in 15 languages on bronze plaques placed along the main entrance of Tranquility Park
Tranquility Park
Tranquility Park is a park in Downtown Houston, Texas, between Walker and Rusk Streets, and west of Smith Street, with the United States federal courts building for the Southern District of Texas on one side and Houston City Hall on the other...
in downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
. 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 popularly known as "The Bayou City" (and less frequently as "Baghdad on the Bayou") because it is home to ten winding waterways that flow through the surrounding area. Buffalo BayouBuffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
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
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...
was fought along its banks. Other major bayous in the city include White Oak Bayou
White Oak Bayou
White Oak Bayou is one of the several waterways that give Houston, Texas, USA, its popular nickname, "The Bayou City." The Bayou originates northwest of FM 1960, near Highway 6 and U.S...
, Brays Bayou and Sims Bayou.
H-Town
"H-Town" is a widely popular modern nickname for Houston. It is commonly used in reference to the city both locally and internationally, especially within the entertainment community. In addition, the H-Town Blues Festival is a music festivalMusic festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
held each year in the city, and the H-Town Arena Theatre has hosted a variety of performing artists from around the country since the 1970s. H-Town
H-Town (band)
H-Town is an American R&B/hip hop vocal group. It was originally founded by twin brothers Keven “Dino” Conner, Solomon “Shazam” Conner, and their longtime friend Darryl “G.I.” Jackson in 1992.-Formation:...
(with the "H" standing for Houston) is also the name of an R&B hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
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", but the nickname had been in use among the locals since the 1870s. Areas of east Houston, particularly Harrisburg and Magnolia ParkMagnolia Park, Houston, Texas
Magnolia Park is an area of the East End, Houston, Texas, located near the Houston Ship Channel. One of the oldest Hispanic neighborhoods in the City of Houston, Magnolia Park was formerly incorporated as the City of Magnolia Park in eastern Harris County....
, were once natural Magnolia forests that were wiped out by urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
by the 1920s. 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 boomtownBoomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
years when the city experienced rapid growth. In the late 1970s, Houston was experiencing a population increase, as people from Rust Belt
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
states moved en masse into Texas. The new residents mostly came for the numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry, resulting from the Arab Oil Embargo
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
.
Clutch City
The nickname of "Clutch City" was given to the city of Houston after the Houston RocketsHouston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
won the 1994 and 1995 NBA championships. The moniker was adopted in response to a front-page headline in the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
declaring Houston to be "Choke City". It was revived in 2005, as the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
had a late-season rally to win the pennant and clinch their first-ever World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
appearance, and again in 2006, when the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
won the MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...
in their inaugural season.
The Rockets' mascot, "Clutch the Bear
Clutch (mascot)
Clutch the Rockets Bear is the popular mascot for the NBA's Houston Rockets.The informal nickname "Clutch City" was given to Houston, Texas, the year the Rockets won the NBA championship after an unspectacular regular season in 1993-94...
", was named the 5th-most recognizable mascot in sports by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
in February 2005, and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame
Mascot Hall of Fame
The Mascot Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for United States sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. It is an online-only hall, with an induction ceremony taking place each year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in 2006.
The Big Heart
The "Big Heart" is a nickname Houston earned in 2005–06 among many of the refugees from LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and other areas who sought refuge there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Angelo Edwards, vice chair of the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association, said, "No other city really provided the resources and assistance Houston has."
Houston 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 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts. The U.S...
(MASH)-like mega-clinics that took on problems ranging from emergency care to eyeglass prescriptions.
"This has been a real success story", said Houston Mayor Bill White. "So many Houstonians stepped up to help our neighbors from Louisiana. It was humbling, and it showed the world the big heart and the incredible talent of our city."
Screwston
"Screwston" is a popular modern nickname for the city of Houston. Although it is not an official nickname, it is widely known by fans of local hip-hop artist DJ ScrewDJ Screw
Robert Earl "DJ Screw" Davis, Jr. was a Houston, Texas-based DJ. He was known as a central figure in the Houston hip-hop community and was the creator of the now-famous Chopped and Screwed DJ technique...
and his style of music, known as "chopped and screwed
Chopped and screwed
Chopped and screwed refers to a technique of remixing hip hop music which developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the 1990s...
".
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. H-town was reformed to "Hustletown" by an unknown word evolution process.City of Syrup
The "City of Syrup" nickname (also "Syrup City") refers to the enjoyment of codeineCodeine
Codeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...
-laced cough syrup, sometimes called purple drank
Purple drank
Purple drank is a slang term for a recreational drug popular in the hip hop community in the southern United States, originating in Houston, Texas. Its main ingredient is prescription-strength cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine. Cough syrup is typically mixed with ingredients such as...
, that has been popular in Houston and is associated with some rap artists. Houston rap artist Big Moe
Big Moe
Kenneth Moore , better known by his stage name Big Moe, was an American rapper/singer from Houston, Texas...
used this nickname for the title of his 2000 album City of Syrup
City of Syrup
City of Syrup is the first album by southern rapper Big Moe. It is a concept album about purple drank. There is also a "Wreckchopped and Screwed" version of this album-Track listing:# "Momma M.O.E "# "Barre Baby"...
, whose cover featured an image of purple ooze being poured over the Houston skyline.
Energy Capital of the World
Houston is considered by many to be the "Energy Capital of the World" (also "Oil Capital of the World"), because the city is home to more than 5,000 energyEnergy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
-related firms. 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
Offshore drilling
Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...
, and technology.
Houston dominates U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
oil and gas exploration and production and is unrivaled in the American energy industry. It is home to more than 3,600 energy-related establishments. Houston is also home to 13 of the nation’s 20 largest natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
transmission companies, 600 exploration
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
and production firms and more than 170 pipeline operators.