Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of about 2.3 million people in the city itself, and almost 6 million in the metro area. Land-wise, Houston is the sixth largest metro area in the US at 600 square miles. I chose today to make this post on the Space City because of the date, July 20. It was 41 years ago today that Neil Armstrong uttered some of the most famous words in history - "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." A seemingly innocuous quote until you consider that they were spoken from the surface of the moon! It was July 20,1969 that Houston not only became the first word spoken from a celestial body other than Earth, but also truly became an international city on that day, thrust into the limelight with one of the, if not the most amazing human accomplishment in the history of the world. Of course another Neil Armstrong quote became fairly well-known as well. I guess this post is not much about Houston itself, but its connection to and place in this monumental event. It's that kind of pioneering spirit and can-do attitude that the Allen brothers brought to the banks of Buffalo Bayou in 1836 when Houston was founded and named after the then-President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston. A bigger-than-life city named after a bigger-than-life man. Fitting.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Texas Tidbits : Houston (and the Moon)
Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of about 2.3 million people in the city itself, and almost 6 million in the metro area. Land-wise, Houston is the sixth largest metro area in the US at 600 square miles. I chose today to make this post on the Space City because of the date, July 20. It was 41 years ago today that Neil Armstrong uttered some of the most famous words in history - "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." A seemingly innocuous quote until you consider that they were spoken from the surface of the moon! It was July 20,1969 that Houston not only became the first word spoken from a celestial body other than Earth, but also truly became an international city on that day, thrust into the limelight with one of the, if not the most amazing human accomplishment in the history of the world. Of course another Neil Armstrong quote became fairly well-known as well. I guess this post is not much about Houston itself, but its connection to and place in this monumental event. It's that kind of pioneering spirit and can-do attitude that the Allen brothers brought to the banks of Buffalo Bayou in 1836 when Houston was founded and named after the then-President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston. A bigger-than-life city named after a bigger-than-life man. Fitting.
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Well put Toby. I found this very informative yet entertaining. Its moments like this that makes me proud to be an American.
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you, Heather ! I felt a great deal of pride just writing about this today.
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