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A Tourist's View Of Houston


brian0123

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Unless you go to certain areas of houston the diversity wouldn't be so apparent. And it's fair to say many don't go to those areas for whatever reason. For example, I've been to the fiesta on bellaire and hillcroft numerous times and not once seen a white person.

 

I think you meant to say "Houston is diverse, yet there are still a few places you can go and only see Race XYZ"

 

There are suburbs where the proportion of white/caucasian to other races is much higher, but Houston proper is very diverse, and it is readily visable to the casual viewer.

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Unless you go to certain areas of houston the diversity wouldn't be so apparent. And it's fair to say many don't go to those areas for whatever reason. For example, I've been to the fiesta on bellaire and hillcroft numerous times and not once seen a white person.

 

I doubt that the Fiesta on Bellaire and Hillcroft is on any tourist's list of places to see.  In the places tourists are more likely to go, Downtown, Montrose, the Museum District, TMC, NASA, the Galleria, up and down Westheimer, etc, etc, etc, Houston's diversity is on full display.

 

I've been to plenty of places in Houston where I was the only white, Anglo-American to be seen (including the Fiesta at Bellaire and Hillcroft).  The opposite is rarely true, though.  I can't think of anyplace I've been here where everyone was white.

 

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Houston has great museums, great theaters, great shopping, great restaurants, great stadiums, nearby beaches, bays, bayous, forests, parks, hiking trails, biking trails, nightlife, concerts, music, festivals, culture centers, professional football, professional baseball, professional basketball, professional soccer, water parks, amusement parks, planes, trains, automobiles, big bridges, ferries, tunnels and the fastest growing, fastest changing, most dynamic construction landscape in America. Most people already know that if you are bored in Houston and can't find something to keep you entertained, its you.

Which one of those stand out to a tourist? If you were picking a place to go why would you pick houston when you can have all of the above with better quality? What tourist attraction makes houston stand out? Our beaches and bays are polluted, every big city has museums and sports teams and festivals and these days theatre companies travel. Nobody is coming to look at cranes.

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Why? Because you can't go to beaches, Pleasure Piers or catch cruises in the Dallas or Atlanta areas.

My point is that if you are in Houston, there is no reason to be bored unless you want to be. And 'better quality' is a matter of opinion. What's so fascinating about Statue of Liberties, jumbotrons or golden gates if they bore you to begin with? In other words, there is very little you can do in other cities that you can't do in Houston and if you are 'bored' with those things in Houston, you will be 'bored' with those things in other cities.

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Which one of those stand out to a tourist? If you were picking a place to go why would you pick houston when you can have all of the above with better quality? What tourist attraction makes houston stand out? Our beaches and bays are polluted, every big city has museums and sports teams and festivals and these days theatre companies travel. Nobody is coming to look at cranes.

 

Houston isn't a tourist mecca.  It's unlikely it ever will be.  However, we still get a fair number of people coming here for visits, whether that be for a convention, an event (superbowl, nba all-star game, etc), to visit family, or for business.  Those are what mostly draw people here.  Once they are here, though, they would have to try very hard to not be able to find things to do and to visit.  That's why you so frequently hear comments like, "Wow, I didn't know Houston had all this".

 

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I doubt that the Fiesta on Bellaire and Hillcroft is on any tourist's list of places to see. In the places tourists are more likely to go, Downtown, Montrose, the Museum District, TMC, NASA, the Galleria, up and down Westheimer, etc, etc, etc, Houston's diversity is on full display.

I've been to plenty of places in Houston where I was the only white, Anglo-American to be seen (including the Fiesta at Bellaire and Hillcroft). The opposite is rarely true, though. I can't think of anyplace I've been here where everyone was white.

You're right but my point was to appreciate the full diversity you really have to go to where the most number of groups of people live which is southwest houston

I would say my workplace in addition to the schools I went to growing up were about 80-95% white

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Houston isn't a tourist mecca. It's unlikely it ever will be. However, we still get a fair number of people coming here for visits, whether that be for a convention, an event (superbowl, nba all-star game, etc), to visit family, or for business. Those are what mostly draw people here. Once they are here, though, they would have to try very hard to not be able to find things to do and to visit. That's why you so frequently hear comments like, "Wow, I didn't know Houston had all this".

I hope you're right I have a lot of family coming in and thinking of where to send them

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Why? Because you can't go to beaches or Pleasure Piers in Dallas or Atlanta.

My point is that if you are in Houston, there is no reason to be bored unless you want to be. And 'better quality' is a matter of opinion. What's so fascinating about Statue of Liberties, jumbotrons? There is very little you can do in other cities that you can't do in Houston and if you are 'bored' with those things in Houston, you will be 'bored' with those things in other cities.

If very little means going to crystal clear beaches and mountains maybe we agree.

Also there isn't much historic stuff either.

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Which one of those stand out to a tourist? If you were picking a place to go why would you pick houston when you can have all of the above with better quality? What tourist attraction makes houston stand out? Our beaches and bays are polluted, every big city has museums and sports teams and festivals and these days theatre companies travel. Nobody is coming to look at cranes.

 

Yes, NYC has wonderful beaches...oh wait. They don't.

 

By your own admission, you almost never venture outside the inner loop...and as for your what tourist attraction makes Houston stand out, I want to counter with "what tourist attraction makes NYC stand out"? A bunch of grotesquely overpriced tours to famous buildings like the Statue of Liberty?

 

To answer your question, there's lots to do in Houston. The Galleria and other areas offer shopping (a tourist thing for certain), very good museums, fantastic dining opportunities, and tons of places to explore. If you want to sneer at the fact that there's no subways, you can. But the "Houston has nothing to do for tourists" statement is completely wrong.

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You're right but my point was to appreciate the full diversity you really have to go to where the most number of groups of people live which is southwest houston

I would say my workplace in addition to the schools I went to growing up were about 80-95% white

Yeah, but there are also schools that are 80-95% Hispanic. Or 80-95% black. Would you really want to bus kids an hour across town to even them out somehow? 

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If very little means going to crystal clear beaches and mountains maybe we agree.

Also there isn't much historic stuff either.

Crystal clear beaches and mountains?! Almost no city has that. Certainly not New York.

 

Paris, France is entirely landlocked, and it's a city that is often fantasized over for its beauty and attractiveness. Are you going to disregard it because of its landscape?

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You're right but my point was to appreciate the full diversity you really have to go to where the most number of groups of people live which is southwest houston

I would say my workplace in addition to the schools I went to growing up were about 80-95% white

 

To have the most fun and get the most out of the experience, they should go to the interesting parts of various communities around town.  That's not just limited to sw houston, though a tour down Bellaire from TMC to Hwy 6 will give a pretty good cross-section.

 

There seems to be an assumption that diversity explicitly does not include areas frequented by white, Anglo-Americans.

 

I might be way off, here, but I doubt that many tourists are going to be visiting your workplace or the schools you attended.

 

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If you go to a ski resort or a crystal clear beach and decide that you want to do some shopping, you will be bored too.

'Bored' is relative to what the individual wants, their personal taste (or lack of), and what turns them on. There is a variety of places and activities to keep people in Houston from being bored. But if you want to be bored, you can be bored in Houston and anywhere on earth, even the most beautiful beach or highest mountain or prestigious museum. I knew people from L.A. who thought L.A. was boring so they went to Vegas, Palm Springs and San Diego all the time. Go figure?

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Yes, NYC has wonderful beaches...oh wait. They don't.

By your own admission, you almost never venture outside the inner loop...and as for your what tourist attraction makes Houston stand out, I want to counter with "what tourist attraction makes NYC stand out"? A bunch of grotesquely overpriced tours to famous buildings like the Statue of Liberty?

To answer your question, there's lots to do in Houston. The Galleria and other areas offer shopping (a tourist thing for certain), very good museums, fantastic dining opportunities, and tons of places to explore. If you want to sneer at the fact that there's no subways, you can. But the "Houston has nothing to do for tourists" statement is completely wrong.

Let's see

Statue of Liberty, Central Park, brooklyn botanical gardens, Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn park with view of manhattan, Empire State Building, Ellis island, little Italy, Chinatown, Bronx zoo, etc the list goes on and on.

And the lack of subways has a huge impact it makes it very difficult to get around. Not everyone wants to rent a car.

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Crystal clear beaches and mountains?! Almost no city has that. Certainly not New York.

Paris, France is entirely landlocked, and it's a city that is often fantasized over for its beauty and attractiveness. Are you going to disregard it because of its landscape?

Paris is also a dense walkable city with history.

If you go to a ski resort or a crystal clear beach and decide that you want to do some shopping, you will be bored too.

'Bored' is relative to what the individual wants, their personal taste (or lack of), and what turns them on. There is a variety of places and activities to keep people in Houston from being bored. But if you want to be bored, you can be bored in Houston and anywhere on earth, even the most beautiful beach or highest mountain or prestigious museum. I knew people from L.A. who thought L.A. was boring so they went to Vegas, Palm Springs and San Diego all the time. Go figure?

I agree on your last point

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Let's see

Statue of Liberty, Central Park, brooklyn botanical gardens, Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn park with view of manhattan, Empire State Building, Ellis island, little Italy, Chinatown, etc the list goes on and on.

And the lack of subways had a huge impact it makes it very difficult to get around. Not everyone wants to rent a car.

--------

That sounds about as boring as the San Jacinto Monument, Herman Park, The Fred Hartman Bridge, Discovery Green with a view of downtown Houston, The Pennzoil Building, Galveston Island, S.W. Houston ect the list on on and on... And not everyone wants to wait for a cab, bus, or train.

It's all about 'seen that, done it'. Boring is relative. Quality is subjective.

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Let's see

Statue of Liberty, Central Park, brooklyn botanical gardens, Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn park with view of manhattan, Empire State Building, Ellis island, little Italy, Chinatown, Bronx zoo, etc the list goes on and on.

And the lack of subways has a huge impact it makes it very difficult to get around. Not everyone wants to rent a car.

 

Again, lots of subjectivism. Statue of Liberty is fun to see (don't pay go in) just because it's so iconic, and likewise ESB is expensive too. But as for Houston, there's JPMorgan Chase Tower (and the skylobby is free), the downtown tunnels, Hermann Park, the Museum District, and the Rice Village a short walk away. And that's just on the rail line. 

 

If you do take the subways in NYC (and the buses, since the subway stations are kinda far apart), you're obviously not too good enough for public transportation, and METRO will take you to other places not mentioned and beyond.

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Let's see

Statue of Liberty, Central Park, brooklyn botanical gardens, Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn park with view of manhattan, Empire State Building, Ellis island, little Italy, Chinatown, etc the list goes on and on.

And the lack of subways had a huge impact it makes it very difficult to get around. Not everyone wants to rent a car.

--------

That sounds about as boring as the San Jacinto Monument, Herman Park, The Fred Hartman Bridge, Discovery Green with a view of downtown Houston, The Pennzoil Building, Galveston Island, S.W. Houston ect the list on on and on... And not everyone wants to wait for a cab, bus, or train.

It's all about 'seen that, done it'. Boring is relative.

Stop

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Again, lots of subjectivism. Statue of Liberty is fun to see (don't pay go in) just because it's so iconic, and likewise ESB is expensive too. But as for Houston, there's JPMorgan Chase Tower (and the skylobby is free), the downtown tunnels, Hermann Park, the Museum District, and the Rice Village a short walk away. And that's just on the rail line.

If you do take the subways in NYC (and the buses, since the subway stations are kinda far apart), you're obviously not too good enough for public transportation, and METRO will take you to other places not mentioned and beyond.

I wouldn't compare metro to MTA

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Paris is also a dense walkable city with history.

I agree on your last point

 

Paris:  "Archeological evidence shows that the site of Paris has been occupied by man since between 9800 and 7500 BC.[8] In the 3rd century BC, it became the site of a town of a Celtic people called the Parisii, for whom the modern city is named.[9] In the 1st century BC, it was conquered by the Romans and became a Gallo-Roman garrison town called Lutetia.[10] It was Christianised in the 3rd century and became the capital of Clovis the Frank in the 5th century. In 987, under King Hugh Capet, it became the capital of France."

source is wikipedia.

 

New York:  founded in 1624-1626

 

So, what's the key lesson to be learned from this exercise folks?  Its that it takes a LONG time for cities to mature.  Houston's currently maturing and doing the things that we all want big cities to do.  Things take time.  Paris was a muddy village for most of its history, it grew into the grand city it is today during the middle of the 19th century.  Roughly the amount of time Houston's been around.

 

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Houston has great museums, great theaters, great shopping, great restaurants, great stadiums, nearby beaches, bays, bayous, forests, lakes, parks, hiking trails, biking trails, arboretums, nightlife, concerts, music, festivals, culture centers, professional football, professional baseball, professional basketball, professional soccer, water parks, amusement parks, skateboard parks, planes, trains, automobiles, big bridges, ferries, tunnels, zoos, space shuttles, orange shows, chinatowns, San Jacinto monuments, chili cook offs, gay pride parades, megachurches, battleships, camp grounds, barbecue, submarines, go-karts, fishing piers, cruises and the fastest growing, fastest changing, most dynamic construction landscape in America. Most people already know that if you are bored in Houston and can't find something to keep you entertained, its you.

 

Houston, just two years ago was ranked the 2nd most boring city in the WORLD!

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/04/most-boring-cities-and-houstons-ranked-no-2/#4435101=0

Yes Houston may have a lot to do, but most of its just corny attractions that no one would travel to Houston to see unless you lived within about 200 miles of it. For example the Downtown Aquarium is nothing more than a small town carnival with a few sea animals and animals that don't even fit in with the theme of the place. White Tigers? WTF does that have to do with an aquarium? Now if the Downtown Aquarium was like the Georgia Aquarium that would bring in people from all over the world. Not to hate on Tilman Fertitta because he is responsible for most of the entertaining attractions in the Houston Area, but in my opinion he has too many small attractions. A guy with the type of money he has could build a world class Disney type attraction for Houston that would bring in people from all over.

 

If Houston had adequate public transportation and was more walkable in its core and all of the attractions were located in close to each other and for the most part walkable then I don't think we would be having this conversation. I have been to plenty of other cities were I have been able to take their heavy rail transit from out in the suburbs (which were pretty walkable themselves) into the city and just walk around with no plan just getting a feel for the city and the culture of locals. I didn't even need to go to an attraction, just being in the crowed was satisfying enough for me. This is not possible in Houston. To experience the local culture in Houston you have to drive to the Galleria or one of the other malls or a grocery store like HEB or one of the many shopping centers like the Marq*E Entertainment Center.

 

Don't get me wrong, I have fun in Houston most of the time, but the excitement doesn't compare to a city that is lively at its core and where I can wake up hop on a train, get off at any stop and just explore the area.

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Houston, just two years ago was ranked the 2nd most boring city in the WORLD!

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/04/most-boring-cities-and-houstons-ranked-no-2/#4435101=0

Yes Houston may have a lot to do, but most of its just corny attractions that no one would travel to Houston to see unless you lived within about 200 miles of it. For example the Downtown Aquarium is nothing more than a small town carnival with a few sea animals and animals that don't even fit in with the theme of the place. White Tigers? WTF does that have to do with an aquarium? Now if the Downtown Aquarium was like the Georgia Aquarium that would bring in people from all over the world. Not to hate on Tilman Fertitta because he is responsible for most of the entertaining attractions in the Houston Area, but in my opinion he has too many small attractions. A guy with the type of money he has could build a world class Disney type attraction for Houston that would bring in people from all over.

If Houston had adequate public transportation and was more walkable in its core and all of the attractions were located in close to each other and for the most part walkable then I don't think we would be having this conversation. I have been to plenty of other cities were I have been able to take their heavy rail transit from out in the suburbs (which were pretty walkable themselves) into the city and just walk around with no plan just getting a feel for the city and the culture of locals. I didn't even need to go to an attraction, just being in the crowed was satisfying enough for me. This is not possible in Houston. To experience the local culture in Houston you have to drive to the Galleria or one of the other malls or a grocery store like HEB or one of the many shopping centers like the Marq*E Entertainment Center.

Don't get me wrong, I have fun in Houston most of the time, but the excitement doesn't compare to a city that is lively at its core and were I can wake up hop on a train, get off at any stop and just explore the area.

Those lists are full of crap. Most of that was just ragging on the high temperatures.

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Houston, just two years ago was ranked the 2nd most boring city in the WORLD!

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/04/most-boring-cities-and-houstons-ranked-no-2/#4435101=0

 

That's hilarious.  Did you look at the slide show?  The seven listed also included Brussels, Zurich, Singapore and Oslo.  The problem with quoting asinine blog posts is, well, they're asinine.

 

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Houston, just two years ago was ranked the 2nd most boring city in the WORLD!

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/04/most-boring-cities-and-houstons-ranked-no-2/#4435101=0

Yes Houston may have a lot to do, but most of its just corny attractions that no one would travel to Houston to see unless you lived within about 200 miles of it. For example the Downtown Aquarium is nothing more than a small town carnival with a few sea animals and animals that don't even fit in with the theme of the place. White Tigers? WTF does that have to do with an aquarium? Now if the Downtown Aquarium was like the Georgia Aquarium that would bring in people from all over the world. Not to hate on Tilman Fertitta because he is responsible for most of the entertaining attractions in the Houston Area, but in my opinion he has too many small attractions. A guy with the type of money he has could build a world class Disney type attraction for Houston that would bring in people from all over.

 

If Houston had adequate public transportation

Well, to be fair Atlanta didn't always have that aquarium.  I seem to remember them building it not too long ago actually.

 

You and Slick Vick seem to take the idea that everything everywhere else in the world has always existed and Houston is an anomaly, a lone city in the world where things have to be built over time.

 

We're expanding public transit!  Yes I know, it isn't quite enough, but like I've said 100 times in as many different posts about traffic on an architectural forum - you must start somewhere.  Even NYC started with a single line that was added onto over time.  Paris, London, Tokyo the same.  Oh, it does help that all of those cities are national capitals!  That helps.  National Galleries, National Museums, National Ballets.  We've got to do it with money from philanthropic individuals and not some sort of governmentally pushed through adgenda of some parliment member or congressional leader.

 

That same year you could of found 2 lists that said Houston was the worlds most interesting city.  Guess what?  I hate to break it to you, but those things are not scientific, they are opinion based.

 

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Well, to be fair Atlanta didn't always have that aquarium.  I seem to remember them building it not too long ago actually.

 

You and Slick Vick seem to take the idea that everything everywhere else in the world has always existed and Houston is an anomaly, a lone city in the world where things have to be built over time.

 

We're expanding public transit!  Yes I know, it isn't quite enough, but like I've said 100 times in as many different posts about traffic on an architectural forum - you must start somewhere.  Even NYC started with a single line that was added onto over time.  Paris, London, Tokyo the same.  Oh, it does help that all of those cities are national capitals!  That helps.  National Galleries, National Museums, National Ballets.  We've got to do it with money from philanthropic individuals and not some sort of governmentally pushed through adgenda of some parliment member or congressional leader.

 

That same year you could of found 2 lists that said Houston was the worlds most interesting city.  Guess what?  I hate to break it to you, but those things are not scientific, they are opinion based.

 

 

It was built in 2005.  I lived in Atlanta from 1990 to 1999 and we go back every few years to visit.  Matter of fact, we were there in August for a week and a half.  What I noticed most about Atlanta on our recent trip is how much worse the traffic has gotten in the last 15 years and what a pain it is to drive during rush hour there.  I've probably forgotten what a pain it was back in the 90's but I think I've gotten spoiled by the ability to take multiple routes to any given destination here.  In Atlanta there are far fewer options.

 

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I went to Atlanta a few years ago. It was boring. Everything there was to do could be found in every other city in America. They didn't even have a submarine or a cable stayed bridge to go on.

If the criteria for a non-boring city is to be able to wake up, hop on a train, get off at any stop and just explore the area, then Houston must be a great tourist destination because there is nothing that stops people from doing that along the red line. Downtown hotels, Discovery Green, the theatre district, the dozens and dozens of museums in the museum district, hermann park, the zoo, medical center, GRB Convention center, downtown tunnels, Miller Outdoor Theatre, NRG Stadium, Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center and BBVA Stadium are all walkable from red line stations, not to mention the new residential stuff going up daily in the center of Midtown. And the red line is only 7 miles long! That's a lot of stuff on such a short line.

I never meant to suggest that Houston is currently a city that attracts a significant number of tourist compared to old cities or that what it does have to offer can't be beat. But it's not fair or logical to dismiss the many, many, many things there are to do in Houston to keep people entertained whether they are locals, visitors or tourist. Arbitrarily writing off everything in Houston as 'boring' is inaccurate and certainly subjective.

The OP started this discussion because he heard visitors say that they were impressed with Houston. Some really are.

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Houston, just two years ago was ranked the 2nd most boring city in the WORLD!

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/04/most-boring-cities-and-houstons-ranked-no-2/#4435101=0

 

That's as silly as when an automaker touts their car as the most technologically advanced car in the world. How do you measure technology? Do you use a technologoscope to measure the technology in the car? Same with this list. Do you take a bore-o-meter and ride around town taking measurements with it?

 

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