Interesting Facts

It's a Texas-sized boast. The San Jacinto Monument commemorating Sam Houston's victory over the Mexican army looks a lot like the Washington Monument, but it's also 15 feet higher. Built in the 1930s, the 570-foot structure marks the battleground where Texas independence was won in 1836.
Florida may be home to Cape Canaveral, but Houston has the brains behind America's space program. The Johnson Space Center has planned and overseen the country's missions into space since 1963 and is the site where much of the astronauts' training occurs.
No, it's not a ghost town. But when the temperature in this city hits the 90's with sweltering humidity, people are few and far between on downtown streets during the day. Many office buildings are linked by air-conditioned underground tunnels that also offer shops and restaurants.
Looking for a good jog or leisurely stroll? Start at Memorial Park in downtown Houston with its botanical garden and go along Buffalo Bayou where you can catch great views of the city's skyscrapers and a healthy dose of modernist sculpture along the trail.
Shakespeare asked what is in a name, but one Houston socialite knew the answer was "a lot." Ima Hogg was the daughter of Texas Gov. James Hogg and put up with jokes throughout her life about her name. Her home, Bayou Bend, is now a museum for decorative arts, tracing American motifs from colonial days.
Although the location may be unexpected, Houston offers one of America's most in-depth looks at the atrocities of Hitler's Third Reich. The Holocaust Museum follows the history of Europe's Jews from Hitler's rise to the post-World War II era, as survivors endeavored to rebuild their lives.
Houston is home to a rare landmark from last century's world wars. The Battleship Texas is the only surviving naval vessel to have fought in both World War I and World War II.
Ever want to be Snoopy and take on the Red Baron? Well, Houston offers you a chance. The Texas Air Aces give people a chance to test out their aerial fighting skills, taking them up in propeller-driven planes for a shootout with laser guns.
Florida and California are famous for their vast orange groves, but Houston has the Orange Show. Jeff McKissack started the ode to the orange in 1954. There are sculptures, murals, wheels, wishing wells and other oddities at this folk-art center. Everything of course is orange.
It was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World when it opened in 1965. Houston's Astrodome was the first ballpark to have a roof over the playing field and later was the first to use artificial turf. An 18-story building would fit inside the mammoth structure.