Houston

Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas,... USA. The stadium is part of the Reliant Park complex. It opened in 1965 as Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Major League Baseball expanded to Houston in 1960 when the National League agreed to add two teams. The Colt .45s were to begin play in 1962, along with their expansion brethren New York Mets. Roy Hofheinz, a former mayor of Houston, and his group were granted the franchise after they promised to build a covered stadium. It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a major-league team to be viable in Houston due to the area's subtropical climate and hot summers. Game-time temperatures are usually above 97 degrees in July and August, with high humidity, and a likelihood of rain. Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what would eventually become the Astrodome when he was on a tour of Rome, where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed giant velaria to shield spectators from the Roman sun.
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The Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Houston, Texas. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is... home to the Rockets of the National Basketball Association, the principal owners of the building, and the Aeros of the American Hockey League. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander first began to request a new arena in 1995, and attempted to release the Rockets from their lease at The Summit, which ran until 2003. However, he was denied by arena owner Chuck Watson, then-owner of the Aeros, who also wanted control of a new arena. The two sides agreed to equal control over an arena in a deal signed in 1997, but the proposal was rejected by city voters in a 1999 referendum. It was not until the city and the Rockets signed an amended agreement in 2001, excluding the Aeros, that the proposal was accepted. Construction began in July 2001, and the new arena was officially opened in September 2003. The total costs were $235 million, with the city of Houston paying the majority, and the Rockets paying for enhancements. Toyota paid $100 million for the naming rights.
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Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of... 1,900,000 square feet with 97,000 sq ft of natural grass playing surface. Reliant Stadium is part of a collection of venues , which are collectively called Reliant Park. The stadium was constructed at the cost of $352 million. Reliant Stadium is the first facility in the NFL to have a retractable roof. The entire complex is named for Reliant Energy under a 32-year, US$300 million naming rights deal in 2000. The stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, host to many international soccer matches for the USA National Soccer Team and other events. The stadium served as the host facility for Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004 and WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009. The Houston NFL Holdings group came to Populous to begin the schematic design for the first-ever NFL retractable roof football stadium in 1997.
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The Lakewood Church Central Campus is a house of worship in Houston, Texas, United States. From 1975 until 2003 the building served as a... multi-purpose sports arena for various professional teams in Houston. From its opening until 1998, the building was known as The Summit. Computer technology firm Compaq bought naming rights to the building after that, and until being leased to Lakewood Church in 2003 the arena was known as the Compaq Center. This venue is located about five miles southwest of Downtown Houston next to the Greenway Plaza. In 1971, the National Basketball Association's San Diego Rockets were purchased by a new ownership group that moved the franchise to Houston. The city, however, lacked an indoor arena suitable to host a major sports franchise, so plans were immediately undertaken to construct the new venue that would become The Summit. The Rockets played their home games in various local facilities such as Hofheinz Pavilion during the interim.
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The Houston Museum District commonly known as, “The Museum District,” is an association of museums, galleries, cultural centers and... community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting the arts, sciences, and cultural amenities of the area. The Houston Museum District currently comprises 18 museums that recorded a collective attendance of over 8.7 million in 2007. All of the museums offer free hours, and 11 of the museums are free all the time. Bordered roughly by Rice University, the Neartown area and Texas Medical Center, the Museum District specifically refers to the area located within a 1.5 mile radius of the Mecom Fountain in Hermann Park. The Museum District is served by four stops on the METRORail, one specifically named for it and is easily accessible from US 59, State Highway 288 and Main Street. The beginnings of the Museum District are found in 1977, when it became apparent that some action needed to be taken to provide easier access to the museums of the area.
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The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston , located in Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum... spans more than 6,000 years of history with more than 62,000 works from six continents. The museum benefits the Houston community through programs, publications and media presentations. Each year, 1.25 million people benefit from museum's programs, workshops and resource centers. Of that total, more than 500,000 people participate in the community outreach programs. The MFAH's permanent collection totals 62,172 pieces in 300,000 square feet of exhibition space, making it one of the largest museums in the United States. The museum's collections and programs are housed in seven facilities. Main Campus The school offers classes at the Studio School for Adults and the Glassell Junior School, as well as Community Bridge Programs, special programs for youths, and the Core Artist-in-Residence Program. Other Facilities The Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston is the oldest art museum in Texas.
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Anna Nicole Smith was an American model, sex symbol, actress and television personality. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993... Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans and Lane Bryant. She also starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Smith dropped out of high school and was married at the age of 17. Her highly publicized second marriage to oil business executive and business tycoon J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction. She died at age 39, as a result of an overdose of prescription drugs. In the months before her death, she was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel Smith, and the paternity and custody battle over her daughter Dannielynn.
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Mary Lou Retton is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic... all-around title. Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia of Italian heritage . Her father, Ronnie, operated a coal-industry transportation equipment business. She attended Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. She competed in the Olympic games during her sophomore year. Retton lived in Houston, Texas until 2009, when her family returned to West Virginia. She is married to former Houston real estate developer Shannon Kelley, who now works for the Fairmont State University athletic department. Together they have four daughters: Shayla Rae , McKenna Lane , Skyla Brae , and Emma Jean . Inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci on television, Retton took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont. She was coached by Gary Rafaloski. She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under Romanians Béla and Martha Károlyi, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States.
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Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Amazon.com. Bezos, a Tau Beta Pi... graduate of Princeton University, worked as a financial analyst for D. E. Shaw & Co. before founding Amazon in 1994. Bezos' maternal ancestors were settlers who lived in Texas, and over the generations had acquired a 25,000 acre ranch in Cotulla. Bezos' maternal grandfather was a regional director of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Albuquerque. He retired early to the ranch, where Bezos spent most summers of his youth, working with his grandfather at the enormously varied tasks essential to the operation. At an early age, he displayed a striking mechanical aptitude -as a toddler, he tried dismantling his crib with a screwdriver. Bezos was born to a teenage mother, Jackie Bezos, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her marriage to his father lasted little more than a year. She remarried when Bezos was five. Bezos' stepfather, Miguel Bezos, born in Cuba, emigrated to the United States alone at age 15 and worked his way through the University of Albuquerque.
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Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday... of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Although he reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including bombing in World War II, the Nuremberg trials, combat in the Vietnam War, the death of President John F. Kennedy, Watergate, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, he was known for extensive TV coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle. He was the only non-NASA recipient of a Moon-rock award. Cronkite is well known for his departing catchphrase "And that's the way it is," followed by the date on which the appearance is aired. Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the son of Helen Lena and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite , a dentist. He had remote Dutch ancestry on his father's side, the family surname originally being Krankheyt.
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Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first... appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the TV series Charlie's Angels, in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to critical approval and in highly rated and critically acclaimed television movies, in roles often challenging and sometimes unsympathetic . Fawcett was a sex symbol whose iconic poster, released the same year Charlie's Angels premiered, broke sales records, making her an international pop culture icon. Her hair style was emulated by millions of young women for nearly a decade, beginning in the 1970s and through early 1980s. Farrah Leni Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the younger of two daughters. Her mother, Pauline Alice , was a homemaker, and her father, James William Fawcett, was an oil field contractor. She was of Irish, French, English and Choctaw Native American ancestry.
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Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty... Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. His film and TV career spanned 30 years. Diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008, Swayze told Barbara Walters a year later that he was "kicking it". However, he died from the disease on September 14, 2009. His last role was the lead in an ill-fated A&E TV series, The Beast, which premiered on January 15, 2009. Due to a prolonged decline in health, Swayze was unable to promote the series. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight announced the show's cancellation. Patrick Swayze was born on August 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas, the second child of Patsy Yvonne Helen , a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze , an engineering draftsman. He was raised Roman Catholic.
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Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth came to prominence in the 1999 comedy film American Pie. Born Shannon... Elizabeth Fadal, Elizabeth's father is Syrian and her mother is of Irish, English, German and Cherokee ancestry. She was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Waco, Texas. In high school, she was very much interested in tennis and at one point even considered a professional tennis career. She worked as a model before she began a career in film. Elizabeth appeared in several films, including the horror film Jack Frost and Dish Dogs, before being cast in 1999's American Pie. Pie was a major box office success, and achieved cult status for her nude bedroom scene in the movie. Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several Hollywood films, including Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Tomcats. Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts until the show was canceled in May 2006. Cuts and its parent show, One on One, were two of the many shows not to be picked up by The CW. Elizabeth appeared in That 70's Show for a number of episodes. In August 1999, she posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy.
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Anna Nicole Smith was an American model, sex symbol, actress and television personality. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993... Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans and Lane Bryant. She also starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Smith dropped out of high school and was married at the age of 17. Her highly publicized second marriage to oil business executive and business tycoon J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction. She died at age 39, as a result of an overdose of prescription drugs. In the months before her death, she was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel Smith, and the paternity and custody battle over her daughter Dannielynn.
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Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress and singer. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Duff gained... fame for playing the title role in the television series Lizzie McGuire. Duff subsequently ventured into feature films, with many successful movies to her credit which included, Cheaper by the Dozen , The Lizzie McGuire Movie , and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 . Duff expanded her repertoire into pop music with the release of three RIAA-certified platinum albums and over thirteen million records sold worldwide as of February 2007. Her first studio album, Metamorphosis , was certified triple platinum and she followed it up with two more platinum albums, Hilary Duff and Most Wanted . Duff released her third studio album, Dignity , which was certified gold in August 2007 and released two singles, "With Love", her highest charting US single to date and "Stranger". In November 2008, she released a compilation of her greatest hits, Best of Hilary Duff, whose single "Reach Out" became her third #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play.
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Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The... Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day, both in 1996, earned him a Saturn Award and Saturn Award nomination respectively. He has also enjoyed a career in the theatre and as a musician. Spiner was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Sylvia and Jack Spiner, who owned a furniture store. After Jack's death, he was adopted by Sylvia's second husband, Sol Mintz, whose surname he used between 1955 and 1975. Spiner attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, where he was influenced by drama teacher Cecil Pickett—the same drama teacher who coached such people as Cindy Pickett, Randy Quaid, Dennis Quaid, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, and Thomas Schlamme. Spiner would become active on the Bellaire Speech team, eventually winning the national championship in dramatic interpretation. Spiner attended the University of Houston where he performed in local theatre.
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Haylie Katherine Duff is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the older sister of actress and singer-songwriter Hilary Duff. She was... known on her role as Sandy Jameson in the series 7th Heaven, and Annie Nelson in the made for television movie Love Takes Wing and its sequel Love Finds a Home. Duff was born in Houston, Harris County, Texas. She is two and a half years older than her sister, Hilary. Duff's mother, Susan Colleen is a homemaker and film producer and producer of The Perfect Man and Material Girls , as well as the manager of her sister Hilary. Her father, Robert Erhard 'Bob' Duff, is a partner and owner in a chain of convenience stores with father John B. Duff and who resides at the family home in Houston to maintain the family's business. She began her acting career as an offshoot of her early dance training. Growing up in Texas, Duff began ballet at an early age.
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Carlos Coy , better known by his stage name South Park Mexican, is an American rapper, founder of Dope House Records, and convicted felon. His stage... name is derived from the South Park neighborhood in Houston, Texas where he was raised. Coy, his brother Arthur, and a friend founded Dope House Records in 1995; Coy debuted as South Park Mexican in 1998 with the album Power Moves under the label. His next album, The 3rd Wish, generated two charting singles, "You Know My Name" and "High So High". In 2002, Coy was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 45 years incarceration, and is currently serving his sentence at Powledge Unit near Palestine, Texas. While incarcerated, he has continued to record music. SPM was born to Arturo Coy, a former Marine from the Falfurrias community in Brooks County, and a woman who dropped out of high school to marry. The marriage ended three years after Coy's birth. Coy's sister, Sylvia, described herself as his "mother-sister". Coy attended various elementary schools, before entering the music magnet program at Welch Middle School.
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