This article in our article series Streets & Squares is about Houston, the most populous city of Texas, founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, and incorporated as a city the following year. It is named after General Sam Houston, who was also president of the Republic of Texas, having won Texas’s independence from Mexico.
Let’s see who are the people behind the eponymous street signs of Houston!
As always in Streets & Squares, clicking on the address links leads you to Google Maps, and clicking on the names to the person’s Wikipedia page.
A big help here has been an article by Heather Leighton of the Houston Chronicle, titled “These are the name origins of Houston’s iconic streets, buildings and other features”.
ALLEN PARKWAY - Augustus Chapman Allen (1806-1864) was an entrepreneur and co-founder of the city of Houston together with this younger brother John Kirby Allen (1810-1838). Born in Sullivan, NY USA. StreetView
FANNIN STREET - James Fannin (1804-1836) was a slave-trader, military figure in the Texas Army and leader during the Texas Revolution of 1835–36. Born in Georgia. StreetView
KIRBY DRIVE - John Henry Kirby (1860-1940) was a businessman and the largest lumber manufacturer in Texas and the Southern United States. Known by his business peers as “The Prince of the Pines” and “The Father of Industrial Texas”. Born in Tyler County, Texas. StreetView
McGOWEN STREET - Andrew McGowen was a tinsmith, merchant and mayor of Houston (1867-18xx). During his term, enough wooden rails were laid on McKinney Avenue to operate the city’s first mule-drawn streetcar in 1868. The fares were a dime for adults and a nickel for children. StreetView
McKINNEY STREET - Collin McKinney (1766-1861) land surveyor, merchant, slave owner, politician and a lay preacher. And best known as an important figure in the Texas Revolution, as one of the five individuals who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence (and the oldest person to sign it). Born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, British America. StreetView
MILAM STREET - Benjamin Milam (1788-1835) was an American colonist of Mexican Texas, and a military leader and hero of the Texas Revolution. Born in Frankfort, Kentucky, then part of Virginia. StreetView
T C JESTER BOULEVARD - T.C. Jester (1884-1950) was a pastor, civic leader and a leading member of the Houston City Planning Commission. Born in Camp Hill, Alabama. StreetView
WEST GRAY STREET - Peter W. Gray (1819-1874) was a lawyer, judge and legislator active throughout his career in Texas. Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia. StreetView
WESTHEIMER ROAD - Michael Louis Westheimer (1831-1905) was a merchant and philanthropist who emigrated to U.S. as a young man. Born in Baden, Germany. StreetView - Wiki
A to Z FROM HOUSTON
i.e. a list of people born in Houston. Just another fun way to know something more about the city. We pick a couple of people for each alphabet, if possible. The numbers you see at the end of each line indicate the year of birth. This list is updated from time to time. And last but not least: the logo of Houston!
A - Debbie Allen* dancer/actress (1950)
B - Beyoncé* (Knowles) singer & Alexis Bledel* actress (1981)
C – Brett Cullen* actor (1956)
D - Shelley Duvall* actress (1949) - Hilary Duff* actress/ singer/author (1987)
E - Shannon Elizabeth* model/ actress/poker player (1973)
F - Robert Foxworth* actor (1941)
G - Greg Germann* actor (1958) - Jennifer Garner* actress (1972)
H – Howard Hughes* industrialist/producer/aviator (1905)
I -
J -
K – David Koresh* religious sect leader (1959)
L - Richard Linklater* filmmaker/ actor (1960)
M - John Mackey* businessman (Whole Foods) (1953)
N - Johnny Nash* singer/songwriter (1940)
O - Annette O’Toole* actress/ dancer/singer-songwriter (1952)
P - Jim Parsons* actor/ producer (1973) - Meredith L. Patterson* technologist/science fiction writer (1977)
Q - Dennis Quaid* actor (1954)
R - Kenny Rogers* country singer/actor/ entrepreneur (1938) - Dallas Roberts* actor (1970)
S - Patrick Swayze* actor (1952)
T -
U - Ngozi Ukazu* cartoonist/graphic novelist
V -
W - JoBeth Williams* actress/television director (1948) - Chandra Wilson* actress/ director (1969)
X -
Y -
Z - Gwendolyn Zepeda* author (1971)
And here is one thing that the city of Houston is remembered for all over the world: Jean-Michel Jarre’s Rendez-vous Houston in 1986:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzzF-WObYE&t=1473s
Updated 14.3.2023
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