To be sure, there were missteps along the way as the city grew. There was some kind of race riot back in the early 1900s, but to be honest, we've never heard too much about it. Sounds interesting, though.
Other notable setbacks included the Great Depression and the election of Lloyd Kelley as city controller. Houston shrugged such things off, however, always with an eye to the future.
In the 16th century, Sir Budd Addams demanded that a palace be built and skyboxes invented.
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The single most important event in modern Houston history was the emergence of Jesse Jones, at least according to those media outlets with long-standing ties to the Jesse Jones Foundation.
But many other, lesser events played a role in shaping the city. Oil was discovered in East Texas, for instance; the resulting influx to Houston of instant millionaires with nouveau riche tastes had a lasting role in the cultural life of our city, leading to the many pleasant hours we spend today enjoying the road shows of Cats and Phantom of the Opera.
Air-conditioning was invented and made cheap enough to be put in widespread use, eventually allowing police officers to automatically target as suspicious anyone seen walking downtown during the day outside of the tunnel system.
The 610 Loop was built, forever allowing those who live inside it to sneer at those outside. A music scene never really developed, meaning that many youngsters would get to practice their literacy skills by writing letters demanding that local papers support the local bands, man.
And of course, the space program came to town. Thanks to the political pull of Lyndon Johnson, Houston would be known worldwide as the city that is just north of the city where the space center is.
If there was a crowning moment in the latter half of this millennium, it would have to be Neil Armstrong's historic announcement from the moon: "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed."
Forevermore, Houstonians would badger relative strangers by asking what was the first word said on the moon. After telling the baffled strangers "It was 'Houston'!" the response was inevitably something along the lines of "Uhhh, yeah, I guess you're right," but decades of engaging in this dialogue have convinced local boosters that the person they're talking to is only feigningdisinterest to hide his hurt.
It's part of what makes us Houstonians.
As the entire city tingles with New Year's Eve anticipation for ZZ Top, not to mention Lynyrd Skynyrd (You think they'll do Free Bird?), it's easy to forget just how far we've come in the previous 1,000 years.
When this millennium began, Houston was a largely uninhabited scrap of near-swampland. It remained much that way for the ensuing 950 years, until air-conditioning came along.
But ever since we got the a/c problem licked, this city has boomed. Shopping malls have sprouted, from the ultrachic Galleria to the thousand points of light that are the Blockbuster-based strip malls around town.
We have gone from a city that always dreamed in vain of a World Series victory to a city that no longer is fooled by such dreams, because the baseball team's owner assures us he doesn't make enough money to ever win a World Series.
We have grown into an International City. Many of us are not sure what an International City is or how we qualify as one, but our beloved elected officials have assured us that every expensive project they build is designed to attain such a status for Houston, so surely we must be International by now. If not, perhaps the latest expansion of Intercontinental Airport will nail the honor down.
There are, to be sure, other cities that might lay claim to having had more of a millennium than Houston. London, for instance, can brag about how old it is; Paris and Beijing can whine on about their supposed "histories."
Here in Houston we know better. For the past thousand years, this city has been at the cutting edge of development along the Texas Gulf Coast, excepting those few years when Galveston was more important.
No, fair Houstonian, be not cowed by the specious claims of other cities. Be not ashamed if they dare to question just what the hell 90 percent of the past 1,000 years have had to do with Houston.
Instead, revel in our smog (the most of any city in the U.S.!). Rejoice in our traffic (among the worst in the country!). Brag about our featureless sprawl (wherever you are, there's a strip mall nearby that's justlike the one in your neighborhood!).
Don't give an inch to those other cities, or bend to the whims of elitist academicians. We don't care what they say.
The last 1,000 years have been Houston's Millennium.
E-mail Richard Connelly at rich.connelly@houstonpress.com.
