The bustling metropolis known as Space City, Clutch City, and Bayou City is a fabulous place to visit, live, work, and enjoy life. Renowned for its world-class arts community, state-of-the-art medical institutions, and rabble- rousing professional sports venues, Houston has become a "got to go to" destination.

For many years, Houston has been known as a can-do city. Like the little engine that could, Houston thinks it can do anything if it tries hard enough. It may be big and brash, but it has an irrepressible spirit of possibility.

Consider some of the challenging feats accomplished in Houston with this can-do attitude. The muddy Buffalo Bayou was dredged to create one of the largest and most important international ports in the world. A group of risk-taking, oil-hungry wildcatters established Houston as the capital of the world industry. Two maverick heart surgeons developed open-heart surgery procedures that set a new standard for heart-disease treatment. Two entrepreneurs successfully created a market for a portable, compact computer that today is one of the most widely distributed computer brands in the world.

Houston continues to mature into a world-class city while somehow retaining a small-town atmosphere. In Houston, anything is possible, whether it is developing cost-effective technologies for sucking oil out of the earth, winning back-to-back basketball championships in both the NBA and WNBA, or sending a 77-year-old astronaut turned senator back to space. That ability to meet tough challenges has shaped the city's personality. Although it is the fourth largest city in the United States, it is considered one of the nation's most livable cities.

Residents and visitors continue to be enamored with the depth and breadth of the region's arts and entertainment scene. Houston is home to scores of museums, hundreds of annual festivals and celebrations, and a performing arts community that presents music and dramatic productions second to none.

With almost four million residents in the region, Houston has earned bragging rights to an impressive set of credentials:

• Only New York City's Broadway theater district has more theater seats than Houston's downtown theater district.
• Parks and the preservation of scenic beauty are priorities in Houston. Amid the downtown skyscrapers and office buildings are 53 parks and public spaces. The city maintains 32,000 acres of parks, public green space, and open water.
• The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest and one of the most successful medical care and research facilities in the world. Six Texas Medical Center hospitals were ranked in the 1998 U.S. News and World Report survey of top hospitals in the country.
• In terms of total tonnage, the Port of Houston is the second largest port in the United States. The port is the largest in the nation in terms of foreign waterborne commerce.
• Houston is the corporate headquarters for 15 companies listed in the 1998 Fortune 500. Eleven companies on Fortune's "Fastest Growing Companies" list are located in Houston.
• Houston is a center for higher education. More than 240,000 students are enrolled in such colleges and universities as Rice University, the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, Baylor College of Medicine, and the University of Texas Health Science Center.
• Outdoor recreation is a mainstay in Houston, where there are 100 golf courses, numerous tennis courts and swimming pools, and several large lakes and bayous for fishing and water sports. Houston's Clear Lake area has the third largest fleet of pleasure boats in the United States; only Los Angeles and the Chesapeake Bay area have more boats.

• Introduction
• A Metamorphosis
• The Business Edge
• Medical Mainstay
• Nonstop Action
• A Shopper's Paradise
• Rodeo Days
• The Place to Eat
• Education Choices
• Home Sweet Home
• The Performing Arts
• The Visual Arts and Museums