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Keith’s Blog – Mid-May 2018

Keith's Blog
Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hello to all of our new and continuing members. In the past month from April 15th to the present, I have had the pleasure to conduct tours for hundreds of people to and of:

  1. Tunnel Tour A
  2. Tunnel Tour B
  3. Wine Tour D
  4. Customized Haunted Tour for a family with minors
  5. Port of Houston and Houston Ship Channel Tour
  6. City Tours A, B, C, and D
  7. Space Center Houston
  8. Pickups and returns from the Galveston Cruise Terminal, Hobby Airport, and IAH.


It is always good to keep busy.

In the last blog, I emphasized that May is a popular month for different ethnic groups and we give 10% discounts for taking these ethnic tours. It is identified as both Asian Pacific Heritage Month and Jewish-American Heritage Month and has the Hispanic holiday of Cinco de Mayo. I hope that all of you have been eating and drinking well as you commemorate these events.

I forgot to mention Mother’s Day. If any of you would like to accompany your mother on a Garden Tour, she can go for ½ price only in the month of May. That is 50% off. Furthermore, if you can correctly answer the next 5 questions, she can go for FREE! What a deal!

If you answer any of the questions below correctly, take off another 10% of the cost of your mother’s tour in the month of May. In other words, in May for a Garden Tour that you accompany your mother, her cost will be 50%. Answer 1 question correctly, and her cost will be 40%. Answer 2 questions correctly, and her cost will be 30%, and so on. All of the questions below focus on Mother’s Day in the United States. Other countries may have different traditions.

  1. What was the first year of the first modern day Mother’s Day celebrated?
  2. Who was the prime mover to create Mother’s Day?
  3. What was the first state to recognize Mother’s Day as a holiday?
  4. In what year did the United States as a nation recognize Mother’s Day as a national holiday?
  5. What flower is associated with Mother’s Day?

Good luck!

Sports fan, what do you think of our Houston Rockets. They completed the greatest regular season in their history and who knows how far they will venture into the post-season. Next month, assuming that the Rockets are still in the playoffs, look forward to some Rockets basketball trivia questions for a discount on a sports tour.

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving our blogs, please let us know at houstonhistory@aol.com. Provide a clear name and email address for the person or group and we will sign them up. Thanks.

See you on a tour.

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – May 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi. Welcome to the beginning of the five-month heat wave. We go from our air-conditioned homes to our air-conditioned vehicles to our air-conditioned places of business or buildings and return. After May, the climate is too hot and humid to have many outdoor festivities and activities.

Weather in Houston
May is the first of the five consecutive months that give cause to why Houston is the most air-conditioned city in the world. You can wear a short sleeve shirt or blouse and feel comfortable. The monthly average high temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit/30 degrees Centigrade. the monthly average low temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit/20 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 77 degrees Fahrenheit/25 degrees Centigrade. It is the fifth hottest month of the year and the first of five consecutive months when the daily high temperature is in the 30 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 5.1 inches/129.8 centimeters. It is the fourth wettest month of the year after June, September, and October.

Tours
Mention that you read about the tours below from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount. Active or retired military veterans will receive an additional 10% discount on the tours below or 10% on any other tour.

May is one of the best months for ethnic holidays. It is:

  1. Asian Pacific American Month (APAM)
  2. Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM)
  3. Cinco de Mayo (5th of May)

Our ethnic themed tours are normally six hours, but they can be shortened or lengthened as you like. All of our ethnic tours go to historic houses of worship, cemeteries, cultural centers, traditional neighbors, by significant buildings and businesses to the ethnic group and to a restaurant that is in the same cultural theme.

Memorial Day is a holiday towards the end of the month to remember those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

  1. Space Center Houston (SCH)/NASA Tours – Most people do not realize that the majority of astronauts are on loan from the military and that NASA controls spy satellites. A strong military connection exists with NASA. Our SCH tours are normally 7 to 8 hours so that you can take advantage of all of the activities. These include:
  • Tram Ride – Go to Rocket Park to see Mercury and Apollo rockets and mission control.
  • Independence Plaza – Walk inside a training space shuttle and 747 airplane.
  • Watch the historical film “On Human Destiny” that traces NASA’s history from 1961 to 2011.
  • See the biggest IMAX film in Texas about life in space.
  • Go to Blast Off! Theater to learn about the future of space flights.
  • Hear the presentation of “Living in Space.”
  • Lunch on your own at the Zero-Gravity Diner.
  • Receive a guided-narrative tour through Starship Gallery, where you will see a mockup of the first liquid rocket from 1926, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules, a robonaut, walk through a mockup of Skylab (the first US space station), and more.
  • Shopping for souvenirs and gifts.

 

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 29% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for May is the 2.5-hour Tunnel Tour A. Of the three tunnels tours that we offer, this is one of the two most popular tunnel tours. It has the least amount of walking at about 1.7 miles/2.7 kilometers. It includes the most history. If you like architecture, this is a FANTASTIC tour.

The tunnel tours can only be offered Monday through Friday and not on holidays, such as Memorial Day. The tunnels are closed on weekends. The tunnels are open from about 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM when the businesses that are connected to them are open. To avoid rush hour traffic and to have sufficient time to go through the tunnels and while buildings are still open, we generally begin the tours no earlier than 9:30 AM and offer the last one at 3:00 PM. We are happy to be flexible on the starting time. We typically enter:

  1. The 1939 17-story tall City Hall. The architect was Joseph Finger.
  2. The 1971 50-story tall One Shell Plaza. This was the tallest building in Houston from 1971 to 1980.
  3. The 1924 3-story tall Julia B. Ideson Library. This has a beautiful Spanish décor interior.
  4. The 1927 32-story tall Niels Esperson Building. This was Houston’s tallest building from 1927 to 1929.
  5. The 1942 19-story tall Mellie Esperson Building.
  6. The 1929 37-story tall J. P. Morgan Chase Building. This was the tallest building in Houston from 1929 to 1963.
  7. The 1982 75-story tall J. P. Morgan Chase Tower. This is the tallest building in Texas.
  8. The 1975 36-story tall Pennzoil Place. This is Houston’s most award-winning skyscraper.

We will discuss the architects, histories, different building usages, styles architectural features and changes to the buildings over the years. This tour can include going to an art gallery and seeing sculptures.

The downtown walking tours in May, June, September, and October all begin in the rotunda on the first floor of the City Hall building at 901 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas 77002. You can enter from either the east or west side of the building.

A walking tour only moves as fast as the slowest person.

Warnings:

  • Use a bathroom before the tour begins. Only about two public bathrooms are accessible during this tour. Most of the businesses in or operating over the tunnels do not allow the general public to use their bathrooms.
  • Not all of the tunnels are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 accessible. Thus, you should NOT select this special tour if you use a walker, a wheelchair or any other device that you need to enable you to move.
  • To accommodate visitors using a cane, we will probably move at such a slow pace that we will not be able to complete the whole tunnel tour. If this is the case, we will have to omit some buildings.
  • We go on elevators and escalators. Thus, you should NOT select this special tour if you have a phobia about either of these mechanical devices.
  • You cannot take photos inside the banks. Taking photos elsewhere is fine.

 

See you on a tour.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – Mid-April 2018

Keith's Blog
Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hello to all of our new and continuing members. In the past month from March 15th to the present, I have had the pleasure to conduct tours for dozens of people to and of:

  1. Tunnel Tour A repeatedly
  2. Tunnel Tour B
  3. Psychos, Killers, and Victims A
  4. City Tours of various lengths
  5. Presidential Tour to Austin
  6. Presidential Tour to College Station
  7. Space Center Houston repeatedly
  8. Pick up and return trips to Hobby Airport (HOU).
  9. Pick up from the Galveston Cruise Terminal, a city tour, and transport to HOU.
  10. Heights Tour
  11. Walking Tour E
  12. Unique Houston Tours for busloads of high school students.

There is never a dull moment: different people and different tours each day.

Our weather sure has been erratic this month. We have temperatures from the 40s to the 80s all within a seven day period.

This Monday is Tax Day. One is supposed to have their income taxes filed by April 18th this year. Three days later, on April 21st, we commemorate and celebrate San Jacinto Day. This is the anniversary of the 1836 battle in which Texas won its independence from Mexico. For many years, I taught about this significant battle in the history classes for middle and high school students and in college. To honor all of our federal, and state employees and public school teachers, if you bring proof of your employment with the federal or state government or in a public school, you can receive a 20% discount on any daily tour during the month of April.

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving our blogs, please let us know at houstonhistory@aol.com. Provide a clear name and email address for the person or group and we will sign them up. Thanks.

See you on a tour.

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

Keith’s Blog – April 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi. Because of our comparatively great weather in Houston, this month is great to be outside on walking tours, wine tours, garden tours, and more. It is also a good month to go on tours to avoid long queues once the summer vacation from colleges and universities begin in May.

Weather in Houston

April, along with October, is generally one of the two best months to visit Houston. You can wear a short sleeve shirt or blouse and feel comfortable. The monthly average high temperature is 79 degrees Fahrenheit/26 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 61 degrees Fahrenheit/16 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 70 degrees Fahrenheit/21 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 3.46 inches/88 centimeters. It is the third driest month of the year after February and March.

Tours

Mention that you read about the tours below from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount.

Galveston Tours

We offer Galveston tours from 5 to 12 hours depending on how much do you want to see and experience. Would you like to include:

  • A tour of one or two 1890s stone and brick mansions?
  • A tour of one or more of five museums?
  • Watching one to three films about The Great Storm, Jean Laffite, or Galveston as an immigration center?
  • A wine tour?
  • A brewery tour?
  • A harbor boat ride to see dolphins and a wrecked cement ship?
  • A stop at an old confectionery that makes its own ice cream, salt-water taffy, and chocolates?
  • Only a driving tour throughout the city with three stops for souvenirs, looking at the Gulf with oil rigs, and lunch?

Garden Tours

You can decide how many gardens and hours that you want. We can take you to the following sites that are in the metropolitan area:

  • Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens
  • Gardens of Rienzi – Closed on Monday and Tuesday.
  • Gardens of Bayou Bend – closed on Monday.
  • Japanese Gardens
  • John P. McGovern Centennial Gardens
  • Houston Arboretum and Nature Center

If you want to venture further away, we can take you to beautiful gardens in Beaumont and Orange for the day. Bring cameras.

Walking Tours

Because of the heat and humidity, we do not offer outside walking tours from April through September. Originally in the early 2000s, we offered outdoor walking tours year-round, but we received multiple complaints from people about their stinging eyes from sweat, and their discomfort. We then limited the offering from October to April. By 2016, even April was now having temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit/30s Centigrade so we cut back the outdoor tours by one more month.

However, we offer three walking tours of the underground tunnels and skybridges of downtown and three walking tours of the skywalks, tunnels, and hospitals of the Texas Medical Center (TMC). Each tour is generally 2.5 hours or 3.5 hours with a stop for lunch, additional tunnels, observation deck, an additional building, and or a museum. These are all in air-conditioning. You will be cool, calm, and collected. Which tours sound most appealing? If you want a shorter tour, we can reduce the length by deleting some of the buildings, observation deck, and or more. Just let us know how to customize it for you.

Wine Tours

We offer over one dozen options going to 5 geographic areas and including from one to four wineries and or wine tasting sites. The tours can last from three hours to about twelve hours. Texas has some great tasting wines. Texas is now the fifth largest wine producing state. These are all out of town and the tours make for good day trips. The bluebonnets are in bloom. Depending on which tour you select, you will be able to go out into the vineyards.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 54% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for April is a 2.5-hour Haunted and Historical Walking tour in downtown Houston. This tour is from 7:30 to 10:00 PM. It is our only monthly special that is at nighttime. As the temperatures heat up into the 80s Fahrenheit/30s Centigrade, this is the last outdoor tour for the next five months, until October. It starts outside the abandoned, former Spaghetti Warehouse at 901 Commerce Street, Houston, Texas 77002. Parking is free after 6:00 PM at all city meters. You will see:

  • The abandoned Spaghetti Warehouse – built in circa 1903. This had been a warehouse in its early years. This was said to be haunted.
  • The abandoned Brewery Tap, AlJ, Magnolia Ballroom, and Kryptonite – built in 1912, the building was a speakeasy during the era of Prohibition when a bootlegger was killed here. It was inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey from August 25 to 29, 2017. This was said to be haunted.
  • See the former sidewalk of Houston circa 1903, now in front of the basement of the former Spaghetti Warehouse before the city was raised about 10 feet/3 meters around 1914.
  • See the remnants of a historic 1890s bridge before Houston was raised around 1914.
  • The Donnellan Crypt – 4 people were buried in this historic vault between 1849 and 1867 some 30 feet/10 meters below where Houston is now located.
  • La Carafe – the oldest bar in downtown Houston in the oldest building in downtown Houston dating to 1860. This is said to be haunted.
  • Baker Building – the second oldest building in downtown Houston, dating to 1861.
  • Market Square Park – it was redesigned in 2007. This was the site of the first four city halls of Houston from 1841 to 1939. It has 9/11 memorials to a local victim who was on UA Flight 93 and to the overall victims. A Greek restaurant, works of art, old photos and more are in the park.
  • The last former one screen movie theater in Houston. It was named The Ritz and opened in 1926. It is now a rental facility.
  • The original Sweeney’s Jewelry Store – built in 1889, it looks like a cave inside.
  • The site of the former White House of Texas where Presidents Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar lived in the 1830s. The current building on the site was erected in 1909 and the first Houston building designed by a world-recognized architect, Daniel Burnham.
  • The biggest mosque in Houston in what was the old Houston National Bank. It was erected in 1928. Hakeem Olajuwon bought the abandoned bank building in 1994 and it opened as a mosque in 2002.
  • The site where the Allen family first landed and settled Houston in August 1836. This is the oldest part of developed Houston.
  • And more depending on how fast everyone walks.

See you on a tour.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – Mid-March 2018

Keith's Blog
Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hello to all of our new and continuing members.  In the past month, I have had the pleasure to conduct tours for dozens of people to and of Space Center Houston, the George Ranch in Richmond, the San Jacinto State Park and the Battleship Texas in La Porte, a Houston Ship Channel Tour through over one dozen cities, a Haunted Tour, City Tours, a Chocolate Tour, and a Downtown Tunnel Tour.

By the end of this month I will conduct Presidential Tours to Austin and College Station, a Psychos, Killers, and Victims Tour, more City Tours, pick-up from and return to transportation to the airports, another Space Center Houston transport, and a Sports Tour that includes two different stadiums.

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving our blogs, please let us know at houstonhistory@aol.com.  Provide a clear name and email address for the person or group and we will sign them up.  Thanks.

March is generally the last month until October when we offer outdoor walking tours.  From April through September when the temperatures can be in the mid-80s to 100s Fahrenheit/high 20s to 40s Centigrade with 80% humidity, it is too unpleasant to be outside with salt-water sweat stinging in your eyes, your hair matted, and for women (and some men), your makeup running.  If you sign up for any of our outdoor walking tours to take place from now through the end of March, receive 30% off.  Wow – what a savings!

Here is some updated and advanced notices.  In 2018, we opened up a 10th haunted tour.  This is a driving tour.  See our website for details on all of our driving and walking Haunted Tours.

We will also offer for the first time 2 and 3-hour Halloween Tours during the last 3 weeks in October.  These are joyful tours to look at celebrations and decorations for what is the second most invested annual holiday after Christmas.  It should be fun for children and adults.

See you on a tour.

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – March 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi.  March is a month that is booming with activities for men and women.  It is as if the tourist business is coming out of hibernation and starting to see buds opening up.  March is Women’s History Month and Irish American Heritage Month.  It is also when men and women scurry to the biggest rodeo in the United States.  The rodeo lasts for approximately 3 weeks.  Although not as long or as appealing to the masses, the Azalea Trail in River Oaks lasts only one long weekend from Friday to Sunday when primarily women come from across the United States to see the beautiful flowers and beautiful mansion homes.  The professional basketball regular season is ending, March Madness is beginning, and a new baseball season is just about to commence.  There is something for everyone.

Weather in Houston

March is one of the four best months to visit Houston.  Several reasons exist for this.  The temperatures are moderate.  You might need a light sweater at the beginning of the month, but by the end of the month, the temperatures are quite comfortable.  The monthly average high temperature is 74 degrees Fahrenheit/23 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit/13 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 64 degrees Fahrenheit/18 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 3.19 inches/81 centimeters.  It is the second driest month of the year after February.

Mention that you read about the tours below from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount.

Azalea Trail Tours

The formal Azalea Trail historically has signaled the beginning of spring in Houston.  It is always on the first 3 day weekend in March from Friday through Sunday,  In 2018, this is March 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Six homes and the Forum for Civics are opened for touring; two homes that are always on the tour are the late Ima Hogg’s Bayou Bend and the late Harris Masterson’s Rienzi.  Bayou Bend has one of the finest collections of Americana art and furnishings dating to the colonial period of the 1600s.  The other four houses vary annually.  We offer 3 different packages for 1, 1.5, or 2 days.  We also take you on tour through River Oaks showing you some of the homes of the rich, famous, and scandalous, and where movies were filmed.  Of course, you will see beautiful azaleas and plenty of other flowers.  If you either miss the formal Azalea Trail of homes that are opened, we can take you on an informal Azalea Trail for the first half of the month.  By the middle of the month, most of the most vibrant azaleas have already bloomed and the petals have fallen off.

Irish American Heritage Month

March has been Irish-American Heritage Month since 1991.  It encases Saint Patrick’s Day which always falls on March 17th.  Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, lived from circa 385 to 461 when he died on March 17th.  We will visit St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Houston or some other church if you prefer and see the statue of Irish immigrant Dick Dowling who served in the Confederacy,   Of course, what Irish American Tour would be complete without going to two or three Irish pubs, consuming a pint of Guinness and whatever else, throwing darts, and devouring some corned beef and cabbage?

Rodeo Themed Tours

The rodeo is the biggest and longest fundraiser in Houston.  It provides scholarships for students to attend college.  It generally lasts for three weeks and begins in either the last week of February or the first week of March.  A different musical performer is featured every night. This is the largest rodeo in the United States and the second largest in North American after the Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s Stampede in July.   Everyone should attend the Houston rodeo at least once in his/her life.  Try some of the barbecue and go enjoy the activities on the fairgrounds.  Traffic is often miserable in the vicinity.  If you want to schedule us to transport to and or from the rodeo with or without tickets let us know.  If you want to include an activity of visiting an actual ranch, the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas, or the Oil Ranch in Hockley, Texas we can arrange that, also.

Women’s History Month Tours

March is a busy month for different groups to be recognized.  It is Women’s History Month.  Women have often been as the forefront of social progressive movements such as voting, abolition, medical care, civil rights, and more.  When men have lacked a conscious, women have filled in the vacuum.  We offer a couple of  completely different 5-hour tours that focus on women’s history and culture.  Visit our website to see more detailed descriptions.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 29% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for March is a 2.5-hour walking tour to and from art galleries.  Did you know that Houston has over 30 art galleries?  Did you know that Houston has 3 or 4 areas with 5 or more art galleries within walking distance.  We can give you a choice of which area you want to walk through leisurely.  These galleries present art in different forms, styles, and genres from different ethnicities, philosophies, and nations.  Just imagine.  You get to learn about your city, explore new neighborhoods or old ones that you like, and see dozens of works of art.  Some of these areas have quaint and cute cafes with excellent food in them to enjoy, also.

The tour begins at The Menil Collection Parking lot by the Bistro Menil.  The parking is free.  Two entrances exist for it.  If you have a GPS, input either 1559 West Alabama Street, or 3860 Mulberry Street.  The city and zip code is Houston, Texas 77006 for each address.

See you on a tour.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – Mid-February 2018

Keith's Blog
Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hello to all of our new members.  It was great to meet you at the Destinations Galore event in Humble, Texas on Tuesday, February 6th.  These biannual events are now held in even number years, but they used to be held in odd years.  It is great that Precinct 4 sponsors these conventions and I am always glad to meet everyone.  This was the ninth time that I have had a booth at this function.

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving our blogs, please let us know at houstonhistory@aol.com.  Provide a clear name and email address for the person or group and we will sign them up.  Thanks.

February represents many things different things for different people.  Here in Houston, it is the end of the cold weather and the beginning of the warm weather.  We might have freezing temperatures at the beginning of the month and azaleas blooming by the end of the month.  It is Black History Month and a month for romantics with Valentine.  Lastly, the rodeo starts this month.  Everyone might have one or more things to look forward.

Any time of year is a good time to take a tour when you are in an enclosed vehicle.  When Houston is being hit by a hurricane, it is a great time to take a tour  . . . of San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, or Fort Worth.  LOL.  Remember that weather should never impede you from taking a tour.

Tours can make a great present for someone.  We offer a couple of options.  You can pay for a specific tour for a specific number of people or just buy an amount that you are comfortable spending and let the other party use it as they wish.  They can use their present anytime within 6 months of when the purchaser wants to designate.  For example, if you buy it on February 12th, but you designate that it will take effect beginning on February 15th, the party can have up to August 15th to use it.

Always remember to confirm and reconfirm if you hesitate that tour dates are available when you want them before sending in any money.  Always send a non-refundable deposit of roughly 50% to reserve your tour to ensure that you will have it.

I will be on the radio this Sunday morning at 5:00 AM and streaming throughout the month of February.  Suzi Hanks with Cox Media interviewed me for Black History month on Monday, February 5th at about 10:45 AM for 30 minutes.  I conduct seven African American themed tours that could be of interest to anyone any time of year, but especially now.  Cox is an umbrella group for four radio stations:  The New 93Q, KTHT-FM Country Legends 97.1, 106.9, and 107.5.  The latter two stations are really the same classic rock and roll station, the Eagle, with different frequencies.

See you on a tour.

Keith

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – February 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi. February is Black History Month, the month of Presidents, and of course, a sweethearts month with the holiday of Valentine’s Day. All of these designations and events make good excuses to go exploring. In our subtropical climate and with the temperatures becoming both more erratic, but consistently hotter, one now sees spring beginning in winter. By the end of the month, you will see new leaves on trees and some flowering plants beginning to bud.

Weather in Houston

February is Houston’s third coldest month after December and January. These are the only months where the average high temperature is in the 60s Fahrenheit/Teens Celsius. However, cold is a relative term. We see snow in Houston about once every three years and then it is usually a light dusting that will melt by the following day. Be prepared to wear a light jacket. The monthly average high temperature is 67 degrees Fahrenheit/19 degrees Celsius. The monthly average low temperature is 48 degrees Fahrenheit/9 degrees Celsius, and the mean is 58 degrees Fahrenheit/14 degrees Celsius. The average rainfall is 3.01 inches/7.65 centimeters. It is the driest month of the year. The next four months will all experience progressively more rain.

African American Themed Tours

February is Black History Month. Celebrate it with an African-American historical tour. We offer 7 different African-American tours, including two that go out of town. These are normally six-hours each with a stop to eat at a traditional soul food, barbecue, fried chicken, Creole, or Jamaican restaurant for lunch. These tours can be shortened with fewer stops or sites and or two different tours can be combined to equal six-hours. The tours are divided by geographic locations. With a population of over 500,000 African Americans, Houston has the second largest Black population of any United States city. We will have maps to show you the original wards, as well as historic photographs and articles. Did you know that the first African Americans served on the Houston city council in the 1870s? Yes, that is correct!

Valentine’s Day Themed Tours

Are you or someone special to you feeling romantic? Does your special person like chocolates, flowers, and or wine? Do you like domestic or imported chocolates, chocolates with or without nuts and or fruit, sweet or semi-sweet, white, dark, or milk? How do you want to be remembered? Is receiving affection important to you? We have tours starting from 3 hours to 5 hours for you to make a good impression and have an amorous day. We can also include stopping at a wine bar or flower shops to add to the occasion. You choose.

Think About March

Two major Houston events occur almost exclusively in March:

  1. The Houston Rodeo begins on Monday, February 26th and continues through Sunday, March 18th. This covers a three-week period. Will you need or want rides to and or from the rodeo or other surrounding areas?
  2. The Azalea Trail occurs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 2, 3, and 4. Let us know if you want to plan such a tour so we can buy Azalea Trail home tour tickets in advance. This will include touring inside six homes, seeing beautiful gardens, and taking a tour of River Oaks.

 

The time to plan is now.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 29% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for February is a 2.5-hour walking tour through the Rice Village and Rice University. The Rice Village is a cute shopping area that gets its name as it is next to Rice University and it is like a village of mostly mom and pop small stores. Many of the shops are locally owned and operated which means you will generally get better service from knowledgeable and concerned workers. It has over two-dozen cafes, restaurants, and specialty food stores and hundreds of retail stores. Most of the stores cater primarily to women. You may want to go to one of them for lunch after a tour.

Rice University is one of the twenty highest ranked universities in the United States and one of the top two or three universities in all of the South. It has a sprawling campus that goes on for over 1-mile/2-kilometers, yet it only has a few thousand students. Found in 1912 as the William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art, it became a full-fledged university in 1960. Ralph Adams Cram (1863 – 1912), one of the most renowned architects of American churches, libraries, and universities was the original architect. We will enter a number of the buildings, see several statues, and even view a piece of the Berlin Wall. You will see the statue of William Marsh Rice (1816 – 1900) sitting over where his ashes were buried after he was murdered. Tall oak trees surround and dot the campus. It is a lovely place to spend 4 years as a student or part of a day on a walk.

We begin this tour at The Chocolate Bar at 2521 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005. There is free, unrestricted parking on the south side of the 2400 and 2500 block of Shakespeare Road, Houston, Texas 77005. This is one block behind The Chocolate Bar. Free parking is also available on the north side of University Boulevard and in front of The Chocolate Bar, but for only two hours. Metered parking abounds in the area.

See you on a tour.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – Mid-January 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Who wants to earn a free tour? Read on down.

Well, I want to start off by apologizing to any all of our readers. I wrote a Mid-November blog and then no Mid-December and a late Mid-January blog now. I have had a series of software problems that resulted in me not having use of my computer for most of December. Since the end of December, I have had to catch up on emails as well as dealing with the learning curve of using a new Apple Operating System, and a new Microsoft Word program. I am still learning. However, I think I can catch up now on my communications.

Congratulations to Sadie Cano. On the last day of the trivia contest, Sadie sent in all of the correct answers. The question was to identify the championship Houston teams from the following years:

 

  1. 1960
  2. 1961
  3. 1974
  4. 1975
  5. 1994
  6. 1995
  7. 1997
  8. 1998
  9. 1999
  10. 2000
  11. 2006
  12. 2007

 

The correct answers that Sadie sent in were:

  1. 1960  Oilers
  2. 1961  Oilers
  3. 1974  Aeros
  4. 1975  Aeros
  5. 1994  Rockets
  6. 1995  Rockets
  7. 1997  Comets
  8. 1998  Comets
  9. 1999  Comets
  10. 2000  Comets
  11. 2006  Dynamo
  12. 2007  Dynamo

 

I called and spoke to Sadie to congratulate her. Sadie, send us another email to schedule your BOGO, buy one, get one free tour of equal or lesser value of a local tour that does not have additional expenses. If additional expenses are required by third parties, you will pay for that separately. It will be our pleasure to be of service to you.

As I write this blog on January 16th, 2018, a cold front has visited Houston, lowering the temperatures from 64 degrees Fahrenheit/17 degrees Celsius yesterday to 28 degrees F/-3 degrees C today. The temperatures are stilling falling. We have had multiple freezes in the winter of 2017 – 2018. Snow fell on December 7, 2017, just 2.3 months ago. This was the second earliest snow in Houston history. On December 4, 2009, 1 inch/3 cm. of snow fell on Houston. The coldest recorded winter in Houston history was the 1977 – 1978 winter. We still have over 2 months of winter ahead. January is Houston’s coldest month; our monthly average low temperature is 45 degrees F/7 degrees C. The low today is projected to be more than 20 degrees F/10 degrees C greater than the norm. By Saturday of this week, the temperatures are to rise to 70 degrees F/21 degrees C. I write jokingly, that we have bi-polar weather.
: – )

Some of our local television stations have cancelled all regular programming to just cover the weather, the roads, and the other effects. This news coverage seems to be a repeat of the type of coverage Houstonians saw during Hurricane Harvey this summer. We certainly seem to have extremes of weather. It is not dull here.

Sources:

http://www.wxresearch.com/almanac/snowhou.htm
http://web2.airmail.net/danb1/freeze.htm
https://texashurricane.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/how-often-does-houston-see-temperatures-in-the-teens/

As the weather is related to touring, I am often asked will a tour be cancelled due to the weather. I am proud to state that Houston Historical Tours has NEVER cancelled a tour for any reason. I have driven through Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Patricia in 2017 while conducted out-of-town tours. A little snow or ice will not stop us! It may slow us, but it will not stop us.

I have been repeatedly asked with regard to tunnel tours, if they are still operated on rainy or cold days. The tunnels are just that – tunnels. They are dry and heated. They are great places to be inside during inclement weather. In fact, poor weather conditions are a good reason for taking a tunnel tour at these times and to appreciate the value and usefulness of these tunnels.

Furthermore, unlike some other companies, all of our vehicles are enclosed with heat for the winter and air conditioning for the rest of the year, including sometimes in winter, also. We can have winter temperatures in the 80s F/20s C, also. Houston Historical Tours believes in the comfort of everyone.

By the way, the bi-annual Destinations Galore Travel Show will be held at the Humble Civic Center at 8233 Will clayton Parkway, Humble, Texas 77338 on Tuesday, January 30th from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM. I will have a booth there with cards, brochures, photos, maps, displays, and information. I have had a presence there for over 15 years. Come out, say hi, pickup information, ask questions, and look around.

 

Here is your challenge to earn a free tour.

With all of this focus on the weather, here are some questions for a second BOGO treat. Answer all of them.

 

  1. What was the highest temperature in Houston history?
  2. A tie exists for the highest temperature in Houston history. What was the first such date?
  3. What was the second date of the highest temperature in Houston history?
  4. What was the coldest temperature in Houston history?
  5. What was the date of the coldest temperature in Houston history?
  6. What was the greatest amount of snow to fall in Houston history at one time?
  7. What was the date for the greatest amount of snow that fell in Houston history?
  8. What was the date for the second greatest amount of snow that fell in Houston history?
  9. How many days does Houston average freezing temperatures annually?
  10. When was the last Houston winter without a freeze? Identify the two-year season such as 2017 – 2018.

Good luck!

The first person to answer all the questions correctly by the end of January will win a BOGO. Buy one tour, get one tour free of an equal or lesser amount of a local tour that does not have additional expenses. For example, pay for a tour for 1 person, and the other person is free. A beer tour or any food tour or Space Center Houston tour have additional expenses. You can apply your victorious BOGO to one of these tours or any other local tour if you want to pay for the additional expenses to the third party.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

 

Keith’s Blog – January 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi. January is one of the slower months. This can be attributed to people saving their money to pay for the presents that they bought and the money that they spent partying for the holidays of December. If December is the month to party, January is the month for a hangover and recovery. I have long thought that if people are over-spending their money for presents in December, they are saving their money to pay their credit cards in January. Furthermore, any month with a public holiday such as Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday is a month with generally one less day of people touring while they spend the day with family and friends at home or in the backyard cooking. For the tourist, this can be good as it will be easier for Houston Historical Tours to schedule your personal tour.

Weather in Houston
January is Houston’s coldest month. Be prepared to wear a coat. The monthly average high temperature is 63 degrees Fahrenheit/17 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 45 degrees Fahrenheit/7 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 54 degrees Fahrenheit/12 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 4.25 inches/10.7 centimeters. It is the eighth wettest month of the year.


Space Center Houston (SCH) (NASA) Tours
This is a good tour to take, particularly in the latter half of the month and well into February and March. You spend most of the time in buildings during this cold, by Houston standards, weather. Once school is in session again, the crowds are smaller, the queues are shorter, the noise is softer, and the tram rides often stop at three sites rather than just two sites. We offer a number of options. The tour is normally eight hours to include all of the sites and activities; this includes about 6.5 hours at NASA and allows for about 1.5 hours in total to drive to NASA in the morning and to return in rush hour traffic in the afternoon. However, if you want to save time and or money by shortening it to 7 or 6 hours by deleting some of the activities, we can customize it for you. You can also save money if you only want the transportation with or without the admission ticket. Transport will drop you off at NASA and then pick you up later. You are on your own to roam about the facility. A tour includes having a tour guide to run you around, making sure that you see everything possible, and to provide you narratives on the exhibits and about the history and why Houston has a space center.

Click here for more information about our Space Center Houston Tours..

City Tours
We offer city tours of Houston ranging from 2 to 9 hours depending on what you want to see. You have two options for 2-hour tours, A 1 and A2. A1 focuses on classical Houston – the theater district, downtown, sports stadiums, River Oaks’s old wealth mansions, the Rice Village, Rice University, Mecom Fountains, the primary Museum District, and Hermann Park, Houston’s most popular park. A2 focuses on the more offbeat Houston where you will see sites that unique to Houston such as the largest church in the US, the most photographed area in Houston, the 64-foot Waterwall where 11,000 gallons of water pour off of it every minute, the 4th largest shopping mall in the US and the largest in the South, the Galleria, the Beer Can House, the Spear House, the Gargoyle House, the art car studio of Mark Bradford or Art Car Museum, a Orange Crush and Beer Can statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and more. If you take a 3-hour tour, you can see all of that plus stop for a break in The Chocolate Bar. A 4-hour tour Monday through Friday will normally include walking through a 3-block section of the underground downtown tunnels and going to an observation deck. The tunnels and observation deck are only open on weekdays. On weekends, we substitute driving through the Houston Heights or driving through the second Museum District by the University of St. Thomas. A 5-hour tour includes a stop for lunch of your choice. Just tell us what food you want to savor. Six hour and longer tours can easily be customized to either cover more areas of Houston such as the Eado and East End or give time to go into museums, galleries, and parks. The two- hour tours cover about 20 miles/32 kilometers, and we add about 10 miles/16 kilometers per hour of area covered for each additional hour. For 4-hour tours and longer, we have about one stop per hour to take photographs, use a bathroom, get refreshments, and or have lunch.

Click here for more information about our Houston City Tours.

Bakery Tours

We offer eight 3-hour bakery tours. These tours can be extended in duration for large groups and for those parties that want to include a lunch stop. In a cold month, warm comfort food is wonderful. These are smorgasbords of a variety of several ethnic pastries for breakfast, snacks, and desserts. These cover different geographic areas of Houston. Different tours can include the following ethnicities, continents, and countries:

  • African
  • African-American
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Creole
  • Czech
  • Filipino
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Guatemalan
  • Hispanic
  • Indian
  • Italian
  • Irish
  • Israeli
  • Jewish
  • Korean
  • Louisianan
  • Mexican
  • Turkish
  • Vietnamese

 

They can also include bakeries that specialize in:

  • Breads
  • Breakfasts
  • Cakes
  • Cheesecakes
  • Cookies
  • Cupcakes
  • Desserts
  • Donuts
  • Pies

 

Are you getting hungry yet? Do you want to explore more of the world’s sweets now?
Click here for more information about our Bakery Tours.


Monthly Special – Discounted by 23 to 46% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for January is a walking tour through Houston’s lesser known museum district. If you like high culture, this is a GREAT tour! On this tour you will be able to go inside almost 10 museums and chapels that are all FREE. Some of these are world renown. We walk through the pretty University of St. Thomas area in the Montrose District. The cultural sites that we go inside include: the Dan Flavin Installation, Cy Twombly Gallery, the Menil Collection, the Watercolor Art Society – Houston (WASH), the Houston Center for Photography (HCP), the Rothko Chapel, the Chapel of St. Basil, the former Byzantine Fresco Chapel that now has other exhibits, and the Neon Gallery. We may run out of time if you are having too much fun while spending a lot of time in any or all of these museums. You will also discover a number of small cafes and restaurants in the area. Regardless of how many museums, chapels, and galleries that we enter, you will be more enlightened with the exhibits and Houston.

Click here for more information about our tour through Houston’s lesser known museum district.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com