Photo Above:  Austin (the Capital) of Texas

Welcome to Visiting Texas

Throughout the pages of this web site, you will find interesting, entertaining and helpful information about the history of, visiting and vacationing in and living in the beautiful state of Texas.  Bookmark us to return later as our pages will be growing in number day by day.

Texas is located in the southern and southwestern regions of the United States of America.  The state is second-largest in both area (behind Alaska) and population (behind California).

Texas is internationally known for its energy and aeronautics industries, and for the ship channel at the Port of Houston - the largest in the United States in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world. 

Texas is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and has the second-largest economy in the United States, behind California.  The Texas Medical Center in Houston contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

American Indian tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Wichita, Heuco and the Karankawa of Galveston.  Currently there are three federally recognized Native American tribes that reside in Texas.  They are the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.

The justice system in Texas has a strict sentencing for criminals.  Texas leads the nation in executions by far, with 400 executions from 1982 to 2007.  Only capital murder is eligible for the death penalty.  A bill making child rape a capital crime in some instances is currently under consideration.

Known for their role in the history of Texas law enforcement, the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety continue today to provide special law enforcement services to the state.  Texas Game Wardens - law enforcement officers working for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - are given the same amount of authority as any other law enforcement officer.  It is a common myth that they are able to enter private property without a search warrant and search people or vehicles with no probable cause.

Texas leads the nation in number of beef, which usually exceed 16 million head.  Cotton is the leading crop and the state's second-most-valuable farm product.  Texas also leads in national production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and spinach, wheat, corn and other grains are also important.

The "tails" side of the Texas quarter

The growth of Texas is often attributed to:

• the availability of jobs
• the low cost of housing
• lack of a personal state income tax
• low taxation and limited regulation of business
• a geographic location in the center of the country
• limited government (The Texas Legislature meets only once every two years)
• favorable climate in many areas of the state
• vast, plentiful supplies of oil and natural gas

There are currently 33 billionaires residing in Texas today.  Dallas has 11 billionaires, the most of any in Texas.

Cotton harvesting in Texas

Texas remained largely rural until World War II.  Cattle ranching, oil and agriculture was its main industries.  Cattle ranching was important in Texas, but was never the chief industry.  Before the oil boom, the chief industry was cotton farming as was in most of the South.  After World War II, Texas became increasingly industrialized.  Its economy today relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing.  The major segment of the economy depends mostly upon the region involved.  The timber industry is a major portion of the East Texas economy and a non-factor elsewhere.  Houston's largest urban economic enclave is at the center of the petrochemical, biomedical research trades, and aerospace, particularly NASA.  Dallas is home to the state's predominant defense manufacturing interests and the expansive information technology labor market.

Port of Houston.

Texans are proud of their history of tradition, however, they also seek new social and technological developments.  Round Rock, an Austin suburb, is the headquarters of Dell, and the surrounding area is known as "Silicon Hills."  Dallas is a famous cosmopolitan metropolis and the birthplace of the integrated circuit.  Houston is a global leader in the energy industry.  The cultures of San Antonio and El Paso retain their Mexican heritage while Fort Worth maintains its western roots.  The state tourism slogan is "Texas:  It's like a whole other country."

Texas is one of the top filmmaking states in the United States, just after California and New York.  Austin is now one of the leading filmmaking locations in the country.

Culture

Due to immigration in the United States history, the culture of Texas has been a melting pot of different cultures from around the world.  Texas is a diverse and an international place to live.  This is due to in part because of its many academic institutions and strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries.

There are many popular events held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans.  The Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo in Fort Worth lasts three weeks in late January and early February.  It features many traditional rodeos, a cowboy rodeo, and Mexican rodeo.                                     

Big Tex has presided over every Texas State Fair since 1952

 

Texas has a vibrant live music scene in Austin. The Live Music Capital of the World. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film, music, and multimedia festival known as South by Southwest. The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is videotaped on The University of Texas at Austin campus or in Zilker Park. Austin City Limits and Waterloo Records run the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin.

Over the past couple of decades, San Antonio evolved into what has been billed as the "Nashville of Tejano music." The Tejano Music Awards have provided a forum to create greater awareness and appreciation for Tejano music and culture.

 

Architecture

Texas is home to many works of architecture, both traditional and contemporary. Many world class architects and Pritzker Prize winners have left their enriching marks on Texan cities and landscapes. Frank Lloyd Wright had 4 buildings in Texas, while Tadao Andos Modern Art Museum and Louis Kahn's famous Kimbell Art Museum are permanent landmarks of the city of Fort Worth. Other super architects such as I.M. Pei and Philip Johnson have numerous works across the state of Texas. Among their famous works one can mention the Fort Worth Water Gardens, Amon Carter Museum, Chapel of St. Basil, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and Thanks-Giving Square. In Austin, Gordon Bunshaft's Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum (also a Pritzker Prize winner) is particularly noteworthy, while Steven Holl, Robert A. M. Stern, Richard Meier, and César Pelli are other architect legends who designed buildings that grace the Dallas and Houston areas. Sir Norman Foster's Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is the latest addition to such architectural landmarks in Texas.

 

Ricardo Legorreta's San Antonio Public Library is an excellent example of postmodern architecture in Texas.

The Bexar County Courthouse by James Riely Gordon is a work of Romanesque Revival architecture from 1892.

Philip Johnson's landscaping materpiece: the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

Nicholas J. Clayton's "Old Red" built in 1891, is a registered Texas historic landmark.   Throughout the pages of Visiting Texas you will find interesting, entertaining and helpful information about the history of, visiting and vacationing and living in the beautiful state of Texas. Use the menu bar to your left and at the bottom of each page to navigate through the site.  Bookmark us to return later, the site will be growing day by day.