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 26^th and continues through Sunday, March 18^th. 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

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