Tag Archives: Galveston Tours

Keith’s Blog – February 23 – February 29, 2020

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors, Hi. Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras in French is this week.  This is part of the 4 year cycle for: Leap years, Presidential election years, and Summer Olympic years, Weather in Houston The monthly average … Continue reading →

Keith’s Blog – July 15 – 21, 2019

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors, Hi.  Welcome to the city where you can drink the air. Weather in Houston Hurricane season starts out slow.  By mid-July, we begin to track some named tropical storms in the Caribbean Sea, but not … Continue reading →

Keith’s Blog – June 2019

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi.  Welcome to the land of heat and humidity.  Houston is the most air-conditioned city in the world.  Bring sunscreen and wear appropriate clothing.

Weather in Houston

June is the first month of the hurricane season that lasts through November 30th, for six months.  However, have no fear.  With the exception of a freak storm that began in the Pacific Ocean and crossed Mexico, Hurricane Patricia on October 25, 2015, 100% of all major hurricanes that have hit Houston do so in a six-week window during the last two weeks of August and the first four weeks of September.  The monthly average high temperature is 91 degrees Fahrenheit/33 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 74 degrees Fahrenheit/23 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 82 degrees Fahrenheit/28 degrees Centigrade.  It is the third hottest month of the year and the first of three consecutive months when the high temperature is normally in the 90 degrees Fahrenheit/30 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 6.8 inches/17.4 centimeters.  It is by far the wettest month of the year.  It is the only month with 6 or more inches of rainfall or 145 or more centimeters of rain.

Tours

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

African-American Music Appreciation Month

June is African-American Music Appreciation Month.  Would you like to schedule an evening tour to listen to some jazz,  rhythm and blues, or soul music?

Gay and Lesbian Themed Tours

June is LGBT Pride Month.  We go to a variety of bars, restaurants, clubs, unisex shops, and boutiques, and neighborhoods.  This is usually a late afternoon and or evening tour.

Brewery Tours

Nowadays, Houston has over 2 dozen breweries.  All but one, the St. Arnold Brewery (the grand-daddy), has started since 2011.  We offer brewery tours from 2 to 10 hours, from 1 to 4 breweries, from 1 to dozens of people.  We can play Irish, German, and country and western beer drinking songs along the way or play DVDs of movies and television shows that focused on beer drinking and where everyone knows your name.  Most breweries have either restaurants or food trucks on the premises to eat meals.

Galveston Tours

Galveston tours range from 5 to 14 hours depending on what you want to see.  Galveston has about 6 museums including the Ocean Star Oil Rig museum, The Bryan Museum whose specialty is anthropology, the Texas Seaport Museum, and the 4th largest Railroad Museum.  Perhaps, you would like to tour one or both of the 1890s mansion homes:  the Bishop’s Palace and or Moody Mansion.  You might want to go shopping on The Strand; this area looks a lot like a mini-, cleaned up version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  You could see one to three movies about the history and main events in the history of Galveston, including the greatest natural disaster in United States history.  The Galveston Hurricane, also known as the Great Storm killed between 6,000 and 8,000 people in just one city.  That figure was greater than the total number of people killed by all of the hurricanes that have hit the US since that time COMBINED with the exception of Hurricane Maria that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017.  We will also take you around to see the different neighborhoods, and Victorian homes and public structures and to tour downtown, and drive along The Seawall.

National Food Day Tours

Did you know that:

  • The first Friday of June is National Donut Day?
  • June 2nd is National Rocky Road Day?
  •  June 3rd is National Egg Day?
  • June 4th is National Cognac Day?
  • June 5th is National Gingerbread Day?
  • June 6th is National Applesauce Cake Day?
  • June 7th is Chocolate Ice Cream Day?
  • June 10th is National Iced Tea Day?
  • June 11th is National German Chocolate Cake Day?
  • June 12th is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day?
  • June 15th is National Lobster Day?
  • June 16th is National Fudge Day?
  • June 17th is National Eat Your Vegetables?
  • June 20th is National Vanilla Milkshake Day?
  • June 21st is National Peaches “N” Cream Day?
  • June 25th is National Catfish Day?
  • June 26th is National Chocolate Pudding Day?
  •  June 28th in National Tapioca Day?

 

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations.  We can combine two or more of the above holidays.  Who does not like comfort food and drink?

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

The monthly special for June is the 2.5-hour Tunnel Tour B.  THE TUNNELS ARE AIR CONDITIONED!  CELEBRATE!  Of the three tunnels tours that we offer, this is one of the two most popular tunnel tours.  It has the most visual stimuli, variety of activities, and a moderate amount of walking.  We will see hundreds of different stores and shops, go through the largest food court in the tunnel system, walk through at least 3 skybridges/skywalks from building to building and with smaller groups of 10 or less, go to 59th and 58th floor observation decks.  We walk through the busiest sections of the tunnels.  The walking is 2.0 miles/3.2 kilometers.  Shoppers and people with attention deficit disorder (ADD) tend to love this tour.

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.

It goes into the:

  • Wells Fargo Plaza
  • 1 Houston Center/LyondellBasell Tower/1200 McKinney Street,
  • 2 Houston Center/909 Fannin Street,
  • 3 Houston Center/Fulbright Tower/1301 McKinney Street,
  • 4 Houston Center/Shops at Houston Center/1221 Lamar Street, and
  • 5 Houston Center/1401 McKinney Street.

 

It goes under:

  • The Kinder-Morgan Building,
  • 919 Milam,
  • 1000 Main,
  • One City Centre,
  • 1001 Fannin,
  • 1001 McKinney/ International Bank of Commerce (IBC),
  • The Commerce Towers, and
  • 811 Louisiana.

 

You will walk through skywalks/skybridges over:

  • Caroline Street twice,
  • McKinney Street, and
  • San Jacinto Street.

 

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

Warnings:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. If you use a cane, we will be moving at such a slow pace that we will not be able to complete the whole tunnel tour. Thus, we will have to omit some buildings.
  4. 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.

  1. 1927 32-story tall Niels Esperson Building. This was Houston’s tallest building from 1927 to 1929.
  2. 1929 37-story tall J. P. Morgan Chase Building. This was Houston’s tallest building from 1929 to 1963.
  3. 1939 17-story tall City Hall. The architect was Joseph Finger.
  4. 1942 19-story tall Mellie Esperson Building. The architect was John Eberson.
  5. 1971 50-story tall One Shell Plaza. This was Houston’s tallest building from 1971 to 1980.
  6. 1975 36-story tall Pennzoil Place. This is Houston’s most award-winning skyscraper. Philip Johnson designed it.
  7. 1982 75-story tall J. P. Morgan Chase Tower. This is the tallest building in Texas. I. M. Pei designed it.
  8. 1983 71-story tall Wells Fargo Plaza. This is the second tallest building in Texas. Richard Keating designed it.

 

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. Metered parking is usually available in the 500 block of both Walker Street and McKinney Street for up to 3-hours. Underground garage parking beneath Tranquility Park is accessible in the 500 block of Rusk Street.

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

Warnings:

  1. Use a bathroom before the tour begins. Only one public bathroom is accessible during this tour after we leave the area close to City Hall.
  2. 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.
  3. If you use a cane, we will be moving at such a slow pace that we will not be able to complete the whole tunnel tour. Thus, we will have to omit some buildings.
  4. 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.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 1 person – $40.00.  This is a 43% discount off of the regular price of $70.00

$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

  • 2 people – $30.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $40.00 per person.

$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

  • 3 or 4 people – $25.00 each.  This is a 17% discount off the regular price of $30.00 per person.

$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.
$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.
$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

  • 5 to 9 people – $20.00 each.  This is a 20% discount off the regular price of $25.00 per person.

$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person.  $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x 6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

  • 10 to 19 people – $15.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off the regular price of $20.00 per person.
    $15.00 + $1.24 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $2.25 per person (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $18.49 per person x the number of people.

 

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.

If you have any suggestions for special tour discounts in July, send us an email.

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 – April 2019

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.

Annually, our best month is normally October because of the good weather and the spike that we get from conducting haunted tours in the month of Halloween.  We conduct haunted tours throughout the year, but we conduct more in October than any other month.  April is often our second or third busiest month, again due to the good weather.  We have already had to turn away people because we have had multiple tour requests on the same day.  If you have been thinking about taking a tour, now is the time.

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 mansion?
  • 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 confectionary that makes it 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.

San Jacinto State Park (SJSP) Tours (6 Hours) and or Huntsville Tours (8 Hours)

These are separate tours focusing on the history of Texas.  April 21st is San Jacinto Day, the anniversary of Texas winning its independence from Mexico on April 21, 1836.  In 2019, we discovered a monument of the site where Santa Anna was capture, a number of miles from SJSP.  As added bonuses we will:

  • See the monument commemorating the location of where Santa was captured on April 22, 1836 and
  • Drive under the Houston Ship Channel in the Washburn Tunnel.

 

The tour also includes:

  • Going to the observation deck,
  • Touring the Museum,
  • Watching the 35-minute movie “Texas Forever” about the battle narrated by Charlton Heston,
  • Seeing a special exhibit,
  • Walking on and through the Battleship Texas.
  • Travel on the Lynchburg Ferry.
  • Have lunch along the Houston Ship Channel at Monument Inn.

The SJSP is about 30 minutes east from downtown Houston.  It is the site of the second greatest victory on what is now US soil after the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. A re-enactment of the battle takes place every April.

Huntsville Tour

Another great Texas history tour is going to Huntsville with a focus on the life of arguably the greatest Texan of all-time:  Sam Houston. This tour includes going to:

  • The house in which Sam Houston died.
  • The house that was relocated there where he resided longer than any other place.
  • The Sam Houston Memorial Museum.
  • The Sam Houston Statue along I-45. This is the tallest statue of a once real American in the United States.
  • Sam Houston’s gravesite.
  • Joshua Houston’s gravesite in the “Negro Section.”
  • Assorted other historic frontier homes of the mid-1800s.
  • Sam Houston State University.
  • Downtown Huntsville.
  • Multiple Visitor Centers and gift shops.
  • Time permitting, we will also go to the Texas Prison Museum where you can see Old Sparky.

Huntsville is in the beautifully scenic hill country north of Houston and is about a 1.25 hour drive from downtown Houston.  We are happy to stop in Old Town Spring, also.  This looks like an old village from the turn of the last century at about 1900.

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.

National Food Day Tours

Did you know that:

  • April 2nd is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day?
  • April 5th is National Caramel Day and National Burrito Day?
  • April 7th is National Beer Day?
  • April 10th is National Cinnamon Roll Day?
  • April 11th is National Cheese Fondue Day?
  • April 17th is National Cheeseball Day?
  • April 22nd is National Jellybean Day?
  • April 24th is National Pigs in a Blanket Day?
  • April 25th is National Zucchini Brad Day?
  • April 26th is National Shrimp Scampi Day?

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations.  We can combine two or more of the above holidays.  Who does not like comfort food and drink?

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.

 

Monthly Special Prices

  • 1 person – $40.00.  This is a 43% discount off of the regular price of $70.00

$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

  • 2 people – $30.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $40.00 per person.

$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

  • 3 or 4 people – $25.00 each.  This is a 17% discount off the regular price of $30.00 per person.

$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.
$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.
$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

  • 5 to 9 people – $20.00 each.  This is a 20% discount off the regular price of $25.00 per person.

$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person.  $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x 6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

  • 10 to 19 people – $15.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off the regular price of $20.00 per person.
    $15.00 + $1.24 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $2.25 per person (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $18.49 per person x the number of people.

 

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.

If you have any suggestions for special tour discounts in May, send us an email.

No one attempted to answer last month’s Mid-March trivia question and win a free tour.  It will roll-over to next year.  Look forward to a new question in our Mid-April blog.

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-December 2018

Keith's Blog

Hello to all of our new and continuing members.

In the past month from November 15th to December 15th, my tour guides and I have had the pleasure to conduct tours for hundreds of people to and of:

  1. African American Tour customized – once
  2. City Tour A2 – once
  3. Galveston Tours – thrice
  4. Haunted Tour A – once
  5. Haunted Tour Y – once
  6. Heights Tour B – once
  7. Holiday Lights Tour A – 4 times
  8. Holiday Lights Tour B – once
  9. Painted and Historical Churches Tour A – once
  10. Texas Medical Center (TMC) Walking Tour B2 – once
  11. TMC Walking Tour C1 – once
  12. Tunnel Tour A3 – once
  13. Tunnel Tour A4 – once
  14. Tunnel Tour B1 – once
  15. Tunnel Tour B4 – once
  16. Tunnel Tour B5 – once
  17. Wine Tour A2 – once

A popular song at this time of year is “It’s the Most Wonderful Season of the Year.”  As long as I am busy, I agree.  LOL.

In December, the most popular category of tours are the Holiday Lights Tours.  Although we offer 9 options, Holiday Lights Tour A is the most popular, being chosen approximately 90% of the time.  As I write this blog, we have 11 Holiday Lights Tours scheduled through December 23rd.

If you might be interested in still scheduling a Holiday Lights Tour, the following dates are available:  December 22nd and anytime on and after December 24th.  A surcharge exists to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas.  Lights should be on display typically until the first weekend after Christmas (December 29th and 30th) or through the Epiphany on January 6th.

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.

Please look at our beginning of the month blog to see the various monthly specials and discounts.

If you have any suggestions for special tour discounts in January, send us an email.

I hope that you all are enjoying a happy and healthy season full of contentment, civility, peace, and prosperity.

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 – December 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi.  December is a joyous month.  Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Yule help to provide joy and hope for a better future for most everyone.  Regardless of your religion or lack of, race, ethnicity, gender preference, and gender, it is a time when we often come together to share happiness.

Weather in Houston

December is Houston’s second coldest month.  Be prepared to wear a sweater, coat, or both.  The monthly average high temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit/18 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 47 degrees Fahrenheit/6 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 56 degrees Fahrenheit/13 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 3.78 inches/9.6 centimeters.  It is the ninth wettest month of the year.

Tours Below

Mention that you read about any of the tours below {other than the monthly specials) from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount in the month of December. What a deal!

National Food Day Tours
Did you know that:

  • December 2nd is National Fritters Day?
  • December 4th is National Cookie Day?
  • December 9th is National Pastry Day?
  • December 10th is National Lager Day?
  • December 11 is National Bagel Day?
  • December 13th is National Hot Cocoa Day?
  • December 15th is International Tea Day and National Cupcake Day?
  • December 21st is National Hamburger Day?
  • December 22nd is National Date Nut Bread Day?
  • December 24th is National Eggnog Day?
  • December 25th is National Pumpkin Pie Day?
  • December 27th is National Fruitcake Day?
  • December 31st is National Champagne Day?

So much self-indulgent food and drink! So few stomachs! Ah, to be a cow. LOL

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations. We can combine two or more of the above holidays. Who does not like comfort food?

Holiday Lights Tours
December sees an uptick in our tour business because of the holidays.  We offer 9 different Holiday Lights Tours.  Four tours are 3 hours, three tours are 4-hours, one tour is 5-hours, and one tour is 7-hours.  The 5-hour tour goes to Texas City and Galveston.  The 7-hour tour goes to Santa’s Wonderland in College Station.  This area has over 1 million lights.

Tour A, for 3 hours, is far and away the most popular of the Holiday Lights Tour.  It includes the Galleria, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Uptown Park, River Oaks District, Highland Village, and Greenway Plaza.  Our other three hour tours can include the various Heights, ethnic minority areas, the elite Green Tea subdivision in Pearland, Candlelight Plaza, Prestonwood Forest, and more communities.  The 3-hour tours are normally from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, although we can be flexible.  Remember that sunset takes place at about 5:30 PM so you want to start sometime thereafter.  They normally have one stop at a Starbucks for bathrooms and holiday drinks.  Visit our website to see more of the detailed descriptions.

People begin scheduling the Holiday Lights Tours in August. I already have conducted our first Holiday Lights tour of the year this past week in November. I already have over one-half dozen more Holiday Lights tours scheduled with still other inquiries. If you would like to go on a Holiday Lights tour, contact us now to reserve your tour.

Mexican Restaurant Tours
December is a good month to also go on a comfort food tour.  We offer several food and drink tours including Mexican Restaurant Tours.  You can choose the length and how many restaurants that you want to visit and how much you want to eat.  We take you to a historic Mexican restaurants that are generally considered among the best in Houston.  All of the restaurants were found in the 1900s.  Some specialize in entrees, some in appetizers, some in margaritas.  We recommend that you select one thing, for example nachos or quesadillas, that you can compare and contrast at each restaurant and still have more space in your stomach to try some more at the next restaurant.  Many of the Mexican restaurants are beautifully decorated for the holidays.  Visit our website to see what restaurants we include on such a tour and customize it.

Galveston Tours
Galveston has a certain mystique, similar to New Orleans, but on a 1/10 size.  Like New Orleans, it was a port city, the state’s wealthiest city and full of immigrants and sailors coming into it.  It was the largest city in Texas in 1870 and 1880.  Prostitution and gambling thrived during the years that Galveston was an open city.  Hurricanes have repeated beaten it down only for the city to bounce back.  The greatest architect in Texas history designed some of the most impressive buildings in the state from 1872 to 1900.  Galveston is currently experiencing its first growth in six decades.  Hurricane Ike in 2008 resulted in people reinvesting in Galveston.  We offer Galveston tours from 5 to 12 hours that can include a boat ride to see dolphins and a sunken ship in Galveston Bay, museums, mansion homes to tour, historical homes from the 1830s and 1840s to stop and photograph, movies to watch titled “The Great Storm” and or “The Pirate Island of Jean Lafitte,” seeing tree sculptures, great food and drink to consume, and exploring different neighborhoods.  December is a particularly good time to visit because of the festival Dickens on the Strand.  It started in 1974 and is held on the first weekend in December.  A tradition is a descendant of the great British author Charles Dickens leads the parade and people dress in costumes from the era of Dickens’s best-selling book The Christmas Carol.  You will have a bloody good time.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 43% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for December is a Northern Hermann Park Walking Tour.  This 2.5-hour tour focuses on going through Houston’s most famous and popular park, Hermann Park.  It was named after Houston’s greatest benefactor, George Hermann. Some of the highlights are:

  • Strolling through the Japanese Gardens
  • Walking by the Houston Zoo
  • Watching the activities at McGovern Lake
  • Seeing our smaller version of the Washington Monument
  • Visiting Miller Outdoor Theatre (MOT)
  • Viewing the children’s train
  • Visiting the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS), the fourth most museum visited in the United States
  • Seeing the most famous statue in Houston, that of General Sam Houston
  • Seeing the 18-hole golf course
  • Walking through the John P. McGovern Centennial Gardens and Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion,
    Seeing the 3 Mecom Fountains
  • Seeing nine busts of Latin American leaders: Benito Juarez, Jose de San Martin, Simon Bolivar, Jose Marti, Bernardo O’Higgins, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Vicente Rocafuerte, Field Marshal Ramon Castilla, and Dr. Jose Rizal
  • Seeing 3 statues of men of peace: Mahatma Gandhi, Confucius, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Seeing miscellaneous other statues and structures of Cancer, There is Hope, Grecian Dancer, Oliver Twist, Atropos Key, a Japanese Stone Lantern, and Chinese pagoda, and
  • Seeing the holiday decorations in the park.

This tour begins outside the main entrance of the Houston Zoo on the north side. If you have a GPS, input 1680 Zoo Circle Drive, Houston, Texas 77030. The street may also be identified as Golf Course Drive and Hermann Park Drive. Parking Lot G is the closest lot. Parking is free, but limited to 3-hours. The parking garage by the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) costs money, but one can park there for several hours.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 1 person – $40.00.  This is a 43% discount off of the regular price of $70.00

$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

  • 2 people – $30.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $40.00 per person.

$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

  • 3 or 4 people – $25.00 each.  This is a 17% discount off the regular price of $30.00 per person.

$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.
$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.
$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

  • 5 to 9 people – $20.00 each.  This is a 20% discount off the regular price of $25.00 per person.

$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person.  $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x 6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

  • 10 to 19 people – $15.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off the regular price of $20.00 per person.
    $15.00 + $1.24 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $2.25 per person (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $18.49 per person x the number of people.

Some Positive Forms of Recognition


Invite Your Friends

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.

Enjoy the season.

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 – July 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi.  Welcome to the city where we can have 100% precipitation and no rainfall.  The air is damp.  The heat is extreme.  This is an excellent month to:

  1. Stay in a vehicle during city tours.
  2. Plan a tour that involves being in buildings such as museums and Space Center Houston (SCH).
  3. Go on tunnel tours inside air-conditioned environments in downtown and the Texas Medical Center (TMC).
  4. Go on an out-of-town tour such as to Galveston or San Antonio.

 

Weather in Houston

July is the hottest month of the year, but just barely ahead of August.  You might want to wear a cap or hat with a bill to keep your forehead and face a little cooler.  Bring sunscreen and perhaps a portable hand-held fan that can spray water on you.  The monthly average high temperature is 94 degrees Fahrenheit/34 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit/24 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 85 degrees Fahrenheit/29 degrees Centigrade.  It is the second of three consecutive months when the high temperature is normally in the 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the third of five consecutive months when the temperature is in the 30 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 4.4 inches/11.1 centimeters.  It is the seventh wettest month of the year.  In fact, Houston often has droughts in July due to the combination of extreme heat and a lack of rainfall.  Rainfall is not dispersed evenly.  Do you remember the old slogan for Morton’s Salt?  “When it rains, its pours.”  A month’s worth of rain may fall in only one or two days.

City Tours
Spend some time in air conditioned vehicles learning about your city.  With over 600 square miles, Houston is massive.  Relax and enjoy our tours.  You have the option of choosing the length of the tour and how much you want to see, from 2 hour to 9 hours, from about 15 miles/24 kilometers to about 75 miles/121 kilometers.

Museum Tours
How many of you know that Houston has over 45 museums and chapels.  What better time of year is there to be inside than summer in Houston?  Many of these museums and chapels are FREE and small enough that you can tour them in 1 hour or less.  Of course, some people might want to spend longer in some of them.  You can have this tour customized to the time you want and the number of museums you want to visit.  These free museums include:

  1. Art Car Museum
  2. Asia Society Texas Center – main exhibit only.
  3. Bayou Bend Visitors Center Museum
  4. Blaffer Museum
  5. Byzantine Fresco Chapel’s current exhibit
  6. Chapel of St. Basil
  7. Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH)
  8. Cy Twombly Gallery
  9. Dan Flavin Installation
  10. Dunham Bible Museum
  11. Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts (HCCC)
  12. Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC)
  13. Houston Public Library African American Museum
  14. Houston Public Library Local Heritage Museum
  15. Menil Collection (arguably the best free art museum in the US)
  16. Rothko Chapel
  17. Watercolor Art Society – Houston (WASH)

What a wide variety!  Expand your knowledge, understanding of different cultures, and have a great time while enjoying air conditioning.

Downtown Tunnel Tours

Our downtown tunnel tours are always fan favorites.  We recently, as in this week, modified them.  The Wells Fargo Plaza has closed its observation decks to the public.  Only Tunnel Tour C has an observation deck on a 2.5 hour tour.  Per requests, we are now offering abridged 1.5 and 2.0 hour tours as well as extended 4.5-hour tunnel tours.  Check them out and tell what you think.

Texas Medical Center (TMC) Tunnel, Skybridge, and Hospital Tours
These tours are available 7 days a week and in the morning, afternoon, and night. They are all enclosed with the exception that on TMC Tour B (which is the most popular of the tours going through Texas Children’s Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Houston Methodist Hospital) we have to step outside to cross a street for about 5 minutes.  TMC A goes through the Memorial Hermann complex and has more history.  TMC C goes through the world famous UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.  These are generally 2.5 or 3.5 hour tours with a stop for lunch and a museum.  Did you know that the TMC has museums dedicated to Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley and his colleagues?  These are all fascinating places.  

Galveston Tours
Visit our historic neighbor to the southeast where you can always feel the Gulf breezes.  Cooler in the summer than Houston and warmer in the winter, now is a good time to visit.  We offer Galveston tours from 5 to 12 hours depending on how much you want to do.  Wear sunglass, a hat, and bring sunscreen.  Galveston has harbor boat rides, one-half dozen museums, historic mansion homes from the 1890s to tour, great restaurants, a winery, breweries, and more.  Let us customize a tour for you.

San Antonio Tours
Now is a good time to leave Houston.  San Antonio has a certain mysticism and romance lacking in most US cities.  Its history and culture are unique among major cities in the US.  Did you know that San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas and seventh largest city in the nation?  We offer long 13 to 14 hour day tours as well as overnight tours from 2 to 6 days.  Austin is only 1.5 hours to the north.  Great shopping and other activities can be found in San Marcos, about 1.2 hours to the north on the way towards Austin.  Did you know that San Marcos has two of the largest outlet malls in all of the US?  Have fun in anything you choose.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 29% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for July is a 2.5-hour Texas Medical Center (TMC) Walking Tour B.  This is the most popular of our 3 TMC walking tours.  We go through Texas Children’s Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, and the Methodist Hospital of Houston.  It also goes through a few other facilities.  It includes tunnels that were filled with water during Tropical Allison on June 9, 2001 and goes through approximately 7 skybridges.  It includes seeing waterfalls, an atrium, a miniature train layout, and much more that you might not expect to see in hospitals.  The front of The Methodist Hospital looks like an exquisite hotel with fountains, statutes, a huge ceiling, and a grand piano.   It starts in the first floor lobby of the Clinical Care Center (CCC) of Texas Children’s Hospital at 6701 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas 77030.  This is off of Bates Street, Entrance #10 and the closet parking is Garage 16.  From Fannin Street, one can only enter from the south.

Monthly Special Prices (along with the totals including sales tax and gratuity for 1 to 5 people):

  • 1 person – $40.00.  This is between a 43 to 50% discount, depending on the tour.

$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

  • 2 people – $30.00 each.  This is between a 25 to 54% discount depending on the tour.

$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

  • 3 or 4 people – $25.00 each.  This is between a 17 to 50% discount depending on the tour.

$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.
$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.
$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

  • 5 to 9 people – $20.00 each.  This is a 20 to 43% discount depending on the tour.

$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person.  $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x 6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

  • 10 to 19 people – $15.00 each.  This is a 25 to 40% discount depending on the tour.

Add 8.25% sales tax and for groups of 6 or more people a 15% gratuity.
These prices cannot be combined with any other offer.
A maximum of 15 people can go on the Texas Medical Center (TMC) walking tours.

Invite Your Friends
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.

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 – June 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi.

  1. Do you like sunshine?
  2. Do you like heat and humidity?
  3. Do you want curly hair?
  4. Do you like to sweat?
  5. Do you feel more comfortable when your eyes are stinging from perspiration dripping in them?
  6. Do you like your hair matted on your neck within 1 minute of going outside?
  7. Do you like drinking the air?

 

Welcome to Houston where you can have all of this. Dress as lightly as possible and bring fluids to hydrate yourself.

June is Gay and Lesbian Month.
Houston was the first major city to have an openly gay mayor: Annise Parker from 2009 to 2015. Some estimates show that Houston has the sixth largest gay population in the United States. An area of Houston known as Montrose has a thriving gay population. Houston is among the leaders in the nation for performing and theater arts. The gay population is active as sponsors and participants. However, you can find the gay population throughout the city in all walks of life

Weather in Houston
June is the first month of the hurricane season that lasts through November 30th, for six months. However, have no fear. With the exception of a freak storm that began in the Pacific Ocean and crossed Mexico, Hurricane Patricia on October 25, 2015, 100% of all major hurricanes that have hit Houston do so in a six-week window during the last two weeks of August and the first four weeks of September. Some people who come from cooler climates who are not used to air-conditioning complain that our buildings and cars are too cold. However, within two minutes of us turning the AC off, these same people will complain that the temperature is too hot and insist on us turning on the AC again. Many ethnic minority women shield themselves from the sun and heat by using umbrellas on bright clear days. You might want to wear a cap or hat with a bill to keep your forehead and face a little cooler. The monthly average high temperature is 91 degrees Fahrenheit/33 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 74 degrees Fahrenheit/23 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 82 degrees Fahrenheit/28 degrees Centigrade. It is the third hottest month of the year and the first of three consecutive months when the high temperature is normally in the 90 degrees Fahrenheit/30 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 6.8 inches/17.4 centimeters. It is by far the wettest month of the year. It is the only month with 6 or more inches of rainfall or 145 or more centimeters of rain.

Tours

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

Gay and Lesbian Themed Tours
We go to a variety of bars, restaurants, clubs, unisex shops, and boutiques, and neighborhoods. This is usually a late afternoon and or evening tour.

Brewery Tours
Nowadays, Houston has over 2 dozen breweries. All but one, the St. Arnold Brewery (the grand-daddy, has started up since 2011. We offer brewery tours from 2 to 10 hours, from 1 to 4 breweries, from 1 to dozens of people. We can play Irish, German, and country and western beer drinking songs along the way or play DVDs of movies and television shows that focused on beer drinking and where everyone knows your name. Most breweries have either restaurants or food trucks on the premises to eat meals.

Galveston Tours
Galveston tours range from 5 to 14 hours depending on what you want to see. Galveston has about 6 museums including the Ocean Star Oil Rig museum, The Bryan Museum whose specialty is anthropology, the Texas Seaport Museum, and the 4th largest Railroad Museum. Perhaps, you would like to tour one or both of the 1890s mansion homes: the Bishop’s Palace and or Moody Mansion. You might want to go shopping on The Strand; this area looks a lot like a mini-, cleaned up version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. You could see one to three movies about the history and main events in the history of Galveston, including the greatest natural disaster in United States history. The Galveston Hurricane, also known as the Great Storm killed between 6,000 and 8,000 people in just one city. That figure is greater than the total number of people killed by all of the hurricanes that have hit the US since that time COMBINED. We will also take you around to see the different neighborhoods, and Victorian homes and public structures and to tour downtown, and drive along The Seawall.

San Antonio Tours
We offer single-day tours of between 13 and 14 hours as well as multi-day tours. The single-day tours generally leave from downtown at 6:30 AM to arrive in San Antonio by 9:30 AM. We will go to the Alamo, Alamo Plaza, St. Joseph’s Church, the Riverwalk, the Arneson River Theater, La Villita with homes from the 1700s (It is now an artist colony, and Market Square (the Mercado). If time permits, we will go to the Mission San Jose y San Miguel from 1720. We will drive through the King William District of old mansions of a German settlement from the mid to late 1800s. We will drive through downtown where we will see the Bexar County Courthouse, City Hall, Spanish Governor’s Palace from the early 1700s, San Fernando Cathedral from 1731, 1840s home of Jose Navarro, the 1929 Majestic Theater (an old movie theater palace) and the home of the great short story writer O’Henry. Multi-day tours can include a day at Seaworld and or Fiesta Texas, as well as going to Austin, New Braunfels, and or San Marcos, museums, the San Antonio Zoo, and Japanese Gardens.

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

The monthly special for June is the 2.5-hour Tunnel Tour B. THE TUNNELS ARE AIR CONDITIONED! CELEBRATE!

Of the three tunnels tours that we offer, this is one of the two most popular tunnel tours. It has the most visual stimuli, variety of activities, and a moderate amount of walking. We will see hundreds of different stores and shops, go through the largest food court in the tunnel system, walk through at least 3 skybridges/skywalks from building to building and with smaller groups of 10 or less, go to 59th and 58th floor observation decks. We walk through the busiest sections of the tunnels. The walking is 2.0 miles/3.2 kilometers. Shoppers and people with attention deficit disorder (ADD) tend to love this tour.

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.

It goes into the:

  • Wells Fargo Plaza
  • 1 Houston Center/LyondellBasell Tower/1200 McKinney Street,
  • 2 Houston Center/909 Fannin Street,
  • 3 Houston Center/Fulbright Tower/1301 McKinney Street,
  • 4 Houston Center/Shops at Houston Center/1221 Lamar Street, and
  • 5 Houston Center/1401 McKinney Street.

 

It goes under:

  • The Kinder-Morgan Building,
  • 919 Milam,
  • 1000 Main,
  • One City Centre,
  • 1001 Fannin,
  • 1001 McKinney/ International Bank of Commerce (IBC),
  • The Commerce Towers, and
  • 811 Louisiana.

 

You will walk through skywalks/skybridges over:

  • Caroline Street twice,
  • McKinney Street, and
  • San Jacinto Street.

 

Warnings:

  1. A walking tour only moves as fast as the slowest person.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. If you use a cane, we will be moving at such a slow pace that we will not be able to complete the whole tunnel tour. Thus, we will have to omit some buildings.
  5. 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.
  6. You cannot take photos inside the banks. Taking photos elsewhere is fine.

 

Monthly Special Prices

1 person – $40.00. This is a 43% discount off of the regular price of $70.00.
$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

2 people – $30.00 each. This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $40.00 per person.
$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

3 or 4 people – $25.00 each. This is a 17% discount off of the regular price of $30.00 per person.
$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

5 to 9 people – $20.00 each. This is a 20% discount off of the regular price of $25.00 per person.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person. $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x  6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

10 to 19 people – $15.00 each. This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $20.00 per person.
$15.00 + $1.24 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $2.25 per person (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $18.49 per person x the number of people.

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 – 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 – December 2017

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors

Hi. December is a joyous month. Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa help to provide joy and hope for a better future for most everyone. Regardless of your religion or lack of, race, ethnicity, gender preference, and gender, it is a time when we often come together to share happiness.

Weather in Houston
December is Houston’s second coldest month. Be prepared to wear a sweater, coat, or both. The monthly average high temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit/18 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 47 degrees Fahrenheit/6 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 56 degrees Fahrenheit/13 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 3.78 inches/9.6 centimeters. It is the ninth wettest month of the year.

 


Holiday Lights Tours
December sees an uptick in our tour business because of the holidays. We offer 9 different Holiday Lights Tours. Four tours are 3 hours, three tours are 4-hours, one tour is 5-hours, and one tour is 7-hours. The 5-hour tour goes to Texas City and Galveston. The 7-hour tour goes to Santa’s Wonderland in College Station. This area has over 1 million lights.

Tour A, for 3 hours, is far and away the most popular of the Holiday Lights Tour. It includes the Galleria, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Uptown Park, River Oaks District, Highland Village, and Greenway Plaza. Our other three hour tours can include the various Heights, ethnic minority areas, the elite Green Tea subdivision in Pearland, Candlelight Plaza, Prestonwood Forest, and more communities. The 3-hour tours are normally from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, although we can be flexible. Remember that sunset takes place at about 5:30 PM so you want to start sometime thereafter. They normally have one stop at a Starbucks for bathrooms and holiday drinks. Visit our website to see more of the detailed descriptions.

Click here for more information on our Holiday Lights Tours.

Mexican Restaurant Tours
December is a good month to also go on a comfort food tour. We offer several food and drink tours including Mexican Restaurant Tours. You can choose the length and how many restaurants that you want to visit and how much you want to eat. We take you to a historic Mexican restaurants that are generally considered among the best in Houston. All of the restaurants were found in the 1900s. Some specialize in entrees, some in appetizers, some in margaritas. We recommend that you select one thing, for example nachos or quesadillas, that you can compare and contrast at each restaurant and still have more space in your stomach to try some more at the next restaurant. Many of the Mexican restaurants are beautifully decorated for the holidays. Visit our website to see what restaurants we include on such a tour and customize it.

Click here for more information on our Mexican Restaurant Tours..

Galveston Tours
Galveston has a certain mystique, similar to New Orleans, but on a 1/10 size. Like New Orleans, it was a port city, the state’s wealthiest city and full of immigrants and sailors coming into it. It was the largest city in Texas in 1870 and 1880. Prostitution and gambling thrived during the years that Galveston was an open city. Hurricanes have repeated beaten it down only for the city to bounce back. The greatest architect in Texas history designed some of the most impressive buildings in the state from 1872 to 1900. Galveston is currently experiencing its first growth in six decades. Hurricane Ike in 2008 resulted in people reinvesting in Galveston. We offer Galveston tours from 5 to 12 hours that can include a boat ride to see dolphins and a sunken ship in Galveston Bay, museums, mansion homes to tour, historical homes from the 1830s and 1840s to stop and photograph, movies to watch titled “The Great Storm” and or “The Pirate Island of Jean Lafitte,” seeing tree sculptures, great food and drink to consume, and exploring different neighborhoods. December is a particularly good time to visit because of the festival Dickens on the Strand. It started in 1974 and is held on the first weekend in December. A tradition is a descendant of the great British author Charles Dickens leads the parade and people dress in costumes from the era of Dickens’s best selling book The Christmas Carol. You will have a bloody good time.

Click here for more information on our Galveston Tours.


Monthly Special – Discounted by 23 to 46% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for December is a Hermann Park and Museums Walking Tour. This 2.5-hour tour focuses on going through Houston’s most famous and popular park, Hermann Park. It was named after Houston’s greatest benefactor, George Hermann. We will stroll through the Japanese Gardens and the Cheri Flores Garden Pavilion up Houston’s version of the Tower of Babel. We will see over one dozen statues including several busts of Latin American revolutionary leaders, Robert Burns, Confucius, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the most famous statue in Houston: General Sam Houston. Walk past the Houston Zoo, 18-hole golf course, McGovern Lake, the Miller Outdoor Theater (MOT), the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS), the children’s train, picnic areas, and more. Have a great time in one of our most beautiful parks. Bring a jacket depending on the weather. For families, you will have a new destination for your activities. There is so much to do in Hermann Park.

Click here for more information about this Hermann Park and Museums Walking Tour.

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