Port of Houston

Puerto de Houston

The original Port of Houston was located at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou in downtown Houston by the University of Houston–Downtown. This area is called "Allen's Landing" and is now a park. It is the birthplace of the City of Houston. The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. In September 1900, a devastating hurricane slammed into Galveston, leaving behind one of the worst natural disasters in American history. More than 8,000 people lost their lives. With the discovery of oil at Spindletop in 1901 and crops such as rice beginning to rival cotton exports, the growth of Texas commerce was accelerating and Houston’s lack of a deep-water ship channel denied it the means to handle newer and larger vessels to support that commerce. Tom Ball proposed that Houston and the federal government share the cost of dredging a deep-water channel to Houston. Work on the deep channel commenced in 1912. On September 7, 1914, the dredge TEXAS whistled the completion of the channel.

Creator: Visit Houston

Area: Houston / East End