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City Texas - Houston - Galveston - Clear Lake City - Clear Lake Bay clearcreekdentalcare.com | Teeth Whitening in Clear Lake City - Cosmetic Dentistry in Clear Lake City cobbsdental.com | Chiropractic Clinic Houston TX | Clear Lake City Chiropractor |... beecherchiropractic.com |
This article is about the master-planned community near Galveston Bay opened in 1963. For other uses, see Clear Lake, Texas (disambiguation). Coordinates: 29°33′18″N 95°6′54″W / 29.555°N 95.115°W
Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston — behind Kingwood.[citation needed] The majority of the community lies in the corporate limits of Houston, while a small eastern portion is in the city limits of Pasadena and a small portion within the city limits of Taylor Lake Village.[1] The community is adjacent to NASA's Johnson Space Center, as well as other major aerospace companies—including Boeing and Lockheed-Martin. Clear Lake City has the largest Asian American concentration within any master-planned communities inside the city of Houston.[citation needed] The community and its adjacent areas have a high concentration of engineers due to both NASA and the local petrochemical industries.
[edit] History
Further information: History of the Galveston Bay Area The first substantial development on the land Clear Lake City now occupies was accomplished by James Marion West, who came to Texas from Mississippi as a boy in 1880.[2] West became a wealthy businessman with interests in ranching, lumber, and oil. His main ranch property and the site of his home was around the shores of Clear Lake and Clear Creek.[3] Humble Oil (now ExxonMobil) purchased the property from West in 1938 after oil was discovered.[3] Most of the property remained undeveloped until, following the decision to establish the Johnson Space Center in the area, Humble Oil's venture, the Friendswood Development Company, made plans to establish a residential development. The company established the Clear Lake City Community Association, Inc. (CLCCA) in 1963.[4] The portion of Clear Lake City that was Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) was annexed by the city of Houston in 1977 despite a grass-roots campaign by its residents to stop it. Their slogan was "Free The Clear Lake 25,000!" Lawsuits over the annexation resulted in the conversion of Houston city government from at-large city councilmen to the current-day nine district and five at-large council seats.[5] Resulting was the decline of influence of the traditional developer-led power structure behind Houston government.[citation needed] The eastern portion in Pasadena's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) was eventually annexed by the city of Pasadena.[citation needed] Since 1980, part of Clear Lake City within the Houston City Limits is located in Council District E.[citation needed] From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many Asian-Americans settled in Clear Lake City. They were mostly Chinese American, Indian American, and Pakistani American with some Vietnamese Americans.[6] [edit] EtymologyThe community was named Clear Lake City for Clear Lake, which lies south of the Johnson Space Center and, along with Clear Creek, separates Harris County from Galveston County.[3][7] The lake is effectively the mouth of Clear Creek which empties into Galveston Bay. [edit] Government and infrastructure [edit] Local governmentThe Clear Lake City Water Authority serves the community.[8] The authority was created on May 6, 1963 by House Bill 1003 during the regular session of the 58th Legislature of Texas. When it was created the authority had 12,269 acres (49.65 km2; 19.170 sq mi) of land in its jurisdiction. Due to annexations, as of 2009 the authority now has 16,098 acres (65.15 km2; 25.153 sq mi) of land in its jurisdiction.[9] [edit] County, state, and federal representationHarris County operates the County Courthouse Bay Area Annex, including a tax office, on Buccaneer Lane in Clear Lake City, Houston.[10] The United States Postal Service operates the Albert Thomas Post Office on El Camino Real Drive in Houston and the Nassau Bay Post Office on Upper Bay Road in Nassau Bay, near Clear Lake City.[11][12] [edit] Education[edit] Primary and secondary schoolsPupils in Clear Lake City attend Clear Creek Independent School District. The community is divided between the Board of Trustee District 2 and the Board of Trustee District 3,[13][14]. They are represented by Win Weber and Ken Baliker, respectively, as of 2008.[15] Two of the four comprehensive high schools in the district—Clear Brook High School and Clear Lake High School—serve the community. Despite being located in Houston and Pasadena, it is not served by the Houston Independent School District nor the Pasadena Independent School District. Clear Lake Intermediate School and Space Center Intermediate School serve sections of Clear Lake City. Clear Lake Intermediate was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1986-87.[16] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston operates the St. Clare of Assisi school in the community.[17] The Clear Lake Christian School is located in the Pineloch neighborhood in Clear Lake City.[18] [edit] Colleges and universitiesThe University of Houston–Clear Lake is adjacent to the community (the majority of the 520-acre UHCL campus lies in the corporate limits of Pasadena, while the part of campus south of Horsepen Bayou lies in the city of Houston). The West mansion in Pasadena Clear Lake is still located on NASA Parkway overlooking Clear Lake. For years, the Lunar and Planetary Institute was housed in the mansion until it moved to a bigger, more modern building. The property was sold to former basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon's property management company for future development.[citation needed] [edit] Public libraries The 42,000 square feet (3,900 m2) Clear Lake City–County Freeman Branch is administered by Harris County Public Library, and is funded in part by the Houston Public Library. The Freeman Branch Library, named after Theodore C. Freeman, opened in 1964. It moved to the Harris County multipurpose annex in 1976. The current city-county facility opened in 2004. The Friends of the Freeman Library raises $80,000 annually to fund the library.[19] [edit] Gallery of schools[edit] Parks and recreation The City of Houston operates the Sylvan Rodriguez Park on Clear Lake City Boulevard. In 1991 the city purchased a 111.46 acres (45.11 ha) property for $1,399,000. In 1999 the city appropriated $2.5 million to begin building the park. In 2001 the park received its current name.[20] The Clear Lake City Community Association, Inc. (CLCAA) operates the Kermet H. Applewhite Sports and Recreation Center at 16511 Diana Lane. The center includes an indoor heated pool, a fitness room, several outdoor pools, an air-conditioned gymnasium, and tennis courts.[4] [edit] CultureMany cultural events take place in the community and nearby parts of the Clear Lake Area. The Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre group puts on ballet and American musical theater performances.[21] The Clear Lake Symphony offer multiple performances each year ranging from classical to "pops" performances.[22] The Arts Alliance at Clear Lake, a group of 50 area arts organizations, regularly schedules arts exibihits, musical performances, and other arts programs.[23] Annual festivals bring large crowds to the area. The Gulf Coast Film Festival annually showcases independent films from local, regional and international artists in various categories ranging from short films to documentaries.[24] The Ballunar Festival is an annual hot-air balloon spectacular. The Wings over Houston Air Fest at Ellington Field showcases air acrobatics by military and civilian pilots.[25] [edit] Notable residents
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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