1.
Uptown Houston
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Uptown is a business district in Houston, located 6.2 miles west of Downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road. The Uptown District is roughly bounded by Woodway Drive to the north, the I-610 to the east, Richmond Avenue to the south, and Yorktown Street to the west. At 23.6 million square feet of space, the Uptown District is the 17th-largest business district in the United States, comparable in size to the downtowns of Denver. The district is home to approximately 2,000 companies and represents more than 11 percent of Houstons total office space, in 1948 what is now Uptown was 3 miles outside of the city limits of Houston. A local reporter described the roads as lonely, unlit, pockmarked booby trap for nocturnal animals, development increased after Gerald D. Hines and other individuals began to develop properties in Uptown in the 1960s. By 1987, the Uptown area had more hotel rooms and retail shopping centers than Downtown Houston had, the Uptown area, with 55,000 employees, also had more office space than Downtown Atlanta and Downtown Denver. The Uptown District measures about 5 million square feet of retail space, various trendy shopping centers, eateries, and other sorts of entertainment venues exist in the district. Uptown is home to upscale boutiques, as well as many Houston-based and local high-fashion designers. Uptown is also host to Houstons largest hotels, which host about 20 million visitors a year, a major feature of Uptown Houston is The Galleria, the largest shopping mall in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest in America. The Galleria hosts many of the shops of the area as well as city-wide chain stores that appear in many Houston-area malls. It also includes several well-regarded restaurants and an indoor ice skating rink. The Uptown District is bounded by Woodway Drive to the north, highway 59 to the south, and Yorktown Street to the west. Several subdivisions, including Afton Oaks, Briarcroft, Briargrove, Broad Oaks, Briarmeadow, Del Monte, Larchmont, St. George Place, Tanglewood, and Westhaven Estates border Uptown Houston. Uptown, the 17th largest business district in the United States, has 23,600,000 square feet of space, representing 11% of all of Houstons office space. Major employers include 3D/International, Air Liquide America, AON Risk Services of Texas, net IQ Corporation, Nextira One, LLC, Panhandle Pipeline Co. Schlumberger, Stewart Title Guaranty Company, Telecheck International, Inc, the Lab Consulting, GDF Suez Energy Resources NA, and Williams Companies. Around 2,000 companies maintain operations in Uptown, other firms headquartered in Uptown several Cox Radio-owned stations with offices in Post Oak Central, including KKBQ, KGLK, KHPT, and KTHT. Cushman & Wakefields Houston office is in Four Oaks Place, in the 1990s Weatherford Enterra had its corporate headquarters in Four Oaks Place
2.
Houston
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Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of 667 square miles, it also is the largest city in the southern United States and the seat of Harris County. Located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, it is the city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land. Houston was founded on August 28,1836, near the banks of Buffalo Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5,1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded, the burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the citys population. Houstons economy has an industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics. Leading in health care sectors and building equipment, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city except for New York City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled, the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse city in Texas and has described as the most diverse in the United States. It is home to cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has a visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District. In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the general at the Battle of San Jacinto. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through the slave trade. New Orleans was the center of trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War, many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5,1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor, in the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas
3.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Westheimer Road
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Westheimer Road is an arterial east-west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in downtown Houston, and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the edge of George Bush Park. The street was named after Michael Louis Westheimer, a German immigrant, Westheimer Roads eastern terminus is at Bagby Street. From Bagby west, Westheimer jogs mostly westerly, through Neartown, forms the boundary of the River Oaks community. The portion spanning from Interstate 610 west to the Westpark Tollway is designated as a part of Urban Road 1093, from the 610 Loop west, Westheimer Road traverses through Uptown and then west-southwest to Chimney Rock. From Chimney Rock west, Westheimer is straight along a cardinal east–west line, Westheimer passes north of Alief and Westchase when passing under Beltway 8. Westheimer Road terminates when FM1093 becomes the feeder road of the Westpark Tollway just west of FM1464, in another article he referred to Westheimer as mainly about the fetishes, broken dreams and vanities of Anglo whites. Several of the six CVS outlets we passed are there, as are a few of the uncountable Starbucks. He added that the segment of Westheimer Road in Westchase does not have the sleaze of the Highway 6 area and the exuberance of mid-Westheimer. Between Willowick Road and Sage Rd, Westheimer is lined with prestigious boutiques, among shopping centers in this section include The Galleria and River Oaks District and many others. Brands that feature boutiques include Apple, Tom Ford, Gucci, Fendi, Christian Dior SE, Dolce & Gabbana, John Hardy, Cartier, Carolina Herrera, Prada, Rolex, Versace, etc. From its eastern terminus at Westheimer Road / FM1093, Westheimer Parkway winds through George Bush Park, the Parkway then runs under Grand Parkway near Cinco Ranch High School. Westheimer Parkways western terminus is in Fort Bend County, Texas approximately 3.5 miles northwest of Grand Parkway, at this point, traffic heading northwest on Westheimer Parkway continues on Pin Oak Road near Katy Mills Mall, located in Katy. Westheimer Road and Westheimer Parkway are named after Mitchell Louis Westheimer and he purchased a 640-acre farm west of Houstons city limits at the time, where Lamar High School and St. Johns School are currently located. Having built a school on his land for his 16 children, other children were invited to join the school. The road that led to his property was known as the road to Westheimers place and wound through what would later be Neartown, in 1895 Westheimer allowed Harris County to build a right-of-way for a road stretching from Houston to Columbus and Sealy, this road became Westheimer Road
7.
Hines Interests Limited Partnership
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Hines Interests Limited Partnership is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. With offices in 110 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $25.2 billion, Hines is headquartered in the Williams Tower in uptown Houston, Texas. CityCenterDC is one of Hines’ most recent major projects in Washington, the site is being developed in three phases, with Phase I having delivered in early 2014. The final phase will include a 500,000 square foot office building, with 40,000 square feet of retail space
8.
Simon Property Group
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Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company in the United States and the largest real estate investment trust. It is also the largest shopping mall operator in America and it currently owns or has an interest in more than 325 properties comprising approximately 241,000,000 square feet of gross leasable area in North America and Asia. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide and it is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG and is part of the S&P100. Simon Property Group has been the subject of lawsuits and investigations regarding civil rights. Simon Property Group was formed in 1993 when the majority of the shopping center interests of Melvin Simon & Associates became a traded company. In 1996, Simon DeBartolo Group was created when Simon Property merged with former rival DeBartolo Realty Corp and this was shortly after DeBartolo Realty became a publicly traded company encompassing the shopping mall interests of the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. family, another leading developer. Simon DeBartolo rapidly acquired assets in the then-fragmented industry, notable acquisitions included The Retail Property Trust and a group of properties held by IBMs pension plan in 1997 and Corporate Property Investors in 1998. In 2003, Simon became a co-owner of The Kravco Company, on April 3,2007, a partnership including Simon agreed to acquire the Mills Corporation. In June 2011, Simon Property Group entered into a partnership with Nintendo to provide complimentary 3DS Wi-Fi hotspots at nearly 200 of its malls, the Wi-Fi only works for Nintendo 3DS systems. It will not work on PC, Mac, iOS or Android, in December 2013, Simon announced it would form a REIT of its smaller malls and community shopping centers called Washington Prime Group. The spin-off was created in May 2014 and was headed by Mark Ordan who was the final CEO of the Simon-bought Mills Corporation. In September 2014, WPG announced to acquire Glimcher Realty Trust and its properties, the deal was completed in January 2015. On November 69 of 2009, Financial Times reported that Simon may have attempted to acquire its failing rival General Growth Properties, should GGP have been acquired in its entirety, such deal would be worth up to $30 billion at the time. Simon hired property investment firm Cohen & Steers, J. P. Morgan, as well as the Lazard investment bank, on February 16,2010, Simon announced that it placed a bid on February 8 to acquire General Growth Properties in a deal worth $10 billion. However, the bid was rejected by General Growth twice during the week it was announced, the General Growth board favored an investment offer from Brookfield Asset Management worth $2.6 billion. Simons next step, on April 14,2010, was to announce a $2.5 billion equity investment offer which equaled the price per share of Brookfields offer, Simons offer also included a co-investment commitment by Paulson & Co worth $1 billion. Simon Property Group had not ruled out a takeover of General Growth. On May 7,2010, Simon Property Group decided to withdraw its acquisition and recapitalization proposals for General Growth Properties, in May 2010, Simon surprisingly acquired Prime Outlets-Puerto Rico in Barceloneta, which was renamed Puerto Rico Premium Outlets
9.
Sony
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Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation that is headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified business includes consumer and professional electronics, gaming, entertainment, the company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony was ranked 116th on the 2015 list of Fortune Global 500 and these make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. The group consists of Sony Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Financial Holdings and others. Sony is among the Semiconductor sales leaders by year and as of 2013, the companys current slogan is BE MOVED. Their former slogans were make. believe, like. no. other, Sony has a weak tie to the SMFG keiretsu, the successor to the Mitsui keiretsu. Sony began in the wake of World War II, in 1946, Masaru Ibuka started an electronics shop in a department store building in Tokyo. The company had $530 in capital and a total of eight employees, in the following year he was joined by his colleague, Akio Morita, and they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo 東京通信工業. The company built Japans first tape recorder, called the Type-G, in 1958 the company changed its name to Sony. When Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo was looking for a name to use to market themselves, they strongly considered using their initials. The primary reason they did not is that the railway company Tokyo Kyuko was known as TTK, the company occasionally used the acronym Totsuko in Japan, but during his visit to the United States, Morita discovered that Americans had trouble pronouncing that name. Another early name that was tried out for a while was Tokyo Teletech until Akio Morita discovered that there was an American company already using Teletech as a brand name, the name Sony was chosen for the brand as a mix of two words. One was the Latin word sonus, which is the root of sonic and sound, and the other was sonny, a common slang term used in 1950s America to call a boy. In the 1950s Japan sonny boys, was a word into Japanese which connoted smart and presentable young men. The first Sony-branded product, the TR-55 transistor radio, appeared in 1955, at the time of the change, it was extremely unusual for a Japanese company to use Roman letters to spell its name instead of writing it in kanji. The move was not without opposition, TTKs principal bank at the time and they pushed for a name such as Sony Electronic Industries, or Sony Teletech. Akio Morita was firm, however, as he did not want the company tied to any particular industry. Eventually, both Ibuka and Mitsui Banks chairman gave their approval, according to Schiffer, Sonys TR-63 radio cracked open the U. S. market and launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics
