We may live without [architecture] and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her. — John Ruskin
August 1986 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of Houston. In honor of that event, itself a ritual of time and its passage, the summer issue of Cite is dedicated to Houston's Sesquicentennial. In recent years a search for the essence of the city has been the theme of essays, editorials, and ad campaigns. Rather than impose a character on the city, however, we have allowed the face of Houston to emerge in the work of the authors and photographers reproduced here. That architecture and land development play so prominent a role should not surprise citizens of a city which dates its founding from the appearance of advertisements placed in New York newspapers. Most critical in the city's existence has been the last 40 years. It is this that is our focus: the years when the population moved from 385,000 to 1,700,000 and the boundaries of the city limits pushed beyond the visible horizon. The buildings and places create a portrait that fills our collective memory. Preserving that heritage, while looking forward to the next 150 years, we recollect and record Houston at 150.
Max Apple; June Arnold; Wolde-Ghiorghis Ayele; Walter Clemons; David Crossley; Sally Gall; Elizabeth S. Glassman; John Kaliski; David Kaplan; Phillip Lopate; Jan O'Brien; Neil I. Payton; April Rapier; Eduardo Robles; Rives Taylor; Lorenzo Thomas; and David Todd.