His last term ends in 1958. 1928 First airmail arrives at the Houston airport, a cow pasture without runways, lights, or drainage. Efforts to establish a county flood control program begin. Holcombe is elected mayor on a strong-mayor platform. The charter change eliminates the city manager.
Voters reject zoning.
Houston continues as the only unzoned major city in the U.S. Houston annexes six suburbs and doubles in size to 216 square miles. The population reaches 596,000. Houston becomes the nation's most air-conditioned city. Texas state law limits annual annexations to 10 percent of existing city areas, somewhat constraining Houston's land growth. 1979 U.S. attorney rules that the City's annexations have violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting minority voting strength.