page_title: Nicknames of Houston
section_title: Magnolia City
hierarchical_section_title: Nicknames of Houston / Historic nicknames / Magnolia City
caption_attribution_description: English: Thirteen page pamhlete of illustrations of prominent buildings in Houston.
context_page_description: There are many nicknames for the city of Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The city's nicknames reflect its geography, economy, multicultural population, and popular culture, including sports and music. They are often used by the media and in popular culture to reference the city.
  Houston currently has one official nickname, "Space City", signifying the city's global importance to space exploration and historical role as a prominent center of activity by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Also another example, H-Town. Cities adopt official nicknames such as this one to establish a civic identity, promote civic pride, and build community unity. Houston has had other nicknames in the past which have faded in common usage, going as far back as the 1870s.
  The city has recently accumulated several unofficial nicknames from among sub-groups within the city, including several whose origins are in the local hip-hop subculture. The most recently added nickname is "The Big Heart", which refers to assistance given by Houston and its citizens to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and 2006.
context_section_description: "Magnolia City" is one of the earliest of Houston's many nicknames. The Texas World, a newspaper first published in 1900, is said to have labeled Houston "the Magnolia City", but the nickname had been in use among the locals since the 1870s. Areas of east Houston, particularly Harrisburg and Magnolia Park, were once natural Magnolia forests that were wiped out by urban sprawl by the 1920s. The nickname is still sometimes used in media stories about the city.
caption: 1912 pamphlet with illustrations of Houston
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