December 12, 2025
Houston keeps erasing its history. Meet the man making sure it doesn't disappear completely
James Glassman has spent his entire life in Houston, but he's quick to point out that being even a fifth-generation local doesn't make you special.
"We're not pretentious about that the way other cities are," he said. "We don't care how long you've been in Houston — we're happy you're here."
That sentiment, welcoming and a little self-effacing, is the foundation of Houstorian, the history preservation project he launched nearly 20 years ago, which has since become a recognizable voice in the city's cultural landscape. Houstorian has published books (the "Houstorian Calendar" is always on my desk or in my hands), is constantly educating its 80,000 social media followers on important moments in this city's history, and there's even a Houstorian merch line.
The why
History was Glassman's passion long before Houstorian was founded in 2006.
He majored in the subject in college and carried it with him into architecture graduate school, where he discovered Stephen Fox's "Architectural Guide to Houston" and fell fascinated with how Houston's history molded the built environment that surrounds us today.
That pushed Glassman to found Houstorian in 2006, an ongoing effort to tell Houston's story in unconventional ways.
"That means more than just with written and recalled stories, but also in the visual album of shared memories," he said. "And as a visual artist, I look for ways to distill common Houston ideas, objects, colors, civic art and architecture into simple visual forms, patterns, swatches, graphics and icons, always with a dose of fun and funny when appropriate."
(He credits these Houston icons for shaping him: Jeff McKissack of Orange Show fame, the mischievous Art Guys, the columnist Molly Ivins, the storyteller Donald Barthelme.)
Social media changes everything
What began as a personal history project grew into a recognizable voice as Instagram and Twitter made it easier to share images and fragments of the city's past with a broader audience. It filled the gaps in our memories, offering context and visuals in a city where change happens fast and often without ceremony.
That pace of change helps explain why Houston so often loses track of its own history.
Glassman jokes that the city's unofficial motto should be, "What used to be there?" Demolition is so routine that longtime residents barely flinch, and newcomers may never realize what existed before a strip center or apartment complex took its place.
"Being a Houstonian means living with the constant conflict of anticipation and dread for any demolition," he said. "Will the new be better or worse than what it replaced?"
No place captures that tension better than the Astrodome, Glassman's favorite piece of Houston history.
Conceived as a monument to innovation and possibility, it was marketed as a vision of the future. Decades later, it stands as a protected historic landmark, but its next chapter is still unresolved.
Glassman delights in the irony.
"I love how a symbol of the future is now historic," he said.
The future of Houstorian
During the COVID lockdown, he began developing "Houston in 50 Quotes," initially as a way to create social media content, but soon realized it could stand on its own. Writing short explanations for each quote turned into a full manuscript, one he envisions as both a book and a public installation.
Even after nearly two decades of Houstorian, Glassman isn't running out of ideas.
Houston, like the Houstorian project, keeps changing, and with every change comes another story at risk of being forgotten. The goal isn't to slow the city down or to argue against growth, but to ensure its past remains visible.
 | Jhair Romero, Houston Explained Host |
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