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U. H. UNIVERSITY: This east side institution of higher learning celebrated its 83rd birthday during the 2009-10 academic year. From humble beginnings as Houston Junior College, established in 1927, the University of Houston expanded into a four-year institution in 1934 and was admitted into the Texas public higher education system in 1963. Its founders, Hugh Roy Cullen, considered by many as the “father of the university,” and his wife Lillie Cranz Cullen were among the school’s many early supporters. Its TV station, KUHT-TV, began broadcasting in 1953. It was the nation’s first public educational television station. (See Cullen.) 1

U. S. STEEL: This company is the largest producer of integrated steel products in America. Founded in 1901 by financiers Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, Charles Schwab and Elbert Gary, it was the greatest financial enterprise launched up until that time. U. S. Steel was initially capitalized at $1.4 billion, an enormous sum in the early 20th century. In its first year of operation the company supplied 67% of the steel utilized in the country. ²

ULRICH: Minnie – Elected as one of Sugar Land’s first aldermen in 1959, she had a street named for her. Not all of her colleagues were so lucky. (See Pirtle.) ³

ULTRA LIGHT: This lane leads to the location of a former ultra light airport when that craze hit America in the 1980s. ⁴

UNCLE BEN’S: This gentleman was a black rice grower famous for the yield and quality of his rice crops. His product was so good that other growers would brag that their rice “was as good as Uncle Ben’s.” Many years later the Converted Rice Company chose Uncle Ben to symbolize the high quality of its product. ⁵

UNITY: This west Houston street leads to Unity Church of Christianity. The non-denominational group is often incorrectly associated with the Unitarian or Unification church. Housed in a gold anodized aluminum pyramid designed by Rapp, Tackett, Fash in 1975, it is quite striking architecturally. And one must remember that Houston and Cairo, home of the great Egyptian pyramids at Giza, are both located on the 30th parallel of latitude. 6

UNIVERSITY OAKS: See sidebar Neighborhoods with Interesting Stories, page 104.

» UNITY: Cairo on the Bayou, Unity Church’s golden pyramid

UNIVERSITY: This Galveston street is on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch, better known as UTMB. This facility has been a major part of Galveston’s community since its founding in 1891. It operates numerous facilities including John Sealy Hospital, Shriners Burn Institute and the well respected Medical School. Hurricane Ike dealt a devastating blow to the complex in 2008 with damages totaling over $700 million. For a time the University of Texas planned to close UTMB but has since elected to rebuild it. (See Sealy.) ⁷

UNIVERSITY: This road leads to the Sugar Land campus of the University of Houston. A street of the same name will take you to the U of H Clear Lake campus. ⁸

UPTOWN PARK: This Galleria area street bounds Uptown Park, an upscale retail center of restaurants, shops, banks and spas. It was built by Interfin, a Houston-based real estate developer. Other Houston projects by this firm include the high rise condominiums Four Leaf Towers, Villa d’ Este and Montebello. ⁹

URBAN: E. E. – He was a businessman in Hempstead in the early 1900s. ¹⁰

URSULINE: The Ursuline Sisters began construction on Ursuline Academy in Galveston in 1847. It was the city’s first parochial school and was attended by girls of all faiths. The main building, convent and chapel were designed by Nicholas Clayton. More than 1,000 residents took shelter here during the Great Storm of 1900. In 1968 the school was consolidated with Kerwin Catholic High School and Dominican Girl’s School and renamed O’Connell High School. Unfortunately the Clayton buildings were demolished in 1960s and 70s. ¹¹

USENER: The Usener family arrived in Galveston from Germany on Christmas Day 1839 aboard the brig North. They moved to Houston and finally settled in the Heights. John Daniel Usener owned one of the seven saloons in Houston (along with Dick Dowling) in the 1840s until the 1860s. Both barkeeps gave away free whiskey during the yellow fever epidemics. He was also a well-known sportsman and a founder of the Redfish Boating, Fishing and Hunting Club in 1865. ¹²