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Houstonians outraged as downtown lights up during citywide outages

Houstonians were outraged to see downtown lit as they powered down.

Photo courtesy of ABC13

Patient, hardy, and resilient, Houstonians are doing their best to weather this storm — even car skiing and making snow angels in the elements as they suffer power outages.

But even brave Bayou City residents can reach their boiling point in the freeze, especially when those conserving energy see downtown Houston lit up.

“Most of downtown is office space,” wrote a Houstonian on Twitter, “so why is it all lit up when they’re asking everyone in Houston to conserve energy to help the power grid? The surrounding homes are not only dark but cold after hours without power in sub freezing temps. This is not a good look for Houston.”

Indeed, while tens of thousands were suffering icy temps with no heat and in some cases, no hot water, downtown gleamed on February 15.

CultureMap news partner ABC13 captured an image of downtown in all its lit glory. ABC13 also reached out to Mayor Sylvester Turner for comment. The mayor’s office responded with this statement:

Throughout the day, Mayor Turner has asked people to conserve energy because of the power outages. He had mentioned it in tweets, zoom interviews and during his news conference. He has been in contact with CenterPoint Energy and others urging them to restore power to Houstonians as soon as possible. CenterPoint has assured the mayor that it is asking its major providers to conserve energy. The mayor encourages everyone to do their share to help during the extreme winter weather.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also weighed in, telling ABC13 the situation was “maddening” but added that less lights should shine downtown on the evening of February 16 as companies adjust to the new normal.

Currently, myriad neighborhoods and citizens are without power, while another round of snow, ice, and rain is anticipated for Wednesday, February 17.

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let loose htx

Houston surpasses Austin as the 6th most fun city in America in 2025

Minute Maid Stadium, Daikin Park stadium in Houston

Photo by Ty Welch on Unsplash

Catching a baseball game at Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park) is one of the many fun things Houstonians and visitors alike can enjoy in the city.

Houston's fun entertainment and nightlife scenes have helped the city surpass Austin in WalletHub's just-released ranking of the most fun American cities in 2025. H-Town now stands tall as the sixth most fun U.S. city this year.

WalletHub's "Most Fun Cities in America (2025)" study compared 182 U.S. cities across 65 metrics — spanning from the number of sports venues, music venues, and shopping centers per capita to the average cost for a restaurant meal — to determine how "fun" each city is. The metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

Las Vegas, Nevada continued its multi-year streak as the No. 1 most fun American city.

Across the three key dimensions, Houston scored the highest for its nightlife and parties rank (No. 10), but its costs (No. 20) and entertainment and recreation ranks (No. 21) still have room for improvement. But overall, Houston's level of "fun" is far higher than most U.S. cities.

Houston's hospitality industry particularly stood out as a cut above the rest after landing in a five-way tie for the highest number of restaurants per capita. The city also landed in a five-way tie for the No. 1 most dance clubs per capita nationwide.

Houston's current "fun" status is three spots higher than its 2024 rank as the 9th most fun American city, and it's a major hike from its No. 19 placement in 2023.

Austin, which ranked No. 6 last year, dropped two spots and now ranks as the 8th most fun city in America in 2025. Other Texas cities that appeared in the top 100 include: San Antonio (No. 23), Dallas (No. 26), Fort Worth (No. 60), El Paso (No. 62), Arlington (No. 71), Plano (No. 78), and Corpus Christi (No. 94).

"The decision of where to live could save or cost you a lot of money and fun, so it’s fair to wonder what makes a fun city," the report's author wrote. "In a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, family, or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together."

WalletHub's top 10 most fun U.S. cities in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Houston, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Austin, Texas
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Cincinnati, Ohio

Surprisingly, both Chicago and New York City dropped out of the top 10 most fun American cities. Chicago now ranks as No. 11, and New York City ranks 14th on the list.

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