John Nau Vision

Thinking Houston big: New $40 million culture center aims to change how touristssee the city

The Center for Texas Cultural Heritage
Rendering courtesy of Bailey Architects
Photo by Tyler Rudick
Exhibits at the Center will be geared towards a younger audience, ranging fromgrades four through seven.
Rendering courtesy of BRC Imagination
Many of the displays, however, will offer an extra layer of historical detailfor curious adults.
Rendering courtesy of BRC Imagination
"Birth of the Republic of Texas" — one of the many conceptual designs sumbittedby BRC Imagination Arts, the firm behind Space Center Houston.
Rendering courtesy of BRC Imagination
With an additional hotel coming to the Discovery Green area, the new heritagecenter will be at the apex of the thriving tourist-friendly neighborhood.
Graphic courtesy of The Center for Texas Cultural Heritage

Mayor Annise Parker joined noted Houston businessman John Nau Thursday to reveal the full scope of the plans for the Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage — a new educational facility and visitors center dedicated to the unique history and culture of southeast Texas.

"Two years ago, John and I sat down and began to have some serious conversations about this project," Parker said at a press event on the future building site, located along Avenida de las Americas between the George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park.

"I had just a very small idea. I wanted a simple tourism center. It was a really nice vision, but it was way too small for John."

"I had just a very small idea. I wanted a simple tourism center that could capture the folks from the convention or sports venues to explore our amazing cultural heritage . . .

"It was a really nice vision, but it was way too small for John."

Geared toward students in fourth through seventh grades with additional material for adults, the forthcoming center is expected to become a new starting point for tourists to delve deeper into the history of both the city and the entire region.

"If you're really passionate about NASA, for example, it's not just about going to Space Center Houston," Parker said. "It's about going to the City of Houston's own Gragg Building, the headquarters of our parks department which was the first home of mission control and has some nifty space artifacts."

During the ceremony, John Nau — chairman of the center's new board and CEO of Silver Eagle, the nation’s largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products — announced he would be donating $8 million to the $40 million capital campaign to construct the facility. Houston First Corporation, which manages the convention center and surrounding hotels, is providing an additional $15 million to see the building to completion.

Historical inspiration

"There really hasn't been a place to direct visitors and conventioneers to places like Washington-on-the-Brazos or San Jacinto, one of the most important battles in the history of the U.S.," Nau told CultureMap in an interview after the event.

"Houston thinks big, dreams big and takes action. That message has to come out to inspire the young people."

"This will be far more than just a visitor building. After we traveled to cultural and heritage centers in place likes Philadelphia, Gettysburg and Springfield, Illinois, it became clear that this project should have a strong educational component if it's going to succeed."

Early organizers of the Center for Texas Cultural Heritage assembled a diverse group of leaders from across the region to discuss how to present the rather complex and many-layered history of the greater Houston area.

"Out of these first meetings came this notion that Houston has big ideas. People here have vision and they back it up with action," Nau said, naming the Houston Ship Channel and the Texas Medical Center as but two of the city's seemingly-impossible achievements.

"Houston thinks big, dreams big and takes action. That message has to come out to inspire the young people. It's not just learning about Texas history. It's about being inspired to think bigger than they might normally think."

unspecified series568664036

schools with high achievers

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

T.H. Rogers PTO/Facebook

Congratulations are in order for the Rams.

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

"Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD's Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow's student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.

Tomball ISD's Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a "fringe rural setting," scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.

Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land's Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school's student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD.

"In Fort Bend Independent School District, 59 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 47 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Commonwealth's profile. "Commonwealth Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

dallas fort worth schools rankings us news & world report

John Nau Vision

Thinking Houston big: New $40 million culture center aims to change how touristssee the city

schools with high achievers

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

CultureMap Emails Are AwesomeGet Houston intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Houston intel delivered daily.