by Barbara and Jim Twardowski

The first skyscrapers I ever saw were in Houston, Texas, when Daddy took our family to the city for a weekend excursion, from Corpus Christi.

My sisters and I spent hours trying on dresses in a massive department store. We’d never seen an escalator and begged to ride it over and over. For lunch, we sat in school desks and ate bowls of chunky chili at the original James Coney Island.

If Dad were to visit downtown Houston today, I’m not sure he’d recognize the place. The good news is the changes have made the city much more accessible to wheelchair users.

Houston is a modern city. The flat terrain, underground downtown tunnel system and accessible streets make it a great place for a gal in an electric wheelchair.

The MetroRail travels only 7. 5 miles, yet it gets me to within a few blocks of several major attractions. The 16

stops along the MetroRail route, from I- 10 downtown to the 610 South Loop, include popular destinations such as Main Street Square, the Museum District, Hermann Park/Rice University, the Houston Zoo, the Houston Medical Center and Reliant Park.

A one-way ride costs $1 or you can buy an all-day pass for $2. That beats hunting for a parking space, and the train is wheelchair-accessible.

Water fountains shoot streams into the air as the MetroRail glides to a stop in the Main Street Square. Ten new hotels have opened in the past five years, including a 1,200-room Hilton-Americas with a pedestrian crosswalk that connects to the convention center.

Nearby, the Downtown Aquarium’s Ferris wheel lights up the night sky. The Bayou Place entertainment complex has billiards, art house films, live music and restaurants. Houston’s famous sports complexes offer everything from professional baseball, football and hockey to the world’s largest rodeo.

Accessible seating is an integral part of the design of Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

Museums, Animals and the Arts

 

You could spend days canvassing the city’s impressive Museum District. At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, some 750 gems and minerals are illuminated with fiber-optic lighting. Explore thousands of years of Native American history and see artifacts from the early space program.