What did Houston look like in 1997?

PHOTOS: What did Houston look like in 1997?

The Houston Astros' Thomas Howard jumps onto the pile of celebrating players as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1 to clinch the National League Central Division Championship Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997 in Houston.

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The Houston Astros' Thomas Howard jumps onto the pile of celebrating players as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1 to clinch the National League Central Division ... more Photo: PAT SULLIVAN/Associated Press Photo: PAT SULLIVAN/Associated Press Image 1 of / 68 Caption Close What did Houston look like in 1997? 1 / 68 Back to Gallery

Sure 1997 doesn't seem like too long ago but in a city like Houston where things change almost monthly, it feels like much longer than 20 years.

Back then Houston icons like Marvin Zindler, Ninfa Laurenzo, DJ Screw, Milo Hamilton, Dominique de Menil, Bum Phillips, and doctors Denton Cooley, Michael DeBakey, and James "Red" Duke were still passing on knowledge to youthful colleagues.

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At this time in 1997 the city of Houston didn't have Toyota Center, Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium, the House of Blues, the Hobby Center, Revention Music Center, or even J.J. Watt. Heck, Carlos Correa wasn't even three years old at this point in 1997.

The Rockets were still playing inside The Summit, which was a year away from being renamed the Compaq Center. The Houston Oilers had one foot and a few toes out the door on the way to Nashville but called the Astrodome home, along with the Houston Astros.

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Ground wasn't broken on the new Astros stadium, then called The Ballpark at Union Station, until October 30, 1997.

There was no Discovery Green, which was then just a patch of land in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, to escape to either. Millions of dollars were still yet to be pumped into the city's public parks to beautify them.

Remember there was not even the METRORail to link downtown with the Texas Medical Center i 1997. That would take another six years or so to go online.

AstroWorld, WaterWorld were still viable summer hot spots but that would only last another decade or so. Who would have predicted a city without either of those in 1997?

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If we went back to Houston in 1997 we would definitely recognize it, but likely be surprised by just how far it still had to come, even when it came to infrastructure.

It can be argued that 1997 was the last gasp of an era in Houston as the next century drew closer and the old vestiges of the city began being bulldozed for new and shiny things. Thankfully that year the Rice Hotel was saved and turned into sought-after lofts or it would have also gone the way of other ghostly city icons.

Some could say that the best was yet to come for Houston in 1997, considering the amount of development we've witnessed the past two decades both culturally and otherwise.