It's not often we come across a photo that contains the time and date it was taken. In this case, we know that this aerial photo looking south over downtown Houston was taken at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27, 1938.

Using a city directory from the period and a few other resources, I managed to pinpoint many of the buildings or businesses you see here. On some, I've included notes on buildings and file photos from our archive. Not every building is identified. Some are even obscured by larger buildings in the photo.

What was going on in Houston back then? Well, the Fat Stock Show was just getting underway at the new Sam Houston Coliseum. Nearby, construction was set to begin on Houston's new City Hall. A few blocks away, the Houston Chronicle formally unveiled its expanded facilities at Texas and Travis. And on the more seedy side, Mayor Richard H. Fonville announced a roundup of the city's prostitutes at the old Jefferson Davis Hospital to check for venereal diseases.

According to the 1940 Census, Houston's population was 384,514. It was the largest city in Texas of course, but the city fell just short of landing among the top 20 U.S. cities, ranking No. 21.

We have a few more aerial photos from later decades. I'll post those in the coming weeks.