Photos of Clear Lake from the time of its birth in the 1960s

1961: Looking like a well fed Texas Cowboy, H.H. Smith points out the site of the space laboratory to be built 22 miles form downtown Houston. It will be America's largest space lab. Smith is manager of the Clear Lake ranch, owned by the oil company (Humble) which gave the 1,000 acre site to Rice University on condition it be used for a space center. Rice will lease the land to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). less 1961: Looking like a well fed Texas Cowboy, H.H. Smith points out the site of the space laboratory to be built 22 miles form downtown Houston. It will be America's largest space lab. Smith is manager of the ... more Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Photos of Clear Lake from the time of its birth in the 1960s 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Clear Lake City, the community built to serve NASA's Johnson Space Center, was the embodiment of American suburban life in the 1960s.

It was the Houston area's first master-planned community, opened in 1963 by Friendswood Development Co. Here, astronauts and other tech-minded people filled homes on quiet streets, many of which maintain the same neighborly atmosphere today.

SHARPSTOWN LIFE: Photos from the 1960s - 1980s tell short stories of the neighborhood

In 1968, a photo from our archives shows that Friendswood Development gave a new willow oak tree to each new homeowner in the community.

Clear Lake City was (and still is) home to the Harris County Clear Lake School for Boys, now known as the Harris County Youth Village.

The City of Houston annexed Clear Lake City in 1977, with some residents protesting angrily against the city council's vote. After the annexation, those opposed continued to use "Clear Lake City" for their mailing addresses in defiance, the Houston Chronicle's Mike Morris reports.

The community, managed by the Clear Lake City Community Association, remains connected, centered around its community center and annual events such as Lunar Rendezvous Festival, which originated in 1965 and celebrates achievements in space sciences.

See photos of Clear Lake dating back to the 1960s.

Dana Burke is a digital reporter at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @danapburke.