Power and prestige: When the president comes to Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston truly is a world-class city, so it should come as no surprise that it has hosted a number of powerful dignitaries.
But when the president and first lady of the United States are in town, we have a tradition of rolling out the red carpet to greet America's most powerful couple.
Two presidents, one former and one future
When former Texas Governor and First Lady John and Nellie Connally celebrated their birthdays with a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes at Tony's Restaurant in Houston in March 1989, there were a number of powerful guests in attendance, including Richard Nixon and Donald J. Trump.
President Gerald R. Ford seeks votes in Houston
Two days before the 1976 General Election, Ford came to help shore up his chances of winning the presidency in his own right. Ford stopped by ABC13's studios on Bissonnet for the taping of an election special.
The trip didn't help. He lost to a gentle-spoken man from the plains, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.
A glimpse of the Reagan-Bush ticket, 6 years before
During a 1974 event hosted by then-Republican National Committee chairman and future President George H. W. Bush, then California Governor Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan came to Houston.
President Bill Clinton hopes to become first gentleman
The former president stopped twice in Houston, days before the March 2008 and 2016 primaries on behalf of his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the former visit, the 42nd president also stopped by to attend services at Lakewood Church with daughter Chelsea.
In the latter trip, Bill Clinton was embraced by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee during a stump speech at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum.
Our presidential neighbors: George H. W. and Barbara Bush
Houston wasn't where 41 or his wife were born, but they certainly have become a big part of the Bayou City. In addition to advocating for literacy at the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, the couple have been spotted at events ranging from Houston Astros and Texans games, to the 2016 Republican presidential debate at the University of Houston.
Their son and 43rd President George W. Bush even stops by from time to time. We last saw him in in April 2017, when 41 was admitted to Houston Methodist for pneumonia.
Barack Obama's Houston visits
The president attended two fundraisers in Houston during the March 2012 primaries.
PHOTOS: Presidential debates throughout history
The day before Kennedy died
President John F. Kennedy swung through Houston on November 21, 1963 for a fundraiser on behalf of Congressman Albert Thomas. It would be his last visit to the city and the final full day of his life.
In addition to staying at the historic Rice Hotel downtown, he also visited the nearby Houston Coliseum which formerly stood at 801 Bagby Street. It was demolished in 1998.
JFK died the next day at the hands of an assassin in Dallas, Texas.
President Lyndon Johnson visited Houston several times as President and Vice-President.
One house. Six presidents.
If you haven't been by The Tremont House in Galveston, it's worth a visit. This historic Galveston hotel has played host to six commanders-in-chief, including Rutherford Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur.
A first lady in Cypress
Under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program during the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration hired the laborers to build Cy-Fair Senior High School, on the Northwest Freeway.
The school gained national acclaim when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated the campus in the spring of 1941.
