My dear Magic111: I'm, afraid it is the Texans who mispronounce "Houston". The street dates from Nieu Amsterdam days, and it means (or meant), in Dutch, "street with houses". Two itinerant salesmen from New York founded Houston in the early 19th century, naming the city after General Sam Houston, and somehow a different pronunciation took hold there. At this point it's safe to say that anyone who pronounces "Houston Street" and "Houston, Texas" the same way is wrong.

The story about the founding of Houston is on the Internet somewhere... I'll try to find it.

[This message has been edited by RichG (edited 03-30-2001).]