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 Forklift Masts Pasadena - The city of Pasadena, Texas is the 2nd-largest city in Harris County with a population of around 150,000 people. It lies within the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area and is famous for having the largest volunteer fire department within the nation.
Before Pasadena was discovered and inhabited by European people during 1893, the region was inhabited by the Atakapan and Karankawa peoples, mostly the Akokisa. The founder of the original village was John H. Burnett, who named the township Pasadena after the California community because it similarly shared lush and green plant growth. The Spanish people were early explorers of the region and charted the bay. The pirate Jean Lafitte dominated the area during the early 19th century until the United States Navy forced him out during 1821. Lafitte and his crew had hide-outs around the bay and Clear Lake.
Petrochemicals are the basis of Pasadena's economy. Petrochemical processing and petroleum refining are vital industries. The Pasadena Refining System has its headquarters within the city. Aerospace, health care ad shipping are strong industries. Pasadena benefits from its proximity to the Bayport shipping terminal and the Houston Ship Channel. The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for space training, located in nearby Clear Lake.
Tourists could learn about the history of the area at the Bay Area Museum, the Armand Bayou Nature Center and the Pasadena Historical Museum. The city has a thriving arts community including the Pasadena Philharmonic and theater companies. A rodeo is held there yearly. The Pasadena Citizen is the city's major newspaper.
With numerous refineries in the area, Pasadena has been dubbed "Stinkadena." Another nickname is "Pasa-get-down-dena"; in fact, there are more than a few country songs with that as their title.
A while ago, Pasadena was known as the Strawberry Capital of the World. The start of strawberry growing in the city started after a devastating flood, when the American Red Cross shipped over one million strawberry plants into Pasadena. The strawberry crops grew abundantly and growers shipped dozens of train carloads of strawberries on a daily basis during the height of the season. The Pasadena Strawberry Festival draws more than 50,000 visitors each year to celebrate the historic significance of the crop. A central road in the City of Pasadena is named Strawberry Road, because it cuts through the former strawberry fields.
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