Odessa, Texas



Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Ector County. The metropolitan area is also a component of the larger Midland–Odessa, Texas Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 266,941 as of July 1, 2009. estimate.

History
Odessa was founded in 1881 as a water stop and cattle shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway. The first post office opened in 1885. Odessa became the county seat of Ector county in 1891 when Ector county was first organized. It became an incorporated city in 1927, after oil was discovered in Ector county on the Connell Ranch southwest of Odessa.

With the opening of the Penn Field in 1929, and the Cowden Field in 1930, oil became a major draw for new residents. In 1925 the population was just 750, by 1929 it had risen to 5,000. Due to increased demand for oil during the second world war the city's population had expanded to 10,000.

Geography
Odessa is located at °N, °W (31.863294, -102.365490).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.9 square miles (95.5 km²). 36.8 square miles (95.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.19%) is water.

Performing arts
The Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale (MOSC) has performed in the Permian Basin for over 45 years, and is the region's largest orchestral organization, presenting both Pops and Masterworks concerts throughout the year. Composed of professional musicians from the area as well as Lubbock, San Angelo and other surrounding cities, the MOSC also is home to three resident chamber ensembles, the Lone Star Brass, Permian Basin String Quartet and West Texas Winds. These ensembles are made up of principal musicians in the orchestra, who come to the area from across the United States.

The Globe of the Great Southwest, located on the campus of Odessa College, the community college in Odessa, features an authentic replica of William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. It hosts plays and other community groups throughout the year as well as an annual Shakespeare festival.

Built in 1951, the Ector Theater served as one Odessa's finest theaters until it closed. Today, the renovated 700-seat theater provides the community with classic movies, live theatrical productions and concerts.

The Permian Playhouse has been enriching the lives of West Texas residents with music, dance, drama, suspense, tears and laughter for over 40 years. The Playhouse offers an opportunity for young people to explore the fascinating aspects of theater through the Kaleidoscope Company.

Sports
Odessa is home to the West Texas Roughnecks, a team in the Indoor Football League. The Odessa Jackalopes are a junior A ice hockey team that play their home games at Ector County Coliseum. High school football is also popular. Ratliff Stadium which was featured in the movie Friday Night Lights is home to the Odessa Bronchos and the Permian Panthers. It is one of the largest high school stadiums in the state.

Radio

 * KFLB     920 AM (Christian)
 * KOZA      1230 AM
 * KRIL    1410 AM (Classic Country)
 * KBMM    89.5 FM (Christian)
 * KFLB-FM 90.5 FM (Christian)
 * KHKX    99.1 FM (Country)
 * KMCM    96.9 FM (Oldies)
 * KMRK-FM 96.1 FM (Country)
 * KOCV    91.3 FM
 * KODM    97.9 FM
 * KQLM   107.9 FM
 * KBAT(FM) 99.9

Television

 * KMID (ABC)
 * KOSA-TV (CBS)
 * KWES-TV (NBC)
 * KUPB (UNI)
 * KPEJ-TV (Fox)
 * KWWT (CW)
 * KPBT-TV (PBS)
 * KMLM (Ind)

Newspaper

 * Odessa American Daily($.75)and Sunday($1.50)

Tourism


Odessa's Presidential Museum and Leadership Library, on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, is the only facility of its kind in the United States—dedicated to the office of the Presidency, not any particular holder of the Oval Office. There are also displays about the Presidents of the Republic of Texas. The museum was pushed to fruition by the late State Representative George "Buddy" West of Odessa.

After fighting financial hardships, the Presidential Museum closed its doors to the public as of 21 August 2009. In February 2009, additional funding allowed the doors to reopen to the Presidential Museum, with negotiations pending for the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to take control of the museum.

The White-Pool House east of downtown is the oldest surviving structure in Odessa. It was built in 1887 and opened as an historic house museum in 1984.

Texon Santa Fe Depot has recently been relocated to West Odessa and serves as a museum in honor of the old west and the railroads.

The Parker House Museum is Odessa's newest addition to the historical records of Odessa. In 1935, the Parker family moved into this modest house located on 1290 acre. It represents the lifestyle of a prominent ranching family, who served the communities of Andrews and Ector counties since 1907

Odessa Meteor Crater, an impact crater with 550 ft in diameter, is located southwest of the city.

Odessa has a Stonehenge replica on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Completed in 2004, the replica is horizontally equal to the Stonehenge in England but only 70 percent of the vertical height of the original.

Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.0 square miles (113.9 km²). 43.9 square miles (113.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.05%) is water.

As of the census of 2010, there were 99,940 people, 35,216 households, and 27,412 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,276.5 people per square mile (954.2/km²). There were 43,687 housing units at an average density of 995.1 per square mile (384.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.42% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 44.43% White, 6.88% African American, 0.88% Asian, 0.77% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 16.07% from other races, and 2.93% of the population were from two or more races.

There were 53,216 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. Of these 18% were alternative lifestyle households, including a small transgender community. Odessa had the highest per capita rate of non-traditional households in Texas for all municipalities with more than 50,000 residents. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,000 and the median income for a family was $27,869. Males had a median income of $50,000 versus $19,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,096. About 16.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 000.1% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $136.8 million in Revenues, $126.4 million in expenditures, $319 million in total assets, $155 million in total liabilities, and $123.6 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

State representation
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Odessa District Parole Office in Odessa.

Federal representation
The United States Postal Service operates three post offices, Odessa, Northeast Odessa, and West Odessa in Odessa.

Libraries

 * Ector County Library
 * Murry H. Fly Learning Resource Center
 * The J. Conrad Dunagan Library

Schools
The Ector County Independent School District was established in 1921, in a consolidation of seven area schools. The district now contains thirty-five campuses. It administers two high schools:Permian High School and Odessa High School.

The Ector County Career Center is an alternative to the two high schools in the city and is affiliated with ECISD. It pulls an equal number of students from the two high school campuses and does so through an application basis for those interested in attending. Students attending The Career Center are classified as students at either Odessa High or Permian High and graduate with them.

Richard Milburn Academy, a private high school, was founded in 2003 and is free to the public although not affiliated with ECISD.

Colleges and universities
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Odessa College are all located in Odessa.

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin began in 1973. UTPB was an upper level and graduate university until the Texas Legislature passed a bill in spring 1991 to allow the university to accept freshmen and sophomores. The Institute provides seminars, training and research on public leadership all over Texas, and offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership Studies. The Institute is also well regarded for its Shepperd Distinguished Lecture Series, which has brought a variety of internationally-recognized individuals, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert McNamara, Ralph Nader, William F. Buckley, Jr., and most recently Malcolm Gladwell to discuss salient political and social topics. As of 2006, the university was holding discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about construction of a new High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor which, if successful, would finish licensing and construction around 2012. It would also be the first university based research reactor to be built in the US in roughly a decade and be one of the few HTGR type reactors in the world. In January 2006, UTPB's School of Business was awarded accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). AACSB is generally regarded as the premier accreditation agency for the world's business schools. According to the University, only 30 percent of business schools in the United States, and 15 percent of world business schools, have received AACSB accreditation.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Permian Basin Campus opened as a School of Medicine in 1979, beginning in the basement of Medical Center Hospital. Since 1994, TTUHSC Permian Basin has included a School of Allied Health, offering a master's degree in physical therapy. Also, on the campus of Midland College, it offers a physician assistant program. Additionally, TTUHSC Permian Basin includes a School of Nursing focusing on primary care and rural health. In June 1999, the Texas Tech Health Center opened as a clinic providing increased access to primary and specialized health care for the Permian Basin. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Permian Basin also operates 21 WIC clinics located in nearby small communities.

Odessa College is a public two-year college based in Odessa, Texas, USA serving the people of Ector County and the Permian Basin. It opened in 1952 and currently enrolls about 5,000 annually in its university-parallel and occupational/technical courses, and 11,000 students annually in its Basic Education, Continuing Education, and Community Recreation courses.

Economy
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Though the economy is primarily driven by the area's oil industry, new economic steps are currently being taken to ensure the city's existence after oil is no longer abundant in the area. Odessa is also a stop on—and a supporter of—the La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor. In 2003 Family Dollar Corporation opened its 8th distribution center in Odessa's new industrial business park. Telvista, an inbound customer service call center, opened its doors in 2004 in its own new building in the industrial park. Coca Cola built a new distribution center in Odessa in early 2007. Growth in construction of new retail in the city's Northeast side has increased in recent years, with 3 new shopping centers currently planned and 1 in the construction phase. Many hotels have also been planned with some in the completion phase. In November 2007, the city approved a contract with a company that develops armaments for U.S. Army helicopters to begin operations in Odessa.

Odessa has also taken steps to diversify the energy it provides. A new wind farm has been constructed in Northern Ector County. A new clean coal plant has also been announced for a site previously entered in the Futuregen bidding. The new plant will be run by Summit Power and will be located near Penwell. This new plant could lead to the creation of 8,000 jobs to the area. There are also plans for a nuclear power plant to be run in conjunction with the nuclear engineering department at UTPB, called HT3R, or the "High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor". This reactor is planned to be near Andrews. There have also been recent visits from prospective developers of a solar collector in the area.

The Ector County Coliseum is host to the Permian Basin International Oil Show on every even numbered year.

Odessa has one regional enclosed mall (Music City Mall), which includes Dillards, JC Penney, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, indoor ice skating rink, and television station. Additionally, more than 100 specialty retailers are located in the mall.

Rabbit as symbol
The jack rabbit has become the symbol of Odessa. Beginning in 1932, Odessa held a rodeo for roping rabbits. In one competition, cowgirl Grace Hendricks roped a rabbit from horseback in five seconds and beat her male competitors. The unusual rodeo ended in 1977 because of objections from the Humane Society. Many businesses and residences about Odessa display models of rabbits.

Air

 * Odessa is served by Midland International Airport, which is located halfway between Odessa and Midland.
 * Schlemeyer Field is a general aviation airport located on Odessa's Northeast side.

Midland International Airport is served by:
 * American Airlines operated by American Eagle
 * Southwest Airlines
 * Continental Airlines operated by ExpressJet Airlines as Continental Express
 * United Airlines operated by SkyWest Airlines.

Odessa natives

 * Raymond Benson, author
 * Jim J. Bullock, actor
 * Hayden Fry, college football coach
 * Larry Gatlin, Country singer
 * Britt Harley Hager, professional football player
 * Daniel Ray Herrera, professional baseball pitcher
 * Daryl Hunt, professional football player
 * Virgil Johnson, founder of The Velvets, singing group
 * Gene Mayfield, college and high school football coach
 * J. L. "Dusty" Rhoades, one of the founders of the American Quarter Horse Association
 * Bill Myrick, Country singer
 * Kelly Schmedes, professional soccer player
 * John Ben Shepperd, Texas attorney general (1953–1957)
 * Kim Smith, Fashion model and actress
 * Stephnie Weir, actress and comedienne
 * Roy Williams, professional football player
 * Alfred Mac Wilson, United States Marine CorpsMedal of Honor recipient
 * Marvin Rex Young, U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient
 * Marcus Cannon, NFL player

In popular culture
The book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by author H. G. Bissinger and subsequent movie (Friday Night Lights) are based on the 1988 football season of the Permian Panthers, one of the two high school football teams in Odessa. Many of the characters mentioned in the book still reside in Odessa (as of January 2007). A TV show, also by the name Friday Night Lights, is currently running on NBC. It is loosely based on the book and movie but takes place in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas.

A reality series on the TV Guide Channel followed the reporters of the local CBS affiliate, KOSA-TV. The show was titled Making News: Texas Style.

A portion of the Tommy Lee Jones film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada was filmed in Odessa.

The truTV reality show Black Gold is based on three oil wells outside of Odessa, as well as some locations in Odessa, such as the local Hooters restaurant.

Odessa is mentioned in James A. Michener's Texas as a city where “[y]ou are more likely to be murdered ... than in any other city in the nation”.

Odessa is used as the hometown setting for Claire Bennett and her family in Season 1 of the NBC show Heroes.

In the 1999 Elmore Leonard novel Be Cool, singer Linda Moon is in a band called Odessa. This band is based on The Stone Coyotes who even wrote a song Odessa, specifically for the book.