Don't they have a Saturn V parked on their front lawn? They have plenty of cool stuff there already and they want a shuttle too? I think the only reason California got one (besides the fact that they were built there) is that they realized that all of them were ending up on the east coast and wanted to be a little more fair.
So does cape Canaveral, and how many space relics are in the Smithsonian?
The Smithsonian was a no brainer. We payed for those things and they belong to the people and by some extention to the rest of the world. They have Enterprise now that is going to New York. More people will see one at the Air and Space Museum than anywhere else. Kennedy was another no brainer. There were really only two up for grabs. I could see Enterprise going to Johnson, but they needed a real one for the west coast so I'm sure Texas would still feel stiffed.
Just pointing out that you made it sound like Texas was trying to horde everything, and that none of the other places had good collections. I've already made my feelings about how bad an idea it is to give it to New York, and as for California. I don't think they should get anything ever again after the way those @$$holes in San Francisco acted when they were offered the Iowa.
They sort of are. There is only one reason Mission Control was in Huston and that has all to do with the guy's name on the building. They never built a shuttle, handled a shuttle, prepped a shuttle, tested a shuttle, launched a shuttle, landed a shuttle or repaired a shuttle. During the shuttle program they were little more than air traffic controllers with one craft to concentrate on. Their best and most important work was and always will be on Apollo.
As far as SF goes, half the people around the Bay Area love Fleet Week and the contribution that the counties and cities around there gave to war efforts, but the other half are admitted and affirmed anti war leaners. It's an odd mix, but it never seems to cause any problems with the residents, just people from other states.