OT: Sharpstown Center of Yore
Albert Nurick
they fade into the sunset.
I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and played
when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ upstairs
near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee shop?
I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
--
Albert Nurick | Nurick + Associates - Web Design
alb...@nurick.com | eCommerce - Content Management
www.nurick.com | Web Applications - Hosting
The Chief Instigator
>I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>they fade into the sunset.
>I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
>that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and played
>when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
That's one picture I wish I'd taken.
>In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ upstairs
>near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
The upstairs floor (and the food court - Good Time Charley's - and the arcade)
was opened in the fall of 1977, four months or so after I got my BA. (That
was also the expansion that removed the old Food Giant supermarket on the
north side and replaced it with the now-abandoned JCPenney.)
>ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee shop?
It did - I stopped there a time or two over a span of about fifteen years,
until Walgreens finally bailed out in the mid-'90s.
>I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
>slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
I never was a customer, but wasn't it over on the side nearest the mall on the
upstairs floor?
--
Patrick "The Chief Instigator" Humphrey (pat...@io.com) Houston, Texas
chiefinstigator.us.tt/aeros.php (soon to be TCI's 2005-06 Houston Aeros)
LAST GAME: Chicago 5, Houston 3 (April 26)
NEXT GAME: Date/opponent/site TBA in August 2005
Albert Nurick
> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>
> > I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> > they fade into the sunset.
>
> > I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
> > Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
> > that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and
> > played when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>
> That's one picture I wish I'd taken.
I have vague memories of the clock; IIRC the dioramas were of
historical events... maybe Texas history?
> > In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ
> > upstairs near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
>
> The upstairs floor (and the food court - Good Time Charley's - and
> the arcade) was opened in the fall of 1977, four months or so after I
> got my BA. (That was also the expansion that removed the old Food
> Giant supermarket on the north side and replaced it with the
> now-abandoned JCPenney.)
Good Time Charley's! That was the place. IIRC it was a prototype food
court, without name brand fast food as most of the booths.
> > ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee
> > shop?
>
> It did - I stopped there a time or two over a span of about fifteen
> years, until Walgreens finally bailed out in the mid-'90s.
>
> > I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
> > slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
>
> I never was a customer, but wasn't it over on the side nearest the
> mall on the upstairs floor?
It was right near customer service, wherever that was. As a child, I
went with my grandmother when we went shopping there... it was a
grandmother kinda place.
Jack Tyler
"kid", I was probably starting to look through catalogs for deals on
walkers.
I remember all of the things you mentioned... and used to bank at
Sharpstown Bank (everyone thought that Sharpstown was going to be the
new River Oaks). The officer I dealt with at the bank went to prison,
along with most of the officers there.
Jack Tyler
Gustave F kilthau
They were kinda fun and usually pretty good.
Enjoyed the old Walgreens store for its convenient (for me) location. Took
the youngest daughter over there late one Christmas Eve to help her spend
her small amount of "present money" on gifts for her mother. She liked the
look of a little trivet sort of thing that had a ceramic top decorated
nicely with some kind of flower picture. There was no price tag on it and
the time was about two minutes before closing. We put the deal onto the
checkout counter and the clerk kinda scratched his head trying to figure out
the price. Then he asked me what I thought it was worth. The kid had about
60 cents left. I told him 50 cents. He said OK and daughter puffed up real
proudly, smiled, and hauled out two quarters and her last dime and paid for
"Mama's present." Her mother still has it and it sits atop a stand, still
looking very nice. Maybe it was worth a buck back then, but today it is
worth a zillion bucks in good memories.
Best to all,
Gus Kilthau
Redneck's Kitchen, Houston, Texas
p.s.: Just read where Walgreens is expanding to make their future fortune
from sales of pharmaceuticals to "an aging population." Maybe they should
go back to "trivets for 50 cents," because those were great, long-lasting
medicine.
George Kerby
On 6/1/05 11:58 PM, in article xn0e2zui...@news-server.houston.rr.com,
"Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> they fade into the sunset.
>
> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
> Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
> that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and played
> when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>
The theme, as I remember, was Texas Under Six Flags and it would go off ever
top of the hour.
> In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ upstairs
> near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
>
Don't remember that one...
> ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee shop?
Yep. Great place to sit in the booth, grab a burger, and people-watch those
walking around in the mall.
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George Kerby
On 6/2/05 7:36 AM, in article
1117715796.1...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com, "Jack Tyler"
<market...@houston.rr.com> wrote:
Ahhh yes. Ben Barnes. What a typical a-hole politico...
lilacjennifer
much but have early childhood memories of Gulfgate Mall.
Can remember following my grandmother and auntie around in Sakowitz, Joske's
(and Joske's had a nice little restaurant upstairs) and some fabric store
within the mall and going to Newberry's or Grants with about a dollar to
spend on something and always coming away happy.
In the area also was a cheap motel with a caroussel in the sky out front
that looked like it was much higher than it was at my young age and
fascinated me. Maybe the name of the motel was The Caroussel, dunno. Its
long gone, just like Gulfgate Mall.
Even Northwest Mall (to which I live near) was a pretty decent mall with
stores like Margo's LaMode and a few other 'elegant' shops and look at it
now. If it weren't for Foley's, I'd never set foot in that mall.
Often I wonder what the heck happened to Houston when I think of all the
malls that were thriving in the late 60's and 70's in the inner city but I
suppose there have been newer malls built (out in the burbs) and the upscale
shopping has mostly centralized to the Galleria.
Jennifer
"George Kerby" <ghost_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:BEC473F0.1E3F4%ghost_...@hotmail.com...
Robert E. Lewis
"The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>
> >I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> >they fade into the sunset.
>
> >I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
> >In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ upstairs
> >near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
>
> The upstairs floor (and the food court - Good Time Charley's - and the
arcade)
> was opened in the fall of 1977, four months or so after I got my BA.
Are you sure it was that late? I was thinking about Good Time Charley's
just yesterday, while cooling off with a friend in the Park, downtown. I
moved to Houston in early 1975, and my sister, taking a year off college,
also moved to the city later that year. I remember her taking me to the
newly-opened Good Time Charley's, the first mall food court I'd ever
experienced, during her brief stay in Houston, before she went off to
college in the summer of '76, I thought.
--
Robert
Albert Nurick
> p.s.: Just read where Walgreens is expanding to make their future
> fortune from sales of pharmaceuticals to "an aging population."
> Maybe they should go back to "trivets for 50 cents," because those
> were great, long-lasting medicine.
Walgreens and CVS makes crazy profit from generic prescription drugs.
If you take generics, price shop Sam's and Costco pharmacies. You
don't have to be a member to shop there, and I was astonished at the
savings over Walgreens... over 75% off, in one case.
Albert Nurick
> On 6/1/05 11:58 PM, in article
> xn0e2zui...@news-server.houston.rr.com, "Albert Nurick"
> <alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
> > Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
> > that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and
> > played when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
> >
> The theme, as I remember, was Texas Under Six Flags and it would go
> off ever top of the hour.
That's it. I remember rushing my mom out of a nearby store as the time
approached.
I always liked going to Sharpstown, because of the nifty hobby shop
near the middle of the mall slightly towards the Montgomery Wards end.
To a 10-year-old boy, it was just about the coolest store in the world.
Steve Cutchen
Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
> > "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
> >
> > >I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> > >they fade into the sunset.
> >
> > >I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We
lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was
outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies,
baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think is where
there was a Rice grocery store.
Albert Nurick
> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant,
> which was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964.
> We lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer.
> Was outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland.
> Boonies, baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think
> is where there was a Rice grocery store.
I remember Fondren being the Edge of Town. As a kid, we'd go out to
Westwood Country Club for parties (my grandparents were members) and it
was way out in the country. Past Fondren. ;-)
Zen Cohen
"Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote in message
news:xn0e2zui...@news-server.houston.rr.com...
> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> they fade into the sunset.
>
> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
Me, too. We were original residents of Sharpstown Sec 3 on Beechnut, across
from a large field that later became Houston Baptist College, then U.
> Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
> that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and played
> when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>
That was a big attraction when it first opened. Seemed kinda 'high-tech'
back then. I've seen photos on occasion but dunno where to find them.
> ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee shop?
> I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
> slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
My older semi-delinquent brothers used to go down to the mall and make faces
through the glass at the diners eating at Wyatt's.
Anybody remember Blue Bonnet Gardens on Bissonnet just east of Fondren?
That was my grandparents' place (it used to be at Main and Southmore, where
Bank of Houston later built its bldg). It was first a watermelon and beer
garden, then they later turned it into a nursery, and seasonally sold
pumpkins and xmas trees. There were two 20-ft or so tall wooden toy
soldiers at each end of the lot. We used to frequent the Chuc-Wagun, Four
Seas Chinese restaurant, A&P, Henke Pillot, Piggly Wiggly, etc. Played
pee-wee baseball at Bayland Park. After my grandfather died in 1970, it was
eventually made into a Randall's center, but the old 20's dilapidated house
was renovated and made into a Charlies Hamburger Joint. It was interesting
eating in a restaurant where I had grown up as a kid. They finally razed it
a few years ago.
Ernie
car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
eco
On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 23:26:48 GMT, "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com>
wrote:
Zen Cohen
news:90ev91t8thru53maa...@4ax.com...
>I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone was building a
> car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
> Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
Wasn't Jimmy Green Chevrolet on the corner of Westheimer and Shepherd where
the Randall's center is now? (The corner of that intersection recently went
for over $50 sf recently.) I think we got a brand new '63 Chevy stationwagon
there. No mandatory seat belts for kids then. Me and my little sis would
stand unrestrained in the back seat, latent human missiles we.
Other long-gone car dealers: "If you don't buy your next car from
Rosenstock, we both lose money!" and (bongoes playing) "Buy your Chevrolet
from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet." Who was the Plymouth dealer that
advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
Remember Bill Varley selling his "tahrs" on Houston Wrestling?
RHZ
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 02:16:30 GMT, "Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
Steve Cutchen
<atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
A few others...
Art Grindle.... with that great finger-shaking sign...
"I WANT TO SELL YOU A CAR!!!"
Wasn't it on OST? That or Griggs.
Cal Worthington was here, too... with his dog Spot.
And Rosenstock isn't right.
I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
Gustave F kilthau
"Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote in message > Cal Worthington
was here, too... with his dog Spot.
>
Used car dealer - real hard sell.
He sold to me this heap I drive.
My plan's to skin him while alive !
(smile)
The Chief Instigator
>Gustave F kilthau wrote:
>
>> p.s.: Just read where Walgreens is expanding to make their future
>> fortune from sales of pharmaceuticals to "an aging population."
>> Maybe they should go back to "trivets for 50 cents," because those
>> were great, long-lasting medicine.
>Walgreens and CVS makes crazy profit from generic prescription drugs.
>If you take generics, price shop Sam's and Costco pharmacies. You
>don't have to be a member to shop there, and I was astonished at the
>savings over Walgreens... over 75% off, in one case.
That's probably how Walgreens and CVS can afford to build locations within a
half-mile of each other all over southwest Houston...and watch as half of them
wind up closing over the next two years as they find out that the city can't
generate the customer traffic needed to support that many pharmacies in that
small an area.
The Chief Instigator
It was a couple of years after Westwood opened just down the freeway, which
would put it in '77...and the JCPenney that opened there was hitting its
ten-year anniversary when Dale was working there in 1987, so the mall
expansion had to be either in late '76 or '77. If only we'd had digital
cameras then...;-)
The Chief Instigator
I assume you're talking about the Rice on the northwest corner of Fondren and
Westheimer...and I was in that Food Giant a time or two, though we lived out
in Walnut Bend from 1966 on. (That was when what is now the southbound lanes
of S. Gessner were occupied by a large ditch, south of Westheimer, and north
of Westheimer where Woodlake Square sprouted a few years later, was nothing
but woods unbroken by more than a single muddy trail.)
The Chief Instigator
>Steve Cutchen wrote:
>> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant,
>> which was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964.
>> We lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer.
>> Was outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland.
>> Boonies, baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think
>> is where there was a Rice grocery store.
>I remember Fondren being the Edge of Town. As a kid, we'd go out to
>Westwood Country Club for parties (my grandparents were members) and it
>was way out in the country. Past Fondren. ;-)
...and that was when the freeway part of 59 didn't exist past Hillcroft.
(When I got there in '65, the freeway had just opened to the old Beechnut
exit, and the feeders went down to Brays Bayou where they joined to cross the
freeway bridge, and then separated again until they reached South Main in
Sugar Land.)
The Chief Instigator
>In article <24Pne.22321$j51....@tornado.texas.rr.com>, Zen Cohen
><atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> "Ernie" <e...@intertex.net> wrote in message
>> news:90ev91t8thru53maa...@4ax.com...
>> >I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone was building a
>> > car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
>> > Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
>> Wasn't Jimmy Green Chevrolet on the corner of Westheimer and Shepherd where
>> the Randall's center is now? (The corner of that intersection recently
>> went for over $50 sf recently.) I think we got a brand new '63 Chevy
>> stationwagon there. No mandatory seat belts for kids then. Me and my little
>> sis would stand unrestrained in the back seat, latent human missiles we.
>> Other long-gone car dealers: "If you don't buy your next car from
>> Rosenstock, we both lose money!" and (bongoes playing) "Buy your Chevrolet
>> from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet." Who was the Plymouth dealer that
>> advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
>> Remember Bill Varley selling his "tahrs" on Houston Wrestling?
>A few others...
>Art Grindle.... with that great finger-shaking sign...
>"I WANT TO SELL YOU A CAR!!!"
>Wasn't it on OST? That or Griggs.
Art Grindle was on the southwest corner of Chimney Rock and Westheimer, and
bought all the commercial spots on Channel 13's Saturday morning Laurel &
Hardy movie - and he did his commercials live. I still marvel at how he
managed to not be run over multiple times.
>Cal Worthington was here, too... with his dog Spot.
That was over at 59 and Hillcroft in the '80s...and didn't Ralph Williams have
a dog Spot, too?
Kelly Younger
>
> I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone was building a
> car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
> Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
>
> eco
>
when the dirt wasn't even there.
--
Kelly Younger
George Kerby
On 6/2/05 5:33 PM, in article xn0e30yzh...@news-server.houston.rr.com,
"Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
> George Kerby wrote:
>
>> On 6/1/05 11:58 PM, in article
>> xn0e2zui...@news-server.houston.rr.com, "Albert Nurick"
>> <alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
>>> Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
>>> that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and
>>> played when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>>>
>> The theme, as I remember, was Texas Under Six Flags and it would go
>> off ever top of the hour.
>
> That's it. I remember rushing my mom out of a nearby store as the time
> approached.
>
> I always liked going to Sharpstown, because of the nifty hobby shop
> near the middle of the mall slightly towards the Montgomery Wards end.
> To a 10-year-old boy, it was just about the coolest store in the world.
I believe that there still exists that type of store in Rice Village (on
Times?). Brought back memories when I ventured in there about five years
ago.
George Kerby
On 6/2/05 5:44 PM, in article 020620051744229264%max...@earthlink.net,
"Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> In article <zoKne.8621$Cz3.1...@monger.newsread.com>, Robert E.
> Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
>
>> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
>> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
>>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>>>> they fade into the sunset.
>>>
>>>> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
> was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We
> lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was
> outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies,
> baybee.
My best H.S. Friend consumed too many beers one night (NAHHHH-Really?!) and
wound up missing the stop sign where Seagler Road, then a two-lane blacktop,
ended at Westheimer and proceeded to bury his dad's Ford Falcon into the
'bar ditch' in front of whatever industrial campus that had just been built
on Mr. Smith's land. We all had a great time at the 'lake' in back of
Briargrove Park in the late 60's.
George Kerby
On 6/2/05 9:16 PM, in article 24Pne.22321$j51....@tornado.texas.rr.com,
"Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Who was the Plymouth dealer that
> advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
>
Ralph Williams. Corner of Westheimer and Chimney Rock.
"The dog is NOT for sale"
Johnny Carson used to have a field day with Ralph.
So did the Firesign Theatre:
"Duluth? Duluth?!? Bucko, this baby gets Terra del Fuego!"
George Kerby
On 6/2/05 9:40 PM, in article angv91h2h8l2iadu4...@4ax.com,
"RHZ" <txg...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Ralph Williams at Woodridge and Gulf Freeway
>
My apologies. Westheimer @ Chimney Rock was the other guy: Art Grindle.
Art would roll 'em in front of the camera, slap the hood and scream
"$299.95", pointing to the painted price on the windshield. Sometimes the
car couldn't make it out of the way for the next bucket o' bolts under it's
own power. And as the car was being pushed off camera, Art would yell, "Only
today, you can have this beauty for half price!"
George Kerby
On 6/2/05 11:18 PM, in article szkfyw0...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
German Shepherd. Name was 'Storm' as I recall...
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 7:16 AM, in article 42A049FE...@houston.rr.com, "Kelly
Younger" <nos...@nowhere.org> wrote:
When I was a young kid, we'd ride over to the Driving Range on Kirby to
watch my dad drive a basket or two of golf balls down what would eventually
become the 59 overpass a couple of years later.
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/2/05 5:44 PM, in article 020620051744229264%max...@earthlink.net,
>"Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> In article <zoKne.8621$Cz3.1...@monger.newsread.com>, Robert E.
>> Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
>>> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
>>> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
>>>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>>>>> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>>>>> they fade into the sunset.
>>>>> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
>> was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We
>> lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was
>> outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies,
>> baybee.
>My best H.S. Friend consumed too many beers one night (NAHHHH-Really?!) and
>wound up missing the stop sign where Seagler Road, then a two-lane blacktop,
>ended at Westheimer and proceeded to bury his dad's Ford Falcon into the
>'bar ditch' in front of whatever industrial campus that had just been built
>on Mr. Smith's land. We all had a great time at the 'lake' in back of
>Briargrove Park in the late 60's.
That ditch in front of Dresser was something I didn't miss when Westheimer was
widened in 1970 or '71...and if you're talking about Hidden Lake, that was
right across the ditch from the north end of Walnut Bend, too. (After all
these years, I'd like to know how that car got dumped in the south end of the
lake - that took some effort, considering there was almost no way of getting a
vehicle that far away from the original West Belt at the time.)
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 8:11 AM, in article szk3brz...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
Patrick, I remember it being closer to the West Belt on the east side of
Briargrove Park. Later, in the 70's, there was a restaurant, La Hacienda
(The Home) that was built on the lake. Were there two lakes out there? One
of Chester Reed's sons was a friend of mine and we rode all around back
there on dirt bikes (well, they weren't called that then).
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 9:18 AM, in article BEC5D0E1.1E4FE%ghost_...@hotmail.com,
"George Kerby" <ghost_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Whoops! Just looked at a key map. For some reason I thoght that the Beltway
ran between Briargrove Park and Rivercrest. It actually is between
Briargrove Park and Walnut Bend and we ARE talking about the same lake.
Sorry for the 'senior moment'...
Zen Cohen
> I always liked going to Sharpstown, because of the nifty hobby shop
> near the middle of the mall slightly towards the Montgomery Wards end.
> To a 10-year-old boy, it was just about the coolest store in the world.
Jean's Model Shop?
Steve Cutchen
<ghost_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 6/2/05 9:16 PM, in article 24Pne.22321$j51....@tornado.texas.rr.com,
> "Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Who was the Plymouth dealer that
> > advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
> >
> Ralph Williams. Corner of Westheimer and Chimney Rock.
> "The dog is NOT for sale"
>
> Johnny Carson used to have a field day with Ralph.
NOW I remember this guy... Talked with a SQUARE mouth...
"Hi friends, Ralph Williams here. Owner of Ralph Williams
Chryler-Plymouth, Exit 8 Gulf Freeway. Where you get more for you car
purchacing dollar..."
Steve Cutchen
> On 6/2/05 9:16 PM, in article 24Pne.22321$j51....@tornado.texas.rr.com,
> "Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Who was the Plymouth dealer that
> > advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
> >
> Ralph Williams. Corner of Westheimer and Chimney Rock.
> "The dog is NOT for sale"
>
> Johnny Carson used to have a field day with Ralph.
>
> So did the Firesign Theatre:
> "Duluth? Duluth?!? Bucko, this baby gets Terra del Fuego!"
More car dealer humor of yore...
"Hi de Hi there friends and neighbors, El Monte Slim to ya. Come on
down to Wide Track Town in Wilmington. Hot Damn, we got some outa
sight bargins for ya here in cars. And we're givin' away free hats and
lollipops to the kiddies. Talk about suckers, look at this sucker over
here... it's a Dodge pickup. White of course. It's got your V8.
It's got your overdrive. And it's got your Easy Rider rifle rack, yes
sir, with room for not one, friends, but THREE of your favorite rifles,
yes sir..."
Now back to out movie "The Jackson Five", staring The Osmond Brothers.
Steve Cutchen
<pat...@io.com> wrote:
> Steve Cutchen <max...@earthlink.net> writes:
>
> >In article <zoKne.8621$Cz3.1...@monger.newsread.com>, Robert E.
> >Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
>
> >> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
> >> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
> >> > "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>
> >> > >I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> >> > >they fade into the sunset.
>
> >> > >I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
> >Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
> >was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We
> >lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was
> >outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies,
> >baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think is where
> >there was a Rice grocery store.
>
> I assume you're talking about the Rice on the northwest corner of Fondren and
> Westheimer...and I was in that Food Giant a time or two, though we lived out
> in Walnut Bend from 1966 on. (That was when what is now the southbound lanes
> of S. Gessner were occupied by a large ditch, south of Westheimer, and north
> of Westheimer where Woodlake Square sprouted a few years later, was nothing
> but woods unbroken by more than a single muddy trail.)
That's it. Walnut Bend is the next subdivision out from Briargrove
Park. Once it opened, I went to Walnut Bend Elementary. Prior to that
we went to Briargrove Elementary.
We had a party line phone... I remember is was Sunset-2 something or
other.
Steve Cutchen
<pat...@io.com> wrote:
> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>
> >Steve Cutchen wrote:
>
> >> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant,
> >> which was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964.
> >> We lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer.
> >> Was outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland.
> >> Boonies, baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think
> >> is where there was a Rice grocery store.
>
> >I remember Fondren being the Edge of Town. As a kid, we'd go out to
> >Westwood Country Club for parties (my grandparents were members) and it
> >was way out in the country. Past Fondren. ;-)
>
> ...and that was when the freeway part of 59 didn't exist past Hillcroft.
> (When I got there in '65, the freeway had just opened to the old Beechnut
> exit, and the feeders went down to Brays Bayou where they joined to cross the
> freeway bridge, and then separated again until they reached South Main in
> Sugar Land.)
I remember dumping off at Sugarland and driving through town as we
headed out on 59 south.
Similar deal on the Gulf Freeway. It ended at Gulfgate.
My Dad was one of the first 13 engineers to move here from California
to build the spacecraft center in 1963. He initially worked downtown
at 1100 Main. And we bought a house in Briargrove Park.
But when the offices moved to the Alpha and Beta buildings in Clear
Lake, he was commuting from Briargrove Park to Clear Lake. I think it
was something like:
Westheimer to Fondren
Fondren to Bellaire
Bellaire to OST
OST to Griggs
Griggs to Gulf Freeway
GFwy feeder to NASA 1
NASA 1 to El Camino
All in a '63 Buick Electra. But at least it had A/C. The '60 LeSabre
we had when we moved to Texas from Sunnyvale did not.
In 1965, we moved to El Lago.
bruceaaron
> Zen Cohen <atu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > "Ernie" <e...@intertex.net> wrote in message
> > news:90ev91t8thru53maa...@4ax.com...
> > >I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone
> > > was building a car dealership so far out in the middle
> > > of nowhere - "Richardson Chevrolet" - corner of US59
> > and Hillcroft.
> > car from Rosenstock, we both lose money!" and (bongoes
> > playing) "Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia
> > Chevrolet." Who was the Plymouth dealer that advertised
> > so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
> > Remember Bill Varley selling his "tahrs" on Houston
> Wrestling?
> A few others...
>
> Art Grindle.... with that great finger-shaking sign...
>
> "I WANT TO SELL YOU A CAR!!!"
>
> Wasn't it on OST? That or Griggs.
>
> Cal Worthington was here, too... with his dog Spot.
>
> And Rosenstock isn't right.
> I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not
> Rosenstock.
Cal Worthington of So. Cal. fame, frequently parodied by
Carson, bought Richardson.
I think you're right on Rosenstock but I can't come up with
anything better.
Others: Turbeville Motors - a Mercury dealer on Main, I
think.
Mosehart and Keller, claimed to be Houston's oldest or first
Ford dealership, on OST? Also perhaps Houston's first
Mercedes dealership. We bought a Mercedes from them in '59,
up on Shepherd, after seeing them used as taxis in DC. My
Dad said you could buy a Mercedes for less than a Ford,
then. I think that's changed.
Even more then than now, Washington was used car row. You
wanted a used car for work or fishing, you just spent the
afternoon going from one place to another along Washington
until you found what you wanted.
bruceaaron
> I always liked going to Sharpstown, because of the nifty
> hobby shop near the middle of the mall slightly towards
> the Montgomery Wards end. To a 10-year-old boy, it was
> just about the coolest store in the world.
> Albert Nurick | Nurick + Associates - Web Design
> alb...@nurick.com | eCommerce - Content Management
> www.nurick.com | Web Applications - Hosting
The hobby shop in my home town was a corner of the Lake Drug
and a corner of the Ben Franklin store. They were right
next to each other on This Way street and I could go back
and forth endlessly agonizing over what to spend my
allowance on.
Albert Nurick
> And Rosenstock isn't right.
> I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
I'm pretty sure I remember my dad mentioning a Mr. Rosenstock who sold
him cars in the 60's.
Some 60's-70's local car jingles that still are in my head:
"Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
drums in the background.
"Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
Albert Nurick
> On 6/2/05 5:33 PM, in article
> xn0e30yzh...@news-server.houston.rr.com, "Albert Nurick"
> <alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
> > I always liked going to Sharpstown, because of the nifty hobby shop
> > near the middle of the mall slightly towards the Montgomery Wards
> > end. To a 10-year-old boy, it was just about the coolest store in
> > the world.
> I believe that there still exists that type of store in Rice Village
> (on Times?). Brought back memories when I ventured in there about
> five years ago.
I think I've seen it, but I've not ventured in.
Albert Nurick
Bingo.
Dave Garrett
alb...@nurick.com says...
> "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
Remember the gigantic neon "rocket" sign Bill McDavid had? As a kid,
that was definitely one of the key landmarks I looked forward to seeing
every time we went to Galveston (and returned after dark, when it was
really lit up and you could see it for quite a ways).
Dave
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 11:45 AM, in article 030620051145189105%max...@earthlink.net,
"Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote:
That reminds me of yesterday's Pat Gray show on KPRC radio.
Pat was bitching about freeway names and how they don't mean anything. He
thought that the Eastex was I-10 East, not 59 North, etc. An alert caller
explained to him the fact that, originally, freeways here did not connect
without going through a phase of street level interconnects. To go from the
Gulf Freeway to Dallas on 45, one would have to drive through downtown on
Pierce, before the elevated was completed in the 60's. Thus the
nomenclature. The Eastex went to east Texas, the Katy originated from
downtown - there was no I-10 continuous to the BEAST (Baytown East Freeway).
Other names: Southwest, North, South, etc are pretty simple, except for
those of who are "directionally impaired". Enough, I'm going to lunch now...
Albert Nurick
Yep! There was also a cool sign at a car dealer on Main or Fannin,
perhaps somewhere around Elgin?
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 12:35 PM, in article
xn0e325po...@news-server.houston.rr.com, "Albert Nurick"
<alb...@nurick.com> wrote:
> Steve Cutchen wrote:
>
>> And Rosenstock isn't right.
>> I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
>
> "Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
> drums in the background.
Wasn't part of his deal was that he was "conveniently downtown", or some
such thing?
I remember some DJ from KILT or KNUZ, the two Top 40 stations in town, doing
a "marathon" broadcasting for 5 - 6 days without sllep from the showroom. I
begged that my dad take me down to see this guy after his first four days.
Man was that a mistake. Amazing what the mind conceives to be the picture of
a voice. As someone once said about Jon Matthews, 'Truly a face for Radio'.
And I'm sure that the Amphetamines didn't help the guy's appearance...
Jack Sloan
...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
Jack
Jack Tyler
Broadcasting.... K-NUZ, K-QUE, my best friend in those days... Paul
Berlin... that friendship still goes on today... Joe Ford with K-NUZ,
in the late 60's was a close friend of Wayne Newton... rowdy drinker,
bad driver.. lost his driver's license and had to come to work every
day in a limo..... Joyce Webb sang the jingles for Haverty
Furniture.... I used to ride Pete Conrad's motorcycle with him...
wasn't making much money then, and thought it was great that he and
Jane changed the interior deco in thier home twice a year to fit the
seasons.... they were active in the clear Creek Country with several
astronauts ( I was a young publisher and theatre critic in my spare
time and was in love with Jane Conrad). A friend of mine, (who we
still go to the Russian Bear today with today) loaned a young astronaut
a golf club in those days. He never got it back, as he used it to hit
a golf ball on the moon.... "one small step for a golf club thief...".
Also in the car business in those days, Russell and Smith Ford,
downtown... the sales manager was a friend of mine... lots of radio
ads... his name was Richard Nutt. Dick Nutt doesn't hang around much
anymore... I hope he's still alive... what a nice guy for an auto sales
manager. By the way, Neil Armstrong just sued a barber in Cincinnati
for selling a lock of his hair for $3,000.... more useless trivia.
Used to go dancing with Buzz and Jane Aldrin and lost track of them for
a few years. Sally and I were walking on the street off of Rodeo Drive
in Beverly Hills coming from an art gallery opening (10 years ago) and
saw Buzz Aldrin through a window at Louis Vuitton's. We went in and
talked with them, there was a small party going on. I saw a guy
standing behind a counter there and thought he was a tie salesman... I
felt sorry for him because nobody was paying any attention to him, so I
went over and spent some time on small talk with him.... when I
introduced myself to him after a while to make him feel good, his name
was Alex Trebeck. I guess I was the one who gained the most by that
meeting. Aldrin still comes back to Houston from time to time. Alan
Bean still lives off of Memorial Drive in a townhouse... we still see
him frequently. If you go to Carmelo's two or three times in a week,
you will run into him... he eats there almost every day, and makes his
living from painting (oils). He sells his autographs for $25.00. Just
some trivia about that time period... that was when I thought I had the
world by the ass.... now I am one. Those were the days. "Green light
cooler weather... red lighter warmer weather, blinking light rainy
weather.... " How DID that weather ball on the bank building go?
Jack Tyler
jennie
: > drums in the background.
WOW!
: > "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
: ...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
"Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!" with the woman
(and sometimes little boy) in the devil costume? Please someone else
remember that--- everyone in my family thinks I'm nuts.
Jack Sloan
"jennie" <pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:%63oe.362$HM....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Jack
Christine
"Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:24Pne.22321$j51....@tornado.texas.rr.com...
> "Ernie" <e...@intertex.net> wrote in message
> news:90ev91t8thru53maa...@4ax.com...
>>I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone was building a
>> car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
>> Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
Anybody remember the car (believe it was purchased at Richardson Chevrolet)
that was parked in various places in town (I know it was parked frequently
in front of the Esperson Buildings) that had plastic lemons on it and a list
of grievances with that dealership? IIRC photos of the "lemon car" were in
the newspapers
Chris in Pearland
vonroach
wrote:
Robertson's Chevrolet was main downtown dealer, now relocated to
Southwest Freeway.
vonroach
Another hokey commercial was for Knapp's chevrolet on Houston Ave -
'Old Jim Knapp don'y care, just come by and let him sell you a car.
vonroach
<pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> wrote:
Hardly anyone ever topped Art Grindal in silly ads - 'I want to sell
you a car'. Might have inspired Mattress Mac?
Steve Cutchen
<hadr...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Big finger-pointin', too... Right at ya. Whish was the basis for his
finger-waving sign.
jennie
"Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
> "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
Aha! Thank you!
And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then? Late
60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no success
recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming in
on his face with the outline of Texas in the background, something like
that.
Funny about telephone exchanges, too. Our phone out at our beachhouse in
Surfside still has Belmont-3 on the dial, and was a party line until about
1994.
Jack Tyler
there is a website that is the most informative of any I have seen yet.
It can be viewed by year, all the back to the Allen brothers... it
even has forums to ask questions of others like us.
http://www.houstonhistory.com/
Take a look... it's great.
Jack tyler
George Kerby
On 6/3/05 1:35 PM, in article tp1oe.2288$_w.1115@trnddc01, "Jack Sloan"
<jqs...@verizon.net> wrote:
They still have the all sevens phone number today...
Steve Cutchen
<pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> wrote:
> "Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
>
> > "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
>
> Aha! Thank you!
>
> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then? Late
> 60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no success
> recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming in
> on his face with the outline of Texas in the background, something like
> that.
Ron Stone?
bruceaaron
>
>
> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor
> back then? Late 60s or so? My mother and I were trying
> to remember his name with no success recently. I can
> picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming
> in on his face with the outline of Texas in the
> background, something like that.
>
Rasco was long time news anchor at 6 and 10pm at 2 in the
60s and 70s per Jack Harris' 'The Fault Does Not Lie with
Your Set.' He came over from 11, where he either succeeded
or preceded Dan Rather. Rasco is deceased.
Ray Miller was long time news director but not on the air
that much. Other Ch. 2 alums from circa that era: Tom
Jarriel (went on to ABC), Steve Smith (went to Philly to
anchor, came back to 11). Cal Thomas was later, I think.
Can't remember when Ron Stone came over from 11.
Bob Nicholas came over from 11 but that was later too, I
think.
Ch. 2 had one of the best local news shops in the nation
back then.
bruceaaron
That's incredible. Thanks for posting that.
The Chief Instigator
>"Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote in message
>news:xn0e325po...@news-server.houston.rr.com...
>> Steve Cutchen wrote:
>> > And Rosenstock isn't right.
>> > I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
>> I'm pretty sure I remember my dad mentioning a Mr. Rosenstock who sold
>> him cars in the 60's.
>> Some 60's-70's local car jingles that still are in my head:
>> "Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
>> drums in the background.
>> "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
>...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
>Jack
Prefaced by "Joe Prichard's Courtesy Chevrolet", of course. :-)
--
Patrick "The Chief Instigator" Humphrey (pat...@io.com) Houston, Texas
chiefinstigator.us.tt/aeros.php (soon to be TCI's 2005-06 Houston Aeros)
LAST GAME: Chicago 5, Houston 3 (April 26)
NEXT GAME: Date/opponent/site TBA in August 2005
The Chief Instigator
>"Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
>> "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
>Aha! Thank you!
>And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then? Late
>60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no success
>recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming in
>on his face with the outline of Texas in the background, something like
>that.
Late '60s on KPRC? The only one I can think of from those days would be Larry
Rasco...
>Funny about telephone exchanges, too. Our phone out at our beachhouse in
>Surfside still has Belmont-3 on the dial, and was a party line until about
>1994.
That was back when Freeport (which had Belmont 3) was still 713-233...in 1983,
it went to 409-233, and now is 979-233.
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/3/05 1:35 PM, in article tp1oe.2288$_w.1115@trnddc01, "Jack Sloan"
><jqs...@verizon.net> wrote:
>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote in message
>> news:xn0e325po...@news-server.houston.rr.com...
>>> Steve Cutchen wrote:
>>>> And Rosenstock isn't right.
>>>> I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
>>> I'm pretty sure I remember my dad mentioning a Mr. Rosenstock who sold
>>> him cars in the 60's.
>>> Some 60's-70's local car jingles that still are in my head:
>>> "Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
>>> drums in the background.
>>> "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
>> ...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
>They still have the all sevens phone number today...
Not quite - 777-7777 belongs to ARS Services, these days, and they still
advertise it as "just dial seven seven times"...which doesn't work well when
we have to dial the area code as well. (713-777 is in Houston Prescott,
i.e. Sharpstown, and I can't remember who originally got that number when PR 7
was opened up.)
menefreghista
"Hi there friends, Ralph Williams, of Ralph Williams Chrysler-Plymouth, Gulf
Freeway. How about a brand new ..........."
"RHZ" <txg...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:angv91h2h8l2iadu4...@4ax.com...
> Ralph Williams at Woodridge and Gulf Freeway
>
> On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 02:16:30 GMT, "Zen Cohen" <atu...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >"Ernie" <e...@intertex.net> wrote in message
> >news:90ev91t8thru53maa...@4ax.com...
> >>I remember riding to Houston and wondering why someone was building a
> >> car dealership so far out in the middle of nowhere - "Richardson
> >> Chevrolet" - corner of US59 and Hillcroft.
> >
> >Wasn't Jimmy Green Chevrolet on the corner of Westheimer and Shepherd
where
> >the Randall's center is now? (The corner of that intersection recently
went
> >for over $50 sf recently.) I think we got a brand new '63 Chevy
stationwagon
> >there. No mandatory seat belts for kids then. Me and my little sis would
> >stand unrestrained in the back seat, latent human missiles we.
> >
> >Other long-gone car dealers: "If you don't buy your next car from
> >Rosenstock, we both lose money!" and (bongoes playing) "Buy your
Chevrolet
> >from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet." Who was the Plymouth dealer that
> >advertised so much in the 60's? Ralph something?
> >
> >Remember Bill Varley selling his "tahrs" on Houston Wrestling?
> >
>
Becca
> Wasn't Jimmy Green Chevrolet on the corner of Westheimer and Shepherd
> where the Randall's center is now? (The corner of that intersection
> recently went for over $50 sf recently.)
Jimmy Green's was on Westheimer, my family bought a car there. I was
young and I do not remember the car at all. It was around 1970.
Becca
Jack Tyler
Dodge. I wonder what's going on where Palm Center used to be? I
haven't been in that part of town for 30 years.
Jack Tyler
Jack Tyler
15-20 years ago.
Jack Tyler
jennie
>> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor
>> back then? Late 60s or so? My mother and I were trying
>> to remember his name with no success recently. I can
>> picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming
>> in on his face with the outline of Texas in the
>> background, something like that.
>>
> 5pm news? Did they even have that newscast back then? Larry
> Rasco was long time news anchor at 6 and 10pm at 2 in the
> 60s and 70s per Jack Harris' 'The Fault Does Not Lie with
> Your Set.' He came over from 11, where he either succeeded
> or preceded Dan Rather. Rasco is deceased.
Oh my goodness, I do believe it was Larry Rasco! The name certainly rings a
bell--- wish I could see a photo of him. No, whomever it was, he definitely
predated Ron Stone. And you're right, I may have been wrong on the time; it
may very well have been 6. I was usually forced by my mother to switch over
from Channel 39 so she could watch the weather.
WT Stull
"Jack Tyler" <market...@houston.rr.com> wrote in message
news:1117890826.0...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Jack,
Before you go over there to check it out, you might want to apply for a
concealed carry handgun liscense.
Last time I was in that neighborhood, it had lost whatever genteel qualities
it ever had and a rougher crowd was extant.
Regards,
WT Stull
George Kerby
On 6/4/05 1:15 AM, in article szkacm6...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>> On 6/3/05 1:35 PM, in article tp1oe.2288$_w.1115@trnddc01, "Jack Sloan"
>> <jqs...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> wrote in message
>>> news:xn0e325po...@news-server.houston.rr.com...
>>>> Steve Cutchen wrote:
>
>>>>> And Rosenstock isn't right.
>>>>> I can't remember what it was, but I'd bet a Coke it's not Rosenstock.
>
>>>> I'm pretty sure I remember my dad mentioning a Mr. Rosenstock who sold
>>>> him cars in the 60's.
>
>>>> Some 60's-70's local car jingles that still are in my head:
>
>>>> "Buy your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
>>>> drums in the background.
>
>>>> "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
>
>>> ...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
>
>> They still have the all sevens phone number today...
>
> Not quite - 777-7777 belongs to ARS Services, these days, and they still
> advertise it as "just dial seven seven times"...which doesn't work well when
> we have to dial the area code as well. (713-777 is in Houston Prescott,
> i.e. Sharpstown, and I can't remember who originally got that number when PR 7
> was opened up.)
Dang! "ARS on time or you get fifty bucks" or some such. Wonder when
Courtesy gave up the first three sevens? An aside for all you historians.
For thee longest time Candy Mossler's "nephew", Melvin Lane Powers' business
phone number was called "all sixes" (666-6666). How appropriate is that?
John Westerlage
Albert Nurick wrote:
> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
> they fade into the sunset.
>
> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>
> Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
> that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and played
> when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>
> In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ upstairs
> near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
>
> ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee shop?
> I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
> slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
>
I am BOI, so didn't know Houston very well as a kid, and I don't
remember much about Sharpstown from that time.
But while we were visiting some relatives in Houston one day, it was
decided that we go to the Sharpstown Center grand opening.
At that time the Sharpstown people were accepting letters and, if I
remember correctly, certain objects, to be placed in a time capsule that
was meant to be opened either 25 or 50 years later.
I did put in a letter (probably with a 3 cent stamp). I don't remember
to whom it was addressed, so I can't check to see if it was delivered.
Our Galveston address was maintained until fairly recently, so if the
post office got hold of the letter it probably would have been returned
for insufficient postage. So I assume it never hit the post office.
I wonder if the time capsule was abandoned, forgotten or what?
It may be like the capsule found at 301 San Jacinto recently that had
been forgotten and walled in until some remodeling revealed it.
I'm just curious.
jw
George Kerby
On 6/4/05 1:12 AM, in article szkekbi...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
> "jennie" <pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> writes:
>
>> "Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
>
>>> "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
>
>> Aha! Thank you!
>
>> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then? Late
>> 60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no success
>> recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera zooming in
>> on his face with the outline of Texas in the background, something like
>> that.
>
> Late '60s on KPRC? The only one I can think of from those days would be Larry
> Rasco...
Ray Miller. Pat Flaridy (sp?).
Dave Garrett
john_we...@sbcglobal.net says...
> I am BOI, so didn't know Houston very well as a kid, and I don't
> remember much about Sharpstown from that time.
>
> But while we were visiting some relatives in Houston one day, it was
> decided that we go to the Sharpstown Center grand opening.
>
> At that time the Sharpstown people were accepting letters and, if I
> remember correctly, certain objects, to be placed in a time capsule that
> was meant to be opened either 25 or 50 years later.
>
> I did put in a letter (probably with a 3 cent stamp). I don't remember
> to whom it was addressed, so I can't check to see if it was delivered.
> Our Galveston address was maintained until fairly recently, so if the
> post office got hold of the letter it probably would have been returned
> for insufficient postage. So I assume it never hit the post office.
>
> I wonder if the time capsule was abandoned, forgotten or what?
>
> It may be like the capsule found at 301 San Jacinto recently that had
> been forgotten and walled in until some remodeling revealed it.
>
> I'm just curious.
Neither abandoned nor forgotten, but apparently not sealed as well as it
should've been, judging from the condition of some of the contents:
http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/hapyom/CapsuleContents.jpg
(more info at http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/hapyom/page17.html )
Dave
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/4/05 1:12 AM, in article szkekbi...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> "jennie" <pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> writes:
>>> "Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
>>>> "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
>>> Aha! Thank you!
>>> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then?
>>> Late 60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no
>>> success recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera
>>> zooming in on his face with the outline of Texas in the background,
>>> something like that.
>> Late '60s on KPRC? The only one I can think of from those days would be
>> Larry Rasco...
>Ray Miller. Pat Flaridy (sp?).
I remember Ray Miller, but mostly because of the Eyes of Texas series he kept
cranking out for years...
George Kerby
On 6/5/05 6:27 PM, in article szkbr6k...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>> On 6/4/05 1:12 AM, in article szkekbi...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>> Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>
>>> "jennie" <pleas...@thenewsgroup.com> writes:
>
>>>> "Jack Sloan" <jqs...@verizon.net> remembered my:
>
>>>>> "Hot! Hot! Red-hot Deals! The Hottest Deals in Town!"
>
>>>> Aha! Thank you!
>
>>>> And anyone remember the Channel 2 Five o'clock news anchor back then?
>>>> Late 60s or so? My mother and I were trying to remember his name with no
>>>> success recently. I can picture the opening of the news, with the camera
>>>> zooming in on his face with the outline of Texas in the background,
>>>> something like that.
>
>>> Late '60s on KPRC? The only one I can think of from those days would be
>>> Larry Rasco...
>
>> Ray Miller. Pat Flaridy (sp?).
>
> I remember Ray Miller, but mostly because of the Eyes of Texas series he kept
> cranking out for years...
Yep. And then Ron Stone took it over. I sure miss that...
John Westerlage
> should've been, judging from the condition of some of the contents:
>
> http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/hapyom/CapsuleContents.jpg
>
> (more info at http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/hapyom/page17.html )
>
> Dave
>
Many thanks. Now I can rest easy about one more thing.
jw
The Chief Instigator
>I remember Sharpstown Center in those days.... however, when you were a
>"kid", I was probably starting to look through catalogs for deals on
>walkers.
>I remember all of the things you mentioned... and used to bank at
>Sharpstown Bank (everyone thought that Sharpstown was going to be the
>new River Oaks). The officer I dealt with at the bank went to prison,
>along with most of the officers there.
I was in high school throwing the Comical out in Walnut Bend, and a number of
my customers were just a bit late paying their paper bill in February and
March of 1970 thanks to banking with Sharpstown. All I need is a "I Survived
Gus Mutscher and the Dirty Thirty" T-shirt.
The Chief Instigator
>In article <xn0e325po...@news-server.houston.rr.com>,
>alb...@nurick.com says...
>> "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
>Remember the gigantic neon "rocket" sign Bill McDavid had? As a kid,
>that was definitely one of the key landmarks I looked forward to seeing
>every time we went to Galveston (and returned after dark, when it was
>really lit up and you could see it for quite a ways).
When we went down the Gulf Freeway (and old US 75, once out of town) to
Galveston, I learned to watch for the Thunderbird Drive-In...it was only a few
more minutes to the Causeway from that point.
The Chief Instigator
>In article <szkoeao...@eris.io.com>, The Chief Instigator
><pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> Steve Cutchen <max...@earthlink.net> writes:
>> >In article <zoKne.8621$Cz3.1...@monger.newsread.com>, Robert E.
>> >Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
>> >> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
>> >> > "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>> >> > >I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>> >> > >they fade into the sunset.
>> >> > >I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>> >Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
>> >was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We lived
>> >in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was outside
>> >the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies, baybee.
>> >Civilization started about Fondren, which I think is where there was a
>> >Rice grocery store.
>> I assume you're talking about the Rice on the northwest corner of Fondren
>> and Westheimer...and I was in that Food Giant a time or two, though we
>> lived out in Walnut Bend from 1966 on. (That was when what is now the
>> southbound lanes of S. Gessner were occupied by a large ditch, south of
>> Westheimer, and north of Westheimer where Woodlake Square sprouted a few
>> years later, was nothing but woods unbroken by more than a single muddy
>> trail.)
>That's it. Walnut Bend is the next subdivision out from Briargrove
>Park. Once it opened, I went to Walnut Bend Elementary. Prior to that
>we went to Briargrove Elementary.
Fortunately for me, we didn't move from Westbury up to Walnut Bend until the
summer I was between sixth and seventh grade - so I got to go to T.H. Rogers,
while my sister went to Walnut Bend Elementary.
>We had a party line phone... I remember is was Sunset-2 something or
>other.
That was back when you had your choice of SU 1 or SU 2, and ours was an SU
2...and when the wife and I moved into the Sunset CO area eleven years ago,
she asked then-SWBT if my parents' old number was available, and it was...so
someone in my family has had that number for all but about two years since
1966. (Dale got it for her line; mine's the one listed in the White Pages, and
it's got the modem. :-)
The Chief Instigator
>In article <szkk6lc...@eris.io.com>, The Chief Instigator
><pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>> >Steve Cutchen wrote:
>> >> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant,
>> >> which was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964.
>> >> We lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer.
>> >> Was outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland.
>> >> Boonies, baybee. Civilization started about Fondren, which I think
>> >> is where there was a Rice grocery store.
>> >I remember Fondren being the Edge of Town. As a kid, we'd go out to
>> >Westwood Country Club for parties (my grandparents were members) and it
>> >was way out in the country. Past Fondren. ;-)
>> ...and that was when the freeway part of 59 didn't exist past Hillcroft.
>> (When I got there in '65, the freeway had just opened to the old Beechnut
>> exit, and the feeders went down to Brays Bayou where they joined to cross
>> the freeway bridge, and then separated again until they reached South Main
>> in Sugar Land.)
>I remember dumping off at Sugarland and driving through town as we
>headed out on 59 south.
That was the old configuration where it made that sweeping right curve to dump
out on South Main. (It hit Main pretty close to where Dairy Ashford crosses
Main these days.)
>Similar deal on the Gulf Freeway. It ended at Gulfgate.
When we got here, it ended just south of where Almeda Mall sits now.
>My Dad was one of the first 13 engineers to move here from California
>to build the spacecraft center in 1963. He initially worked downtown
>at 1100 Main. And we bought a house in Briargrove Park.
>But when the offices moved to the Alpha and Beta buildings in Clear
>Lake, he was commuting from Briargrove Park to Clear Lake. I think it
>was something like:
>Westheimer to Fondren
>Fondren to Bellaire
>Bellaire to OST
>OST to Griggs
>Griggs to Gulf Freeway
>GFwy feeder to NASA 1
>NASA 1 to El Camino
>All in a '63 Buick Electra. But at least it had A/C. The '60 LeSabre
>we had when we moved to Texas from Sunnyvale did not.
I had a new '77 Chevette when I got my degree, and I had no a/c in it - with a
1.6-liter engine, I needed all that to move the car.
>In 1965, we moved to El Lago.
I made more than a few trips over that way in the mid-'80s from Sharpstown (in
the Chevette, no less) thanks to the girlfriend living over there near El
Camino and El Dorado...Exxon used to love me. ;-)
The Chief Instigator
>The Chief Instigator wrote:
>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>> > I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>> > they fade into the sunset.
>> > I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>> > Remember the big rotating clock that was at the center of the mall,
>> > that had the animated dioramas behind windows that opened up and
>> > played when the clock chimed? Does anyone have a photograph of it?
>> That's one picture I wish I'd taken.
>I have vague memories of the clock; IIRC the dioramas were of
>historical events... maybe Texas history?
That was it - something from the period of each of the six flags, as I
remember it.
>> > In the later years (probably late 70's) I recall a large organ
>> > upstairs near the arcade. Anyone have a photo of that?
>> The upstairs floor (and the food court - Good Time Charley's - and
>> the arcade) was opened in the fall of 1977, four months or so after I
>> got my BA. (That was also the expansion that removed the old Food
>> Giant supermarket on the north side and replaced it with the
>> now-abandoned JCPenney.)
>Good Time Charley's! That was the place. IIRC it was a prototype food
>court, without name brand fast food as most of the booths.
It was one of the early ones I remember, anyway.
>> > ObFood: Didn't the Walgreens at Sharpstown have a little coffee
>> > shop?
>> It did - I stopped there a time or two over a span of about fifteen
>> years, until Walgreens finally bailed out in the mid-'90s.
>> > I also remember a pretty good restaurant upstairs at Foley's, with a
>> > slowly-oscillating paddle fan on the ceiling.
>> I never was a customer, but wasn't it over on the side nearest the
>> mall on the upstairs floor?
>It was right near customer service, wherever that was. As a child, I
>went with my grandmother when we went shopping there... it was a
>grandmother kinda place.
Pretty much what I remember, and customer service was upstairs on the south
side of the store nearest the mall...one of my high school classmates' fiancé
worked up there on the sales floor in the late '70s, so I was over there
occasionally.
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/3/05 9:18 AM, in article BEC5D0E1.1E4FE%ghost_...@hotmail.com,
>"George Kerby" <ghost_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On 6/3/05 8:11 AM, in article szk3brz...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>> Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>>> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
>>>> On 6/2/05 5:44 PM, in article 020620051744229264%max...@earthlink.net,
>>>> "Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>>> In article <zoKne.8621$Cz3.1...@monger.newsread.com>, Robert E.
>>>>> Lewis <rle...@brazosport.cc.tx.us> wrote:
>>>>>> "The Chief Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:szkoeap...@eris.io.com...
>>>>>>> "Albert Nurick" <alb...@nurick.com> writes:
>>>>>>>> I've been going through some old stuff, digitizing old photos before
>>>>>>>> they fade into the sunset.
>>>>>>>> I remembered visiting Sharpstown Center as a kid.
>>>>> Going WAY yore, I remember my Mom grocery shopping at Food Giant, which
>>>>> was one of the stores in Sharpstown Mall. This was about 1964. We
>>>>> lived in Briargrove Park; now inside the Beltway off Westheimer. Was
>>>>> outside the city limits, across from REBob Smith's ranchland. Boonies,
>>>>> baybee.
>>>> My best H.S. Friend consumed too many beers one night (NAHHHH-Really?!)
>>>> and wound up missing the stop sign where Seagler Road, then a two-lane
>>>> blacktop, ended at Westheimer and proceeded to bury his dad's Ford Falcon
>>>> into the 'bar ditch' in front of whatever industrial campus that had just
>>>> been built on Mr. Smith's land. We all had a great time at the 'lake' in
>>>> back of Briargrove Park in the late 60's.
>>> That ditch in front of Dresser was something I didn't miss when Westheimer
>>> was widened in 1970 or '71...and if you're talking about Hidden Lake, that
>>> was right across the ditch from the north end of Walnut Bend, too. (After
>>> all these years, I'd like to know how that car got dumped in the south end
>>> of the lake - that took some effort, considering there was almost no way
>>> of getting a vehicle that far away from the original West Belt at the
>>> time.)
>> Patrick, I remember it being closer to the West Belt on the east side of
>> Briargrove Park. Later, in the 70's, there was a restaurant, La Hacienda
>> (The Home) that was built on the lake. Were there two lakes out there? One
>> of Chester Reed's sons was a friend of mine and we rode all around back
>> there on dirt bikes (well, they weren't called that then).
>Whoops! Just looked at a key map. For some reason I thoght that the Beltway
>ran between Briargrove Park and Rivercrest. It actually is between
>Briargrove Park and Walnut Bend and we ARE talking about the same lake.
>Sorry for the 'senior moment'...
Don't worry - you've lived long enough to have earned the privilege, and I'm
not all that far behind you. (Was one of Chester's sons named Buddy? He'd
have been in my graduating class at Lee.)
The Chief Instigator
>> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
Good question - it had to be some time before the 713 area overflowed in the
'90s, because I can remember it being around after I was married.
>For thee longest time Candy Mossler's "nephew", Melvin Lane Powers' business
>phone number was called "all sixes" (666-6666). How appropriate is that?
Well, it was up until that recent archaeological discovery a couple of months
ago...but back then, no one could even imagine that one day there'd be a
616-6616. ;-)
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/3/05 11:45 AM, in article 030620051145189105%max...@earthlink.net,
>"Steve Cutchen" <max...@earthlink.net> wrote:
[...]
>> My Dad was one of the first 13 engineers to move here from California
>> to build the spacecraft center in 1963. He initially worked downtown
>> at 1100 Main. And we bought a house in Briargrove Park.
>> But when the offices moved to the Alpha and Beta buildings in Clear
>> Lake, he was commuting from Briargrove Park to Clear Lake. I think it
>> was something like:
>> Westheimer to Fondren
>> Fondren to Bellaire
>> Bellaire to OST
>> OST to Griggs
>> Griggs to Gulf Freeway
>> GFwy feeder to NASA 1
>> NASA 1 to El Camino
>> All in a '63 Buick Electra. But at least it had A/C. The '60 LeSabre
>> we had when we moved to Texas from Sunnyvale did not.
>> In 1965, we moved to El Lago.
>That reminds me of yesterday's Pat Gray show on KPRC radio.
>Pat was bitching about freeway names and how they don't mean anything. He
>thought that the Eastex was I-10 East, not 59 North, etc. An alert caller
>explained to him the fact that, originally, freeways here did not connect
>without going through a phase of street level interconnects. To go from the
>Gulf Freeway to Dallas on 45, one would have to drive through downtown on
>Pierce, before the elevated was completed in the 60's. Thus the
>nomenclature. The Eastex went to east Texas, the Katy originated from
>downtown - there was no I-10 continuous to the BEAST (Baytown East Freeway).
>Other names: Southwest, North, South, etc are pretty simple, except for
>those of who are "directionally impaired". Enough, I'm going to lunch now...
Actually, to get from the Gulf Freeway to the North Freeway, you'd have been
heading west on either Calhoun (now St. Joseph) or Pease back then - and on
Calhoun, between Smith and Chartres for a time in the late '60s, you'd be
southbound on US 59 and northbound on US 75 at the same time. (Pierce and
Jefferson would have reversed the directions.) My first impression of that
part of downtown was the weekend of the opening of the Dome - and the future
Pierce Elevated that ended in midair in the middle of the block between La
Branch and Crawford, with a pile of junked cars on the ground. It was a
comical sight to the ten-year-old I was then...
George Kerby
On 6/6/05 12:12 AM, in article szkwtp8...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
Don't remember a Buddy. My friend was Jim Reed and he graduated in '69. You
must know that the basketball arena at A&M is named for Chester? The man was
a truly 'rags to riches' story...
George Kerby
On 6/6/05 12:16 AM, in article szkslzw...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
OK. I'll bite: Huh?
George Kerby
On 6/6/05 12:22 AM, in article szkoeak...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
I wish I had seen that. I'm checking out an old map of Houston and that is
interesting: Going North and South at the same time, that is. LOL!
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/6/05 12:12 AM, in article szkwtp8...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
>>> On 6/3/05 9:18 AM, in article BEC5D0E1.1E4FE%ghost_...@hotmail.com,
>>> "George Kerby" <ghost_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
[...]
>>>> Patrick, I remember it being closer to the West Belt on the east side of
>>>> Briargrove Park. Later, in the 70's, there was a restaurant, La Hacienda
>>>> (The Home) that was built on the lake. Were there two lakes out there? One
>>>> of Chester Reed's sons was a friend of mine and we rode all around back
>>>> there on dirt bikes (well, they weren't called that then).
>>> Whoops! Just looked at a key map. For some reason I thoght that the Beltway
>>> ran between Briargrove Park and Rivercrest. It actually is between
>>> Briargrove Park and Walnut Bend and we ARE talking about the same lake.
>>> Sorry for the 'senior moment'...
>> Don't worry - you've lived long enough to have earned the privilege, and I'm
>> not all that far behind you. (Was one of Chester's sons named Buddy? He'd
>> have been in my graduating class at Lee.)
>Don't remember a Buddy. My friend was Jim Reed and he graduated in '69. You
>must know that the basketball arena at A&M is named for Chester? The man was
>a truly 'rags to riches' story...
I'd have to dig up an old RELHS student directory to find out, but HISD gave
me my sheepskin and told me to go away in '72. (I knew the new A&M barn had
that name, but I didn't know how the name was picked...until now. The things
I learn online...)
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/6/05 12:16 AM, in article szkslzw...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
[...]
>>> For thee longest time Candy Mossler's "nephew", Melvin Lane Powers'
>>> business phone number was called "all sixes" (666-6666). How appropriate
>>> is that?
>> Well, it was up until that recent archaeological discovery a couple of
>> months ago...but back then, no one could even imagine that one day there'd
>> be a 616-6616. ;-)
>OK. I'll bite: Huh?
There have been some old texts from the days of early Christianity that have
had new methods of scanning applied, and one of them produced the surprise
that the "number of the beast" thing had been incorrectly figured. It turns
out that that number is 616, not 666. (I have no idea what people in the
Grand Rapids part of Michigan think about that, though - that's the area code
for that part of the state.)
The Chief Instigator
>On 6/6/05 12:22 AM, in article szkoeak...@eris.io.com, "The Chief
>Instigator" <pat...@io.com> wrote:
>> George Kerby <ghost_...@hotmail.com> writes:
[...]
>>> That reminds me of yesterday's Pat Gray show on KPRC radio. Pat was
>>> bitching about freeway names and how they don't mean anything. He thought
>>> that the Eastex was I-10 East, not 59 North, etc. An alert caller
>>> explained to him the fact that, originally, freeways here did not connect
>>> without going through a phase of street level interconnects. To go from
>>> the Gulf Freeway to Dallas on 45, one would have to drive through downtown
>>> on Pierce, before the elevated was completed in the 60's. Thus the
>>> nomenclature. The Eastex went to east Texas, the Katy originated from
>>> downtown - there was no I-10 continuous to the BEAST (Baytown East
>>> Freeway). Other names: Southwest, North, South, etc are pretty simple,
>>> except for those of who are "directionally impaired". Enough, I'm going to
>>> lunch now...
>> Actually, to get from the Gulf Freeway to the North Freeway, you'd have been
>> heading west on either Calhoun (now St. Joseph) or Pease back then - and on
>> Calhoun, between Smith and Chartres for a time in the late '60s, you'd be
>> southbound on US 59 and northbound on US 75 at the same time. (Pierce and
>> Jefferson would have reversed the directions.) My first impression of that
>> part of downtown was the weekend of the opening of the Dome - and the future
>> Pierce Elevated that ended in midair in the middle of the block between La
>> Branch and Crawford, with a pile of junked cars on the ground. It was a
>> comical sight to the ten-year-old I was then...
>I wish I had seen that. I'm checking out an old map of Houston and that is
>interesting: Going North and South at the same time, that is. LOL!
It wasn't around for long, just between the time the Eastex was opened (down to
just south of where the GRB is now) and the Pierce Elevated was opened - that
removed US 75 from Pierce and Jefferson, while 59 came up Smith and Louisiana
and then turned onto Pierce and Jefferson, then north again at Hamilton and
Chartres, until the rest of the 59 freeway was linked up in 1974.
Eddie Runner
Hillcroft and Bellaire in a huge concrete block holding a
sign pole for a BBQ joint...
As a kid in the early 60s I
remember the engraved metal sign sunk into the front of
the big concrete block and I always thought about it when
I passed by that corner (behind the BBQ place was a
drive in theatre back then)...
Not much later the BBQ place
hung a big plywood sign in front of the time capsule
sign so it couldnt be seen for years... After they tore
that down and put a safeway on that corner they moved the
time capsule to Sharpstown country club...
They opened it in 2000, I went to the ceremony... They were
saying something about a dispute over who had jurisdiction
over the time capsule, I guess that was when they moved it to
the country club......
Anyway when they cut it open the whole buncha stuff inside
was all yucky and waterlogged... some things were saved and
I was under the impression they would be displayed at the
old Sharpstown country club lobby... I havent been there to see
but it might be worth a trip if you had something inside the capsule.
Eddie
mst...@gmail.com
> your Chevrolet from Persia, Mike Persia Chevrolet", complete with
> : > drums in the background.
>
>
> : > "Bill McDavid, Exit 7. Gulf. Free. Way."
> : ...seventy seven seventy seven Katy freeway...
>
> (and sometimes little boy) in the devil costume? Please someone else
> remember that--- everyone in my family thinks I'm nuts.
I remember that :)