brerrabbit

Just an FYI, 70 acres is not a big enough space for a high school. If I recall Dawson on Cullen was only able to acquire 90 acres and they are building a three story school as a result. I think the current thinking is they like to have 100 acres. Dawson is a 4A school with a projected enrollment of 2,000 in four grades.

Never played there because I grew up on the wrong side of town but I remember it because at one point they used to televise the games and I remember seeing them on TV.

I am pretty sure that the current Macy's (the old Dillards/Joskees) and the current Penney's (the old Wards) are in fact the same buildings. When we at the mall a couple of weeks ago I remember driving by the Penney's and thinking that the area that was automotive repair was still there and they had just covered the doors over. While we certainly don't go there often we go enough and have gone enough over the years to remember if there was ever a raise and rebuild. I do remember the two Dillards after Macy's moved out and really thought that was wierd. I think the Food Court has been through about four changes and the center of the mall where Santa always is has gone through at least three changes. We bought our first house off the Gulf Freeway at Dixie Farm Road in 1983 an were frequent shoppers at the mall. Now living in East Pearland Baybrook is as easy (if not easier) as Pearland Town Center to get to so we still shop there a lot. The real growth has been the surrounding shopping centers and the changes they have gone through over the years.

Actually the store at Airport was never a Globe. I think it was a Wilsons, or something like that. The only Globe I knew of along the Gulf Freeway was on Woodridge right across from Gulgate Mall. The Fed Mart I went to as a kid was at Mykawa and Griggs and the building it was in is where the Fiesta is. Fed Mart moved into the Globe at Gulfgate when Globe closed. After that Fed Mart closed and the building was torn down and a Mervyns was built there. The Airport store did become the original Sam's for the Southeat side on town and was in business there until they built the Sam's at Fuqua and 45 then it closed and moved to the new location. I remember the Sage on the Gulf Freeway really well. I worked for almost four years during college at the Plank Company which was right across the street. It's now United Rentals. I bought my gas at the Sage, cashed my paychecks at Sage, and bought my beer at the Sage Liquor store. During the gas shortages of that period the guy who ran the Sage Gas Station would be closed all the time but since we bought all our gas for the company vehicles from him, he would let us sneek our cars over and fill up or if he was trying to be real sly we would walk over with gas cans and fill our cars five gallons at a time.

I have worked in Downtown Houston since 1982 and I love the tunnels. I also love the fact that there are opportunities to go above the street in several places as well. You can cross from Reliant to the Hyatt above the street and there are two bridges from where I currently work in Two Houston Center to the Park Shops. The reason no one is open past business hours in Downtown is because quite frankly there is no money in it. The spenders are the business people and they all go home at night and on weekends. Complain all you want about today's downtown is head and shoulders above where it was in 1982. Back then the locked all the doors, rolled up the sidewalks and essentially abandoned downtown at night and on weekends.

I don't keep up with the soccer stadium all that much but I will throw an interesting note out there about something I heard concerning the soccer franchise in Houston. A current project is moving forward to build their training complex on the southwest corner of SH288 and Airport. Money will come from the City of Houston, the Houston Parks Board (who is coordinating the project) and the Dynamo. Monies are tight these days from the City and from the Houston Parks Board who solicites donations from foundations and Corporate sponsors. In a meeting several weeks ago to discuss the project everyone showed up with some money towards it except the Dynamo. Mayor White was alittle PO'ed that Oliver and the boys want so much but bring so little to the table. Parks Board is involved because the final project will have something like 18 fields for playing soccer and lacrosse. My question is if they can't kick anything in for the practice facility, what the heck are they going to do when it's time to put up the real money? (for stadium construction)

It's on Polk just east of Telephone Road. Look under the East End Page and you will find a thread that discusses the school the school in great detail. Sorry I just don't have time to find the link right now.

It's a pretty neat looking place. It almost drove my buddy nuts though. He was the project coordinator and they were working seven days a week to get it ready for the opening. They had the donors party on Friday night and the grand opening on Sunday. They got just about everything done but it was close at the end. Houston now has a place for skaters to play although I'm sure they will still be all over town because one park that can handle about 100 skaters at a time isn't nearly enough for the number of skaters there are in Houston.

OFA was another league in Little League District 15. I know this because for many years I was an Assistant District Director. OFA stood for Oak Forest, Allendale I think which were the neighborhoods the league was formed from. If you cross Old Gaveston Road on Howard and continue across the bayou you take the first street to the left and go all the way to the end of the street. Turn left through the gates and there are the ballfields. They are still there and OFA is still playing. The land and the original facilities were donated by Petro Tex Chemicals and one of their product storage tanks still serve as a back drop behind the outfield fence on the senior field. Leagues that exsisted back when I (any many of you) played. Freeway National - off Telephone on Wynlea (Gone but not forgotten) Freeway American - between Monroe and the Gulf Freeway behind where the Marriot is now (gone) OFA - Off of Howard just past Old Galveston (still playing) East End - on Dumble between the freeway and Austin High School. (still playing) Southeast Little League - off Mykawa next to the P Farm (gone) Magnolia Little Leage - off of Navigation at a city park (still playing) Dixie Little League - plays at Ingrando Park at Woodridge off the Gulf Freeway Gregg Little League - played next to Ripley House on Northdale which ran between Dixie and Belfort about 5 blocks east of Mykawa (gone) Sagemont Beverly Hills Little League - currently plays at county park at Beltway 8 and Blackhawk. (still playing) These guys have an interesting history. They originally played on two fields that were just south of Beltway 8 on the west side of 45. About where the car dealerships repair shop sits today. They lost the land and found a new home on Dixie Farm Road just west of the ditch that runs along side the Dixie Chemicals site (Brio Super Fund site) They spent a lot of money building fields, restrooms, and consession stands. When Brio was discovered to be toxic they once again moved to the corner of Beltway 8 and Sabo at about where the Krogers center sits today. When that land was sold they finally cut their deal with the county and moved to the park. Pearland Little Leage - plays at the Pearland Area Dads Club on Fite Rd (Historic Doughrty Road) off of FM 1128 in Pearland - (still playing) and have gotten so big the SW Region of Little League forced them to split into two seperate leages and is currently threatening to split them into four leagues because of Pearlands growth. Friendswood Little League - plays at a city park just west of FM 2351 and FM 518 located behind the school on 2351 (still playing) The league has been threaten with loosing many of its players to select baseball where you form your own team and compete yearround in tournament play. Freeway Manor Little League - played at fields off of Edgebrook east of 45 on a street called Theta. (gone) League held on by a thread until the late 80's, early 90's when the league treasurer took off with all the money. It killed the league. South Central Little League - New since we played and has been around for about seven years - plays at city park off 288 at Yellowstone. Were going to move as they were the recepients of a National Little League grant funded by Honda Corporation of America to build new fields in the area. The league is significant because it was the first entry into a predominantly black area in many years. I spoke at their opening day a number of years ago and the other guest of honor that day was Vince Young who at the time was a senior in high school on his way to UT. Those are the ones I remember although I think there were a couple more I can't remember.

You played at either Freeway National Little League or Freeway American Little League. The Freeway National fields were just off Telephone Road on Wynlea which was a block away from Airport Blvd. Freeway American was closer to the Gulf Freeway. Freeway Americans boundrys extended to take in most of the area east of the Gulf Freeway while Freeway National got most of Glenbrook Valley and extended north and west. I lived near Telephone and Griggs and was in the very northern tip of their boundries. If you were at National I might have seen you around. I played from about 1968 till 1973. After that I played Pony/Colt baseball at Freeway National Pony/Colt on Northdale which was just off Dixie Drive near Mykawa Road.

My demographics comment was not meant to turn the discussion to race but merely an attempt to explain why west Pearland had not been developed sooner. All the attributes that developers are touting today ( 15 minutes to the Medical Center, etc) were appropriate to the discussion in the early 80's when they first built Southwycke. The diversity of the area is certainly one of the things that I think has contributed to its growth. My only concern as I have stated on numerous other threads is the rapid growth without much thought to the consiquinces of that growth. I commented on the Pearland blog at the Chronicle that my fear for 518 from Friendswood to 288 is that it will become the 1960 of this decade. Drive 1960 from 45 to 249 sometime and look at the general run down state of the area. Unchecked growth caused the addition of numerous strip centers and neighborhoods to the area that added tons of traffic lights and congestion ruining the visual appeal and mobility in the area. 518 is headed the same way. There are numerous strip centers that are new with no tenants and more being built every day. At McClean and 518 in front of the movie theatres is an addition that has gone unleased for over four years and yet developers continue to build. There are no less than 8 signs between 2351 and 288 advertising new retail centers going in with all the unrented ones still out there. Pearlands master plan that City Council has so often touted is not being followed and their unbridled enthusiasm for the additional revenues from taxes have caused them to throw the plan out the window. The Waterlight district is a great project and more power to the developers but I really don't understand how so many other developers continue to see the need to build in an over supplied market that is Pearland today.

Wow! Talk about being insensative. I know a ton of people that graduated from Mt Carmel. One good friend had six brothers and sisters and her family actually built their house about two blocks from the church/ school and all but one graduated from Mount Carmel. The youngest was recruited by St. Thomas to play football and given a scholarship to attend. My father attended Mt Carmel church long before I was born and was highly involved with raising funds to build the church. The closing of the school is a sad day for many. One gentleman interviewed on the news was 59 years old had graduated from high school there along with his wife and been coaching/ teaching there since he graduated from college. Granted the school had fallen on hard tiimes and is heavily supported by the diosis so the ultimate decision was up to them not the folks at Mt Carmel. My understanding is that the vast majority of the students came from areas other than near the school. I know a bus picked up numerous students in Pearland every day who went there. Back in its day it was a really good school with good academics and some relatively competative sports teams. Seniors who will not be able to transfer to other catholic schools will probably look at Luthern South. As far as a new catholic high school once the diosis decides where it will be they will probably push it down some large parishes throat much the same way they force St Helens in Pearland to build a K-8 school several years ago. I have spoke with many friends who attended Mt Carmel over the years and just about every one was pretty upset but certainly understood the reality of the situation.

In all honesty I think Pearland was left alone for a couple of reasons. The first was that although 288 has been there for a while, that area of west Pearland did not really kick off until the beltway was built on that side of town. Southwyke became Silverlake and boom, the rest is history. The second reason is that for many years west side of Pearland = Flooding. Many developers were hesitant to get involved in the area. The other reason is one I have spoke about in another post about a west side Pearland park and ride. Old money/ power in Pearland really resides east of 35 and quite frankly no one really cared about the other end of Pearland. West Pearland had the lower income and less appealing demographics for many years. The idea has always been there as I can rememeber looking at houses in Southwyke in 1983 when it was still new and listening to the sales agent tout the wonders of being 15 minutes from the medical center. The sales pitch hasn't changed, just the number of people and the number of developers willing to invest money in the area.

I never knew that that facility started as a Shell Employees Recreation Area but it would make sense. A lot of the big energy companies in Houston had something like it. I started my first job with Tenneco in 1982 and was introduced to Tennwood which was in Hockley and had 27 holes of golf, a swimming pool, tennis courts, fishing lakes, row boats, volleyball and horseshoes. I t was a great place. Exxon had Baywood Country Club which was right next door to their large gas treatment plant off of Red Bluff. As far as I know its still there. It is at the corner of Red Bluff and Genoa Red Bluff in Pasadena. Texaco had their Golf Course club in Channelview off Sheldon Road. The Jersey Meadows golf course started life as Cameron Iron Works Employee club and was later sold. Cameron then put in a recreational facility for their employees in front of their facility out on 290. Then there was/is the most classic. Diamond Shamrock Corporation built a nine hole golf course on Tidal Basin Road in the middle of all the refineries in Pasadena. Diamonf Shamrock has since sold the facility but as of several years ago the little nine hole course was still there. I always thought how ironic it was that a refinery/chemical worker would want to on his days off return to the noisy and unhealthy environment of the plants to play around of golf.

Never knew of one under Gulfgate but there was one at the corner of Woodridge and Winkler. As Midtown said its a taquaria now. Right behind it was a Pizza Hut. The one at Westheimer and the Loop was also one. I am not sure but I thought there was one on Fuqua at one time as well. Those are the only ones I remember.