Gurgis

Yes, Maplewood Center, not too far away on Beechnut at Hillcroft. I remember many meals at a Mexican restaurant on the left / east end, with a grocery store at the right / west end. Foodarama has been there decades (I used to take my grandmother there to get groceries). In the middle it was enclosed, like you say. I remember it being a bit dark in there during the day, but a nice way to shop outside of the heat. Farther to the west there were a few more stores, including a record store. Then continuing west across Hillcroft, the Jack in the Box that's still there.

I first went in the mid 1960's as a child, with my family. Later went there as a teen in the late 70's. I remember a model shop, which was popular back then. Could assemble a kit of a car, plane, ship, etc. and paint it. Someone previously mentioned a possible name: Kits Inc. Hobby. A friend worked at Walter's Pyes (business suits, etc.). I remember the open atrium, TSO, Wyatt's Cafeteria, Hickory Farms, etc. All my early movies were at the cinema. Lots of meals at Los Tios across the street to the north (which I guess is still there, wow). And much farther back in time, across the freeway to the east, Globe department store (where Lowe's is now).

Great topic, and nice map there! When I lived in Clear Lake, I sometimes took day trips to look for sections of land where the track used to be. If you know where to look, you can see quite a bit of the straight cleared path (usually with electrical lines overhead). The online aerials (Google and Bing) do help show the traces where the track used to be. I think they eventually pulled up the track, and sold it as metal scrap.

I'm pretty sure I know what you are talking about, as I was usually looking out the window at that, as others (older than me) were driving. It wouldn't have been a Steak N' Ale, but something else. Seemed fairly large and distinctive, getting your attention. Hopefully someone will confirm, and maybe provide a picture.

There's a Facebook page with quite a bit of pictures: https://www.facebook.com/westburysquare/ Also, this great website: https://arch-ive.org/westburysquare/

Here's a good article on the subject, in case that hasn't been mentioned yet: https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2014/11/restaurant-memories Includes a great picture of Rumpleheimer's and the clock tower at Westbury Square

That's been discussed on this forum before. Across the Street (the location I remember) was essentially on Hillcroft, just south of Westheimer.

I remember Kings (and the telephones used to place orders), and want to say I remember eating onion rings there. Facing the front, to the left was AJ Foyt dealership. To the right of it Goony Golf, and then further the library. I remember Brittain's Broiler Burger, and having great grilled burgers there, though don't remember the exact location. Someone else indicated that it was at the nearby strip mall (probably at Bellfort and Chimney Rock) where TG&Y was, and a haircut place I used to go.

It's currently the location of Eddie's Welding Equipment, 10710 Craighead Dr, Houston, TX 77025. Maybe that address could help. There are a couple of "Teen Ave" streets near where the track was, which could be relevant. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eddie's+Welding+Equipment/@29.6652828,-95.4465888,338m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sWillowbend+Blvd.+on+Craighead+Drive+houston,+TX!3m5!1s0x8640e8bd41206ca7:0x1307454afa5a99db!8m2!3d29.6650498!4d-95.4461597!15sCi9XaWxsb3diZW5kIEJsdmQuIG9uIENyYWlnaGVhZCBEcml2ZSBob3VzdG9uLCBUWFovIi13aWxsb3diZW5kIGJsdmQgb24gY3JhaWdoZWFkIGRyaXZlIGhvdXN0b24gdHiSARR3ZWxkaW5nX3N1cHBseV9zdG9yZeABAA

Might need to access some maps from around 1943 to see exactly what and where Maplewood might have been at that time, to narrow it geographically for searching. I'm sure the Maplewood that I know of was probably a field at that time.

I was curious how many of those buildings still exist that NASA used in the early days, and how they look now. See attached images. I tried to get basically the same camera angle as the pictures in the first document / link above. Only a few appeared to no longer be standing.

I remember a book store in Westbury Square - even though just a kid - and that probably was the name of it. Thanks. Great memories of that whole complex.

I used to live in Clear Lake, and came across those same old maps showing Camp Killkare. It was on several updates of essentially the same map. I also did research into aerial photography and old USGS maps. I once went over to that area, as close as I could get to the site, to see if I could see anything. There were thick trees in the way, and private property beyond. Another way to view the area is from the piers at the park on Taylor Lake, and you can look north to the bend (as shown above). The site still remains a mystery to me. More than likely, it was just a feature recorded on the original map, as something special to the cartographer, or something that was planned to be significant, but never turned out to be. Maybe it was something of temporary use, and just happened to be active when the map was first being prepared. Perhaps there is some information in the Clear Lake or Seabrook libraries...

Good post there about Babbage's. I completely forgot about that place. Definitely went there in the early days of computing (maybe at Westwood, Sharpstown, or Meyerland malls). I can't remember what I purchased, but probably was DOS books or early software.

Yeah, it was at what is now 7801 Hillcroft, at the southeast corner of Hillcroft and Pine Street. The A-frame building faced Hillcroft, with the length of it paralleling (and just south of) Pine St. I remember going to it as Der Wienerschnitzel possibly as early as the late 60s, but definitely in the 70s. By the mid 80s it was Niner's Hamburgers (they still had hot dogs too). I actually worked there. The owners also had a Niner's location in Pasadena, possibly also a former Der Wienerschnitzel. According to their website, there are currently 45 Texas locations: https://www.wienerschnitzel.com/location-results/texas/?address=tx The founder had an interesting and fun life: https://www.wienerschnitzel.com/drive-thru-life-the-story-of-john-galardi-founder-of-wienerschnitzel/