robhan Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 A friend of mine is convinced that there once was a Sears on Harrisburg. is he right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 yes @ wayside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyt7801 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If you watch the old Thunderbolt commercial you can see it in the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If you watch the old Thunderbolt commercial you can see it in the background. That is one of the greatest commercials ever! It's right up there with Michael Pollock & the vcr in the pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 The Sears store on Harrisburg is mentioned several times on HAIF posts. Do a search for "Harrisburg Sears" with the above feature. Sanborn maps show it was built in 1946-47. It was right by my great-grandmothers house. Went there many times with her, and my grandmother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 The Sears store on Harrisburg is mentioned several times on HAIF posts. Do a search for "Harrisburg Sears" with the above feature. Sanborn maps show it was built in 1946-47. It was right by my great-grandmothers house. Went there many times with her, and my grandmother. I still remember sitting in the family car in that Sears parking lot hearing the Watergate proceedings/hearings while mom was shopping inside, so that really dates it... and me. This building was one of the finest examples of Sears design/layout ever. Had a great a great snacks/grill too! I can still smell the juicy hamburgers/fries. You could see all of the glass enclosed area all decorated in holiday decor this time of year. "Memories; like the corners of my mind" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapillionWyngs Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 I still remember sitting in the family car in that Sears parking lot hearing the Watergate proceedings/hearings while mom was shopping inside, so that really dates it... and me. This building was one of the finest examples of Sears design/layout ever. Had a great a great snacks/grill too! I can still smell the juicy hamburgers/fries. You could see all of the glass enclosed area all decorated in holiday decor this time of year. "Memories; like the corners of my mind" My Mother worked near there, and I can't tell you how many times we went there for school clothes, etc. They had a candy counter to die for . I can't say that I remember them having a grill, but I went there from 1960-73 - so I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite43 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 A friend of mine is convinced that there once was a Sears on Harrisburg. is he right?Yes, there was a Sears store on the south side of Harrisburg at about the 69th Street area. Used to love to go there during the summer because it was air conditioned. Remember the store for other reasons, but, one thing I remember was the fact that they had an x-ray machine in the shoe department where you could look at your feet and see if the shoes you were getting where of the correct size or not. Of course, we very rarely got the luxury of getting new shoes but we still spent a lot of time looking at our feet through the viewing port. Folks were a bit more blaise about radiation in those days than they are now. That store was at that location for many years. It has been a long time since I remember being in that area so I have no idea what is occupying that site now. Curiously, I was looking up some other things that I remembered about the past when I came across and registered on this site. That Sears store is just one of many things in the East End that I have memories of. So much of the knowledge of the past history of that area is slowly being lost as the folks who lived there in times past fade from existence. Wander over to the Forest Park Cemetery and think about what some of those folks buried there could tell you about the history of Magnolia Park and the rest of the East End. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyt7801 Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Yes, there was a Sears store on the south side of Harrisburg at about the 69th Street area. Used to love to go there during the summer because it was air conditioned. Remember the store for other reasons, but, one thing I remember was the fact that they had an x-ray machine in the shoe department where you could look at your feet and see if the shoes you were getting where of the correct size or not. Of course, we very rarely got the luxury of getting new shoes but we still spent a lot of time looking at our feet through the viewing port. Folks were a bit more blaise about radiation in those days than they are now. That store was at that location for many years. It has been a long time since I remember being in that area so I have no idea what is occupying that site now. Curiously, I was looking up some other things that I remembered about the past when I came across and registered on this site. That Sears store is just one of many things in the East End that I have memories of. So much of the knowledge of the past history of that area is slowly being lost as the folks who lived there in times past fade from existence. Wander over to the Forest Park Cemetery and think about what some of those folks buried there could tell you about the history of Magnolia Park and the rest of the East End.Harrisburg Plaza has occupied the old Sears site since it was demolished in the mid 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Wander over to the Forest Park Cemetery and think about what some of those folks buried there could tell you about the history of Magnolia Park and the rest of the East End. Right on! I believe most Sears stores had a small grill or eatery on the side like this one. Once they closed them they usually made it into a storage area or they became the spot for seasonal items like lawn mowers, etc. My little bro worked at this location in the early 80's. Closed shortly after. We never thought of taking any photos either. Rats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Right on! I believe most Sears stores had a small grill or eatery on the side like this one. Once they closed them they usually made it into a storage area or they became the spot for seasonal items like lawn mowers, etc. My little bro worked at this location in the early 80's. Closed shortly after. We never thought of taking any photos either. Rats! Ah ha...so that's what I was looking at the other day when I was checking out the South Main Sears store (east side). I remember the grill at the Harrisburg Sears...fed into the music dept. I wrote about it in another thread, boomerang formica table tops. I still can't believe they tore that East End Sears down. Would think it would have had enough business to sustain it. Pasadena Town Square is a long way to go for the closest one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I've got a sneaky suspicion that the Harrisburg Sears was Architect Kenneth Franzheim's creation. He has strong family ties (by marriage) to the East End, was married to a Simms daughter whose family mansion sat across from the (now Gus Wortham) golf course and previous Houston Country Club. They were located on Wayside, down the street from the Harrisburg Sears. link to pic in "Life": http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?img...:life%26hl%3Denlink to Franzheim biography: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/...s/FF/ffr26.htmlSays the Foleys bldg. downtown was one of his best-known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I've got a sneaky suspicion that the Harrisburg Sears was Architect Kenneth Franzheim's creation. He has strong family ties (by marriage) to the East End, was married to a Simms daughter whose family mansion sat across from the (now Gus Wortham) golf course and previous Houston Country Club. They were located on Wayside, down the street from the Harrisburg Sears. link to pic in "Life": http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?img...:life%26hl%3Denlink to Franzheim biography: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/...s/FF/ffr26.htmlSays the Foleys bldg. downtown was one of his best-known.You are correct.Interesting that Sears used a local architect rather than Nimmons, Carr & Wright out of Chicago, who did their first two stores on Allen Parkway and South Main. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 You are correct.Interesting that Sears used a local architect rather than Nimmons, Carr & Wright out of Chicago, who did their first two stores on Allen Parkway and South Main.I pasted a pic of a Sears in Mexico City still booming as if new!Exterior is still all original Art Deco. Place was packed!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Mexico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texianjoe Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Right on! I believe most Sears stores had a small grill or eatery on the side like this one. Once they closed them they usually made it into a storage area or they became the spot for seasonal items like lawn mowers, etc. My little bro worked at this location in the early 80's. Closed shortly after. We never thought of taking any photos either. Rats! It was a western themed restaurant I think I remember it being called The Stockade at the one in Pasadena, Wayside and downtown. joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 You are correct.Interesting that Sears used a local architect rather than Nimmons, Carr & Wright out of Chicago, who did their first two stores on Allen Parkway and South Main.The two Sears bldgs. you mention are two of my favorites. I would drive past the original one, and wonder "What did this used to be?" Just killed me to hear it was torn down. The detail work is what always caught my eye. Let's look at the first Houston Sears again.link: http://www.houstondeco.org/1920s/sears.html& http://www.historichouston.org/newsite/ima...exas/index.htmlAlso, I've seen a pic of the Art Deco one in Mexico City, before, it's really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt. kirk Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 A friend of mine is convinced that there once was a Sears on Harrisburg. is he right?YES, IT IS WHERE THE STRIP CENTER IS AT HARRISBURG AND WAYSIDE AND GARCIA......WAS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF WHERE WE LIVED.........HAD A BASEMENT..PAINT, TOOLS, ETC....CATALOG DEPARTMENT....A GREAT CANDY COUNTER AND REALLY REALLY GOOD FRESH POPPED POPCORN...........I WORKED THERE FOR 2 SUMMERS IN THE PAINT AND HARDWARE DEPT.....IT WAS ACROSS FROM EARLYS ON HARRISBURG, THE TELEPHONE CO BUILDING AND THE TRANSMISSION PLACE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little frau Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 On the Wayside side of the strip center, where the mural is, if you look closely at the bottom you'll see part of the old Sears store.For some reason, the granite base was left intact. If memory serves, I believe the granite extends around the back of the building on Capitol St at Wayside.Husband used to order his work shirts there, a dozen at a time. When that store closed, he was upset to have to go "all the way" to the Main St. store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Harrisburg Plaza has occupied the old Sears site since it was demolished in the mid 80's.It is now Fallas Paredes (aims for a demographic level lower than family dollar), a check cashing place, Mi Doctor (my doctor), a subway, a wing place, a quincenera store, some music store, a payless shoes (i think), and a WIC Accepted Here store (I think). Ugh.I remember when the sears was there. We used to go there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrage Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 The Sears store on Harrisburg is mentioned several times on HAIF posts. Do a search for "Harrisburg Sears" with the above feature. Sanborn maps show it was built in 1946-47. It was right by my great-grandmothers house. Went there many times with her, and my grandmother.Wow NenaE, A lot of my family including great & grandparents live in that area. We all shopped there a lot back in the day (70s & 80s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrage Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 On the Wayside side of the strip center, where the mural is, if you look closely at the bottom you'll see part of the old Sears store.For some reason, the granite base was left intact. If memory serves, I believe the granite extends around the back of the building on Capitol St at Wayside.Husband used to order his work shirts there, a dozen at a time. When that store closed, he was upset to have to go "all the way" to the Main St. store.Glad to see I'm not the only one to notice this. I was well aware of it since the strip center was completed. Always thought of it as a nod to the Sears store that had served the east end for so many years before. Like, gone but not forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyP Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Yes, I lived close to the Sears. At Sherman and Wayside. I went there many times in the 1950's At Christmas time the toy section was huge. The electric trains display was great. Santa Claus would arrive in a helicopter that landed in the parking lot. And that transmission repair shop, was Frizzel Pontiac dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 The Sears store on Harrisburg is mentioned several times on HAIF posts. Do a search for "Harrisburg Sears" with the above feature. Sanborn maps show it was built in 1946-47. It was right by my great-grandmothers house. Went there many times with her, and my grandmother. Came across this ad from the Sam Houston High School yearbook from 1939 today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Nice ad, we love actual addresses. The Buffalo Dr. Sears location was a beautiful building, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispy Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I remember shopping there as a kid shortly before it was razed. It’s a shame to see them all gone now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle C Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Here is a picture of the old Sears store on Harrisburg. Well, I was going to post a picture of the Harrisburg store but it will only allow me to post if the photo is 10.24 kb or smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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