139 replies to this topic

[RedScare]

While it is all the rage to blame "Houston" for tearing everything down, I must come to "Houston's" defense by pointing out that Macy's is a corporation with headquarters in Cincinnati and New York. "Houston" did not cut and discard the Foley's letters. Macy's did. And, yes, much has been diregarded and discarded in Cincy and New York...including our old Foley's letters.

Remember, Houston based Foley's kept the letters. New York/Cincy based Macy's got rid of them.

[musicman]

NenaE, on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 @ 11:13am, said:

Wonder what happened to those art deco Foley's letters. Are they just sitting in a warehouse somewhere, gathering dust?

i doubt we're that lucky. i could spell my name with em. just have to remove the bird excrement.

[Houston19514]

hydeaway, on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 @ 9:25pm, said:

Yep. It was originally built with 9 floors but they added 3 more. You can see the difference in the color of the limestone if you look closely at photos. The store was built in 1947 and I believe it was added onto about 10 years later.

I'm pretty sure it was originally built with 6 floors with 3 more added later.

Edited by Houston19514, Monday, June 22, 2009 at 8:13 AM.

[hydeaway]

RedScare, on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 @ 9:43pm, said:

While it is all the rage to blame "Houston" for tearing everything down, I must come to "Houston's" defense by pointing out that Macy's is a corporation with headquarters in Cincinnati and New York. "Houston" did not cut and discard the Foley's letters. Macy's did. And, yes, much has been diregarded and discarded in Cincy and New York...including our old Foley's letters.

Remember, Houston based Foley's kept the letters. New York/Cincy based Macy's got rid of them.

Very good point!

[MaggieMay]

RedScare, on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 @ 9:43pm, said:

While it is all the rage to blame "Houston" for tearing everything down, I must come to "Houston's" defense by pointing out that Macy's is a corporation with headquarters in Cincinnati and New York. "Houston" did not cut and discard the Foley's letters. Macy's did. And, yes, much has been diregarded and discarded in Cincy and New York...including our old Foley's letters.

Remember, Houston based Foley's kept the letters. New York/Cincy based Macy's got rid of them.

I'm one of the oldtimers who remembers when Foley's was Houston's Department Store--before any suburban branches. (Sakowitz was Houston's Expensive Store; Neiman's was even more expensive & out of Dallas.) Occasionally Mom would spring for the Azalea Terrace; I thought the little tea sandwiches were really high class. But we usually ate at the lunch counters on the first floor, where sunglasses are now sold. I remember a "new" lunch counter that opened in the Basement; now, I realize it was formerly for "colored people." (Foley's management played a part in desegregating Houston; The Strange Demise of Jim Crow shows up on Channel 8 occasionally.) And I missed the window of opportunity after The Men's Grill was opened to all & before it closed.

So I could join in the chorus yearning for The Old Foley's. Back when all the windows were devoted to amazing Christmas displays. When all the floors were open to shoppers. When you'd drop by to get the latest books & records

But at least the current owners have kept the place open! Sakowitz is a parking garage; Ed Wulfe's signs are gone, so I guess nobody has any plans. And Neiman's is a frakking CVS. Many of the old Foley's fixtures are still there & I get the impression some of the old areas were just walled in with sheetrock, rather than being destroyed.

Friday, on my way to the light rail stop, I noticed there was a sale at Macy's. So I dropped in for a bit of light shopping & didn't even mind waiting in line. Because there were actually people around, buying stuff.

[NenaE]

hydeaway, on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 @ 9:27pm, said:

I agree. It is a shame that so much has been torn down and thrown away. Look at all the movie palaces Houston once had - among them the beautiful Majestic, Loews State and Metropolitan. I was delighted (and surprised) that they did not tear down The Rice Hotel.

My mother was telling me yesterday that she wished she could have shared the "beautiful" Majestic Theater with me.
True (above post), at least the Foleys (Macy's) is still standing, as a department store we can shop in, and admire.

Edited by NenaE, Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM.

[MaggieMay]

NenaE, on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 @ 9:10am, said:

My mother was telling me yesterday that she wished she could have shared the "beautiful" Majestic Theater with me.
True (above post), at least the Foleys (Macy's) is still standing, as a department store we can shop in, and admire.

The Majestic, Loew's & The Metropolitan were all wonderful, although they were rare treats. Downtown was a significant trip & the family budget ran more to drive-ins.

Why weren't we out there protesting when they were demolished? Protecting our city's past just hadn't become an issue back then. Suddenly, we realized they were gone. And the site of Loew's & The Metropolitan on Main Street remained a vacant lot for many years.

So Foley's is now Macy's & not as fine as it once was. But it's not a vacant lot. Or a parking garage. Or a CVS....

[hydeaway]

sevfiv, on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 11:03 AM, said:

I remember my mom having a card with the old-fashioned lower case logo with the asterisk for what seemed like an eternity..
Here are a couple logos:

Does anyone remember the old commercials: "Foley's is magical, unpredictable, sensational...you know you want Foley's!" from the 1970s. Or from 1984 - "At the heart of Texas... Foley's!" (this came out after RH Macy entered the Houston market to stress Foley's hometown roots). From 1987 prior to the Sanger-Harris merger (and used some time afterwards) "Foley's...of course!" Anyone have any of the old commercials on video to share?

[SchwinnChopper68]

"At the heart of Texas... Foley*s!"

Here ya go!

[SchwinnChopper68]

Sharpstown Foley*s

[IronTiger]

Why does it have two logos...so close to each other, and at an odd angle to one another?

[musicman]

IronTiger, on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:02 PM, said:

Why does it have two logos...so close to each other, and at an odd angle to one another?

i believe the one with the blue WAS newer.

[NenaE]

I was wondering that too, about the two names... the turquoise one is the one I'm familiar with.

[Subdude]

The red logo looks the same as in the old postcard of downtown Foley's. Perhaps the photo was taken during a logo transition period.

[hydeaway]

SchwinnChopper68, on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 2:23 AM, said:

Sharpstown Foley*s

Did anyone notice Battelstein's? Sharpstown was the first branch store for Foley's. The reason there are two logos is they were introducing the turquoise "azalea" logo.

[hydeaway]

NenaE, on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM, said:

My mother was telling me yesterday that she wished she could have shared the "beautiful" Majestic Theater with me.
True (above post), at least the Foleys (Macy's) is still standing, as a department store we can shop in, and admire.

My parents told me they took me and my brother and sister to the Majestic to see "The Birds" and "Planet of the Apes". Of course, that was in the late 60's/early 70's and we were too small to remember it. I have seen photos and my mom described it in detail. It, as well as the Metropolitan and Loews State, truly was an architectural gem.

[hydeaway]

IronTiger, on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:02 PM, said:

Why does it have two logos...so close to each other, and at an odd angle to one another?

I miss Foley's


I miss Foley's, too. It was the last of the hometown department stores. When you think about how involved they all used to be in civic support, etc. Foley's, Sakowitz, Joske's, Craig's, Walter Pye's, Isabell Gerhart, the true Beall's and Palais Royal - when they were separate entities and unique. Remember the Foley's Thanksgiving Day Parade? the Foley's Academy in the basement downtown for kids struggling in school?
Each region used to have their own stores, history and traditions. Look at Marshall Fields and what they meant to Chicago. Burdine's to Florida, Rich's to Atlanta, Bullock's, I Magnin and The Broadway to southern California.

It is a real shame. Southern California, for instance, used to have May Co., The Broadway, Macy's (the original RH Macy Co. - not the Kmart of today), I Magnin, Emporium, Capwell's, Bullock's, Bullock's Wilshire, Robinson's, Gottschalks and Harris'. Now all they have is ONE - Macy's. Talk about no competition. Where are all the bleeding hearts and their talk of anti trust problems? Virtually every market across the country is in the same position. It all started with the greed on Wall Street allowing Campeau ( a real estate tycoon from Canada) to purchase Allied Stores and then Federated Dept Stores -- all with junk bonds, none of his money --- which eventually caused the bankruptcy and consolidation of centuries old icons. Read "Going For Broke" and "The Rain on Macy's Parade". Both very good books on this debacle.

[IronTiger]

Actually, Harris' was acquired by Gottschalks. Gottschalks has recently gone out of business, a victim of the bad retail economy.

[NenaE]

hydeaway, on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 6:02 PM, said:

My parents told me they took me and my brother and sister to the Majestic to see "The Birds" and "Planet of the Apes". Of course, that was in the late 60's/early 70's and we were too small to remember it. I have seen photos and my mom described it in detail. It, as well as the Metropolitan and Loews State, truly was an architectural gem.

Know I'm veering off here, but have to say, while watching Phantom of the Opera last night in the new Performing Arts place, with the elaborate old opera sets, I kept wondering what the old Houston theaters must have been like. Was wishing I could have stood in them, at least once.

[Earlydays]

NenaE, on Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 11:23 PM, said:

Know I'm veering off here, but have to say, while watching Phantom of the Opera last night in the new Performing Arts place, with the elaborate old opera sets, I kept wondering what the old Houston theaters must have been like. Was wishing I could have stood in them, at least once.

They were indeed great...my wife and I went to the "big 3" many times in the 60's.

[yuan1274]

IronTiger, on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 5:02 PM, said:

Having a been a little late to the mall scene, my favorite defunct store is Foley's, having being absorbed to Macy's. I always thought it was cool, it had a neat exterior (my local store was Post Oak Mall) AND it was the only place for miles around to have ESCALATORS!!

But even in the mid-to-late 1990s, Foley's, from what I remember when my mother dragged me there, had little more than clothing and housewares. But I've heard and learned so much more. I've now learned to identify old Foley's...the 1960s ones (Northwest Mall and Almeda), the 1970s one (Greenspoint, San Jacinto, West Oaks), the 1980s (Post Oak and Padre Staples Mall), and the Sanger Harris ones in Dallas (Six Flags Mall, Valley View, and North Hills, now all closed).

For example, the Greenspoint Foley's once had Nintendo games, a cool kid's department set up like a Star Wars spaceship, and even a restaurant. I've heard wonderful things about Foley's on the HAIF, and have had to defend Foley's on other occasions. Check this out (from a comment on Labelscar)



Of course, that is forgivable, since this fellow clearly stated he lived in Milwaukee, but then a comment posted six hours later...


I tried to defend Foley's, but I had never shopped at Foley's (I love malls but despise shopping) nor experienced the "glory days". Anyways, I always liked it, I liked seeing the HQ building on 610 when my family went down to Houston, but on September 9, 2006, Foley's perished forever in favor of the it-what-must-not-be-named retailer from Manhattan.

So, you having better memories of Foley's than I do, let's hear it. What departments did they have, for starters? And don't forget to share fond stories.

Yes, it was a shame to see Foley's, Joske's & Sakowitz leave us. But the business community called it "progress."

[cowboybud]

IronTiger, on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 5:02 PM, said:

I've now learned to identify old Foley's...the 1960s ones (Northwest Mall and Almeda), the 1970s one (Greenspoint, San Jacinto, West Oaks), the 1980s (Post Oak and Padre Staples Mall), and the Sanger Harris ones in Dallas (Six Flags Mall, Valley View, and North Hills, now all closed).

The West Oaks store actually opened around 1981 (when Hwy 6 @ FM 1093 was the middle of nowhere), with the mall following a couple of years later.

[hydeaway]

yuan1274, on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 2:10 PM, said:

<br />Yes, it was a shame to see Foley's, Joske's &amp; Sakowitz leave us.  But the business community called it &quot;progress.&quot;<br />

<br /><br /><br />

To the post requesting the departments Foley's had:

* Personal Shopper
* Travel department
* Watch and Jewelry Repair
* Restaurants (branch stores had "The Greenhouse" while downtown had the Azalea Terrace, Men's Grill (later the Grill), Juniors Snack Bar, Lunch Express and the Bakery.
* Big and Tall
* Fur Salon
* Fur storage and cleaning
* Beauty Salon
* Photo Studio
* Toys
* Books
* Candy (not just Godiva but fresh candy from the downtown store to the branches)
* Stationery (with designer pens and other very nice office accessories)
* Lamps
* Carpet and Flooring
* Stereos
* Major Appliances
* Televisions
* Records and Tapes
* In-store Pharmacy and drug department
* Lawn and Garden
* Game Shop (with Nintendo, Atari and others)
* In-Store Decorator
* Fine China, Silver and Crystal (not the bland stuff Macy's carries)
* Children's shoes
* Main Floor and Salon Shoes
* The Lion's Head (Men's Cologne Bar located in the Men's department
* Furniture
* In-Store cooking demonstrations by local celebrities and restaurants (like Mama Ninfa Laurenzo from Ninfa's)
* The Foley's Academy (at the Downtown store) for kids struggling in school
* The Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade and Christmas lights at the downtown store

The departments listed were at all branch stores unless indicated at the downtown store only.

[hydeaway]

hydeaway, on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 11:36 AM, said:

<br />&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /><br />To the post requesting the departments Foley's had: <br /><br />* Personal Shopper<br />* Travel department<br />* Watch and Jewelry Repair<br />* Restaurants (branch stores had &quot;The Greenhouse&quot; while downtown had the Azalea Terrace,  Men's Grill (later the Grill), Juniors Snack Bar, Lunch Express and the Bakery. <br />* Big and Tall <br />* Fur Salon<br />* Fur storage and cleaning <br />* Beauty Salon<br />* Photo Studio <br />* Toys<br />* Books<br />* Candy (not just Godiva but fresh candy from the downtown store to the branches)<br />* Stationery (with designer pens and other very nice office accessories)<br />* Lamps<br />* Carpet and Flooring<br />* Stereos <br />* Major Appliances<br />* Televisions<br />* Records and Tapes <br />* In-store Pharmacy and drug department<br />* Lawn and Garden<br />* Game Shop (with Nintendo, Atari and others)<br />* In-Store Decorator<br />* Fine China, Silver and Crystal (not the bland stuff Macy's carries)<br />* Children's shoes <br />* Main Floor and Salon Shoes <br />* The Lion's Head (Men's Cologne Bar located in the Men's department <br />* Furniture<br />* In-Store cooking demonstrations by local celebrities and restaurants (like Mama Ninfa Laurenzo from Ninfa's) <br />* The Foley's Academy (at the Downtown store) for kids struggling in school<br />* The Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade and Christmas lights at the downtown store<br /> <br />The departments listed were at all branch stores unless indicated at the downtown store only.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Also, each store had a "Cash Office" for cashing checks (as long as you had a Foley's account) and selling tickets for the Nutcracker and other special events.

Downtown had the Bargain Basement with the branch stores having the "Budget Store" that was typically on the 2nd floor. It offered more value oriented merchandise.

[hydeaway]

hydeaway, on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM, said:

<br /><br /><br />

Also, each store had a "Cash Office" for cashing checks (as long as you had a Foley's account) and selling tickets for the Nutcracker and other special events.

Downtown had the Bargain Basement with the branch stores having the "Budget Store" that was typically on the 2nd floor. It offered more value oriented merchandise.

For those that are interested, I have a Foley's Yahoo group. Called (what else?) Foley's of course. I have links to old TV commercials, photos, etc not only of Foley's but of other regional stores that have disappeared.

[TikiOwl]

My mom and I always had lunch at the Azalea Terrace when shopping at Foley's. When I was real small (in the 50's) I would always order the "Little Bo Peep" special which was vegetable soup and four points of a ham sandwich which had the crust cut off....there was also animal crackers at the end.

Christmas time was the best and I always saw Santa at the downtown Foley's since that is where the "real" Santa was according to my mom. I could spend hours in the toy store looking for the latest American Flyer trains.

[H8S 4 LIFE]

hydeaway, on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM, said:

<br /><br /><br />

Also, each store had a "Cash Office" for cashing checks (as long as you had a Foley's account) and selling tickets for the Nutcracker and other special events.

Downtown had the Bargain Basement with the branch stores having the "Budget Store" that was typically on the 2nd floor. It offered more value oriented merchandise.

The Northwest Mall location had a Budget Store that ended up closed sometime in the late 80's. Every once in a while after that section of the store was closed off by drywall, they'd remove the temporary wall and use that section for big sales and such. Talk about a blast from the past, when it was opened back up for those short periods of time. The rest of the Foley's upstairs had been facelifted in the early 90's. This part of the upstairs was still from the 70's, complete with loud colored stripes adorning all the walls. What a contrast.

[IronTiger]

H8S 4 LIFE, on Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:56 AM, said:

The Northwest Mall location had a Budget Store that ended up closed sometime in the late 80's. Every once in a while after that section of the store was closed off by drywall, they'd remove the temporary wall and use that section for big sales and such. Talk about a blast from the past, when it was opened back up for those short periods of time. The rest of the Foley's upstairs had been facelifted in the early 90's. This part of the upstairs was still from the 70's, complete with loud colored stripes adorning all the walls. What a contrast.

I wonder what the upstairs looks like now. It was likely the most damaged during Ike.

[NenaE]

http://www.houstons5...29-shopping.jsp

here's another link from the Postcards show, see the video at the bottom...this one contains memories of Foley's & other stores in downtown Houston. There are some great photos & recollections here.

[EspersonBuildings]

Ahh, the memories! Yes, Foley's downtown was a class act in it's day! It was a bus ride into downtown Houston to shop at Foley's for us as kids. I worked at the Pharmacy on the 1st floor when I was 19 in 1982. Talk about eating places, there was so many at Foley's downtown. The Terrace on 5, The Brown Bag on the 1st floor next to the Travis Street exit, The Cafeteria in the basement, The Grill on 2, the hot dog stand in the basement tunnel leading to the parking garage, The Deli on the ground floor of the Parking Garage, The Bakery right next to The Brown Bag.

Major appliances on, I believe 7, books on 8, Beauty Salon on 6, Tickmaster on 9, Records & tapes on 9. The Town Hall on 9 where they had the awesome Santa (complete with fake snow) every holiday season, toys on 4, etc, etc.

I moved to NY in 1985 and at that time the dowtown store was still a class act. I moved back to Houston in 1999 and just had to head for downtown Foley's to be nostaglic. Imagine my shock and horror at what I saw! Shopping floors ended on the 5th floor, salesman now wearing tacky blue aprons? WTF? (salesmen used to wear a suit and tie) At first I thought it was part of the decaying Main Street at that time but later realized it was also due to the fact that it was no longer a Federated Store and was now a member of the May Department Stores.

Someone asked what the Macy's on Main Street is like today? I can answer that in one word - DEPRESSING!

Oh and the building is not 12 stories, it is 10. Built in 1947 with 6 floors (I'm almost sure retail ended on 5), about 10 years later 4 more storeis were added with retail ending on 9)

Yes, I too, miss Foley's!