torimask Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Photographs from Bob Bailey Studios finally cleared for publication on the Archive of the Foley's groundbreaking and grand opening 1965/66: http://southbelthouston.blogspot.com/2016/03/foleys-fourth-almeda-groundbreaking-and.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purpledevil Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Torimask, thank you. The pictures of the boat brought a literal tear to my eye. It is a carbon copy of the one at NW, and these eyes really appreciated seeing it once again, after all these years. What a spectacular and sensational job you are doing with the historical documentation of the southside. A standing ovation for your efforts, and I sure hope you'll dedicate some time to the other aspects of Almeda Mall, the opening of J.C. Penney's and the Shopping City itself, in a future entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Very happy to share! And thank you for the kind words! I am always on the lookout for new sources that might yield more photographs of the area in its earliest days. I'm planning a visit to the U of H holdings when I'm back in town in April to see what their Foley's holdings might yield. Is there possibly a similar repository for Penney's hiding out in a library locally, I wonder? I've spoken with management at Almeda Mall and there is nothing to be found of the early days still in existence at the Mall offices. Wherever folks went from there, they must have taken the bits of history and photos with them. I went into the Palais Royal, one of the last remaining original stores, to ask if anyone there had been around since the beginning. Their most long-time employee only had 15 years with them. If anyone knows where I might track down Stan Begam photographs, or other long standing Houston photographers' holdings, please let me know! It seems many of them are lost in the depths of Post and Chronicle holdings. I've exhausted search terms at the HPL Ideson holdings, and even things I've seen posted on Bayou City History don't come up in the searches. Old microfilm/fiche is relatively useless for photographs. And the Bailey photographs were incredibly expensive. Makes the $12.50 from HPL and the one week turnaround time seem like the best bargain ever! Any and all leads greatly appreciated! I'm still waiting on the last of the Bailey order, which include a couple from the Northwest Picadilly when it first opened, but here are a couple from the Manhattan construction of Dobie High School, 1968 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle C Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I moved to the Sun Valley subdivision near Almeda Mall in 1972 and lived there until 2005. I remember a lot about the area as it used to be. It sure changed a lot over the years. Long gone are places like the Breezeway, one of my favorite dance places, Homers, Burger Mart in Edgebrook, Holiday World, just to name a few. I have many fond memories of the area. I don't know what year this picture was taken but it must have been in the 70's. The are grew profusely after Almeda Mall was built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 The pictures of the boat brought a literal tear to my eye. It is a carbon copy of the one at NW, and these eyes really appreciated seeing it once again, after all these years. What a spectacular and sensational job you are doing with the historical documentation of the southside. I heartily second those sentiments - these are great photos. Funny how the boat that loomed so large in memory looks a lot smaller in the photos, but when you're four years old, pretty much everything seems gargantuan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 Related new post: Picadilly in its first month of operation at Northwest: http://southbelthouston.blogspot.com/2016/03/november-8-1968-newly-opened-picadilly.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 Back from the trip through the UH archives and here's the result: Foleys Almeda Docs and Photographs 1961 - 1976 Love the Special Collections room here! If you can get over there and are interested in Foley's, from their downtown store and outward, it's worth a visit. They will make up to 250 photocopies of docs for you for free, as well as requesting a limited amount of high resolution digital scans of photographs from them. It's in the main library, second floor at the back, very quiet and secluded, and on three different days, every librarian and assistant were very friendly and helpful and patient while schlepping box after box over to me. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Link doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 1 minute ago, IronTiger said: Link doesn't work. ty! fixed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle C Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I loved the pictures. I lived in Sun Valley from 1972 until 2005. I have visited Almeda Mall many times over the years that I lived there. I have also danced many a night away at the Breezway. Thanks for the great memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Awesome research and documentation of Almeda Mall's birth and design. Enjoyed seeing it all again, the mall layout photos, mall landscape design, colored renderings, and logos. The naming of the two twin malls was an interesting read. I always wondered why the two mall names weren't consistent (ex. Northwest, Southeast). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 1961 Aerial Got the high resolution aerials from UH today. Oldest is linked here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Almeda Mall history put together a compilation of photos and some docs from 3 years worth of Almeda Mall research from my various sources if anyone is interested in the video (linked above). One of the newest discoveries was an aerial taken on the preview day of Foley's Almeda Genoa opening, at the end of September 1966. You can see the Breeze-Way Dance Hall at the top of the photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebird65 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Outstanding stuff! As I never lived near Almeda Mall or went into it, I never visited this thread. My mistake. I'd heard Almeda and Northwest (which I have been into many a time) were essentially identical. Man, is that true. I've done lots of research using the newspaper microfilms in the Anderson library basement, but I've never been in the special collections room. I know this is very general, but what kind of stuff do they have? I've written a history of my school. Might they have something on Houston area schools? And a friend of mine is obsessed with Foley's and Greenspoint Mall. Since that had this dynamite collection on Almeda, might they have something similar on Greenspoint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 The UH Special Collections was the recipient of all of the Foley's docs in 2006, so there is a ton on Greenspoint available to discover. They have a ton of stuff not related to Foley's as well. Here's the list (center column entitled Collecting Areas): Special Collections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebird65 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Just now, torimask said: The UH Special Collections was the recipient of all of the Foley's docs in 2006, so there is a ton on Greenspoint available to discover. They have a ton of stuff not related to Foley's as well. Here's the list (center column entitled Collecting Areas): Special Collections Thanks! I'm on their website now and have found a great map of NE Harris County that should prove helpful in future research - far better than the 1893 one I've been using. Not sure why I never thought of going in there before. I've only been to the UH library about 1,000 times (OK, an exaggeration, but not by much) since I started this project 11 years ago. I've spent more time in the UH library researching my book than I ever spent in it while I was an actual UH student. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torimask Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Foley's Almeda History Video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.