[Subdude]

Can someone who was around back in the 1960s answer this?

Old Main Street Road, aka Main Street Loop Road, aka Old Richmond Road, was a street that went from Main and Holcombe, east of present day Reliant Park, and then southwest to connect to South Main. There is still a remnant between Main and Fannin. The section from Fannin to Greenbriar was renamed Fannin when Fannin was extended to the South Loop. From Greenbriar to Kirby became the Astrodome parking lot. From Kirby on it seems to have either been developed over or just abandoned. If you look on satellite photos you can see where the street ran, but it isn't on maps.

I've just been curious about how such a long street could have just vanished. Were there no houses or businesses on it?

On this map it is listed as Old Richmond Road.

1935 Map

[native_Houstonian]

Great map, Subdude. Thanks for posting.

[sevfiv]

that is a little odd...and definitely before my time

is the remnant you're referring to between travis and main? or is there another spot, too?
(map with old main)

i drive by that little one block stretch frequently, and have wondered about it...

[Heights2Bastrop]

Old Main became Knight Road south of OST.

[Subdude]

Cool map. I'm not talking about Knight though. Is the street on the map that runs diagonally southwest from just south of OST.

Quote

is the remnant you're referring to between travis and main? or is there another spot, too?
(map with old main)

i drive by that little one block stretch frequently, and have wondered about it...

I didn't know there was a stretch between Main and Travis, but that would be the same street. You can see it between Main and Fannin directly north of the drive-in bank. There used to be a street sign there for it.

Here is a link to a satellite photo. Photo.

When you zoom in, you can see that almost all of it from the Loop to Main is overgrown with trees. It just seems strange that a road would be abandoned that way.

[57Tbird]

Subdude, on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 @ 1:11pm, said:

Can someone who was around back in the 1960s answer this?

Old Main Street Road, aka Main Street Loop Road, aka Old Richmond Road, was a street that went from Main and Holcombe, east of present day Reliant Park, and then southwest to connect to South Main. There is still a remnant between Main and Fannin. The section from Fannin to Greenbriar was renamed Fannin when Fannin was extended to the South Loop. From Greenbriar to Kirby became the Astrodome parking lot. From Kirby on it seems to have either been developed over or just abandoned. If you look on satellite photos you can see where the street ran, but it isn't on maps.

I've just been curious about how such a long street could have just vanished. Were there no houses or businesses on it?

On this map it is listed as Old Richmond Road.

1935 Map

I was around back in the 60's... and (gulp) even the 50's, when I was old enough to be running around in my car. In the 50's, Old Main St Road started at Holcombe where Fannin ended. It continued on out to OST where it became Knight Road. On a previous thread somewhere, I mentioned that, in the 50's, George Dentler's Pier 21 Restaurant was located just south of Braes Bayou at 7001 Old Main Street Road. On the 1935 map that Subdude referenced, Old Richmond Road started just south of OST and went southwest from where Old M.S.R. was at that time before it became Knight Rd. That road (Old Richmond Road) appears on a 1952 Houston map as Old Main Street Loop. On a 1955 map, there is no road depicted, but the Houston city limits are shown where the road was on earlier maps. On a 1961 map, there is nothing in that area as the city limits were shown further south and west to Ft Bend County. A 1962 map has Old Main Street Road back on again where it was previously... going from Knight Road to South Main about where Stella Link intersects. On a 1965 map, it is gone... never to appear again. The only thing I remember about any kind of a road in that area was a gun club (trap and skeet shooting) where I went occasionally with a friend. It was just north and east of the South Main-Stella Link intersection, so it may have been on that road. I don't remember any construction in that area at the time... only vacant fields.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Subdude, if I understand you, you are talking about Old Main Street Loop which, according to a 2003 Key Mqp, begins at the S Loop, crosses Buffalo Speedway and then W Belfort and merges with S Main just after it crosses Willowbend.

If you were to extend that street to the northeast, it would run right through the center of Reliant Stadium as well as Reliant Center.

The map I used was from the TexasFreeway.com Web site. Below if the link for the site.
TexasFreeway.Com

[57Tbird]

Heights2Bastrop, on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 @ 5:52pm, said:

Subdude, if I understand you, you are talking about Old Main Street Loop which, according to a 2003 Key Mqp, begins at the S Loop, crosses Buffalo Speedway and then W Belfort and merges with S Main just after it crosses Willowbend.

If you were to extend that street to the northeast, it would run right through the center of Reliant Stadium as well as Reliant Center.

You're right, Heights. I just looked at an old key map I have from around 1990, and it still shows a portion of Old Main Street Loop Rd. starting at Buffalo Speedway, just north of West Bellfort and going the same route southwest as on previous maps. There is no Reliant Stadium on mine, but it would go right through the Astrodome on my map if continued on its old path to Knight Road.

Google Maps does show a small stretch of Old Main St Loop Rd in the Main and Willowbend area east of Main.

This post has been edited by 57Tbird: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 8:29 PM

[torvald]

the 1935 map lists a great name for a band --- "modern appliances" (um, copyright torvald 2006)

[gnu]

I don't think this helps you but...have you ever seen Marty Blaise's Houston Roads webpage.
He has a few "current" pictures of old main st. He also has a few other interesting tidbits for roadgeeks like myself.

http://www.geocities...10/oldmain.html

[Heights2Bastrop]

Subdude, you asked why Main Street Loop Road could be abandoned. I think I understand now why that was.

If you look closely at that 1935 map, you will see that OST to Main is under construction at that time. If you look at this 1921 map at the extreme lower right, you will see that Main Street basically ends where it turns west to become Bellaire (now Holcomb).

Now, if you remove OST and Main south of Bellaire from the 1935 map, you can see that to go to Richmond, you would go out Main, make the jog to Old Main, and at the fork in the road, you would go left to Almeda and to Freeport, or take the right fork to Richmond.

After OST was completed and Main extended, Main Street Loop Road was no longer needed as a thoroughfare. If there were businesses along that stretch, they would have most likely moved to the new, more traveled streets.

[sevfiv]

torvald, on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 @ 8:12pm, said:

the 1935 map lists a great name for a band --- "modern appliances" (um, copyright torvald 2006)

ooh! i like it!

not to stray even more off topic...but
reminds me of this book i have (how to repair small appliances, circa 1961):



album cover? yes?

[nm5k]

sevfiv, on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 @ 12:05am, said:

ooh! i like it!

not to stray even more off topic...but
reminds me of this book i have (how to repair small appliances, circa 1961):



album cover? yes?

There is still one section of old main that is still pretty well used.
It runs from appx craighead?, to nearly main street, but I'd have
to check a map to see how it hooks up. This is the section of old
main that the old Jake Freedman "Domain Privie" gambling house
used to be. He was Caroline Farbs grandfather BTW...
It's torn down now, and all that land is fenced field now.
There are still a few people living around that area, and the pro-
mark drumstick company is about at that location. I remember
in the 70's, there was also a regular house on the same side
of old main as the gambling joint, but farther east, closer to
main. But it's gone now... I drove by there a few months ago.
So...Whoever bought all that land, must have probably bought
out the whole block and fenced it up.. That land is probably worth
buckoo bucks.. I wanted to metal detect at the old gambling site,
but it's all totally fenced, and the land has been bulldozed over
I think. Makes me wonder if the old swimming pool at that joint is
still under the ground... :/
Band names... I came up with one a while back while I was chatting
about the common use of "superglue" to mend and seal cuts in the
fingers of geetar players.. As an example SRV was an avid superglue
user when he got cuts in his fingers... I thought... Hummmm..
Sounds like Finger Bondo... They said.... Hummmm... Good name for
a band. I can see the marquee now... Modern Appliances, featuring
guest star, Finger Bondo... :/
MK

[sevfiv]

[wendyps]

If I'm reading the map right...isn't State Highway 19 also defunct?

[Subdude]

Heights2Bastrop, on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 @ 9:20pm, said:

Subdude, you asked why Main Street Loop Road could be abandoned. I think I understand now why that was.

If you look closely at that 1935 map, you will see that OST to Main is under construction at that time. If you look at this 1921 map at the extreme lower right, you will see that Main Street basically ends where it turns west to become Bellaire (now Holcomb).

Now, if you remove OST and Main south of Bellaire from the 1935 map, you can see that to go to Richmond, you would go out Main, make the jog to Old Main, and at the fork in the road, you would go left to Almeda and to Freeport, or take the right fork to Richmond.

After OST was completed and Main extended, Main Street Loop Road was no longer needed as a thoroughfare. If there were businesses along that stretch, they would have most likely moved to the new, more traveled streets.

Thanks! I came to the same conclusion after pulling out another map from the 1930s I had at home. It showed Main St. dead-ending at Braes Bayou, and OST not yet built except for a very short section. So it looks like South Main was extended, and OST built, in the late 1930s. Before that Old Main St would have been the main route into Houston from the southwest, but after South Main was extended it makes sense that it would have died out, since it was just a longer route to the same place. Looking at the planning map you posted yesterday, it appears that the city expected its growth to be toward the south.

Btw that is a great map from 1921! Notice that Kirby is listed as Reynolds (original name).

Quote

I don't think this helps you but...have you ever seen Marty Blaise's Houston Roads webpage.
He has a few "current" pictures of old main st. He also has a few other interesting tidbits for roadgeeks like myself.

http://www.geocities...10/oldmain.html

And thank you! It's good to know there's other roadgeeks out there who spend time wondering about "lost" roads and ovals. Does that Marty Blaise come to HAIF?

Quote

This is the section of old
main that the old Jake Freedman "Domain Privie" gambling house
used to be. He was Caroline Farbs grandfather BTW...
It's torn down now, and all that land is fenced field now.
There are still a few people living around that area, and the pro-
mark drumstick company is about at that location. I remember
in the 70's, there was also a regular house on the same side
of old main as the gambling joint, but farther east, closer to
main. But it's gone now... I drove by there a few months ago.
So...Whoever bought all that land, must have probably bought
out the whole block and fenced it up.. That land is probably worth
buckoo bucks.. I wanted to metal detect at the old gambling site,
but it's all totally fenced, and the land has been bulldozed over
I think. Makes me wonder if the old swimming pool at that joint is
still under the ground... :/

Et voici le "Domain Privee" de Jakie Freedman.

Quote

"On a two-lane gravel road in a remote area off the southern end of Main Street, about fourteen miles from downtown, this elegant colonial mansion was one of the fanciest gambling casinos in America. It was Jakie Freedman's "Domain Privee." Only a select few were permitted past the gate guards. Thirty to forty made a capacity gambling crowd. But these were the very wealthy. Chips began at $5.00. Domain Privee flourished through World War II. However, in the early 1950's steps were taken to enforce Texas' gambling laws. Under this threat, Freedman closed Domain Privee and moved to a town in Nevada, where gambling is legal. The grandiose resort hotel and casino that he ran in Las Vegas, The Sands, became world famous."

Quote

the 1935 map lists a great name for a band --- "modern appliances" (um, copyright torvald 2006)

Great name and album cover! Probably the kind of place where Hulda would shop.

On my map there is also a "Modern Transportation" listed near Old Main St. Probably jet-packs and monorails.

[Subdude]

wendyps, on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 @ 9:22am, said:

If I'm reading the map right...isn't State Highway 19 also defunct?

Still there. It's just Almeda Rd.

[theoriginalkj]

Subdude, on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 @ 9:38am, said:

This is the section of old
main that the old Jake Freedman "Domain Privie" gambling house
used to be. He was Caroline Farbs grandfather BTW...
It's torn down now, and all that land is fenced field now.
There are still a few people living around that area, and the pro-
mark drumstick company is about at that location. I remember
in the 70's, there was also a regular house on the same side
of old main as the gambling joint, but farther east, closer to
main. But it's gone now... I drove by there a few months ago.
So...Whoever bought all that land, must have probably bought
out the whole block and fenced it up.. That land is probably worth
buckoo bucks.. I wanted to metal detect at the old gambling site,
but it's all totally fenced, and the land has been bulldozed over
I think. Makes me wonder if the old swimming pool at that joint is
still under the ground... :/

I'm not quite following you. Can you specify where this old 'Domain Privie' gambling house was, specifically?

Kevin

[nm5k]

Kevin Jackson, on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 @ 7:42pm, said:

I'm not quite following you. Can you specify where this old 'Domain Privie' gambling house was, specifically?

Kevin

http://maps.yahoo.com/beta/index.php#maxp=...=29.65722&mag=1

Sorry bout the long link... Anyway, if you look at the sat pix, the "A" arrow will be pointing
at the intersection of Craighead, and Old Main loop. You can see old main running ne/sw..
Ok, see the "dividing line where the neighborhood with houses switches to cleared land?
The line runs exactly n/s. That line is about the midpoint of that section of old main.
On the southside of old main, that dividing line was the west boundery of the gambling
joint. There are still curb markers at the point of the entrance, but they are not showing
very well in that pix. That would be just east of the driveways to what I think is pro-mark.
There is a clump of trees pretty near where the old house, etc used to be.
I see there are new buildings, street just south of where the gambling place was. Thats
brand new.. Wasn't in the last sat pix I saw of that area, just a few months ago.. Note
the fresh white concrete... I had been to that place a few times in the 70's. Went in
the old big house, and also saw the swimming pool, etc, which was off in another
building. It was pretty ramshackle even then... He left in the early to mid 50's when
they had a local gambling crackdown. Went to Vegas and started the Sands.. Think
it was the Sands anyway... BTW... Note the lawn sculpting in that overhead pix...
Big diamond with a circle in it, and the big star east of the driveway. In the 70's,
we drove through on that same driveway, and you could loop the place and come
back out. But in the 70's, it was real overgrown and thick. Not like the sculpted lawn
you see in that pix. Now, in 2006, it's all mowed pretty clean again... :/
MK

[Subdude]

I had to go check out the site. There is less than a half mile of Old Main St. remaining in that section. It no longer connects to South Main since the latter is being converted into freeway. It is hard to believe this was once a main route into Houston.

It looks like all that is there is a small concrete embankment and a small bridge leading to what would have been the entrance. I couldn't tell what the new green building was in the back of the site close to South Main. The area is securely fenced off.

[TexasFreeway.com]

During the 70's, 80's & early 90's the lot at the southwest end of Old Main was used by a pipe fabricator/supplier. The several roads you see in the sat photo are the service roads used in the pipe yard.

If you look closely in the sat photo you can see a faint section of Old Main in the utility easement. I checked it out a few years ago and was able to see roadbed with traces of center strips in this short section. From what I have able to tell Old Main in its earliest form crossed the north/south tracks, continued for a short ways before turning to parallel the tracks which follow the currect South Main Street. It then stopped and you crossed the tracks again to follow the current alignment. I am still gathering evidence to support this idea.

I have several Astrodome construction photos in which Old Main can clearly be seen cutting through the parking lot.



One of my upcoming additions to TF is a photo essay on Old Main Street.

Ron Jackson
TexasFreeway.com

This post has been edited by TexasFreeway.com: Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 11:30 PM

[Subdude]

Thanks for the info. Let us know when the Old Main St essay is on TF.

Notice Colt Stadium in that photo as well.

[MaxConcrete]

Here is an aerial photo taken around late summer 1964 clearly showing the alignment of Old South Main. Soon after this photo was taken, the alignment was overrun by development

high resolution
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/image...f_1896x1513.jpg

low resolution
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/image...off_948x756.jpg

[theoriginalkj]

MaxConcrete, on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 @ 1:02pm, said:

Here is an aerial photo taken around late summer 1964 clearly showing the alignment of Old South Main. Soon after this photo was taken, the alignment was overrun by development

high resolution
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/image...f_1896x1513.jpg

low resolution
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/image...off_948x756.jpg

Here's a scan from a 1968 Houston Tourguide map published by Gulf Oil Company. This map clearly shows "Old Main Street Loop Rd" being truncated by the Astrodome sports complex. The rest of the road goes SW down to Main Street & Stella Link. This map even shows a few streets that are now completely gone without a trace that ran between "Old Main Street Loop Rd" and "Alt 90"; the streets of Ingleside, Clearview, & Hilcrest. A careful comparison of these three streets and current GoogleMap imagery appears to show no signs at all of these old streets existence. I wonder what or who used to live or exist on these old non-existent streets? I do also notice the old street of Fariss on this map going both east and west of Alt-90, where today it only runs east of Alt-90. Lastly, the "Old Main Street Loop Rd" did NOT run across the railroad tracks at this time and go any further. If it did run longer than the railroad tracks, like TexasFreeway.com indicates, it was before this 1968 map. Funny how AstroWorld is under construction on this map and today there's no hint it was even ever there.

[TexasFreeway.com]

This cutting from a 1950 Houston Street Map sheds a little more light on the history of Old Main Street.

Note how OMS crossed the railroad tracks and continued for a short destance before turning south. The heavy red line is the current Main Street. What you can't see on the portion is that on this map Main Street is cosigned as US90 and US59.

So it appear the ORIGINAL Main Street took you out across the tracks, turned south, then crosses over the tracks again. I would hate to have been on the section between the tracks if a train had to stop. It may be one reason the current Main Street takes its current turn to the south.



This clip from a 1962 Harris County map shows the end of OMS truncated at the tracks, but also shows more development to the southeast.



Here are a few of my photos on OMS.

The first is looking southwest, at the current end of OMS. Notice how the lines keep going straight across the tracks. There is also paving all the way up to the tracks, most of it overgrown.



This second image is just across the tracks. You can still the original road through the grass. I was even able to see some striping before getting chased off by the horses.

[Subdude]

Thanks for the photos.

Quote

Here's a scan from a 1968 Houston Tourguide map published by Gulf Oil Company. This map clearly shows "Old Main Street Loop Rd" being truncated by the Astrodome sports complex. The rest of the road goes SW down to Main Street & Stella Link. This map even shows a few streets that are now completely gone without a trace that ran between "Old Main Street Loop Rd" and "Alt 90"; the streets of Ingleside, Clearview, & Hilcrest. A careful comparison of these three streets and current GoogleMap imagery appears to show no signs at all of these old streets existence. I wonder what or who used to live or exist on these old non-existent streets?

Great map. It shows the location of Playland Park at South Main and Murworth.

Anyway, if you look at satellite photos of Old Main Street, you can see Ingleside very clearly, although it doesn't appear to be in use. No trace, however, of Clearview or Hilcrest.

[nm5k]

[quote name='TexasFreeway.com' date='Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 @ 9:46am' post='96440']
This cutting from a 1950 Houston Street Map sheds a little more light on the history of Old Main Street.

Hummm. Kinda interesting. You can see in the old 1950 picture that Craighead once ran south
and seemed to connect with Holmes rd. I was looking at some of the sat pix of that street,
and you can still see a few places where the really old sections still exist to an extent. Most
are starting to be covered with grass, etc.. I remember even in the 70's, I always thought that
that street, area must be pretty old. I guess I was right, even though I didn't know anything
about the history of the street. Another old area that is nearby is the gasmer/willow streets
a bit to the west. I had always thought those streets must have been pretty old too, as I
remember houses that were abandanded even in the 70's. I had this confirmed a while back
when looking at the 1942 map of Houston. Those streets were in place even going back to
the 30's I think, being the map itself was drawn in the 30's. I guess that area was really out
in the boonies at that time. The old Sam Houston airport was just to the west at that time.
Note Kirby running south to Holmes...I don't remember that being like that now, but I'd
have to check a recent map..
MK

[57Tbird]

TexasFreeway.com, on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 @ 8:46am, said:

So it appear the ORIGINAL Main Street took you out across the tracks, turned south, then crosses over the tracks again. I would hate to have been on the section between the tracks if a train had to stop. It may be one reason the current Main Street takes its current turn to the south.

Actually, South Main went UNDER the railroad tracks when I was around there in the 50's-60's...at least one set of the tracks...I think the straight part.

[nm5k]

57Tbird, on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 @ 3:42pm, said:

Actually, South Main went UNDER the railroad tracks when I was around there in the 50's-60's...at least one set of the tracks...I think the straight part.

Yep, I think it was that way a good while into at least the 70's. I remember
if you were going north on main, you went around that curve, that was kinda
underground, with sort of a "cliff" on the east side of the road. I forgot when
they built the elevated southbound part, but it was there in the early 70's.
MK

[Subdude]

TexasFreeway.com, on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 @ 8:46am, said:

This cutting from a 1950 Houston Street Map sheds a little more light on the history of Old Main Street.

Note how OMS crossed the railroad tracks and continued for a short destance before turning south. The heavy red line is the current Main Street. What you can't see on the portion is that on this map Main Street is cosigned as US90 and US59.

So it appear the ORIGINAL Main Street took you out across the tracks, turned south, then crosses over the tracks again. I would hate to have been on the section between the tracks if a train had to stop. It may be one reason the current Main Street takes its current turn to the south.

This clip from a 1962 Harris County map shows the end of OMS truncated at the tracks, but also shows more development to the southeast.

Notice the area labeled "Stella" on this map, south of the Astrodome. Hence "Stella Link"?

[TexasFreeway.com]

Yes. I read on the net somewhere that the street "Stella Link" was named so because it was the most convienent route to Stella Junction. The article talked like Stella Junction was a bigger deal back then.

[nm5k]

Back in the old days Stella was it's own town. I guess it and "Stella Junction"
are about the same thing. I've got a 1895 Texas map, and Stella is
marked as a town, along with the others in that area. IE: arcola,
juliff, etc, etc.. On that map, all the "roads" are actually the
rail tracks. Stella was at the point where the n/s tracks that run appx
along 288/521 intersect with the Southern tracks that connected Harrisburg
and Richmond, etc.. Being I don't see the n/s tracks that ran parallel
to Stella link road in the 1895 map, I assume they must have been built
a bit later. Those are the same tracks that run through Memorial Park,
and then south. They seem to call the intersection east of main, "West
Junction". It's interesting comparing the old 1895 map with all railroads,
and say a later highway map. The highways obviously followed the RR tracks
in most cases. I notice that the 1955 map calls the Holmes/Knight intersection
as "Pierce Junction". Another weird thing is on the 1952 map, they show a
town listed at Main/Chimney Rock. "Lotus, TX". But in the 1955 map, they
show that as "Heackers, and just east of Fondren as "Nichols" . They show
dot markers as if these were actual towns.. Kinda weird..
I cropped the Houston area on the 1895 map with the railroads, and the
1938 map, with highways. Note that Westheimer was once it's own town too..
They show the Sam Houston airport on that 1938 map.



MK

[gnu]

Great Maps! Thanks for posting.

nm5k, on Thursday, July 6th, 2006 @ 11:02pm, said:

Being I don't see the n/s tracks that ran parallel
to Stella link road in the 1895 map, I assume they must have been built
a bit later. Those are the same tracks that run through Memorial Park,
and then south. They seem to call the intersection east of main, "West
Junction".

i clipped this from the handbook of texas:

Quote

In 1918 the company [The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway]completed a new entrance into Houston between Chaney Junction and West Junction, and the original 1880 entry between Chaney Junction and Stella was partly abandoned.

Most of the rail junctions still have their names - that is - with the railroad companies and railfans. but they were probably never really towns per se.

This post has been edited by gnu: Friday, July 7, 2006 at 12:28 AM

[Subdude]

That is a cool map. I imagine at that time roads outside towns were few and far between, and that railroads made up the bulk of transportation. Some of the old railroad junctions/"towns" remain as street names, eg Genoa, Stella, Westfield.

[57Tbird]

nm5k, on Thursday, July 6th, 2006 @ 11:02pm, said:

... I notice that the 1955 map calls the Holmes/Knight intersection
as "Pierce Junction". ...
MK

Very interesting history! I remember my dad telling me that he came to Texas from California in 1920 and worked as a roughneck in the Pierce Junction oil fields just south of Houston. As late as 1958-1960, some of my rowdy friends and I would go rabbit hunting at night in those Pierce Junction oil fields. I wonder if any of those wells are still out there?

[gnu]

57Tbird, on Friday, July 7th, 2006 @ 10:10am, said:

Very interesting history! I remember my dad telling me that he came to Texas from California in 1920 and worked as a roughneck in the Pierce Junction oil fields just south of Houston. As late as 1958-1960, some of my rowdy friends and I would go rabbit hunting at night in those Pierce Junction oil fields. I wonder if any of those wells are still out there?

There is at least one pumpjack left .
they built a golf course there. it's called Wildcat.

http://www.wildcatgolfclub.com/

[TexasFreeway.com]

Here is something to scramble your noodles...

I got on the website for the Harris County Appraisal District to check out their plat maps. WOW!!!

1. Most of OMS still exists "Officially".

2. It did extend east past the railroad tracks thriough the utility easement

3. The streets mentioned by Kevin were for a subdivision never built, but is still platted.

4. It still goes COMPLETELY through the Dome parking lot.

5. Rice University owns some of the land were OMS and S. Main intersect.

I have created a composite of the different maps.

WARNING: LARGE FILE SIZES.

http://www.texasfree...ck/HCAD-OMS.jpg (5MB)
http://www.texasfree...ck/HCAD-OMS.pdf (33MB)

[RedScare]

TexasFreeway.com, on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 @ 8:46am, said:

This clip from a 1962 Harris County map shows the end of OMS truncated at the tracks, but also shows more development to the southeast.

Anyone got any idea how Harris County had 62 FEWER residents than the City of Houston in 1962?

[gnu]

RedScare, on Friday, July 7th, 2006 @ 12:33pm, said:

Anyone got any idea how Harris County had 62 FEWER residents than the City of Houston in 1962?

maybe from the parts of houston that are in different counties?
or maybe the harris co number was just county residents not in the city limits?

[TexasFreeway.com]

Not all of the City of Houston falls within Harris County.

[theoriginalkj]

RedScare, on Friday, July 7th, 2006 @ 12:33pm, said:

Anyone got any idea how Harris County had 62 FEWER residents than the City of Houston in 1962?

"I don't care who you are, that's funny right there"
-Larry the Cable Guy

[RedScare]

TexasFreeway.com, on Friday, July 7th, 2006 @ 12:47pm, said:

Not all of the City of Houston falls within Harris County.

According to the 1959 map on your website, it did.

1959 Map

Additionally, Bellaire and Pasadena, amongst other cities, are located inside the county. Further, 1,232,802 is the population of Houston in the 1970 Census. In 1960, Houston's population was 938,000, and Harris County was 1,243,000.

This post has been edited by RedScare: Friday, July 7, 2006 at 1:07 PM

[Subdude]

TexasFreeway.com, on Friday, July 7th, 2006 @ 12:27pm, said:

Here is something to scramble your noodles...

I got on the website for the Harris County Appraisal District to check out their plat maps. WOW!!!

1. Most of OMS still exists "Officially".

2. It did extend east past the railroad tracks thriough the utility easement

3. The streets mentioned by Kevin were for a subdivision never built, but is still platted.

4. It still goes COMPLETELY through the Dome parking lot.

5. Rice University owns some of the land were OMS and S. Main intersect.

I was looking at the same maps myself. They only designate two parts of Old Main Street Loop as abandoned - the Astrodome parking lot and the southern end. The Rice U land is where the Domain Privee was located.

There doesn't seem to be a consistent way of handling abandoned streets. In some cases the maps conform to current streets, but in other cases the old roads maintain a legal "existence" and are evident on the maps. In the downtown map you can see evidence of Frederick and Jasper streets, but not of Szabo.

[Ashikaga]

sevfiv, on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 @ 11:05pm, said:

ooh! i like it!

not to stray even more off topic...but
reminds me of this book i have (how to repair small appliances, circa 1961):



album cover? yes?

There was a rock group back in the 1960s called The Electric Prunes.

[Subdude]

Thanks. What is the date/source of that map?

[50_year_native]

Many place names along the RR tracks on old maps were not actually town names or stations, but rather names of water stops for the old steam engines. The trains would stop very briefly, just to take on water. I'd bet Stella was just a water stop, rather than a small town or community.

[Firebird65]

isuredid, on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 @ 8:40pm, said:

I think the name Aldine was also someone's first name. You don't find many folks with the surname of Aldine in the census, but it was not an uncommon given name.

I'm starting to think you are right... it wasn't a last name, it was a first name. However, perhaps Aldus rather than Aldine?

[FilioScotia]

[Firebird65]

[FilioScotia]

Firebird65, on Thursday, August 31st, 2006 @ 1:10pm, said:

That excerpt you just posted is what isuredid meant by the "official" explanation. So far, neither he nor anyone else has found any evidence that a family with the last name of Aldine ever lived in the area.

Generally, I think the Handbook of Texas is a reliable source, although I have found some minor mistakes in some of its longer articles. As for Aldine being named for a local farm family, it's probably worth noting that just about every small farming community in this state was named for one of the local families. The Handbook, for want of an actual documented source on the name Aldine, probably just fell back on the old reliable explanation -- "local farm family".

This post has been edited by FilioScotia: Thursday, August 31, 2006 at 4:45 PM