Went to that store today. It was really busy. The interior seems a bit dirty, but it still radiates a simple deco elegance in the stairwell. I also really liked the curved detail at the top of the columns; reminds me a bit of the columns in the Montrose Sears, but more refined. I suspect that the original terrazzo remains under all of that crummy looking linoleum and worn carpet. You can see pieces of it sticking out around the entrance on the east side. The interior and lighting would definitely benefit from a restoration of the windows and facade. It feels a bit "closed in" right now; all three floors feel like they are underground.
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#62 Deleted User: danax
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Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 2:38 PM
sevfiv, on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 @ 1:23pm, said:
The interior, as previously mentioned, was extensively remodeled and the only obvious traces of originality are the staircases and railings and I suppose the terrazoesque flooring near the entrances. The men's bathroom has some old sinks, which look to be late 50s/early 60s and probably date from the initial remodel.
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Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 4:05 PM
The original escalators were still in place until about 10 years ago. They were brass, and had some very nice Streamline/Moderne details. The only escalators in Houston which rivaled them in beauty (that I've seen) were in the old Music Hall, which was built at approximately the same time as Sears.
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Posted Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 11:10 AM
Weren't the ones at Sears the first escalators in Houston?
Danax, those side-by-side photos are enough to make you weep.
Danax, those side-by-side photos are enough to make you weep.
"Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
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Posted Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Subdude, on Saturday, January 6th, 2007 @ 10:10am, said:
Weren't the ones at Sears the first escalators in Houston?
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Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 9:03 AM
57Tbird, on Saturday, January 6th, 2007 @ 12:37pm, said:
I think you're correct. I remember the novelty of the new escalators at Sears, when I was a little kid. I would ride it continuously, like an amusement park ride, whenever my mom took me with her to shop there. I also remember the warning posted where you got on. No tennis shoes (or whatever they were called then) allowed. I guess on the chance that the long shoe strings might get caught between the steps. My mom would not let me wear my Keds (the only brand then) whenever we went there.
This is great that someone started this thread. I can relate totally. There are too many responses to respond to so hopefully I am not being redundant. Did anyone mention or ask what was the name of the theater across from Main street from this Sear's? I know it was torn down several years ago but what was the name??? My mom says she saw "Gone With The Wind" there so thats what stands out. I assume Drive-In movies put them out of business.
I recall going to that Sears (Main) since I was a kid. I am sure that everyone remembers the nice smell of popcorn as you entered. Always fresh too because of the steady crowds. They must have had a deal with the makers of Winnie The Pooh because there was always the stuffed animals above the clothe racks with lots of Winnie-related shirts, sweaters, etc. The one thing that always stood out for me was the restaurant area. Man, I loved the hamburgers, fries everything! Plenty of booths and stools to sit on with a huge counter, the waitress's even wore uniforms complete with hats or hairnets. Sadly, the Main st has sealed or boarded up the old eatery, pathetic. The only Sears I know of that still exists is on North Shepard and it still appears as it did when it opened, maybe? Anyway if you glance at it it does look like your in the 60's. I think that cool old theater still stands next door giving it more of that old time feeling.
Boarding up the windows, Hurricane Rita is on her way!- Houston 2005
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Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 9:16 AM
rnsdr, on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 @ 8:03am, said:
This is great that someone started this thread. I can relate totally. There are too many responses to respond to so hopefully I am not being redundant. Did anyone mention or ask what was the name of the theater across from Main street from this Sear's? I know it was torn down several years ago but what was the name??? My mom says she saw "Gone With The Wind" there so thats what stands out. I assume Drive-In movies put them out of business.
http://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/dmr_resul...p;Submit=Submit
it was demolished in June of 2002
Edited by sevfiv, Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 9:17 AM.
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Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 3:48 PM
rnsdr, on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 @ 9:03am, said:
The only Sears I know of that still exists is on North Shepard and it still appears as it did when it opened, maybe? Anyway if you glance at it it does look like your in the 60's. I think that cool old theater still stands next door giving it more of that old time feeling.
Was that the Garden Oaks theater? Last I checked the theater was being used by an evangelistic church.
"Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
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Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 5:26 PM
Subdude, on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 @ 2:48pm, said:
Was that the Garden Oaks theater? Last I checked the theater was being used by an evangelistic church.
last time i drove by the light wasn't good, but it looked very toned down - the marquee is still there, though
Edited by sevfiv, Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 5:28 PM.
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Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 6:20 PM
sevfiv, on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 @ 4:26pm, said:
yeah - the sears is located at 4000 n shepherd, and garden oaks theater (church) was (is) at 3750
last time i drove by the light wasn't good, but it looked very toned down - the marquee is still there, though
last time i drove by the light wasn't good, but it looked very toned down - the marquee is still there, though
The marquee is still fundamentally intact, but the lettering that spelled out "GARDEN OAKS" as well as the neon was stripped off after the Net church took over. There are some interesting comments at the Cinema Treasures site from someone apparently affiliated with the church indicating that they were in the process of restoring the theater as recently as last year, but I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical given what was done to the marquee. Still, it's good that the theater hasn't been demolished completely the way so many other formerly nice neighborhood theaters in Houston have been.
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 11:30 AM
mkultra25, on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 @ 5:20pm, said:
The marquee is still fundamentally intact, but the lettering that spelled out "GARDEN OAKS" as well as the neon was stripped off after the Net church took over. There are some interesting comments at the Cinema Treasures site from someone apparently affiliated with the church indicating that they were in the process of restoring the theater as recently as last year, but I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical given what was done to the marquee. Still, it's good that the theater hasn't been demolished completely the way so many other formerly nice neighborhood theaters in Houston have been.
I lived in Garden Oaks from '93 until '04. The original sign with the Garden Oaks lettering was donated to Garden Oaks (residential association?) when it was taken down.
...and to get back on topic - I would love to see the Sears on South Main restored to it's original luster. ...bu I'm not holding my breath.
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 12:21 PM
SunKing, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 10:30am, said:
I lived in Garden Oaks from '93 until '04. The original sign with the Garden Oaks lettering was donated to Garden Oaks (residential association?) when it was taken down.
...and to get back on topic - I would love to see the Sears on South Main restored to it's original luster. ...bu I'm not holding my breath.
...and to get back on topic - I would love to see the Sears on South Main restored to it's original luster. ...bu I'm not holding my breath.
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i recently emailed Sears about the store on main st. we'll see what they say (if anything)
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 5:59 PM
well, got a response:
Thank you for contacting Sears Holdings Corporation. At this time, we
do not have any information regarding the rennovation of the Sears store
located on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We value you as a Sears
Holdings Corporation customer, and we truly intend to provide you with
the best possible customer service.
Sincerely,
National Customer Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation
Thank you for contacting Sears Holdings Corporation. At this time, we
do not have any information regarding the rennovation of the Sears store
located on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We value you as a Sears
Holdings Corporation customer, and we truly intend to provide you with
the best possible customer service.
Sincerely,
National Customer Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation
#74 Deleted User: danax
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 6:04 PM
sevfiv, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 4:59pm, said:
well, got a response:
Thank you for contacting Sears Holdings Corporation. At this time, we
do not have any information regarding the rennovation of the Sears store
located on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We value you as a Sears
Holdings Corporation customer, and we truly intend to provide you with
the best possible customer service.
Sincerely,
National Customer Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation
Thank you for contacting Sears Holdings Corporation. At this time, we
do not have any information regarding the rennovation of the Sears store
located on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We value you as a Sears
Holdings Corporation customer, and we truly intend to provide you with
the best possible customer service.
Sincerely,
National Customer Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation
I doubt anyone in the corporate offices has a clue about that building's history at this point. Will have to come up with a Plan B.
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 6:15 PM
danax, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 5:04pm, said:
I doubt anyone in the corporate offices has a clue about that building's history at this point. Will have to come up with a Plan B.
Plan B: Screw corporate. Call the store manager. If he/she doesn't have personal insight to the building's history, I'll bet that they'll know an employee or former employee or someone that knows someone that does.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." --Charles Darwin
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
#76 Deleted User: danax
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 6:33 PM
TheNiche, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 5:15pm, said:
Plan B: Screw corporate. Call the store manager. If he/she doesn't have personal insight to the building's history, I'll bet that they'll know an employee or former employee or someone that knows someone that does.
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 6:37 PM
danax, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 5:33pm, said:
Or, we could bypass Plan B completely and go for Plan C; print up some big, full-color posters of what the building once looked like and then pay some trustworthy homeless people (plenty of them call Sears home), and have them prance around and pass out HAIF literature on the subject, or just a printout of this topic. We can call Houston Press to cover the event.
How about we start with Plan B to try and research the matter further so that the propaganda released to Houston Press is more full-bodied and, if possible, contentious. They will provide more coverage if we can make Sears look like a corporate boogeyman.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." --Charles Darwin
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
#78 Deleted User: danax
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 7:38 PM
TheNiche, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 5:37pm, said:
How about we start with Plan B to try and research the matter further so that the propaganda released to Houston Press is more full-bodied and, if possible, contentious. They will provide more coverage if we can make Sears look like a corporate boogeyman.
The problem is that it's not really a bad guy/good guy issue and trying to stretch it into one wouldn't be right and would possibly backfire anyway so maybe Houston Press won't have anything along their lines to report. Maybe just a simple news station would cover it. I know a news producer in my nabe who works for one of the Spanish stations. Wouldn't the motive be just to get Sears to respond to what is underneath the ugliness and spread public awareness ,not only about that specific building, but about historic architecture in general? It's not like they teach that stuff in middle school. If they did, we probably wouldn't be destroying so much of it in town.
The posterboards could have the slogan, "Take it off, take it all off" and maybe we could get a brass band to play The Stripper.
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 7:58 PM
danax, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 6:38pm, said:
The posterboards could have the slogan, "Take it off, take it all off" and maybe we could get a brass band to play The Stripper.
The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
Willomena Slater goin ghetto on Betty Suarez..."come on girl, i'm black and you're mexican. let's not talk around it like a couple of dull white people"
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
Willomena Slater goin ghetto on Betty Suarez..."come on girl, i'm black and you're mexican. let's not talk around it like a couple of dull white people"
#80 Deleted User: danax
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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 8:07 PM
musicman, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 6:58pm, said:
OK Danax you're showing your age
Noxzema Shaving Cream Girl - In the mid 1960s, an attractive eighteen-year-old Swedish-born blonde model named Gunilla Knutson teasingly urged men to "Take it off, take it all off" with Noxzema Medicated Instant Shave Cream (1966-73). With David Rose's rousing pop hit melody "The Stripper" playing in the background, the commercial showed shaving sequences of a man scraping off Noxzema shaving cream in neat, clean rows as the Noxzema Girl said "Take it off. take it all off!" and "The closer you shave the more you need Noxzema." The commercial ended with a beautiful blonde (Gunilla) caressing a canister of Noxzema shaving cream and then the cheeks of the now clean-shaven man.
"Nothing takes it off like Noxzema Medicated Shave
....Take it off, Take it all off."
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Posted Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 4:09 AM
will try for a store manager next...
my email to corporate was more about their future plans for that location.
i would have *assumed* that any history they may have of the store would be on the sears archive site - but who knows
of course - there is nothing about houston on it at all
my email to corporate was more about their future plans for that location.
i would have *assumed* that any history they may have of the store would be on the sears archive site - but who knows
of course - there is nothing about houston on it at all
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Posted Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 10:48 AM
danax, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 6:38pm, said:
Ah Niche, you're such a killjoy!
The problem is that it's not really a bad guy/good guy issue and trying to stretch it into one wouldn't be right and would possibly backfire anyway so maybe Houston Press won't have anything along their lines to report.
The problem is that it's not really a bad guy/good guy issue and trying to stretch it into one wouldn't be right and would possibly backfire anyway so maybe Houston Press won't have anything along their lines to report.
I agree: it isn't a good vs. evil situation and it would be disingenuous to portray it as such. But the press is most easily manipulated if you can turn it into something like that. Reminiscing is good for the Heights Tribune, but the Houston Press needs something especially spicy. Between the protesting setup like you suggested and some good ol' fashioned slander, you'd have yourself a good front-page story.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." --Charles Darwin
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." --Bertrand Russell
"The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." --Y.B. Yeats
---------------
The floor area required for a hangar relative to its living enclosure creates the effect of an 'inner keep'. Mount two servo-operated firearms controlled by webcam in the far corners and a third above the living enclosure along the back wall to create overlapping fields of fire.
#83
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Posted Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 6:07 AM
danax, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 @ 6:33pm, said:
Or, we could bypass Plan B completely and go for Plan C; print up some big, full-color posters of what the building once looked like and then pay some trustworthy homeless people (plenty of them call Sears home), and have them prance around and pass out HAIF literature on the subject, or just a printout of this topic. We can call Houston Press to cover the event.
It seems the natural person to contact to get publicity about this kind of thing would be the Chronicle architecture critic. Oh, wait! The Chronicle doesn't have an architecture critic.
Never mind.
Seriously, as much as I would like to see this building restored, it doesn't seem that Sears has ever evidenced much interest in the historical character of their stores or neighborhoods. The informative response to Sevfiv's note sort of sums it up.
"Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
like the sun; it shines everywhere"
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Posted Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 12:01 PM
Idle observation:
While waiting at Wheeler Station, I noticed that the big SEARS sign on the roof (facing southwest) also contains neon tubing which spells
(to 9? 'til 9?) Since it's not lit you have to look really hard to see it. Wonder when it was last used?
While waiting at Wheeler Station, I noticed that the big SEARS sign on the roof (facing southwest) also contains neon tubing which spells
OPEN T 9
(to 9? 'til 9?) Since it's not lit you have to look really hard to see it. Wonder when it was last used?
#85
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Posted Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 1:56 PM
Jeebus, on Sunday, July 30th, 2006 @ 9:26pm, said:
Why would the building be re-faced? WTF were people smoking back in the day??
Pot
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Posted Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 2:51 PM
Stephen Fox would know...
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Posted Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 4:51 PM
It was last month...
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Posted Friday, July 27, 2007 at 1:06 AM
Jax, on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 @ 4:51pm, said:
It was last month...
When I went past it on emergency leave it seemed dead. I was a recruiter in Houston and went in there once. We roam all of Houston so there was no reason for me not to check it out while on the clock. Just sad how they run that store. Seems like if they're going to have it open it should be well known beyond a doubt.
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Posted Friday, July 27, 2007 at 10:10 AM
I wasn't too impressed when I went there.
I found that the few times I went in there I couldn't even find what I wanted and things were expensive. I wanted a lamp for my apartment and the few lamps they had cost something on the order of $100 and looked really cheap. I ended up going to target and getting one for $25. The sales people were nice enough but didn't seem to really want to sell me anything, and everything seemed kind of expensive compared to the alternatives like Target. I'd much rather shop at Sears though because it's closer to where I live.
I found that the few times I went in there I couldn't even find what I wanted and things were expensive. I wanted a lamp for my apartment and the few lamps they had cost something on the order of $100 and looked really cheap. I ended up going to target and getting one for $25. The sales people were nice enough but didn't seem to really want to sell me anything, and everything seemed kind of expensive compared to the alternatives like Target. I'd much rather shop at Sears though because it's closer to where I live.
