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tomv

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  1. tomv
    What great detective work! I will stop in sometime to see if it is the same one. If it is and is still operational, it would have to have had major refurbishment, I would think.
  2. tomv
    It was on the left about a mile before you get to the bridges that cross the Brazos. There was only one bridge then, the older one that's still there today. After the restuarant closed, it was a C&W club called, I think, the Wounded Armadillo. I'm not positive, but I think there's a vetenarian's office there now now that still occupies at least some of the old buildings. Speaking of classic old restaurants, Larry's Mexican Restaurant, which is on the left just before you get to the bridge, is the real thing and worth a drive. It's been there since the early 60's.
  3. tomv
    I have vivid memories of the old lady fortune-telling machine. In fact, I may have mentioned it in an earlier discussion on this website. However, the Bill Williams that I went to with my parents back in the 60's was the one on Hwy 90 in Richmond. Since 90 becomes South Main, maybe you meant that one (they had several locations) or maybe the old lady was at all their restaurants! My parents liked to take a leisurly drive somewhere out of town on the weekend to a favorite restaurant. They brought a cocktail for the road (it was different then, pre-MADD), and we would get drinks and snacks too. Our favorites were Bill Williams in Richmond and Jimmy Walkers in Kemah. The Bill Williams we went to often had an older lady (another old lady!)playing organ in the dining room. The Fortune Teller was up front near the cashier, next to the baseball game that my brothers and I loved to play. We didn't put much money into the old lady fortune teller, but she stared at us while we played baseball! Good memories. Houston was different then, but we all knew it was destined for great things. I'm a native.
  4. tomv
    http://www.adventurebay.com/ Sayanara. I assume this includes the bulding next door which was really run down. It originally had the cinema, bowling alley, miniature golf, etc..
  5. tomv
    I just can't believe how popular coffee has become. It's not exactly a new beverage, having been around since the 9th century. I can see hanging out in a coffee shop as a social activity, where the coffee is secondary to the conversation and just being around other people. But the Starbucks near me has a drive in window, and it's not unusual to see cars lined up in the middle of the day for the chance to buy one of those exorbitantly priced coffees. I remember a conversation I had around 15 years ago with a college-aged person (I'm older). We were participating in a hospital reserach study, and I was bemoaning the fact that we weren't allowed to drink coffee. He said he didn't care, and for that matter "my generation doesn't drink coffee". Things have changed.
  6. tomv
    Springsteen pays tribute to Liberty Hall in his song "This Hard Land". "And meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall"
  7. tomv
    It's going to be on Avenida de las Americas just south of Texas Avenue. They recently extended that part of Avenida de las Americas so that it would connect the baseball stadium and the convention center. Sounds like it will be in the median, but I'm not sure. I remember that train from going to Hermann Park as a kid. To be honest, it never did that much for me. I was always disappointed that you couldn't climb up in it. Riding the miniature train was much more exciting! They put it there because of the miniature train next door. But it took up prime real estate, right next to the lake. I think they're going to put in a cafe in that spot. Much better use of space.
  8. tomv
    Bargain hunters take note: Every Wednesday pints of their beer are only $1 all day and night. Deal!
  9. tomv
    Yes, it's a park, not a food court! One restaurant on-site is okay, but I think Downtown would be better served by having the cafes across the street, overlooking the park.
  10. tomv
    Did anyone mention San Jacinto Inn at the Battlegrounds? Loved going there as a kid, even though I wasn't much of a seafood eater then. Driving there made for a great family outing on a weekend afternoon. They had a huge dining room up on the second floor, and meals were served family style by waiters in white coats. They had a "winter dinner" and a "summer dinner"- main difference was crabs in the summer, oysters in the winter. I think the building's still there, wonder if one day it might be reopened?
  11. tomv
    Fabulous! Now we don't have to go to Astroworld to get our "Main Street" experience.
  12. tomv
    The homefinder center, that is
  13. tomv
    If you go in there, do the salespeople put any pressure on you?
  14. tomv
    Playland Park was on S. Main near where Reliant Stadium is now. It was our "Astroworld" before there was an Astroworld. It had 2 great roller coasters, and lots of other carnival-style rides and attractions.
  15. tomv
    They're still open.
  16. tomv
    Very entertaining! Thank you. Keep it coming. First your S Main postcard collection and now this. What's next from your bag of tricks? I had forgotten all about that Luminare Center thing that predated Bayou Place. Maybe they should have built that instead, given the way it turned out. If Houston Center had been built out the way it was planned, I understand it would have turned the streets below into a dark, dreary space filled with automobile exhaust and vagrants, since most of the pedestrian activity would have been above street level in secure, climate controlled passageways.
  17. tomv
    I'm not positive, but I think that the restaurant that was there was called Railhead, not Victoria Station. It was a copy of Victoria Station. I remember they had live entertainment there along with the food.
  18. tomv
    Another reason why living in the burbs is an excellent choice for families. Katy schools are superb. Other pluses out here in Katy- there's virtually no traffic and the streets are well maintained, housing is affordable, you can walk the streets at night and feel completely safe, there is tons of parkland, and you are less than 3 hours away from either Austin or San Antonio. And when the Westpark Tollway is finished later this year, Katy area residents will have their own "private" freeway, with a 20 minute drive from the Grand Parkway to the Galleria area. Not to mention the expanded Katy Freeway when it's finished. But hey,every neighborhood has it's attributes. We just get tired of the bashing that living in the suburbs gets from some people inside the loop.
  19. tomv
    A friend of mine got to know a couple regulars at one of the exits along the Katy Freeway. They claimed to be out of work, down on their luck, just looking for food, etc. One day a "good samaritan" gave one of them a hundred dollar bill. They immediately bolted for a cheap motel room and some rocks of crack cocaine. I think this goes on a lot. Another reason not to give these people money.
  20. tomv
    Homeless are here to stay. Maybe we should just call them nomads. Many of them just sort of prefer this lifestyle, it seems, or don't have the drive to seek out something that might be better. Of course many have serious problems too. But they don't have the right to live on streets or in public parks. Why should I have to endure an overwhelming stench of urine while walking around certain parts of Downtown? And I personally cannot stand being panhandled and never give them anything because it only perpetuates the problem, but I guess you can't outlaw that. That being said, I don't mind a bit having some of my tax money used to make this situation better for all concerned.
  21. tomv
    If that is so then that is not right either. Moving the homeless from one city park to another is not a solution. I'm not familiar with Baldwin Park. Is it nice? Where is it?
  22. tomv
    To me, a NIMBY is someone who is generally in favor of something new for the community, such as a power plant, a halfway house, or a road, but is not in favor of having it built in their neighborhood. Why should the Rockets want homeless people living in Root Park? Nobody wants that, just like we don't want homeless living in Memorial Park, Hermann Park, or Tranquility Park. To be opposed to that does not make one a NIMBY. The Rockets are not trying to shut down a homeless shelter. They are trying to ensure that the new park will be something we can all be proud of.
  23. tomv
    Good. There hasn't been a traditional type Mexican restaurant downtown since El Tiempo closed. Cabo is more a bar with a limited selection of Mexican food, Tapatia is a taqueria, and Irma's is not even open nights or weekends. Closest place now is Ninfa's on Navigation I guess. Unless you count 9 Amigos at Minute Maid Park.
  24. tomv
  25. tomv

    The Boulevard Project

    tomv replied to zaphod's topic in Transit

    Yes Metro Website
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