telwink

I see lots of wonderful photographs of the very early days of Houston ... what is generally available on various Houston photography archives both in person (Houston Public Library's photo archive, Story Sloane, etc) and digitally (any number of excellent websites & digital archives). What I would love to see more of, are various scenes around Houston in the 1980s ~ 1990s.

I thought of this while driving on "Upper Kirby" over the weekend, as I was explaining to my girlfriend (who recently moved to Houston) what Kirby looked like in the late 80s/early 90s. I've lived here since 1987, so I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about. Anyhow, as I tried to explain the 80s/early 90s scene to her, I could hardly remember it myself! I think it would be nearly unrecognizable to see a 30 year old photo of it.

It would be fun to see some photographs of Westheimer, the Galleria, Rice Village, various movie theaters and restaurants (interiors or exteriors), during the early days of Houston's *rebirth* since the 80s crash, and onward through the 90s. This may be too broad an idea to get off the ground, but I figured it would be worth a shot.

As I'll be going home to visit my family for the holiday weekend coming up, I'll try to kick this off myself by going through some older family photo albums to see if there are any photos of interest. If there are, I'll digitize them by any means necessary and attach them to the thread. I encourage you to do the same!

Ben

I'm gonna learn how to fly.

High.

... another great telwink panorama.

Gotta love reflective clouds.

Thanks a lot Highway6, and thanks HAIF for the potd!

I remember this place like it was in its prime last week. I was pretty young at the time, so this place just completely nailed my demographic. Going here when it was really nice, was a HUGE treat. I guess in the mid 80s, this part of town was a newer, nicer suburbia than it is now.

You can still walk through the place now - but man - it is a total dump compared to what it used to be like. It just seems really run down by a lack of maintenance and upkeep. Most of the inside is now closed. You can't go upstairs at all anymore. It's kind of sad to see it go, but more than anything I just find it very interesting that you can actually go inside it still and rekindle old memories of what it's glory days were like.

I was hoping maybe some folks who live/have lived in the Post Rice lofts would chime in on these questions. I've lived in the downtown area for the past couple years, but I'm thinking about moving into the Post Rice Lofts to be within walking distance from work. I'm in my mid 20s, and am very privy to the party nature of this party of downtown, and of the Lofts themselves, given the clientele they likely attract. I'm okay with this to a certain degree, but I'd like to know two things from folks who might know from experience. I've toured the units themselves, and they seem decent. Nothing fancy, the price tag is for the location.

I was out on Main Street this past Saturday night and it was absolutely, positively party-city. I mean loud. People shouting, cars banging bass, huge lines to get into the clubs, club music itself. This is all well and good, but I just can't imagine this wouldn't be loud as hell if you live in the building.

So my questions are:

1. How is the sound proofing from <excessive> street noise such as partying? I know there will be some street noise; such is living downtown. But I want to know if the Friday/Saturday night madness becomes cumbersome.

2. How is the sound proofing from unit to unit?

Any other general comments about the experience of either being in, or living in the place are welcome. I've read all the comments on apartmentratings.com, and have looked at a 500-something sqft 1br unit on the 6th floor of the building, which I'm considering leasing.

Thanks much in advance!

so it's a gem but you have vague memories?

I was all of about 7 years old. Do me a favor and school me on what percentage of a memory needs to be crystal clear in order to consider it of personal value.

Many a Houstonian has memories of the Astrodome. For some of us, it was a love with our sports franchises. For others, it represented an era in which Houston exploded onto the national map, destiend to grow into the megatropolis that Houston is today.

The purpose of this thread is for people to share their memories of the Astrodome. I was looking at old photos of it recently, and saw a photo of the hot dog stand with the yellow and orange painted lines around it. I remember the Texas emblems on the aisle seats that listed the rows. I remember people walking around, smoking cigarettes, and the whole dome had this rustic, small town in a huge stadium feel to it.

Now here's a real gem for me - I have vague memories of an 80s videogame arcade inside the Astrodome, and as I recall it was near the outfield, like right field or something. Does anybody remember anything about this arcade? Lately I've had a lot of nostalgia about the Astrodome. I suppose that's because its fate is in limbo right now :/ Anyhow, any memories of this arcade or about the Astrodome in general would be appreciated.

In case you stumbled into this thread and don't know anything about the Arcade that was located in the outfield, check out this article I found about Cigarette Haze Control in the Astrodome: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5PR...ag=artBody;col1

This is a somewhat scatterbrained Astrodome thread, but any nostalgia would be appreciated.

Hey Boris~~! Great photos! I haven't been here yet, but these are excellent shots of the Cathedral. Thanks for posting.

Check out this website of some kind of scavenger hunt I found from 1991 Houston Galleria ...

http://www.thehunt.org/1991/hunttask.htm

"Walk into Sheer Insanity, and say at least seven words beginning with "Z.""

"Enter The Fun Shop with your hand out of sight, and ask them if they've sold your severed fingers yet, because you want them back."

"Go to Petland and ask, "How much is that doggie in the window?""

Silly find, but its got some interesting store names on it that I'd forgotten or otherwise were behind many cobwebs.

LOL Sheer Insanity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAAH YES I remember that one now. That's hilarious. THANK YOU HAHA. I think the smaller one in Galleria I was called The Fun Shop, which someone established earlier in this thread.

I can't thank everyone enough for the great memories and information. This has been a REAL trip down memory lane. Lovin' it.

I have not forgotten about ya, but I have not had a chance to thumb through all my photos yet. I was hoping to do it this weekend, who knew I'd be having so much fun away from home.

Dude it is all good! Happy to have the thread going like this - its already been a gold mine for the topic of interest.

When was that? I remember the Gap at the Galleria, but I'm pretty sure there was one at Almeda Mall in the early 70s. It never seemed "exotic", just a store full of jeans.

Yah, I'd never heard anything about the gap being exotic, but then I don't know - I'm relatively young. I do remember when Banana Republic sold safari clothes in the 80s, which was brought up in earlier posts, but I'd be curious to hear about the Gap before my time.

I also remembered that Nan's Toys used to be in the Galleria, but the rent was too high to make a profit and she moved to SW Frwy. T

I had no idea Nan's originated in the Galleria! I spent quite a bit of time at Nan's growing up, but see - I grew up in the 80s and 90s - so I spent time at Nan's Comics & Games on 59 @ Shepherd. Thanks for the info!

Man you guys have great memories. I remember all those stores you mentioned but could not have come up with them on my own. Of course my favorite spot was Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor.

Was Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor the store in the background of the photo Pumapayam posted? The place with that coin-op merry go-round?

Those are some great memories, isuredid. My Galleria 80s were spent at a pretty young age. I'm about the same age as Pumapayam is on the left side of that photo, so I never got into the mall rat culture that must have been this mall's nostalgic glory days. But I still remember a lot of these things, even if observed from gradeschool eyes.

Remember that textured yellow tile that was in the non-carpeted areas? I remember all the stores had similar storefronts with a black glass signage band. All of the letters were white, but the fonts varied.

Yep. I remember that stuff. I remember how the store front window panes & railings in the mall were that brown hollow aluminum material, and so were the ashtray/trashcan things bolted to the railings about every 50 feet.

I missed the carpet in Galleria II, made it really nice and quiet to stroll around on.

The old classic car on the turn table of Record Town was pretty cool at the time as well.

Here is a photo from Galleria II around Christmas 1983 or 1984.

Can you guess which one is me?

Oh man this is great! I'd love it if you could scan more and post them. This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. You know, I'd forgotten about those white globe-like lights. I also miss the carpeting and how it made it a quiet place to stroll around in.

If there's any way you could scan more of these, that would be awesome. Also, the photos of Town & Country mall would be solid platinum when it comes to HAIF fodder. I know both of these sets of photos would make tremendously appreciated threads. Thanks a million for posting this.

One of my favoriote places to go, as a child, in addition to those already mentioned, was the pet shop. It was located on the ice rink level at one of the corners, either where Radio Shack or FYE(closed) is today.

We would also frequent the Oakridge Smokehouse for free samples of their beef stick and handfuls of sesame sticks.

Oh jeez yeah! The pet shop!!! I had completely forgotten about that place. It had a white and blue interior, with cages all over the place. Dogs, cats, birds, a ferret cage, you name it. That memory would have been lost to history had you not brought it up.

These are all really great stories. I remember how you used to be able to walk around inside the galleria late at night. Although I was very young at the time, so I couldn't really make the best of that. Can you imagine if you could still do that? You'd have to have a pair to want to walk inside such a place now a days. I guess that shows you how much Houston has changed in the past 25 years alone.

Here's an 80s memory from the galleria. I remember downstairs, in the Ice Rink level, on one side of the rink or the other, there was one of those make-your-own-80s-karaoke-tapes booths you'd see in malls back then. It was purple and black, with all sorts of blacklights and stuff. It sat underneath one of the staircases.

I remember vividly, having to walk by this booth while people were singing their hearts out, and it would play LOUD out of speakers. I don't know if people thought they sounded good or what, but it was always pretty horrible sounding. Once you paid your money and sang your heart out, I guess they'd give you a cut of your terrible song on a tape. HAHA. Man -- I can just picture the leg warmers.

It was The Fun Shop.

Hah, that's great. I remember getting a La Fartier at The Fun Shop. Good times.

There must be some photos out there of the Galleria at during this time period. I am going to visit the mall management office some time (tentatively) and see if they can provide me with any leads, store lists, or better yet photos. It may be a week or so before I can get down there, as they're M-F 8-5, but I'll keep HAIF posted if I come up with anything interesting.

Is this what you're referencing? I'm not sure either, but I'd be curious. Interseting observation.

Spencer's Gifts?

Nope, spencer's had all the dragon posters, blacklights, and lava lamp type crap. This place was just pranks, inappropriate t-shirts, and maybe some magic tricks.

And do you remember the bowling alley, pool hall and games up neart the top? Nobody seems to remember them but me.

Amazing! I didn't know about these. Any idea exactly when/where they were located? What's in their places now?

Hey guys, this topic is started in one form or another every year or so, but I was strolling through the mall today, and figured I'd give this another shot. I'm wondering if anyone has any old pictures or information about stores in the galleria in the 1980s, or the 1970s. Specifically, I'm trying to recall what this "prank" store was called, that used to be located near the post office in the 80s, down the hall from where the haircut place Visible Changes is now. It was against that far wall though. I remember buying a "fart machine" there when I was in elementary school, but they had all sorts of crap like that - they specialized in it!

Anyways, I more or less grew up in that mall in the 80s, yet I have very few memories of the actual stores. I do remember the old carpeting, and I do remember ash trays fixed to the old school railing throughout the mall. I remember the old movie theaters. Yes, there were two. I remember the old wing of the Galleria that housed McDonalds across from the movie theater.

Anyone have any information on a store list from back in the day, or possibly photos of this era. I've seen the few that exist towards the bottom of this page ... http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/search?q=houston+galleria ... but someone out there must have better ones, or at least some memories of the 1980s in that mall. Thanks!

Aah, a bit higher resolution and I'd have a new wallpaper.

If you're serious, PM me your screen resolution and email address and I'll send you one.

Not to pick nits, but isn't that the 701 N. San Jacinto Jail pictured, as opposed to Baker Street?

Cool pic, BTW.

Yes, you're right! Thanks for the correction! I should know that anyway

The coolest thing in that picture is the TRAIN!!!! It was one of the first thing I noticed.

Yeah, isn't that neat?! I love trains. I actually have a better quality photo of the same area with a train in it, although the train is a bit covered by shadow ...

Great picture!! Back in the late 60's I used to go to Love Street with my friends. There was a small bar underground where we would see live bands......can't remember the name. Anyone remember that??

Mary

That's pretty cool you actually got to visit Love Street. So was the bar directly underground, in sort of a basement of the Love Street building? Thanks for the info!

ben

I don't know if the story was true but my Father sold building materials years ago in Houston and he sold concrete block, bricks and mortar to construction firms. Next door to the AT&T building years ago there was an old two story frame house that an older lady lived in. She had lived there for many years and during every phase of construction at the phone building she would sit on her front porch and delicate flower at the workers to stay off her property. On several occasions some form of building material would fall and hit her house and she would scream and yell and call everyone from the phone company to the contractor, to the police, to city hall. Eventually the construction firm just learned that if it happened they would send someone to apoligize and basiclly offer the lady some small amount of money to "settle" the issue. My Father told my that story many times over the years.

HAHA man that is too funny. I love this forum for stories like this. We all know little bits and pieces of this huge, spraawling city we live in. Thanks for sharing that.

This book is excellent. I had the pleasure of meeting the author, David Welling, at his book signing back on Dec. 20th at Story Sloane's gallery. I highly recommend checking out a copy of this book, if you can get your hands on it, and I'm sure that some local places carry it - including, possibly, Story Sloane's gallery.

~ 320 pages, hard-bound

The Table of Contents goes something like this:

1 - Stage Origins

2 - The Nickelodeons

3 - Bigger and Better

4 - The Majestics

5 - The Main Three: The Metropolitan, the Kirby, and Loew's State

6 - The Later 1920s: You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet!

7 - Will Horwitz, Philanthropist

8 - The Neighborhood Theatre, 1934-1949

9 - Hoblitzelle's Interstate

10 - Jim Crow and the Ethnic Theatre

11 - The Fifties: The Incredible 3-D Wide-Screen Technicolor Stereophonic-Sound Ballyhoo Parade

12 - The Drive-in: A View from the Car Seat

13 - The Sixties: The Times, They Are A-Changin'

14 - The X-Houses

15 - From Multicinema to Multiplex: Safety in Numbers

16 - Let Them Eat Candy: The Concession Stand

17 - Beyond the Fringe: Midnight Movies and the Alternative Cinema

18 - Rediscovery in the Age of the Megaplex

19 - Perspectives: An Afterword

I can guarantee it is the most comprehensive source for the subject, as David Welling put a tremendous amount of work into this project. Well worth hunting down a copy.

This is actually a thread I've been meaning to start myself, for quite some time. That link in the above post gives me hope that someone might have more pictures of the galleria during the 70s/80s/90s? 'Twold be much appreciated. I wonder if any Houston Photo Archive collections anywhere in the city might have anything, too.