24zulu

IIRC, they were SUPPOSED to become Ashley stores, then Hill Country Furniture Partners did an end run and secured the chain. And given how fresh and clean the "F"s look on the signage, it's staying Fingers.

I emailed Nancy Sarnoff to see if she has any info, but haven't heard back yet.

Ashley did have the deal, last I heard, and were toying with remodeling plans, but not demolition.

I don't think the Finger family is going to be involved, or allow the name to be used again.

http://www.houstons5...-texas/stories/

here's a list of some of the topics from the tv program, on-line. Found the one about the Rice Hotel bar very interesting, with the lost key, and the Jesse Jones story is great. Also includes auto, dealerships, Washington Ave., Eastwood, North side fire, Courtlandt, etc. Previous "home" page also has two recent topics. I like seeing the old b/w photos the most, there's some good ones in those videos.

Nena, Great link! I loved the Rice, and spent a lot of time there. The other stories are great as well...good memories.

I just saw a photo of the gas station yesterday, but I can't find it now. It's a pretty "famous" photo, so it should be easy to find. It's a photo of Squatty Lyons in his football uniform standing on the football field behind the Reagan school building. Behind him is the gas station.

I always loved that old station, even though it was past its time of serving gas by the time I got to Reagan. Sorry to hear it's gone.

Wasn't this gas station Mr. Remmert's car repair in the late 1950's? It sure looks like it.

Did anyone else have breakfast on the train with Santa and Cadet Don and Kitirik at Christmas time? BTW, I was on her show once also--as a 2-3 year old, hehe

I got kissed by Kitirick the day they broke ground for the Heights Savings and Loan @ 20th & Yale. They had hay bales all around, and broke them open all over the grass. Kitirick got in a cherry picker bucket, and was raised up in the air with several bags of change. She dropped all that money into the hay & they made us all wait until Sgt. Babe Seres of HPD, blew his whistle. We jumped all in that hay finding pennies, and dimes, and quarters! I never have washed my left cheek after that kiss .....Wow....

I went to P.P. a few times, but never met Cadet Don, or Santa on the train. I was always working as a kid, and never got to go many places like that. Please post some photos, and stories. Those were mighty good days.

Valians was one of the places my family ate at as well.

Did you mean the old Shamrock hotel?

Yes, I did. The Shamrock was one of my favorite hangouts. As you can see in some of the other posts Vallian's was pretty popular... if not for the pizza, the atmosphere. Did you like the pizza? Some herein have declared it pretty bad.

I remember Chuckwagon well, from the 60's; there was one in the Griggs/OST area.

Wheel Burger, Hub Burger and Spoke Dogs and huge drinks!!

I just ate at Smashburger on S. Main for the first time. I had no idea why they called it that, but found out that they smash the burgers just like in the old days, to create that effect, and taste.

Anyone ever eat at Yale Pharmacy in the '50's - early'60's? The cook had a large iron weight they would lay on top of several patties at a time, and smash 'em. They did the same at my favorite eating place, Sammy's Cafe on 19th - anyone ate there ? How 'bout Balfanz Pharmacy - world famous for thier malts. Elvis even drank one there!

I had a crush on the waitress at Sammy's. Her name was Roma ... and she always gave me 25 cents for five songs on the juke box. Man ... Happy Days had nothin' on the Heights in the '50's.

Sorry, I lost my point... I was going to relate that they not only smashed the burgers at the Chuckwagon, but painted the buns with warm butter, and toasted mine crisp everytime. You know- had the little crispies around the edge of the bun.

http://www.historicrealestateinc.org/

Any news on this ? Is the waterlight district coming? or the project died ?

Great idea, but I think the market timing is off - way ahead of equal development. Partnerships falling apart, and loan troubles. They have started, and stopped construction several times. Other projects around there are stuttering, and the area is still trying to get a foot hold. I have watched this with real anticipation, as I wanted to build a restaurant in the complex, but can't get any answers from anyone that demonstrate a solid business plan. I'm hoping it gets traction soon, as I really liked the concept from the beginning. Fingers crossed, on the sidelines....

Despite being known for Italian food, I always remember the western motif in the frontier room. Light fixtures with cowboys and steerhorns etc. I also recall that in the 50's, we ordered pizza as an appetizer before the pasta came. Perhaps too radical for our family as the main course.

They had a small take-out place near the Alabama theater as well.

I found the following article, and thought it was interesting. Especially if Christie's had offered pizza before Valian's, who we saw started in 1955. I guess Valian's did pretty well, even if their pizza wasn't very good :

Before the 1940s, pizza consumption was limited mostly to Italian immigrants and their descendants. The international breakthrough came after World War II. Allied troops occupying Italy, weary of their rations, were constantly on the lookout for good food. They discovered the pizzeria, and local bakers were hard-pressed to satisfy the demand from the soldiers. The American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, touted by "veterans ranging from the lowliest private to Dwight D. Eisenhower".

According to an article in American Heritage Magazine, the modern pizza industry was born in the Midwestern United States. Ric Riccardo pioneered what became known as the Chicago-style deep dish pizza when, in 1943, he and Ike Sewell opened Pizzeria Uno in Chicago. Others might argue that the "modern pizza industry" began with the birth of Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas in 1958.

In 1948, the first commercial pizza-pie mix — ‘Roman Pizza Mix‘ — was produced in Worcester, Mass., by Frank A. Fiorillo.

The introduction of a

Good afternoon, I’m Mrs. Brady. Today, I’m going to make a popular Italian dish, pizza pie. You’ve all probably heard about it; and if you’d like the recipe, please get a pencil and paper and then you can take it down as I go.Pizza pie is becoming very popular, especially down in the States. There are some restaurants that even specialize in it. These are called pizzerias; and Saturday night, if you drive down, you can see cars lined up for miles, waiting for their pizza.Pizza pie is composed of three parts. First, there is a base, which is usually a biscuit or a yeast dough. This is covered with a tangy tomato sauce, sprinkled with oregano, and then topped with nippy cheese.With pizza's rising popularity, chain restaurants moved in. Leading early pizza chains were Shakey's Pizza, founded in 1954 in Sacramento, California, and Pizza Hut, founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. Later entrant restaurant chains to the dine-in pizza market were Bertucci's, Happy Joe's, Monical's Pizza, California Pizza Kitchen, Godfather's Pizza, and Round Table Pizza.

Today, the American pizza business is dominated by companies that specialize in pizza delivery, such as Domino's, Brooklyn Pizzeria, Papa John's Pizza, Giordano's Pizza, Pizza Ranch, Mazzio's, and Godfather's Pizza. Pizza Hut has shifted its emphasis away from pizza parlors and toward home delivery. Another recent development is the take-and-bake pizzeria, such as Papa Murphy's.

i dont remember the name of the hamburger place next to waltrip, i just remember it being in the same parking lot. pretty cool that you could leave the school grounds for lunch. also i remember waltrip as having a jukebox in the cafeteria. our school got one in 64.

Hey Capt., that burger joint next to Waltrip was the, "Chuckwagon"... ahhh, now you remember! The guy that was the cook ( Forget his name now, but it was on his shirt ) was real skinny, dark tan, and always wore a white cook's shirt with the sleeves rolled up to mid-biceps. White apron, and had his cap on that resembled the military type, but it was white with a red ribbon around the top, and he always had it tipped to the side. Had his Camel non - filters in his top pocket, and was a genuine tough guy - tattoos all over, with anchors on the forearms. He was so fast with those orders, man, we used to just watch for the entertainment value. I believe he was in the Navy in WWII as a cook. I never saw anyone else cooking there, so I'm not sure if he owned it, started it, or franchised it. They had big burgers, and to me, tasted, and looked, just like Whataburger, today. I went to Reagan, but we had a lot of friends who went to Waltrip. I played football, and ran track, so we were always over there with our competition, eating burgers. I'm not sure if there were any other Chuckwagons around ... anyone know ? I don't know what happenned to the cook, as we left Houston @ 1964. Man, the only time I saw him slow down was to catch a cigarette. He didn't talk to anyone much, was very nice when he did, but we all knew not to mess with him either. I can smell one of those biiiig juicy burgers right now !!

Christie's came way before Valian's, at least it seemed that way to me. When I was a kid in the mid-40's, my folks would take me to Christie's after church on Sunday. I always got a dozen jumbo fried shrimp for $.75. Valian's came into being sometime in the early to mid-50's, I believe. I used to go there often while at Rice in that time-frame. I remember eating my first pizza there. It came with the aforementioned anchovies, and this was my first endeavor with that delicacy. Needless to say, I was not impressed with this new dish, known as pizza. In my later years, I have come to like them on my pizza, as well as taking a like to many other foods I did not care for in my youth.

Hey 57, Seviv nailed Valian's opening date in post # 4 as 1955. Marmer remembered that Valian's pizza was not really very good, and you were not impressed with pizza in the early years at all. I'd be impressed if we could still get a dozen fried shrimp for $0.75!

Do you know if the Mitchell family from Galveston owned the Christie's you referenced? I know they owned the Christie's Beachcomber by Stewart Beach. What a shame, as I just drove by there today, and the old building is gone from the planet. I really loved the food, and atmosphere of that place. I took many 'a young girl there for dinner, and a walk on the beach afterward. Wow....

When you refer to Kiddie Land, are your referring to Kiddie Wonderland on South Main St. on the opposite side of the street from Playland Park? I loved and frequented this little amusement park during the 50's. The ponies all had their names tooled in contrasting leather on the back of their saddles. My favorite was "Calico" and a close second was "Blackie." You could ride like the wind around that track without a seat belt! They also had a carousel and these little pedal cars you mentioned that you propelled with your hands spinning the handles in a circular motion as you chugged down the metal track. You could build up some pretty good speed on those little machines! Seems like I also remember riding in little boats in the water with bells you could ring by tugging on a string. Loved the old white wooden roller coaster at Playland Park, and their Spook House was pretty scary, too! Was the swimming pool with the breathing bubble Gateway Pool on South Main? I used to swim there but never located that "bubble" everyone talked about. I remember Busch Stadium with the Buffalo logo on the front. Prince's for hamburgers and Valian's for pizza! Thanks for the memories!

Switch to the North side for a minute, and tell me the name of the kiddie park on North Shepherd, just North of the old Sears store. It was on the West side of North Shepherd, but I forget the cross street - it wasn't Lehman, but it was close to it. Now they had some great ponies, and did riding lessons in a big pen as well. lots of fun, and if memory serves me, they had a red & white striped big top tent. I always thought it was a branch of Peppermint Park. Anyone ever go there ?? Photos ??

Frank,

I think I owe quite a lot to Utah Carl. He is likely the reason that I, my sons, my cousin, all play guitar professionally today.

Utah Carl's sister Willa Wendt was my aunt. She was married to Herb Wendt, my mother's brother. We're all from northern Michigan.

Aunt Willa and Uncle Herb would come north to visit in the summers during the 50s and 60s. They both played guitar, and I'm sure that Uncle Herb's inspiration was from Utah Carl and Aunt Willa. Uncle Herb would sit all of us young nephews and nieces on the porch and sing sad songs like "Ol' Shep" and "Dad Gave My Dog Away" until he had us crying. Despite that, my cousin Kenny Rich and I got guitars at the age of 14 and started playing. Kenny and his band, "My Friends" signed with Motown's Rare Earth label and released a single in the 70s.

Aunt Willa would bring Utah Carl 45s for us. She made many of the clothes he wore while performing. Many of those costumes were still in her closets when she died. She also co-wrote and sang on "Never Meant For Me", Carl's single on the D label. She was immersed in his life it seemed. So I was disappointed that she was not even mentioned in Carl's obituary in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame posting. Nor was his brother George.

My wife and I visited Uncle Herb and Aunt Willa a few times during the late 70s and 80s, right after Carl died. We'd sit up 'til all hours of the morning playing, singing and drinking Buckhorn. George, Roberta, and Jimmy, Johnny and George Jr,. all stopped by. As would my brother Dale, a painter, who lived down there during those years.

Uncle Herb had an 8mm camera and shot a lot of footage of both his family and the Beach family. Aunt Willa gave it to me, just before she died, probably not knowing what it all was. As I reviewed it, most was Beach family stuff. Utah Carl in parades, Utah Carl posing with Ernest Tubb, and Hank Snow (probably coinciding with their visit mentioned in the article), etc.

Those were fun times.

Denny Gramza

Hello Denny,

What a great post! I know that Utah Carl would be awful proud that you are thankful to him for the musical inspirations. I posted a thread in here, essentially the same, telling that I loved the Utah Carl theme song so much that I taught myself how to play it on a guitar, and had a pair of boots made just like his black and white eagles down in Acuna. I was a real rip-snortin', right-out-of-the-West bronco buster in those days, and I caught the eye of a whole lot of ladies wearin' those boots. I always decked them out with my, "Lucky Halfmoon" spurs, and heel chains that really did, "Jingle, jangle, jingle". Those were the best days, when cattle and cowboys, and real ranches still existed. I would have probably gone on to play guitar pretty seriously, but an old bad bronc put a dustin' on me, and broke my left arm pretty bad when I was a kid. Never could hold the strings to the frets well enough to keep from getting a little reverb, and the wrist would fatigue quickly.

Do you know what happened to Carl Jr.? And, hey, as trivia goes, was Utah Carl really 6'6" tall as they say?

Keep strummin', and thanks for the memories!!

As a matter of fact, I've always liked anchovies. Why do you ask?

Just kidding, I like anchovies as well, but they are not everyone's favorite. I suppose it's better than a hair in the cheese...eh.. H2B?

@Niche: And you can blame that damn Butler!

Colonel Mustard in the conservatory, with a candlestick... or, maybe Dr. John Hill is back!!! Anyone see anyone with fresh plastic surgery in River Oaks ??

Anne, yes. My mistake,

Is this a new book? I'll have to get a copy to see who the seductive banker is ... most of them I know are anything but...

In the late '50's, Valian's was the place to go after a UH home football game. Pizza was somewhat of a novelty in Houston at the time. The good ol' country boy I was dating back then used to order our pizza with "everything" on it. He hated anchovies, though, and would always pick them off and put them on my plate.

Hey Sub, Could you post the postcard? I do remember the frontier room, and seemed to me that the cedar room had deer heads on the wall???

Anyone know what happened to the Valian family? I was wondering if they owned it throughout it's history, or sold it sometime in between.

Silver, I hope you don't like anchovies....

Well, 24-Z, I might be able to help you. I went there frequently in its later years. It closed down around 1984. I went there several times in late high school and college. They had several rooms, one of which had a black or dark blue velvet sky with tiny white light bulb stars. In the entrance there was a sort of Italian night-time courtyard scene sort of like something out of the spaghetti scene in _Lady and the Tramp_. I remember it having a motto inside the entry that said "Pepe Roni: our pizza chef!"

Yes, it was on the east side of South Main and Holcombe, near the former Holiday Inn and across from the Shamrock Hilton. If you search this Historic Houston forum, you might be able to find some pictures. I don't remember the pizza being all that great, honestly. Kind of a thin, crispy thing which tasted a little like frozen pizza. I think we are remembering it so fondly because there weren't all that many pizza places back then, and the atmosphere was very interesting, especially to a small-town kid like me.

Hey Marmer,

Thanks for the memories. You must be a glutten for bad pizza, or just liked the atmosphere ( Ha..Ha!!) Seriously, I think we all remember things too fondly sometimes. I recently ( Thanksgiving ) offered a fond remembrance of my Aunt Delores's mouth - watering peach cobbler from my childhood. Everyone at our huge dinner table quit eating, and just stared at me. My sister suggested I begin taking Co-Q10, as everyone, even my dog wouldn't eat that stuff. I suppose it proves Horace Greely's belief that the truth is much less palatable than the legend. I always enjoy your posts, Happy New Year! - and thanks!

Vallian’s was a great “date place” in the mid 60’s, but it wasn’t my favorite place for pizza. That honor went to DePaul’s in the 1600 block of North Shepherd. It was pretty much a family joint, and I always saw people I knew there.

Vince DePaul was onboard the (I think) Battleship Tennessee when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was a brutish looking Italian, but who was very soft-spoken, as nice a fella as you could ever meet. His wife (can’t remember her name) was dynamite in a small package; a real spark plug. The son was a year or two behind me at Reagan.

They sold the business and their recipe to the new owners, but it was never as good as when the DePaul’s had it. Their sauce was so good you could drink it. The crust was thin, and the cheese was thick. I have never had as good a pizza since. They also had great lasagna, which they also sold in freezable packages.

From my earliest remembrances, Christie’s on South Main had a sign on the Main Street side of the building claiming, “We Serve Pizza Pie”. I don’t know if Vallian’s preceded them or not.

H2B, Thanks for jogging my memory. We're talking about the same place on Shepherd! I Remember the sign now, it read, "DePaul's" on top, and right below that, it had the words, "A New York Pizza". They were from New York. I couldn't remember their name, and had it confused with the DeShazo's - pretty close, but no cigar. My dad worked on their T.V. & he used to barter the T.V. repair out for pizza. You're right about his wife, man she could waite a table faster than a speeding bullet. It wasn't much of a place, and very small, but really homey. Their son was about my age, maybe a year or two younger ( Guess we're about the same age ), and he used to help out in there too. They were fine folks, and very nice to everyone. You're right about the pizza, and lasagna. Thanks for the memories!

Hmm, let's see-there was Craig's, Margo's La Mode (where I bought all my school clothes), Wild Pair and Mark's T-Shirts to name a few.

Good memories on the stores. I went there many times, but we all played hide and seek, and rolled down the hill while our mothers shopped. I couldn't tell you one store that was there, we were never interested in that. I do remember the bowling alley, only because it appeared to be in a basement, and no one else had one. Also, there was a really pretty girl that worked the counter. She gave me a free hotdog once, and told me I was handsome. Of course she was probably 21 years old ( To serve beer in those days ), and I was @ 12...uhhh....

Come to think of it, I did talk to someone who knew him, and described him as "a big, tall fellow." But he doesn't appear to be much taller than the rest of the band in the photo. Oh well.

Anybody remember the pianist, George Champion? He played a lot with Bennie Hess as well.

I agree, the photo is deceiving. Maybe the camera angle, who knows. You're way over my head with George Champion. I heard of the Champion Sisters, but never heard their music. Were George and Bennie local before they, "Made it"?

Great story.

Looking at the picture, I doubt Carl was 6'6".

Hey Don, Check out this link, http://governor.state.tx.us/music/tour/pioneers I had to look, and refresh my memory, but in this article it states that Utah Carl was 6'6" tall, and gives his full history. I called an old-timer ( Don't want to say his name without his permission ) who has lived in Alvin, Texas all his life, who knew Utah Carl. He confirmed that he was a tall man, with very big features. He chuckled, and stated that he never measured him, but did stand next to him mnay times. He stated that he would judge him to be about that tall, as he is 6'2" tall, and he stated that Utah Carl was a good bit taller than him, and was really wide, with big hands, and feet. I always wondered what happened to Carl Jr. and why there is very little info about Utah Carl. Interesting trivia!

Hello Everyone, I moved into the Tennison lofts a couple of months ago and have since become really interested in the history of this building. I've done lots of searching online, but there just doesn't seem to be much. I know it was originally a hotel built in 1922 to serve the train station, and that it was abandoned sometime in the 70s. I've searched for pictures and only seem to be able to find a few. Obviously it wasn't an "important" hotel like the Rice, but it is located in an intriguing little corner of downtown, and I wish there were more about it. Like interior photos, brochures, anything like that. So I was wondering if anyone has any more info on it. Anyone ever stay here when it was hotel? Any pics or recollections? here's a link to a pic:

http://sloanegallery...elTennison1.jpg

Hello Masoko,

You can call John Tennison at, 210-884-0990, or e - mail him at, tennison@texaspsychiatry.net He is the family historian. I'm sure he could direct you to plenty of sources. Good luck.

I couldn't find any TABC records (did they even served alcohol?) but the SOS/Texas Comptroller's records show that Valian's, Inc. was established July 15, 1955:

Entity Information:

VALIANS INC

PO BOX 6831

HOUSTON, TX 77265-6831

Status:

NO STANDING, FRANCHISE RESPONSIBILITY ENDED

Registered Agent:

GEORGE VALIAN

6935 SOUTH MAIN STREET

HOUSTON, TX

State of Formation:

TX

File Number:

0012706800

SOS Registration Date:

July 15, 1955

Taxpayer Number:

17412396297

Hey, Thanks for the research Sevfiv. I stand corrected on the spelling, only one,"L" in the name. We must have started going there right when they opened. We didn't get to go out to eat much, but in the '50's & early 60's I don't recall any restaurants ( Outside of those that were at hotels ) that we ate at that did serve alcohol - very strict back then. Blue laws, no alcohol in grocery stores or pharmacies, and no alcohol sales on Sunday at all, not even beer. I remember eating at the Shamrock, and in that restaurant, they served cocktails, etc. Funny how things change. I remember the fire - storm when they began talking about dropping the Blue Law! Did you find anything on the, "A New York Pizza" place? As I remember, it was on Shepherd Drive @ 20th - 26th streets.

Seems like they were the "original" pizza place in Houston, long before Shakeys, Pizza inn, Pizza Hut, etc. Do you remember/know when they started up? Must have been sometime in the '50s.

I did read someone's article, possibly Leon Hale, where it was stated that Vallian's was the original pizza restaurant in Houston. I remember going there in the 50's, but I'm not sure when they actually opened, or when they closed. My dad knew the Vallian's somehow, but not sure what the connection was. The atmosphere, and pizza was just super. The only other place I know that had pizza as good, was a little place on Shepherd Drive called, "A New York Pizza ". My dad knew these folks very well too. I believe their name was DeShazo, and yes, they were from New York. So if Vallian's was the first, it sure wasn't long before the other place popped up.

Here's a good pic of Utah Carl and the Gulf Coast Playboys in Channel 13 Studios. 1958?

Left to right: Herbie Treece, Utah Carl, Clem Kujawa, Sam Reece, Wiley Barkdull, and George Champion on piano.

Hey, Nice photo Don. I was eating at Goode Company Bar-B-Q's Armadillo Palace on Kirby, and noticed a pair of huge boots in the display case along the wall. I was shocked as I looked a little closer, and recognized them as a pair of Utah Carl's black & white eagle boots, with his name on the pull straps. I know these boots, as I had a pair made just like them in Acun~a. I asked the manager about them, and he stated that Jim Goode had bought them at an auction, and confirmed that they were Utah Carl's boots. I don't know what size they were, but they were huge. Carl was 6'6" from what I was told. I loved that show so much, I taught myself to play the guitar, just so I could sing that title song!!! I'm just a wanderer of the wasteland ....