msteele6

Maybe Napoleon's Retreat at the West Point Apartments??

I remember at least three Hamburger by Gourmet locations, of which I regularly patronized two, the one on Kirby and the one on Alabama next to Saint Thomas. There was a third one on Fondren (Hillcroft?) maybe more. Don't really remember the one one on Park Place which is odd since I lived and frequented that area until the 1980's, it must not have lasted long. They've been closed for quite a while, however, I read somewhere on this site that they had reopened down south somewhere (Clear Lake?). One of my all time favorites, I always ordered the number one with barbecue and fries.

Don't really remember the donut shop, however, I vaguely remember the grocery store at Lombardy, I knew some folks that lived very close by there on Godwin. The bar at the intersection of Telephone and Lawndale was a landmark for many years in Houston as that intersection was at one time the main cut-off for people heading to Galveston via Old Galveston Road, it was called Lorino's the last time I remember (or Local Charm maybe), I read an article in the Chronicle that stated that it was the oldest operating bar in the city at the time of the article, don't know if it's still open. The little neighborhood bounded by the freeway, Lombardy and Telephone was a predominately Italian neighborhood at one time.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing a man named Grady Gaines. He mentioned playing the Club Matinee with Little Richard. It might behoove you to attempt to interview him as he might have further information on the club. The interview date was 11/3/15, I think it was on the program named "Texas Time" at approximately 1:00.

If she was at Bonnie's (the Foundry, the Beef and Barrel, Bonnie's Beef and Barrel ) it wasn't Bob Robertson's. Bob Robertson's was inside of Wayside (next to Queen of Peace). Bonnie's is outside of Griggs, you can't see that far.

I was working in the construction business in the mid '80's and when the S & L's went busted (after de-regulation allowed them to turn from places where people saved money to make big purchases like homes, into casinos) that busiuness tanked incredibly quickly. I well remember speculative building projects setting empty for years afterward. The one that always comes to my mind was the Tang CIty Mall on South Main, an attractive Chinese themed mall that I can never remember having a tenant. The mall itself was finally demolished a few years ago. Of course, that wasn't the only speculative building project that tanked. In the mid '80's you could drive all over town and see building after building advertizing for tenants, usually to no avail. At about that time (1984?) I was looking to buy a house and attended several auctions for foreclosed properties, the most fertile area was out past what is now Beltway 8 in an area called Mission Bend. You could drive through that neighborhood and see multiple houses on every block that had been foreclosed on. Maybe de-regulation isn't the answer to every problem.

I know nothing about Club Matinee, however, I was surfing the net today and came across an article in Wikipedia about Little Richard. As I was reading I came across a reference to Little Richard playing at Club Matinee in Houston. It reminded me of this thread and I just thought I would mention it. There were two references given and they might be something you might want to consult.

My parents bought a 1967 Pontiac Le Mans from Frizzells. I believe that Frizzell's original dealership was on Harrisburg across from the old Sears and Roebuck at Harrisburg and Wayside.

There was a club at Gulfgate that was underground (not a part of the bowling alley). It was located right next to the flagpole next to Joske's. This topic was brought up in the section on the East End under the topic "Old Gulfgate Mall". There is a picture there showing the area in which the club was located.

I'm 65 and somewhat handicapped. I walked from the tram to the courthouse, found out it was the wrong courthouse, walked to the correct courthouse and to the tram again and survived quite nicely. Of course, some people are just constitutionally against public transport (insurance companies, car dealerships, gasoline stations owners) but I think that I have my big boy pants sufficiently gird about me to make this dangerous trek.

In regards to the track along Holmes, I used to drive that way quite a bit and I have seen only one of the Metro trains using it, however, I did see one.

The Thornhill's was in a little center on the south side of Winkler, just before it runs into Woodridge, the address was 320 Winkler.

aggieengineer, There was a Paul and Bill's meat market near the intersection of Griggs Road and Redwood Street, just north of the Gulf Freeway. I was brought up in the small neighborhood just to the west of Griggs Road (Marlo Place) and frequently walked to the market back in the '50's and early '60's. There was an open field just adjacent to it which has become an Hispanic social venue, I believe. Behind it were the Redwood Apartments, government subsidized housing which is still there. Across Griggs Road (and the railrod tracks) was Pecan Park. I think that the building is still there but I don't know what business is housed there.

Not really a restaurant but rather a cafeteria but I remember a chain of cafeterias called Thornhill's. The one I went to most often was at Palm Center, but as I recall, there was also one near Gulfgate on Winkler near the corner of Woodridge. The thing I most remember was their conveyor belt. It was set up in such a way that you put your tray with the dirty dishes on it and the conveyor belt took those dishes back to the dish washing area thus eliminating the need for people to pick up the dirty dishes and carry them back to the washing area. There were several openings along the length of the mostly enclosed conveyor which served the function of stations in which you could deposit your dishes. Can't remember anything about the food.

One of my least favorite intersections in the city. The redevelopment of this area seems to me to be essential to the redevelopment of Riverside, one of my favorite neighborhoods, therefore, I hope it does well. Also essential to Riverside's future is the intersection at OST and Calhoun (also Scott @ MacGregor). It used to be that every time I drove past that intersection there seemed to be some sort of illicit transaction going on, now there seems to be a barbeque shop that is making a legitimate business at OST and Calhoun. I hope that it all works out since there are so many architectural gems in the old Riverside neighborhood.

ArchMemoH, I see what happened, the list they gave you shows #636 to be 6901 Bellfort @ Wayside, actually 6901 Bellfort is at Nunn street (at least according to MapQuest), just across the railroad tracks from Wayside. I don't really remember the one at Wayside, even though I used to go that way quite a bit, was there one there as well?

No, 636 is 6901 Bellfort @ Wayside, near the old bowling alley.

ArchMemoH, i don't see the one at Bellfort @ Nunn, maybe the #626? I still go past that location occassionally and the building is still there, although the last time I went by there seemed to be some activity.

Interesting to see the list of former Jack in the Boxes. It confirms for me what I had always thought. the Jack in the Box on the corner of South Park (now Martin Luther King) and Browncroft was the first one in Houston. It was right across from Palms Center and adjacent to the old Montgomery Wards store. Reading through this old topic brings to mind a few I remember as a kid (and not so much). The first one was Thornhills cafeteria. I remember at least two of them, one at Palm Center and one in a little center not far from Gulfgate, across from Woodridge Baptist Church. They had a conveyor belt that took the dirty dishes back to the dishwasher when you finished your meal. We would put our tray on the belt and then run along to the various openings to check on their progress. The second one is the Hamburgers by Gourmet, I can still taste the burgers I got from that place, that's the one I still really miss. I used to patronize at least three of them at various times, mostly the one on Kirby but also the one next to Saint Thomas. Finally, someone mentioned the Beef and Bun on Fuqua and wondered if it was still open, I am glad to report that they are still open and I was there as late as last week, still great BBQ.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the next four years, however, Mr. Patrick's history seems to indicate that he may find governing to be a less engaging activity than rabble rousing (his real area of expertise) and that is a situation in which a politician may well find himself in hot water not entirely of his own creation, e.g. the late Presidency of Mr. G.W. Bush and his eminence grise Mr. Cheney.

No thoughts on Mr. Abbott, however, with respect to Mr. Patrick (nee Goeb), I would expect his tenure as Lieutenant Governor to end as many of his other enterprises have ended, in a debacle. His first appearance in Houston, as a television sportscaster was greeted by everyone I knew, with disdain. He lasted only a short time in that capacity. His next venture, a string of sports bars, ended in 1986 with a bankruptcy and his attempted suicide. Since that time he has found his niche as a conservative commentator, a vocation for which he does seem well qualified, a bombastic personality coupled with a meager grasp of fact and an utter contempt for truth. Given these characteristics, I would expect that he would rely on his aides to do the actual work of Lieutenant Governor (the most powerful position in the Texas government) and they will, I fear, at some point use their position to enrich themselves, leaving Mr. Patrick to bear the consequences. JMO

I was never in the place but I heard stories about the Four Palms on Telephone Road (which is funny because I was in many other joints on Telephone Road). If I'm not mistaken it was so notorious it actually made the newspapers at one time. Subdude, sorry, I didn't notice your post already mentioning the Four Palms.

I believe that there was another Chuck Wagon (Chuck Shack?) at 75th and Lawndale. It was next to the theater or possibly just across the street, at one time there were two hamburger joints almost straight across the street from each other at that corner (or rather just up 75th Street towards Mason Park from that corner) one of which is still there, having morphed into a Mexican food restaraunt if I'm not mistaken. I can attest to the fact that Martini's Hardware has been on the same site since the '50's. As far as traffic being bad on Lawndale, that would be before my time, however, I do believe that Lawndale was once an important route to Galveston (via Old Galveston Road) and that might have caused some heavy traffic.

I also remember a bowling alley on Harrisburg, don't know what the original name was. It's long gone now but turned into a night club called "Soul World" I believe. With the changing demographics of the area it eventually became known as "Latin Soul World" if that makes any sense. I was only in it a couple of times since I lived much closer to the Tropicana on Lawndale but thought I'd mention it in the thread.