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Joske's Department Stores


Willsatx

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Two of my more vivid memories of Joskees. At their Gulfgate location the store had three floors. It's first floor was really the same level as the basement for the rest of the stores. There was a hill that had a sidewalk that ran from the bowling alley entrance and the Picadilly reasturant towards Joskees looping around the hill and down to the lower level. As kids we would ride our bikes down the hill as fast as we dared and try not to hit the front of Joskees. Well a friends brother went a little to fast, couldn't pull it out and crashed through the front plate glass window of the store. He got cut up pretty good. The second story was one my mother always told me about the Joskees in San Antonio. To this day if you look at the live.maps overhead view of what is now Dillards at the Riverwalk Mall you will see that the store is actually built around a small Catholic Church and is on three sides of the church property. The story was when Joskees built the store they aquired all the land except the churches and the church refused to sell. I would link to the picture but this site does not allow it.

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Two of my more vivid memories of Joskees. At their Gulfgate location the store had three floors. It's first floor was really the same level as the basement for the rest of the stores. There was a hill that had a sidewalk that ran from the bowling alley entrance and the Picadilly reasturant towards Joskees looping around the hill and down to the lower level. As kids we would ride our bikes down the hill as fast as we dared and try not to hit the front of Joskees. Well a friends brother went a little to fast, couldn't pull it out and crashed through the front plate glass window of the store. He got cut up pretty good. The second story was one my mother always told me about the Joskees in San Antonio. To this day if you look at the live.maps overhead view of what is now Dillards at the Riverwalk Mall you will see that the store is actually built around a small Catholic Church and is on three sides of the church property. The story was when Joskees built the store they aquired all the land except the churches and the church refused to sell. I would link to the picture but this site does not allow it.

Be sure to look at similar topics I think its

1. Gulfgate area 2. Past structures of East End 3. 1970 Houston Gulfgate. Telephone Road. Too many to name now. Merge would be a good idea somehow?

In any case, there is a good aerial photo of the church next door to Joske's. There is even one of the old Winkler Drive-In we didnt even know existed (us young-uns) anyway. There is a pic where the 610 frwy is not even there. Woah!

Once I was on my lunch break at Guldgate went in to Joskes & found an emptied wallet just had credit cards. No I was too young to even consider trying something. Someone had already grabbed all the $ and whatever. Joske's was more of an adult store. Kids with long hair & bell bottoms didnt fit in. :blush:

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Two of my more vivid memories of Joskees. At their Gulfgate location the store had three floors. It's first floor was really the same level as the basement for the rest of the stores. There was a hill that had a sidewalk that ran from the bowling alley entrance and the Picadilly reasturant towards Joskees looping around the hill and down to the lower level. As kids we would ride our bikes down the hill as fast as we dared and try not to hit the front of Joskees. Well a friends brother went a little to fast, couldn't pull it out and crashed through the front plate glass window of the store. He got cut up pretty good. The second story was one my mother always told me about the Joskees in San Antonio. To this day if you look at the live.maps overhead view of what is now Dillards at the Riverwalk Mall you will see that the store is actually built around a small Catholic Church and is on three sides of the church property. The story was when Joskees built the store they aquired all the land except the churches and the church refused to sell. I would link to the picture but this site does not allow it.

Back in the day my family refered to is as St. Joskes . . . :D

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In any case, there is a good aerial photo of the church next door to Joske's. There is even one of the old Winkler Drive-In we didnt even know existed (us young-uns) anyway. There is a pic where the 610 frwy is not even there. Woah!

The Joskees I'm refering to in referance to the church is in San Antonio. The store was built around the church when the church refused to sell their property.

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The Joskees I'm refering to in referance to the church is in San Antonio. The store was built around the church when the church refused to sell their property.

joskes_sa.jpg

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from wiki so take it with a grain of salt

Baybrook Mall, Friendswood, Texas (opened 1978, became Dillard's 1987, replaced 2002; 135,000 sq. ft.)

Greenspoint Mall, Houston, Texas (became Dillard's 1987; 140,000 sq. ft.)

Gulfgate Mall, Houston, Texas (opened 1956, became Dillard's 1987, closed 1997; 200,000 sq. ft.)

Northline Mall, Houston, Texas (opened 1965, closed 1987; 160,000 sq. ft. )

Post Oak (freestanding), Houston, Texas (opened 1963, became Dillard's 1987; 300,000 sq. ft.)

Town & Country Mall, Houston, Texas (opened 1983, became Dillard's 1987, closed 2003 with Memorial City store opening; 200,000 sq. ft.)

Westwood Mall (Houston, Texas), Houston, Texas (opened 1975, became Dillard's 1987, closed 1998; 150,000 sq. ft.)

Willowbrook Mall, Houston, Texas (opened 1981, became Dillard's 1987, sold to Lord & Taylor 1997 [closed 2004] and moved to larger space vacated by Macy's; 120,000 sq. ft.)

Pasadena Town Square, Pasadena, Texas (opened 1982, became Dillard's 1987, closed 2006; 120,000 sq. ft.)

Over here in Beaumont, Joske's was one of the three "anchor" stores of Parkdale Mall when it opened in 1973. Later it became Dillard's, then it changed to Foley's, and now it's Macy's. Did Macy's "buy out" Joske's, Dillard's, and Foley's?

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Over here in Beaumont, Joske's was one of the three "anchor" stores of Parkdale Mall when it opened in 1973. Later it became Dillard's, then it changed to Foley's, and now it's Macy's. Did Macy's "buy out" Joske's, Dillard's, and Foley's?

Macy's "bought out" several regional department store chains such as Foley's, Robinson's/May, Hecht's, etc. and rebranded them all as Macy's. Dillard's is a separate company.

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Macy's "bought out" several regional department store chains such as Foley's, Robinson's/May, Hecht's, etc. and rebranded them all as Macy's. Dillard's is a separate company.

It's hard for me to keep up with all of these mergers and buy outs. Who knows? Maybe someday every store will be Wal-Mart.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

I grew up close to Northline Mall and my aunt worked at the Joskes. I remember going to the restaurant, but I don't remember specific details about the decor. Were they all like the Bamboo Room at Gulfgate? What I do remember is that it was magical!

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  • 8 months later...
But they're going to restore the building and try to attract upscale retail and restaurants, right?

Old Joske's building sold, downtown Dillard's to close

Web Posted: 06/05/2008 01:53 PM CDT

By Express-News Staff

New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., the owner of Rivercenter Mall since 2005, said today that it has purchased the historic Joske's building from Dillard's Inc. and plans to revitalize the landmark property.

Ashkenazy will begin redevelopment work this summer that includes converting the 500,000-square-foot building into a high-end restaurant called Fogo de Chao and adding new retail to the property.

"Negotiations between Dillard

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  • 7 months later...
Joskes_1956.jpg

Good article on Joskes - Gulfgate. Thnx, isuredid. I also remember the brown octogan floor tiles leading into the Joske's from the mall that someone mentions above. It's amazing, the details that the mind recalls. ^_^ One post in this thread (brerrabbit) talks about the "mountain" slope on the east side...was this land originally a little hilly, or was it flat (like everything else), and the builders created the illusion using the dirt dug out from the underground tunnels? I'm thinking the latter.

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during high school my friends and i would workat the post oak store doing inventory for a week. i eventually got a regular job in the linen dept for a couple of summers and christmas while i was in college. i remember at one of the EOM's, the stock boy was bringing out more towels for the sale and he was attacked by a bunch of women who started grabbing for the towels as soon as he walked out of the stock room. he was actually knocked down and had to bandaged up and sent home.

i remember when they added the 4th floor to the post oak store. notice how the escalator is narrower than to the other floors. you used to be able to notice the color difference on the outside facade too.

joske's houston was not part of joske's texas. people would try to return items bought in san antonio to the houston store and we weren't allowed to accept them. but once doing inventory, i found an item with a foley's tag - go figure.

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  • 2 years later...

http://jimmywilliamson.com/Cited%20Cases/20Allied%20Stores%20of%20Texas%20Inc%20v%20Gulfgate%20Joint%20Venture.pdf

interesting...talks about the specially designed flood gate doors at Joske's. Looks like failure to maintain drainage was the flood culprit, not the design, itself. Graham actually testified.

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http://jimmywilliamson.com/Cited%20Cases/20Allied%20Stores%20of%20Texas%20Inc%20v%20Gulfgate%20Joint%20Venture.pdf

interesting...talks about the specially designed flood gate doors at Joske's. Looks like failure to maintain drainage was the flood culprit, not the design, itself. Graham actually testified.

I remember those gates back there. In later years, when Joske's was still "Joske's", I liked to park on the back side and go in the basement because the parking lot was less crowded. I always felt kinda claustrophobic though, when walking that short distance between the opening of the 'gates' and the actual store doors.

In reading that court document and the 1975 flood date, I thought that might have been the time an Astros game was called because of rain. Not because the dome flooded but because all the roads around the dome were flooded and no one could get TO the game. Coaches, players, fans, everyone was affected. But, it seems that the rainout game was in 1976.

I do remember a fantastic flood `somewhere` around that time frame but not the exact date. During those years I worked downtown, near the M&M Building (UHD now) on the bayou. We watched out our 8th floor windows as cars parked in the lot right on the bayou slowly slid down the banks and disappeared into the water.

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  • 9 years later...

Researching the life of Helen Corbitt who was restaurant managers for Joske's in Houston,--must have been the downtown store in the late 40s. She only worked there briefly. Does anyone have any helpful information about the restaurant or Corbitt's tenure?

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1 hour ago, Judy Alter said:

Researching the life of Helen Corbitt who was restaurant managers for Joske's in Houston,--must have been the downtown store in the late 40s. She only worked there briefly. Does anyone have any helpful information about the restaurant or Corbitt's tenure?

 

I had personally never heard of her. Searched the Chronicle Archives and was able to find lots about her. The restaurant was named "The Garden Room" and featured the first fully electric kitchen in the South! She was also manager of the Palomino Bar (another dining room), and the Gourmet Shop. It seems she was there from the grand opening of the Houston Joske's (October 25, 1948).

 

Quote

"The Gourmet Shop, where domestic and imported delicacies, exclusive lines of soups, preserves, and vegetables, cheese and candies will be sold.

 

The Garden Room is reached from a sunken garden of flowers and shrubs with contemporary Georgian decorations off the third floor. The dining space carries a gardenia and magnolia motif in the rug, walls and in-between treatments.

 

The Palomino Bar is just what the name implies a-a food counter in rustic, ranch-like atmosphere, where a snack can be gotten quickly. Over the bar is a valance of cutouts of Palomino ponies, saddles, and spurs. Stools and counter are in Palomino colors."

 

In 1950 she prepared lunch for the Duke of Windsor when he visited Houston, by Christmas they were selling items branded with her name. By 1951 she had been promoted to "Food Service Director". She was still at Joske's in June of 1951, but left sometime later that year for the Driskill Hotel in Austin. 

 

I can't post the photos here because of Copyright uncertainty, however if you can get access to the microfilm there are some great photos of Joske's from their grand opening.

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3 hours ago, Judy Alter said:

Researching the life of Helen Corbitt who was restaurant managers for Joske's in Houston,--must have been the downtown store in the late 40s. She only worked there briefly. Does anyone have any helpful information about the restaurant or Corbitt's tenure?

My Grandmother had a ton of Helen Corbitt cookbooks.

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The best thing I remember about Joske's was their One Day End of the Month Clearance Sales back in the 70s and 80s. You could find great stuff for ridiculously low prices. My favorite example was the very good looking dressy sport coat I bought for ten dollars. The original price was 75 dollars. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/10/2007 at 8:57 PM, brerrabbit said:

Two of my more vivid memories of Joskees. At their Gulfgate location the store had three floors. It's first floor was really the same level as the basement for the rest of the stores. There was a hill that had a sidewalk that ran from the bowling alley entrance and the Picadilly reasturant towards Joskees looping around the hill and down to the lower level. As kids we would ride our bikes down the hill as fast as we dared and try not to hit the front of Joskees. Well a friends brother went a little to fast, couldn't pull it out and crashed through the front plate glass window of the store. He got cut up pretty good. The second story was one my mother always told me about the Joskees in San Antonio. To this day if you look at the live.maps overhead view of what is now Dillards at the Riverwalk Mall you will see that the store is actually built around a small Catholic Church and is on three sides of the church property. The story was when Joskees built the store they aquired all the land except the churches and the church refused to sell. I would link to the picture but this site does not allow it.

Tropicana bowling alley

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  • The title was changed to Joske's Department Stores

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