Pin Oak Stables On South Post Oak Rd.

[HouNative56]

Does anyone re member when the POS opened and closed (years)? They were located @ the SEC of today's 610 and 59, just north of Bellaire. When they were demolished, I retrieved a metal post from a railing surrounding the horse ring. Also, in the late 1970's, Ranch 74 Beef had an outlet there (the stables were already gone). Thanks for responding!

[VicMan]

Pin Oak Middle School opened in 2002, so the stables vanished before construction began.

[sevfiv]

not a whole lot about the stables - there is much more publicity around the shows.

According to the Houston Freeways book, the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show began in 1945, and redevelopment began on the Abercrombie family's land where the stables were in the late 80s (there is a neat picture of the area from the late 40s in the book - the ebook is located here - Chapter 5 - "The Loops").

there are also some pictures on the Charity Show's site: http://pinoak.org/ShowInfo/AboutShow.html

and aerials from Bob Bailey's collection: http://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/dmr_resul...p;Submit=Submit

the only other information about the Stables i could find was from the Chronicle, which gives a run-down of the new development of parts of the land (the Home Depot, etc) in this 1993 article,

and this article from 1992 which mentions an event at the stables (?).

so no definite dates, but looks like early 1940s to late 1980s.

[misplaced txgirl]

i remember the big brick barn at the pin oak stables...i also remember it burned down around 81-82 i have 3 bricks from the old barn when it was torn down...does anyone have a picture of the brick barn or the inside? all the other barns were wooden barns used for horseshows that were taken down one by one the pin oak charity show lost some of its magic when it moved out to the astroarena

[NenaE]

I went to a horse show at the original location with my grandmother in the 1970's. Still have the program/magazine. Will try to look it up for more info. Some of the structures & wooden fence stood on the site long after the show relocated. Remember the large Ranch 74 Beef sign too. Lived close by it for some years.

[enviromain]

Does anyone re member when the POS opened and closed (years)? They were located @ the SEC of today's 610 and 59, just north of Bellaire. When they were demolished, I retrieved a metal post from a railing surrounding the horse ring. Also, in the late 1970's, Ranch 74 Beef had an outlet there (the stables were already gone). Thanks for responding!

I experienced my first horse ride there. I remember a big red barn there too. I'll look for some pics on this. Thanks for the memory blast!

Peace,

EnviroMain

Does anyone re member when the POS opened and closed (years)? They were located @ the SEC of today's 610 and 59, just north of Bellaire. When they were demolished, I retrieved a metal post from a railing surrounding the horse ring. Also, in the late 1970's, Ranch 74 Beef had an outlet there (the stables were already gone). Thanks for responding!

And what was the name of the old stables on Westheimer (west side)? I rode a couple of times out there too sometime in the 70's. Does anyone have a picture of that?

[hounative]

I remember the stables and the 74 logo. I also remember the Sage home just North across the freeway interchange on Braeswood. And, I grew up near Westbury Square, which was a great place to visit.

[Earlydays]

My wife to-be and I went to the Charity Horse Show in 1966 on a date.......

[Highrise Tower]

I recently learned about this place. Very cool history! It was founded by James Smither Abercrombie and his daughter Josephine Abercrombie.

https://www.pinoak.org/about-pin-oak/our-history/

In 1948, Pin Oak began a long-term commitment to raise funds to construct, and later support, Texas Children’s Hospital, which opened in Houston in 1954.

During the next three decades, “Mr. Jim” Abercrombie, Leopold Meyer, the Junior League and a group of dedicated Houstonians established Pin Oak as one of the preeminent horse shows in the nation, attracting as many as 60,000 visitors, and enabling the Association to contribute millions to worthy causes.

I found some striking aerials in the SMU Digital Collections. wow!

Josephine Abercrombie and her horse:

[Highrise Tower]

From a 1950 Sanborn map:

Interesting to see the same stretch of road being called two different things.  South Post Oak Road in Houston and North Post Oak Road in Bellaire.

Lots of barns and even two different riding rings.  There is a few dwelling homes on site with one large enough to be a big mansion.  I wonder if this was where the Abercrombies lived?  

Closer in:

 

[Highrise Tower]

Does anyone know what was located directly across the street from Pin Oak Stables?

It looks like a school building or a church.

A photo taken from earlier in the thread.

Here's another Pin Oak Stables aerial photo I found! Very cool!!  In this photo, you have another view of the buildings across the street.

I believe this photo is dated early into the Pin Oak Stables development.  It doesn't appear to be fully built.

[NenaE]

Nice aerial pics! The direction is NE in the first photo. It looks like downtown Houston is in the background.

Too bad the 610 Loop West took out the big estate. Who lived there? I'd like to know, too.