Town & Country Mall History At 12850 Memorial Dr.

[Lowbrow]

Does anyone have a list of the stores that used to occupy the old Town and Country mall? My wife is trying to find the name of a shop that was there about 10 years ago that sold (among other things) beautifully hand-made jewelry boxes.

Any help is appreciated.

[liammclaren]

Lately I've been strangely nostalgic for the now gone Town and Country Mall, but I can't find any pictures of it anywhere online. Does anyone have any they wouldn't mind sharing?

[telwink]

Lately I've been strangely nostalgic for the now gone Town and Country Mall, but I can't find any pictures of it anywhere online. Does anyone have any they wouldn't mind sharing?

I vividly remember going to Town & Country Mall when I was really young. I wish I had some pictures. I remember going to Town & Country when it was a pretty happening place in the 80s. I was as young as 8 back then, and I remember going to KB Toys or something like that down on the lower level. I also remember when there was a McDonalds on the top (3rd) floor, and a coin-op merry-go-round up there.

Also, I remember in the early 90s, there used to be a comic book store on the second floor. Was there also a movie theater in there at some point? I remember seeing the original Transformers movie in the theater that was just outside of town and country mall back in 1987, but I seem to think there might have been another Town and Country theater back then.

Interestingly, I actually worked for a company called Wristwatch.com in the mid to late 1990s that was located in Town and Country Mall. This company was located on the 3rd floor, right next to Neiman Marcus, in the few years right before the mall completely tanked. Wristwatch.com occupied what used to be a bank of some kind up there, and the office was still routed with these extremely old-school looking vacume-tube communication .. uhh .. tubes. Whatever those were called. And the walls were brown color, brown carpet, etc. All in all it made me think of what the glory days of the mall must have been like - people walking around smoking cigarettes inside the mall, walking on shag carpeting, with 80s arcade videogames here and there.

My friends and I who worked for this company would walk through the floundering mall on our breaks, and go look at old shops that had long since closed. One of the neatest things was, where the McDonalds used to be, there were still those swivel-chairs and tables bolted into the concrete floor that were VERY indicative of an 80s McDonalds. It really took us back. In fact, whenever we went on a lunch break, we'd get our food to go (from einsteins over in the village, or that little french gourmet lunch place), and we'd say "lets go eat this at McDonalds), in other words the 80s chairs bolted into the ground.

I would also love to see some vintage pictures of Town and Country Mall - so do what you have to do people - blow the dust off your scanners and put something on the internet that truly doesn't exist yet. And if you have any Town and Country stories/memories, lets hear those too. Thanks in advance!

b

[ChannelTwoNews]

I took a bunch of pictures in Summer 2004 with my cheap digital camera at the time when the mall was vacated but the elevators and walkways were still open. They're all on another computer so it could be a while, but I definitely saved them.

[liammclaren]

That would be cool ChannelTwo

I too used to go there a lot in the mid 80s when I was a kid, we lived in Corpus at the time but my dad worked a lot in Houston so we would all come up here and go to Astroworld, the Dome, and evidently Town and Country Mall. I remember seeing Transco from one of the third floor windows next to where all those restaurants were (weren't there restaurants up there?)

[TheBez]

T&C had the best food court when they opened . . and the movie theatre in question was not part of the mall. The theatre was in a stand alone building but the hotel. (I saw one of the ghostbusters movies there ) I will admit I was a mall-rat and constantly hung out there. I recall the Dillards being very squished feeling and extremely early 80's colors (think fast times at ridgemont high decor).

The other thing I rember is that we were on the top level of the parking garage watching the concert to open the Tollway ( someone has to have pictures of that! )

[JFive]

Loews Theatre Town & Country

AMC Town & Country

Town & Country Mall Sign

[telwink]

Loews Theatre Town & Country

AMC Town & Country

Town & Country Mall Sign

Great photos, JFive. That answers the two movie theater question - no wonder we got confused over time; seems sort of funny to have two movie theaters right next to each other!

And TheBez, that is hilarious about the concert when the tollway opened there. Someone definitely has to have pictures of it - that's actually worth starting a new thread for. As for your mall-rat days, dig up some pictures if you can, I'm sure those don't exist anywhere on the internet; I'd have seen them by now. I'd love to see Town and Country in its glory days though.

And ChannelTwoNews, get that other computer and upload them for us . This is a Town and Country call to arms!

[liammclaren]

Were those 2 theaters right next to each other? I can't remember.

[telwink]

Were those 2 theaters right next to each other? I can't remember.

From what I remember, they were essentially right next to each other. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were both on the North-bound Beltway 8 feeder road, separated by one of a few Town and Country parking garages. I think the Lowes was closest to I-10, but still south of the hotel, while the AMC T&C 6 was a block or so south of the Lowes, but still on the northbound feeder road.

[Pumapayam]

From what I remember, they were essentially right next to each other. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were both on the North-bound Beltway 8 feeder road, separated by one of a few Town and Country parking garages. I think the Lowes was closest to I-10, but still south of the hotel, while the AMC T&C 6 was a block or so south of the Lowes, but still on the northbound feeder road.

The AMC 6 closed first and moved across 1-10 to create AMC 10 for the next decade or so.

It worked out okay, because they would never show the same movie anyways.

The Loews eventually bit the dust too, and with stadium seating being preferred, the AMC 10 was forgotten soon after.

[liammclaren]

What were the anchor stores in the mall? Of course I remember the Dillards, which WAS really 80s, but someone said Neiman Marcus? I don't remember that one. There was something about the interior of the mall in general that I really liked--

[Parrothead]

I remember Town & Country in the late 80s early 90s. I remember when Abercrombie & Fitch were OUTFITTERS--much like an upscale LL Bean or Orvis. I still have my parents' knife set that came from A&F. I also remember well that Sweeney's was the wonderful jeweler right outside the mall in the Village. I loved that store!

I was the store manager of Bombay Company for two years at T&C. In fact, I helped open our superstore there in 1992. It was a great time for us. Our store was consistently #1 in Houston until the Galleria store expanded into a superstore. T&C mall went into decline not too long after that, though, and I requested a transfer to the River Oaks store on W. Gray.

I remember the food court--or lack thereof...some french bakery thing with sandwiches and some of the best blueberry muffins in the morning. There was a Sbarro and an Arby's. There was also a Neuhaus Chocolatier downstairs, which was a really big deal. Some sort of nut & candy store downstairs, too, next to the Mrs. Field's cookies. As far as Anchor stores, oh my, there was of course Neiman-Marcus, and Marshall Field's, and I believe JC Penney. I loved Marshall Field's, but the best store was Neiman's, going up to the clearance center and eating at the cafe, too. Yum!

[Gary]

From what I remember, they were essentially right next to each other.

You are correct. They weren't more than 200' apart.

[telwink]

I remember the food court--or lack thereof...some french bakery thing with sandwiches and some of the best blueberry muffins in the morning. There was a Sbarro and an Arby's. There was also a Neuhaus Chocolatier downstairs, which was a really big deal. Some sort of nut & candy store downstairs, too, next to the Mrs. Field's cookies.

That was the 90s version of the "food court." These places certainly did exist, but in T&C Mall's strong days, there was actually a more comprehensive food court of fast-food-ish joints on the 3rd floor where the McDonalds was back in the mid 80s. I wish I remembered what else was up there, but I don't :/

[liammclaren]

I remember the Arby's, and the Mcdonald's. It seems like they were kind of back in a corner, if i remember correctly. So no one has any pics?

[LMG]

What were the anchor stores in the mall? Of course I remember the Dillards, which WAS really 80s, but someone said Neiman Marcus? I don't remember that one. There was something about the interior of the mall in general that I really liked--

Palais Royal was one of the anchor stores. I have a friend who was the manager of the shoe department in the early 70's.

[telwink]

Palais Royal was one of the anchor stores. I have a friend who was the manager of the shoe department in the early 70's.

Call your friend, and tell him/her to call his old boss to see if he or she has any photos of Town and Country Mall in the 70s

[Pumapayam]

What were the anchor stores in the mall? Of course I remember the Dillards, which WAS really 80s, but someone said Neiman Marcus? I don't remember that one. There was something about the interior of the mall in general that I really liked--

Go to deadmalls.com and look at the information on T&C Mall.

I remember the Arby's, and the Mcdonald's. It seems like they were kind of back in a corner, if i remember correctly. So no one has any pics?

I might have some picture of 12 and Under at the play place.

[TxDave]

Here are some exterior shots I saved from this site.

Sorry I don't have any interior pics. I hope someone has some - the tent like roof was pretty unique.

[Otis Fantastic]

I remember the food court--or lack thereof...some french bakery thing with sandwiches and some of the best blueberry muffins in the morning. There was a Sbarro and an Arby's. There was also a Neuhaus Chocolatier downstairs, which was a really big deal. Some sort of nut & candy store downstairs, too, next to the Mrs. Field's cookies. As far as Anchor stores, oh my, there was of course Neiman-Marcus, and Marshall Field's, and I believe JC Penney. I loved Marshall Field's, but the best store was Neiman's, going up to the clearance center and eating at the cafe, too. Yum!

I was just talking to a friend on the phone and we started talking about T&C Mall. I worked at Neuhaus Chocolates from 1989-90 and also at Babbages computer store from 90-92. Neuhaus was a pretty cool place to work actually. I would kill for some pictures of the mall from back then. I lived right across the street near the Bert Wheelers (is it still there?)

I remember when it opened...it didn't actually have any elevators. They were added later and made a big deal of it. Scotty from Star Trek came and opened them up. I spent most of my time at Tilt when it opened, or the arcade outside the mall, across the street from Demaris BBQ. Forget the name of it though. I wish digital cameras were around back then:(

[memebag]

T&C was one of the malls where I was asked to stop video taping. In the early 90s I started a project to video tape all of the malls in Houston. Turns out they don't like that.

[mls1202]

I was just talking to a friend on the phone and we started talking about T&C Mall. I worked at Neuhaus Chocolates from 1989-90 and also at Babbages computer store from 90-92. Neuhaus was a pretty cool place to work actually. I would kill for some pictures of the mall from back then. I lived right across the street near the Bert Wheelers (is it still there?)

I remember when it opened...it didn't actually have any elevators. They were added later and made a big deal of it. Scotty from Star Trek came and opened them up. I spent most of my time at Tilt when it opened, or the arcade outside the mall, across the street from Demaris BBQ. Forget the name of it though. I wish digital cameras were around back then:(

Wow, Babbages! I remember that store. Used to be the best place to go to get computer games and such. They used to have designated sections for Amiga, Apple, Commodore, and in the back in a dark corner was IBM PC games which looked horrible in CGA next to the others...what a trip down memory lane.

[Otis Fantastic]

Wow, Babbages! I remember that store. Used to be the best place to go to get computer games and such. They used to have designated sections for Amiga, Apple, Commodore, and in the back in a dark corner was IBM PC games which looked horrible in CGA next to the others...what a trip down memory lane.

I miss working at both places. When I started there is was dominated by computers, they even had a small section for Atari ST/800 games. But by the time I left it was mostly console games. I worked at the Galleria store for the last few months before I went to college, but I heard the T&C Babbages closed and became a rug store? Kind of quit going to Town and Country after I stopped working there, but I basically grew up in it.

We knew the security guard who worked late (can't remember his name unfortunately) but he owuld let us ride or bikes or roller blade around the mall after all the stores had closed. That was fantastic.

[texasdago]

...and before Dillard's was Dillard's, it was Joske's. In fact, the Joske's store was part of the original Town & Country Village and eventually the mall was built adjacent to it.

[Subdude]

I remember Town & Country in the late 80s early 90s. I remember when Abercrombie & Fitch were OUTFITTERS--much like an upscale LL Bean or Orvis. I still have my parents' knife set that came from A&F. I also remember well that Sweeney's was the wonderful jeweler right outside the mall in the Village. I loved that store!

That's right. I remember buying a big picnic basket and a woolen blanket at Abercrombie. Their image was sort of the high-end, old world style of outdoor equipment. Talk about repositioning!

For a long time I would go out of my way to go to T&C. You could park in a garage close to the mall, and the stores themselves were never that crowded, even at Christmas. Of course, that was their downfall in the long run.

[Scott08]

I was a phone installer for ATT when the mall was built, would have been around '79-'81 I reckon. It was actually very modern for its time, I know our telco facilities were very well designed with a main room outside the Beltway entrance and satellite telco rooms all over the mall service corridors with conduits placed to each suite. It was so hectic leading up to the mall opening that we would come in incognito carrying all our tools and supplies in canvas bags. If the store personnel spotted you as a telco employee you would be hounded as everyone was waiting for their service in the same time frame. Parts of the previous Town and Country Village were torn down for the mall, the Neiman's and Joske's were already there. Ironic that the the "village" has been mostly rebuilt and has been successful in its newest incarnation. Some of it, like the James Coney Island, is original. I always thought it was incredibly stupid to put in another mall one exit down from Memorial City. The official line of T and C at the time was that their stores would be more upscale, but looks like MC won out.

[Zippy]

I worked at Sam Goody's (2nd floor) in the early 90's while in high school.. The place was already going downhill.. Pretty much just Arby's and McDonalds were left and some bakery place as far as food places..

Sam Goody had a 2nd store on the 3rd floor as well.. We would call up there from time to time if we didn't have the tape/cd a customer might be looking for.

I remember working Halloween day and parents would take their kids there to trick or treat.. it seemed odd..

The security always seemed to be a bit.. "overzealous".. I remember having lunch in my car with the engine running in the parking garage.. Mid-summer and probably about 95 outside, so A/C was necessary.. anyway.. this guy came by in his golf cart and told me to turn the car off.. my exhaust wasn't even as noisy as those fart cans on ricer hondas are these days..

Anyway.. no pics.. sorry.. Just reminiscing..

Edit: Oh yeah.. those theaters were on the east side of the (now) tollway.. within walking distance to eachother.. both faced the same way.. I saw many a movie there.. but can't remember which..

[IronTiger]

The pictures posted with the anchor facades don't seem to work. Does anyone have a floorplan of the mall?

[IronTiger]

I've been looking for history on T&C Mall. I looked on some older thread here, Wikipedia, DeadMalls, and a few other places. From what I heard, it was an unrenovated place that never thrived due to poor location. I also heard that it had a canvas, tent-like roof. Anyone have pictures/floorplan descriptions/stories/etc.?