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Foley's Department Stores


IronTiger

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I think it was across from the beauty shop or maybe just a little to the right when you came out of the beauty shop.

I don't know where that would have been...BTW- What did the Pasadena Foley's look like, originally? It always had those palms and arches when I went there, like the one at Almeda. Like I said, it was very late '60's, more likely early 70's when I shopped there. The store had actually been there for quite a while, I was surprised to find out.

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I don't know where that would have been...BTW- What did the Pasadena Foley's look like, originally? It always had those palms and arches when I went there, like the one at Almeda. Like I said, it was very late '60's, more likely early 70's when I shopped there. The store had actually been there for quite a while, I was surprised to find out.

The mall opened in 1982, before that if I remember right the back of the store looked like the front that faces Southmore, the sides remained the same they just attached a mall to the back of the store.

joe

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The mall opened in 1982, before that if I remember right the back of the store looked like the front that faces Southmore, the sides remained the same they just attached a mall to the back of the store.

joe

I didn't use the back entrance much, so I don't remember what it looked like. You are right about them attaching a mall to the back. I can't remember if an entrance existed already or if they knocked out a wall. There was another entrance in the back, where the budget department was and I think there was a public street by the back parking lot. It seems like they took part of that street and put the mall on it. Maybe there was more than 1 street involved. My memory just isn't that clear about the streets. I can't remember the details of what the front entrance looked like when it opened, I was too young. I do know this, somebody told me that Foley's Pasadena had shopping carts when they first opened. When I think of shopping carts I think of Walmart and Target.

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I didn't use the back entrance much, so I don't remember what it looked like. You are right about them attaching a mall to the back. I can't remember if an entrance existed already or if they knocked out a wall. There was another entrance in the back, where the budget department was and I think there was a public street by the back parking lot. It seems like they took part of that street and put the mall on it. Maybe there was more than 1 street involved. My memory just isn't that clear about the streets. I can't remember the details of what the front entrance looked like when it opened, I was too young. I do know this, somebody told me that Foley's Pasadena had shopping carts when they first opened. When I think of shopping carts I think of Walmart and Target.

I posted some pics of the ground-breaking ceremonies, but you couldn't see the bldg. Arches were featured on the billboard, so it may have always had that style. But it looks very 1960's to me, the pics look more like the 1950's. There was a neighborhood originally where the bldg. was constructed. I can remember when the back (North) entrance had a huge parking lot & empty field behind it.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...mp;#entry312148

see post #34, Bob Bailey pics

I remember on the back street there was some of those barrack-looking houses, looked like military houses, stood for many yrs. before being removed.

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I posted some pics of the ground-breaking ceremonies, but you couldn't see the bldg. Arches were featured on the billboard, so it may have always had that style. But it looks very 1960's to me, the pics look more like the 1950's. There was a neighborhood originally where the bldg. was constructed. I can remember when the back (North) entrance had a huge parking lot & empty field behind it.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...mp;#entry312148

see post #34, Bob Bailey pics

I remember on the back street there was some of those barrack-looking houses, looked like military houses, stood for many yrs. before being removed.

The houses themselves I don't remember, but I remember the streets and some foundations were back there for years. It was very eery back there!

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I don't know where that would have been...BTW- What did the Pasadena Foley's look like, originally? It always had those palms and arches when I went there, like the one at Almeda. Like I said, it was very late '60's, more likely early 70's when I shopped there. The store had actually been there for quite a while, I was surprised to find out.

I'm quite positive that the front of the store looked nothing like the Almeda store at first. I probably would have gone there with my parents before Almeda opened. As I remember, it was single-story, and the Foley's name was spelled out in block letters, possibly lit red at night. The font was very similar to the one seen in the Bob Bailey pictures.

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I'm quite positive that the front of the store looked nothing like the Almeda store at first. I probably would have gone there with my parents before Almeda opened. As I remember, it was single-story, and the Foley's name was spelled out in block letters, possibly lit red at night. The font was very similar to the one seen in the Bob Bailey pictures.

That's what my hunch was, knew the Almeda store was not built 'til the 1960's. And the two designs (Pasadena & Almeda) are the same, so I would have thought the original Pasadena bldg. would have looked different, in the beginning, because I recently found out it's older. The people in the dedication ceremonies (in the Bob Bailey link) look to be from the 1950's, from the way they are dressed. Those arches on the billboard are what have been throwing me off, they look "very 1960's", in the Bailey pics...hmmmm, would like to see a pic of the original bldg. Had no idea that Foley's had been there that long. Too bad we can't see that picture more clearly. The design is on that billboard. You just can't see it very well.

IronTiger, the link doesn't work.

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Thnx, that one works.

I have a yahoo group called foleysofcourse. It has links to Foley's TV commercials and photos of various stores. I have some discussion in the group on the many departements and restaurants that were at the downtown and branch stores. Please join the group. It would be great to see more discussion and additions to what is already there.

hydeaway

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My grandmother worked in the china department from about 1941 till 1965. She lived on montrose, just north of richmond in an apt building that has since become a minimall. Later, we lived in the southwest, and she would take the bus-we had to drive to bellaire to catch it. My earliest memories of a big city were going on the segregated bus to Foleys with my grandmother.

I remember Foleys as the central attraction of downtown, and it defined christmas. Wasnt it Foleys that sponsored the Christmas/thanksgiving parade? And we would see Santa at foleys. I remember being impressed by the sparkly sidewalks as we walked around the first floor christmas exhibits. Before the sears catelog took over, our toys came from foleys.

In the early 1990s I shopped for clothes at the foleys in Austin. I typically bought hawaiian style shirts, though the themes were more sedate. I still have one of them. I really felt like something was lost when Foleys dissapeared.

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like many, i remember we would go to the downtown store at christmas time and stand mesmerized in front of the windows. our foley*s of choice was sharpstown. remember the bargain basement, the toy store, the camera department, the record department, they even had a pharmacy there. i remember my dad would go to the TV department while my mom would take us shopping. they had all types of major appliances there. come to think about it, it was a lot like sears; but nicer.

not sure i remember this right, but i think the sharpstown store was originally 2 stories and they added the third floor later.

the sharpstown store was the first department store outside downtown. it still saddens me the way sharpstown has deteriorated. i am not sure it will ever come back.

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What's the downtown Macy's like today? Any architectural "treats" left behind by bygone eras?

I would love to view the digital photo archives with University of Houston that was donated from Foley's after their demise. However, their system will only allow me to view the first 20 or so pages of several hundred. Do you have that problem as well?

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However, their system will only allow me to view the first 20 or so pages of several hundred. Do you have that problem as well?

I assume you're talking about the Bob Bailey photos at the Center for American History. If so, they only received enough funding to digitize a small portion of the collection.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oh my, do I remember going to the downtown Foley's.

My mom wasn't bad about having a lead foot (she never had one traffic ticket, ever), but one of the things she (and others in her car) always enjoyed was the down/exit ramp in Foleys parking garage !

She discovered that if you found just the right position with your steering wheel (she had a '63 Olds 98)....you could just fly down the floors' ramps without once moving the steering wheel !....well,...providing there was no one ahead of you or no one getting on the ramp ahead of you.

Seemed terribly exhilerating for someone in grade school having your mom point that out and then going around and around to the bottom floor.

Awesome.

I remember a few times after I got my driver's license, discovering it for myself.

I also remember eating at The Terrace restaurant.

There was one dish that was baked, and had a French name I can't remember.

But the dish seemed to have a mild white cheese sauce browned on top with layers of chicken breast and tomato slices inside. I ordered that more than anything else.

Nine floors.....it was a massive store.

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Oh my, do I remember going to the downtown Foley's.

My mom wasn't bad about having a lead foot (she never had one traffic ticket, ever), but one of the things she (and others in her car) always enjoyed was the down/exit ramp in Foleys parking garage !

She discovered that if you found just the right position with your steering wheel (she had a '63 Olds 98)....you could just fly down the floors' ramps without once moving the steering wheel !....well,...providing there was no one ahead of you or no one getting on the ramp ahead of you.

Seemed terribly exhilerating for someone in grade school having your mom point that out and then going around and around to the bottom floor.

Awesome.

I remember a few times after I got my driver's license, discovering it for myself.

I also remember eating at The Terrace restaurant.

There was one dish that was baked, and had a French name I can't remember.

But the dish seemed to have a mild white cheese sauce browned on top with layers of chicken breast and tomato slices inside. I ordered that more than anything else.

Nine floors.....it was a massive store.

Welcome gargoyle_dreams, nice to hear a new story...I don't think I ever went into the downtown Foley's. I love the old dept. stores. I need to go walk around in it, see if there are any traces of the old ornamentation.

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Oh my, do I remember going to the downtown Foley's.

My mom wasn't bad about having a lead foot (she never had one traffic ticket, ever), but one of the things she (and others in her car) always enjoyed was the down/exit ramp in Foleys parking garage !

She discovered that if you found just the right position with your steering wheel (she had a '63 Olds 98)....you could just fly down the floors' ramps without once moving the steering wheel !....well,...providing there was no one ahead of you or no one getting on the ramp ahead of you.

Seemed terribly exhilerating for someone in grade school having your mom point that out and then going around and around to the bottom floor.

Awesome.

I remember a few times after I got my driver's license, discovering it for myself.

I also remember eating at The Terrace restaurant.

There was one dish that was baked, and had a French name I can't remember.

But the dish seemed to have a mild white cheese sauce browned on top with layers of chicken breast and tomato slices inside. I ordered that more than anything else.

Nine floors.....it was a massive store.

It was a great store...you could spend a day there.

PS - the main restaurant was called the Azalea Terrace. There was also a "Men only" grill.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thank You....it was Azalea Terrace.....The Terrace kept sounding like something was missing...I just couldn't remember it.

Foley's had the BEST cheese soup anywhere. I wish I could get that recipe. The Foley's Lunch Express was great across the street in the 1st floor of the parking garage. The Men's Grill was on 2 in the Men's suit department. Azalea Terrace was on 5. Do you remember the bakery on 1? The branch stores' restaurant was called The Greenhouse. It was a great store. 12 floors. As it grew the sales floor shrank to 5 floors to accomodate the offices. Prior to being sold off to May, Foley's had the fur salon, personal shoppers, carpets, decortator studio, photo studio, beauty salons, watch and jewelry repair, estate jewelry, travel department, books, toys, candy, lamps, cooking demonstrations, the Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade, Foley's Academy (a school in the Basement of the Downtown Store for troubled kids), major appliances, televisions, stereos, men's big and tall, fur storage, downtown Christmas windows, floral department and a host of other departments and services. Of course, now it has been eaten by Macy's like ever other regional department store and taken further downmarket. I hated to see them weld off the art deco Foley's letters. It just shows the disregard Macy's has for the history and traditions of the old stores.

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Foley's had the BEST cheese soup anywhere. I wish I could get that recipe. The Foley's Lunch Express was great across the street in the 1st floor of the parking garage. The Men's Grill was on 2 in the Men's suit department. Azalea Terrace was on 5. Do you remember the bakery on 1? The branch stores' restaurant was called The Greenhouse. It was a great store. 12 floors. As it grew the sales floor shrank to 5 floors to accomodate the offices. Prior to being sold off to May, Foley's had the fur salon, personal shoppers, carpets, decortator studio, photo studio, beauty salons, watch and jewelry repair, estate jewelry, travel department, books, toys, candy, lamps, cooking demonstrations, the Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade, Foley's Academy (a school in the Basement of the Downtown Store for troubled kids), major appliances, televisions, stereos, men's big and tall, fur storage, downtown Christmas windows, floral department and a host of other departments and services. Of course, now it has been eaten by Macy's like ever other regional department store and taken further downmarket. I hated to see them weld off the art deco Foley's letters. It just shows the disregard Macy's has for the history and traditions of the old stores.

By the way, take a look at this awesome pic from flikr of the Greenspoint store when it opened:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14743243@N02/1520339100/

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Foley's had the BEST cheese soup anywhere. I wish I could get that recipe. The Foley's Lunch Express was great across the street in the 1st floor of the parking garage. The Men's Grill was on 2 in the Men's suit department. Azalea Terrace was on 5. Do you remember the bakery on 1? The branch stores' restaurant was called The Greenhouse. It was a great store. 12 floors. As it grew the sales floor shrank to 5 floors to accomodate the offices. Prior to being sold off to May, Foley's had the fur salon, personal shoppers, carpets, decortator studio, photo studio, beauty salons, watch and jewelry repair, estate jewelry, travel department, books, toys, candy, lamps, cooking demonstrations, the Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade, Foley's Academy (a school in the Basement of the Downtown Store for troubled kids), major appliances, televisions, stereos, men's big and tall, fur storage, downtown Christmas windows, floral department and a host of other departments and services. Of course, now it has been eaten by Macy's like ever other regional department store and taken further downmarket. I hated to see them weld off the art deco Foley's letters. It just shows the disregard Macy's has for the history and traditions of the old stores.

Are you sure about that 12 floors? I thought there were only 9 or 10 floors in the building.

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Foley's had the BEST cheese soup anywhere. I wish I could get that recipe. The Foley's Lunch Express was great across the street in the 1st floor of the parking garage. The Men's Grill was on 2 in the Men's suit department. Azalea Terrace was on 5. Do you remember the bakery on 1? The branch stores' restaurant was called The Greenhouse. It was a great store. 12 floors. As it grew the sales floor shrank to 5 floors to accomodate the offices. Prior to being sold off to May, Foley's had the fur salon, personal shoppers, carpets, decortator studio, photo studio, beauty salons, watch and jewelry repair, estate jewelry, travel department, books, toys, candy, lamps, cooking demonstrations, the Foley's Thanksgiving Day parade, Foley's Academy (a school in the Basement of the Downtown Store for troubled kids), major appliances, televisions, stereos, men's big and tall, fur storage, downtown Christmas windows, floral department and a host of other departments and services. Of course, now it has been eaten by Macy's like ever other regional department store and taken further downmarket. I hated to see them weld off the art deco Foley's letters. It just shows the disregard Macy's has for the history and traditions of the old stores.

Wonder what happened to those art deco Foley's letters. Are they just sitting in a warehouse somewhere, gathering dust? Hope they didn't get thrown out or melted down. So much is disregarded & discarded in this city.

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Are you sure about that 12 floors? I thought there were only 9 or 10 floors in the building.

Yep. It was originally built with 9 floors but they added 3 more. You can see the difference in the color of the limestone if you look closely at photos. The store was built in 1947 and I believe it was added onto about 10 years later.

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Wonder what happened to those art deco Foley's letters. Are they just sitting in a warehouse somewhere, gathering dust? Hope they didn't get thrown out or melted down. So much is disregarded & discarded in this city.

I agree. It is a shame that so much has been torn down and thrown away. Look at all the movie palaces Houston once had - among them the beautiful Majestic, Loews State and Metropolitan. I was delighted (and surprised) that they did not tear down The Rice Hotel.

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