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KRIV Channel 26 Studios At 3935 Westheimer Rd.


Reefmonkey

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3935 Westheimer was the address. As I recall the building actually faced the east, not Westheimer.

Went on the air 8/15/71 as KVRL operating only a few hours a day in the afternoon and evening.

Does anyone know if the building was specifically built for the TV station or did they just move into an existing space?

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  • 5 years later...

The area brings back good memories. We used to frequent Highland Village pharmacy on the south west corer of Drexel and Westheimer where  the Smith and Wollensky stake house now sits. They had a great soda fountain back in the fifties served up some of the best shakes and malts you could ask for.

 

An interesting sidebar about Highland Village pharmacy. My dad worked for Ford Motor Company and traveled a lot. He had been gone for several weeks and I was really lonesome to see him. I was with a friend at the pharmacy one day and my dad was really on my mind and I was telling my friend that I sure wish he would come home. About that time I looked up and he came walking up to me at the soda fountain. Purely by accident he stopped by the drug store on the way home to pick up a RX and saw me sitting at the soda fountain. I don't know if it was coincidence or the closeness that we shared that I was thinking and talking about him in the moments before walked in and saw me.

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I had to be in the area today and looked for it. Unless it was incorporated into the back of Central Market, it's gone. I think it probably sat right where the loading dock driveways are at the back of CM.

 

It was fully demolished. The whole lot with the exception of the gas station on the corner of Westheimer and Weslayan, was demolished when Central Market moved in. The west end of the KRIV building lined up with the property line. The building was a little bit wider than the staff parking lot/receiving area of Central Market. The building took up about 3/4th of the property space North to South with the final 1/4th dedicated to a parking lot. While the entrances to the building, signage, and prime offices did face the East the parking lot entrances/exits were on Westheimer. The rest of the lot contained another office building near the Westheimer side, apartments near Weslayan, a Dot Coffee Shop location, and the aforementioned gas station.

 

The original concept was to tear all this down and build a shopping center called "City Center" although the developer couldn't secure any tenants at the price it was asking. Crate and Barrel was looking to move in although they ended up in Highland Village after being offered a cheaper rate. Apparently after sitting on the vacant property for around 2 or so years the developer sold it all to H-E-B. You can read more about the sale of the land and the "proposed" H-E-B here. Best part is all the predictions came true even though they eventually got rid of the valet parking and drive thru.

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I don't know if it's the same block or not but in the 50's and 60's there was a family owned Italian restaurant on Westheimer on the south side not too far inside the 610 loop.

It was called Del Monico's and the family's last name was Navarro....Excellent food...Family recipe Italian salad dressing and the Garlic Bread had chunks of garlic on it.  Those are the 2 things I remember. I was in grade school in the 60's.

 

One time when we went, the owner told us they were closing involuntarily  because they had been leasing the building all that time and when it was time to renew,  the landlord said he'd leased the lot to someone else.....

What a sad situation.....That's all I remember and being a kid at the time, I may not have it quite right....

 

Next thing we notice is that either channel 26 was there, or it was channel 20.

 

Anyone else know of that restaurant ?

 

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  • The title was changed to KRIV Channel 26 Studios At 3935 Westheimer Rd.

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