Jump to content

Famous Locations That No Longer Exist


Materene

Recommended Posts

LoL was at Moe and Joes on opening night. Wife and her friends were frequent flyers at Fools Gold.. Ya Moe and Joes was on 1960.

I'm old I admit it but I really thought it was the Winchester at Chimney Rock & Westheimer and Fools Gold was actually in Spring Branch off old Hempstead Hwy over the RR tracks, I need a memory bump.

Never made it to Moe and Joe's but I remember when they built it, I had to plan my clubbing so I could drive home before I passed out and that was a bit of a far drive for me. I tried making the old 59 club a few times to meet up with friends that lived out in New Caney and about, that was a terrible drive at 2:30am , on the way there a Wild Turkey was riding with me but on the way home it was dead and couldn't talk anymore! lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know all those spots, sure wish there was some photos of The Wells Fargo, I did go to the Desperadoes one time and after the place closed I was sitting there in my truck with my girl friend , some idiot came out and started shooting his pistol in the air! I don't think I ever went back. Do you remember a club on the North side that was old as dirt and you weren't allowed to wear a hat, I can't remember the name of that one because I was only there long enough for them to tell me to remove my hat, I left. My good friends went in anyway but it seemed a little odd to me, man if they could see the world today wearing a hat at a country western club seems pretty unimportant to me. I spoke with someone about that old 59 club and was told that after all the illegals started going there they just got tired of the fights and shut it down, after all those years.

HAHA.. Remember one of the nights I was in Wells Fargo. Had been drinking Mexican tequila out in the parking lot before the doors opened. I went in at 8pm, ordered a drink went in the bathroom got sick, passed out under the urinal, came to long enough to crawl out and across the dance floor. Cop was standing by where you payed cover charge, I crawled right by them, laughing at me. Crawled out in the parking lot, passed out in the back of my El Camino. The photographer was a friend, had a shitload of empty longnecks put all around me passed out, and took pictures. Took great joy in showing those pics to any date I brought in.

Curious if any of you might remember Chuck from Western Swing. Just one of the good ol boy regular crowd. Had the memorable, Chuck and Lindas Nuptuil Barbque Bash lol. I was in that dang club 6 nights a week, closed on Monday's HAHA.. 2am down the street to Denny's.

Most fun I ever had, and met the best dang dance partner I could hope for, and were still dancing 30 years later. As Merle asked " are the good times really over?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm old I admit it but I really thought it was the Winchester at Chimney Rock & Westheimer and Fools Gold was actually in Spring Branch off old Hempstead Hwy over the RR tracks, I need a memory bump.

Never made it to Moe and Joe's but I remember when they built it, I had to plan my clubbing so I could drive home before I passed out and that was a bit of a far drive for me. I tried making the old 59 club a few times to meet up with friends that lived out in New Caney and about, that was a terrible drive at 2:30am , on the way there a Wild Turkey was riding with me but on the way home it was dead and couldn't talk anymore! lol

LOLOL. I lived in Porter in those days, back when Porter was a flashing yellow light on old 59. Then 7 mi back in the woods. I woke up in more than one ditch. Good thing I knew all the cops by name lol

OH... I would kill for a picture of Wells Fargo and Western Swing ( mrmystre@gmail.com)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOLOL. I lived in Porter in those days, back when Porter was a flashing yellow light on old 59. Then 7 mi back in the woods. I woke up in more than one ditch. Good thing I knew all the cops by name lol

OH... I would kill for a picture of Wells Fargo and Western Swing ( mrmystre@gmail.com)

Small world cause I also stayed there in Porter for a while, there was a trailer lot way back off the highway on that first back road that went back to the highway, you could buy a trailer and a good sized lot for 5 grand, lots of trees to cut but property was cheap then. Much later I lived in Conroe and drove that back way through porter to the 59, I drove all the way to River Oaks Chysler where I was working at the time. You remember that bad storm in 82 that dropped all the trees for 50 square miles, I got up that morning at 5 as usual because I had to leave early to get to work and the storm was just easing by Conroe and it actually missed us, but let me tell you one mile outta conroe it missed nothing, even the freeway signs on 59 were all down on the freeways, it looked like a combat zone there wasn't many trees that weren't damaged, they say it was a pack of tornadoes, I believe it. The fog was so bad I finally gave up and moved, just could see killing myself for nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fool's Gold was at Fountainview, and became Cardi's.

they moved it out west somewhere (dairy ashford, maybe?)

It's the other way around.Cardi's at Fountainview/Westhiemer became Fools Gold around 82-83,before moving farther out Westhiemer between Dairy Ashford and Eldridge.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

nope.... not getting into a weewee measuring contest here.... I worked at Cardi's from '85 to when it shut down on 2.28.87.

Fool's Gold moved out west, Cardi's took over the slot.

nope.... not getting into a weewee measuring contest here.......ditto,but.....

Cardi's was there first,then Fools Gold but Fools Gold needed more parking and moved farther out Westheimer.

I wasn't aware that Cardi's returned to the location.

Here's a link to two dates when U2 played Cardi's:

http://www.u2gigs.com/Cardis-l80.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I was the original drummer in the Southern Comfort Band. My buddy, Tony Taliaferro, hired Freddie Pate and they played all over for years as the Tony Taliaferro Band. I knew Randy Corner and Texas Cookin pretty well. Randy was an incredible guitar player, and was offered a national tour, but he had a serious dislike of travel!Randy preferred to play locally, and today is still in the North side of Houston I believe. Someone had mentioned Randy is nearly blind, but he has had an eye condition his entire life where his eye lashes actually grow inward...he was always wearing shades at night!

Tony Taliaferro moved to Nashville 25 years ago, made a couple of albums, was Dottie West's Band until her death, and today is married to Louise Dorsey (Frank Dorsey aka Englebert Humperdink's daughter).

I still play everyday in my music studio at home, have a much nicer kit than was available back in the 70's, but really miss Gene Watson, Mundo Earwood, Randy Corner, Roy Head, Johnny Rodriquez,Eddie Marshall, tons of others... and all the joints we played. I really believe the best music live and recorded came out of the 70's.

Talk about memories. Growing up in the 70's in Houston myself, I would have to agree with you on the best music ever was Mundo Earwood who I forgot about Randy Corner Roy Head Gene Watson (by the way has a brand new CD out).Thanks for bringing back the music of 1970 in Houston.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Talk about memories. Growing up in the 70's in Houston myself, I would have to agree with you on the best music ever was Mundo Earwood who I forgot about Randy Corner Roy Head Gene Watson (by the way has a brand new CD out).Thanks for bringing back the music of 1970 in Houston.

Have really enjoyed reading these posts about 70's music in Houston. I remember Randy Cormer, Issac Payton Sweat, and the others. I was too young to go to the clubs mentioned but I was a faithful listener to KIKK & KNUZ when they were on the air.Love music to this day especially classic country. Favorite is still Gene Watson and his new CD is one of his bests love it.

Just wanted to throw this out there. Does anyone remember the Icehouse in Pasadena I think that is what they called it in the 70's they were always talking about that place on the radio. Would love to know if its still there and would love to see a pic. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anybody remember what the story was on the old hospital building on the southwest corner of Bellaire Blvd. and Wilcrest? Back in 1998, I used to look at it sitting in decay while I had lunch at the nearby Jack in the Box during my lunch hour. It looked like an old insane asylum straight out of Hollywood, but I cant seem to find much information online about it without a name.

The building caught fire at some point in 1998, and was later demolished.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have really enjoyed reading these posts about 70's music in Houston. I remember Randy Cormer, Issac Payton Sweat, and the others. I was too young to go to the clubs mentioned but I was a faithful listener to KIKK & KNUZ when they were on the air.Love music to this day especially classic country. Favorite is still Gene Watson and his new CD is one of his bests love it.

Just wanted to throw this out there. Does anyone remember the Icehouse in Pasadena I think that is what they called it in the 70's they were always talking about that place on the radio. Would love to know if its still there and would love to see a pic. Thanks

I never was at the ice house but I do remember people that worked in Pasadena mentioning the place, most were all refinery workers and welders, it was a daily ritual for a lot of those guys to stop off after work.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anybody remember what the story was on the old hospital building on the southwest corner of Bellaire Blvd. and Wilcrest? Back in 1998, I used to look at it sitting in decay while I had lunch at the nearby Jack in the Box during my lunch hour. It looked like an old insane asylum straight out of Hollywood, but I cant seem to find much information online about it without a name.

The building caught fire at some point in 1998, and was later demolished.

It was the Alief Medical Professional Building/Alief General Hospital most recently I think, and in the late 1970s the Bellaire West Medical Center.

I couldn't find much..

This April 2000 Chronicle article mentions a 13-month renovation:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2000_3205373

and this June 1997 article mentions it was boarded up:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1997_1417994

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anybody remember what the story was on the old hospital building on the southwest corner of Bellaire Blvd. and Wilcrest? Back in 1998, I used to look at it sitting in decay while I had lunch at the nearby Jack in the Box during my lunch hour. It looked like an old insane asylum straight out of Hollywood, but I cant seem to find much information online about it without a name.

The building caught fire at some point in 1998, and was later demolished.

I have searched now for one hour and found nothing mentioned, can't recall what the place looked like but I left Houston many years ago so I mostly remember the Blvd starting from the Chimney Rock area. Hate it when you can't find any photos of an area from an era past. Somewhere there has to be some aerial photos and they will be in a real estate property owners log and all taken from above. I specifically remember these log books were used in the 70's and all brokers had them, you might ask someone in real estate if there is a source for those. I did have a friend that leased an automotive shop there in that specific area in 74 but my memory was turned all upside down after I returned home after 25 years and I couldn't even find the coffee shop across the street from this friends old shop. Too much change for me!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah...that was it, Winchester. It was just a big, plain hall. I preferred the nicely decorated ones, a little later, for instance, Kenny Stabler's Diamondback Saloon...(I-45 South). There was one on the NW side, too.

I quit the club scene around 80 so Stabler's came after that I'm sure, I never even went to MO & Joes or Roy Head's Club, although I lived on the North side. I guess we just get older and change, so I left Houston in 82 and only came back for a couple years. When I first got out of the Army I spent a lot of time downtown and everyone kept dropping the name of the Stampede Club, that was the happening club in 1970, never did even see the place. I can remember Jensen Drive as a kid and there were what were called ice houses in the 50's, every block on Jensen had an ice house or two, the name ice house was simply because even in the fifties Houston still had a functioning ice house at the edge of downtown and all the businesses or ice houses did not use refrigeration but bought ice everyday or every other day. They all had these aluminum bend over reach in ice boxes and they iced the beer and sodas down, you won't ever find a beer as cold as one that has been in the ice for several days. These people were very creative too, I remember one place that had a garage roll up door and you just lifted the door and the bar and stools were sitting there, they all threw out the bottle caps into the parking lot area to fill holes and dips. The one thing I remember most sitting there as a kid with family was the Oder of fresh saw dust, yep they always threw down fresh saw dust on the floors, a nice cool fan overhead and a big Jukebox, life was grand until the law makers all destroyed it. :D

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never was at the ice house but I do remember people that worked in Pasadena mentioning the place, most were all refinery workers and welders, it was a daily ritual for a lot of those guys to stop off after work.

There were two ice houses on Hwy 225 and Battleground Rd (now Independence). On the East side of that intersection was the Breezeway, on the West side was G's Ice House (think Sherwood Cryer of Gilley's fame). Additionally, at the entrance to the San Jacinto Monument on Battleground you have Beesaws which is the only one of the three still open.

Edited by Dub
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Diamonback was around in the very early eighties, Dan Pastorini frequented the club a time or two.

There was an ice house I grew up with, at Southmore & Allen Genoa Rd. , on the borderline of the cities of Houston & Pasadena. It had some sign painted across it, above the garage doors. want to say it was yellow, sat beside the 7-11. Was there for many yrs, probably still there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Those names sound very familiar to me, think some of them played at a hall on Bissonnet, Bellaire area, in the early to mid '80's. I recall "Beer Bust" night & a live band, when "happy hour" was in full swing. Some years later, I preferred "The Rose", nice club.

I don't recall that hospital. From the aerials, looks like it was designed in the sixties, has atriums. Wish there was a picture of it, somewhere.

Someone was asking about a place called Dot Coffee Shop. Here's something about it:

http://www.retroroadmap.com/2011/06/05/youll-be-served-lots-at-the-dot-dot-coffee-shop-houston-tx/

post-9987-0-31297000-1316094812_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm old I admit it but I really thought it was the Winchester at Chimney Rock & Westheimer

The Winchester Club was on the north side of Bissonnet between Chimney Rock & Hillcroft- I forget the name of the cross street closest to it. Back when I was a young Bellaire cop working day shift in the late '70's we had a "departmental meeting" there every Friday night. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Happened to be running down the feeder on 225 at Independence Thursday and made a quick stop and shoot with my iPhone. G's has seen better days to be certain. Debbi's was where the engineering staff went on the East end of the building ;) They had a/c and mixed drinks.

post-5892-0-65794900-1321907924_thumb.jp

post-5892-0-22945200-1321907943_thumb.jp

post-5892-0-52420900-1321907955_thumb.jp

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

I'm probably going to be telling my age here, but I myself remember a lot of those old C/W Clubs. I was the original manager of a club on old Hempstead Hwy. called The Crystal Chandelier Dancehall and Saloon. We had many of the old C/W stars perform there (Kelly Schoppa, The Texas Heartbreakers, John Anderson, Lee Greenwood, John Wesley Ryles, Johnny Rodriquez, Mundo Earwood, Charley Pride and many, many more) We were open at the same time as Cotton Eye Joe's on Gessner and the original Wild West on the corner of Long Point and Gessner. There was also a club on Kuykendahl named The Grand Finale and the manager there Donnie Wayne was a very good friend of mine. I frequented many of those old clubs back in the day. I also worked at Fools' Gold on Westheimer after they moved out past Dairy Ashford. The old club that someone was referring to about having to take your hat off was Tin Hall in Cypress. They recently started having live music there again at least once a month.

My most memorable story from being in the business was I think in December of 1980, I was doing business with a booking agent named Jay Collier, and he called me one day to tell me that there was someone that I really needed to go listen to. Jay said that this guy is a singing cowboy, he said he will be participating in a rodeo at Simonton and after the rodeo he will go on stage and perform. Well, I went and Lo and Behold this singing cowboy was George Strait. He had a rope burn on his hand after participating in the team roping event and he only performed a couple of songs. One of them being "Amarillo By Morning" and since I had Kelly Schoppa at my club (Crystal Chandelier) quite often I was very familiar with the song. I spoke with George and one of his managers after the performance and decided that since he wasn't that well known in the HOuston area, it probably wasn't a very good business decision to hire him. So I didn't. And man what a bad decision that turned out to be. Just 3 months later he was called in to replace Eddie Rabbit at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the rest is History.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

I have been sitting here reading about all of these C and W clubs around Houston in the late 60's and through the 70's and never once did anyone mention the Texas Ball Room located at Stubner Airline and I-45 where Shepherd met I-45. The TBR sat in the V between Stubner Airline and the feeder road or Shepherd as it was called from there on south. The house band was headed Ray Bates for several years. Frenchie Burke played with them at the time. Another one of my favorites in the seventies was The Stampede Ball room on Richmond. I also spent many Sunday afternoons out at Magnolia Gardens too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been sitting here reading about all of these C and W clubs around Houston in the late 60's and through the 70's and never once did anyone mention the Texas Ball Room located at Stubner Airline and I-45 where Shepherd met I-45. The TBR sat in the V between Stubner Airline and the feeder road or Shepherd as it was called from there on south. The house band was headed Ray Bates for several years. Frenchie Burke played with them at the time. Another one of my favorites in the seventies was The Stampede Ball room on Richmond. I also spent many Sunday afternoons out at Magnolia Gardens too.

 

Do you happen to know the approximate timeframe that the Texas Ballroom closed? I grew up very close to that area in the 60s and 70s and don't recall it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly, right where the Texaco is now located. When I started frequenting the location there was nothing past the TexasBall room on Stubner Airline. It was nothing but pastures and was a narrow one lane street in each direction with deep ditches on each side of the street. I had a boyfriend that bought 1966 Shelby Mustang, he was going to show everyone what it would do. Stubner Airline was virtually a deserted street at the time. He took off and his car got sideways in the road and he ran off the road into the ditch on the left side of the road. It had rained the day before and the ground was soft. He got lucky and the only damage done was to his pride. One of the guys from the bar pulled him out with his pick up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found an aerial shot of the intersection of Stubner Airline, Shepherd and I-45, it was probably still US 75 when this picture was taken. The Texas Ballroom sat in V where the white spot is. Stubner Airline was still just as deserted in the late 60's as it is in this picture.

post-11998-0-60900000-1421557703_thumb.j

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a copy of that photo, but didn't think to look at it when this thread came up. I believe it's been posted here in the past, most likely in the Aldine thread. According to the filename of the copy I saved, it was taken in 1959. I-45 superseded that segment of US 75 in December 1959.

Edited by mkultra25
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Winchester Club was on the north side of Bissonnet between Chimney Rock & Hillcroft- I forget the name of the cross street closest to it. Back when I was a young Bellaire cop working day shift in the late '70's we had a "departmental meeting" there every Friday night. ;-)

 

Checked a map and it could have been ALDER between Chimey Rock and Renwick.  If my mind is on it I think I remember the place being a JMH grocey store in the 60s that was converted.  There were some apartments behind the building

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...