Black, Sivalls & Bryson At 9901 South Main St.

[WillowBend56]

Growing up in the Willow Bend area in the 1950s, we kids would expect to hear a noontime whistle from one of the industrial businesses off South Main. I never knew which business it was. I'm pretty sure it was not the Southern Pacific Railroad. Anyway, it was a signal to "warm up" our televisions for lunch-time cartoons.

[acamarillo]

Don't know about South Main but if anyone knows if any of the businesses had a large steam plant that would be a clue. My dad worked at the SP Hardy Street shops for his entire working life. We lived close to intersection of Calvalcade and Irvington, near the park on Robertson. The steam plant at the shops had a huge whistle to signal start and end of shifts and lunch. Even two miles away, we could clearly hear the whistle. When the two minute whistle blew (2 before 4 o'clock, meaning get ready to leave) we knew it was time to jump in the car and go get dad. Sometimes we would go early and be at the shops when the whistle blew. That was some kind of loud, I'm telling ya......

[rsb320]

The Shell Oil facility on Bellaire at Braes used to have a siren. City Hall had one that sounded every Friday at noon.

[readam]

The Shell Oil facility on Bellaire at Braes used to have a siren. City Hall had one that sounded every Friday at noon.

Those were probably Civil Defense sirens. There was one right above my classroom at E.O. Smith JHS from 71-74

[DJboutit]

There use to a siren horn on Cliffwood right across from Red Elementary next to the neighborhood pool where the private school is now. The siren horn would go off ever Friday at 12pm for testing this was for a warning if we ever when to war with Russia when Russia broke up in to small countries in about 1998 to 2001 this siren horn was taken down I think this is what you were hearing. The siren horn was on top of a 65ft to 100ft telephone pole

[brucesw]

Growing up in the Willow Bend area in the 1950s, we kids would expect to hear a noontime whistle from one of the industrial businesses off South Main. I never knew which business it was. I'm pretty sure it was not the Southern Pacific Railroad. Anyway, it was a signal to "warm up" our televisions for lunch-time cartoons.

Waukesha Pierce?, S. Post Oak at S. Main

[Croberts]

I lived on Redstart street, east of Post Oak, 4700 block, I believe. I used to climb up on our swingset in the backyard to watch what we called the "friday noon whistle" which was a yellow-orange, rotating siren. I thought it was at a fire station, but I do not see the location today on google earth. I could see it rotating. This would have been 57-59. 

[sinister1]

I remember the Hardy street whistle from back in the 80's. We use to live near the railroad tracks on Murray near quit man at the end of the street there use to be some kind of factory. 

[cowboybud]

There's a tornado siren in Katy that they test every Friday at noon.

[plumber2]

I was thinking Brochsteins at first, but Waukesha Pierce is probably more likely

[WillowBend56]

We lived at 5111 Stillbrooke (west of Post Oak).  Before homes were built up behind ours circa 1956-57, we could see all the way to the RR tracks along S. Main. I never recall seeing any lights flashing in the distance when the noon whistle sounded. 

[msteele6]

I lived near Gulfgate in the '50's and '60's and the civil defense sirens were always tested at noon on Friday every week. Our particular siren was located at Southmayd elementary school.

[Croberts]

I lived on Redstart street, east of Post Oak, 4700 block, I believe. I used to climb up on our swingset in the backyard to watch what we called the "friday noon whistle" which was a yellow-orange, rotating siren. I thought it was at a fire station, but I do not see the location today on google earth. I could see it rotating. This would have been 57-59. 

 

I just saw the post about red elementary school...this must be the one I remember, 6 blocks away.

[Highrise Tower]

Could this have been the manufacturing plant of Black, Sivalls & Bryson located at 9901 South Main Street?

Found this on the 1950 Sanborn map. 

BSB designs and builds world-class process equipment systems and plants for the oil and gas, chemical and refining industries.

From my knowledge, in the 1950s, there were the following manufacturing plants located in the South Main/Willowbend area.  There is probably a few more.

Black, Sivalls & Bryson (9901 South Main Street)
Brochsteins (10002 South Main Street)
Smith Monument Company (10001 South Main Street)
Waukesha Pearce (12320 South Main Street)