Northwest Mall

[IronTiger]

OK, I recently went to Northwest Mall and was amazed how even though it was long past glory days, it was still relatively well occupied. It was the first time I had ever gone there in person.

 

What I want to know more about is that little building in front of Foley's / Macy's.

I seem to remember that it was a CiCi's Pizza until a few years ago, but what it did it start out as? The answer came when I was looking for a PDF of the mall, it had a site plan with Foley's, JCPenney, an outparcel movie theater (later SRO, now El Chapparal?), a tiny post office (even closer to the freeway, gone by '95), "JCPenney T.B.A." (the old JCPenney auto center, later Firestone), and "Foley's T.B.A." (this building).

 

Was it a Foley's Auto Center? I mean, there was one downtown, so it's not out of the question entirely, is it?

[Urban Commando]

It was an automotive something or another,but I don't think it was affliated with Foleys (I think it was a Bridgestone tire dealer, maybe a Firestone). A lot of the parking area and pad buildings are gone due to the 610 expansion and road construction.

 

The fact the Northwest Mall is still standing amazes me. Not only is it LONG past redemption, but parts of it are unusable (Foley's/Macy's was done in by Hurricane Ike). I haven't been there in over twenty years but drive past it daily. The only activity I ever see around it is construction equipment...it doesn't get many customers.

 

The Galleria is less than three miles up 610 from it. The best thing for that place is to be torn down...that will probably happen in the next few years.

[IronTiger]

Firestone is on Hempstead Road, it was Penney's auto center until '83.

 

I got the idea from http://mallimages.mallfinder.com/Glimcher/dimages/oldpdfs/NorthwestMall.pdf'>here (page 24).

 

It's obviously some years out of date, but "JCPenney T.B.A." is the auto center, the Post Office is gone, the theater is now El Chapparal, and Foley's T.B.A., which IIRC was Cici's Pizza at last count, was possibly...what?

[Birthday cake]

It was an independent tire shop. Jc penny's had their automotive on the Hempstead side. Cici existed between Macy's and the side mall entrance.

[gnu]

Maybe the T.B.A. is really T&A for Tire and Auto?

[IronTiger]

I distinctly remember there being a CiCi's on the property. So it was in-line, or where El Chapparal is?

[IronTiger]

Yes, T.B.A., as it turns out, stands for Tires, Batteries, and Accessories. Foley's, selling auto parts? Who'd a-thunk it? 

[blue92]

Could have been an old Western Auto store?

[Birthday cake]

no, not associated with Foleys and it was an independent shop. CiCi's was "in the mall" structure between Foleys and the food court entrance.

[acamarillo]

When the mall first opened the auto store was part of Foley's.  I believe the downtown store also used to have a tire store way back when I was young- it was in the parking garage building across the street where the Foley's deli was later.  Right across from the bakery section in the downtown Foley's.  Anyway, when Foley started streamlining and focusing more on clothes, they dropped things like the bakery, sporting goods, books, audio, and the tire stores.  At that point the NW mall tire shop became an independent store.  Moved away from the area and started going to different malls so I don't know when it closed for good.

[sinister1]

It won't belong before NW Mall is gone for ever, probably replaced by some lame NW Commons or something like that just like Northline.

[Purpledevil]

The name of that tire shop in front of Foley's was Jim Ross. Acamarillo is correct, it was part of Foley*s and Penney's auto center was on Hempstead Highway, which later became Firestone. Where Cici's was, originally was Beall's department store. Cici's was a part of the actual mall building, but you could not access it through the inside. The same was true with CompUSA. Only entrance was outside.

I wish I'd have known you were going to check out NW mall. You could've seen some goodies that the general public doesn't know about...like the mostly intact Woolworth's lunch counter and restaurant that's still buried within the confines of the mighty Northwest.

IronTiger, Foley*s used to sell everything. Appliances, electronics, yard equipment, pretty much whatever you needed. They had to have a variety of goods, if nothing else, just to fill that 10 story beauty on Main.

NW Mall will not be NW Commons anytime soon, lol.

[mkultra25]

I was trying to find a relatively complete list of the stores that were in Northwest Mall when it opened, but the closest thing I found was a partial list in the Bayou City History column on the mall from last year:

 

http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2012/05/northwest-mall-in-pictures/#5327101=0

 

I had been trying without success to remember the name of a restaurant that used to be in the mall, but after reading this I'm pretty sure it was Le Petit. My recollection of it was that it served fare that was slightly better than fast food, with a cafeteria-style line you went through to place and pick up your order. It was also a bit more dimly-lit than the rest of the mall and was not in a fully-enclosed storefront, but had only a waist-high wall separating it from the mall corridor. Purpledevil, do you remember this place?

[IronTiger]

My sources (an old book from the 1970s called "Houston Today", checked it out from a library) say that Almeda Mall and Northwest Mall both had 71 stores at start (this may or may not include the department stores). If you find the Almeda Mall store opening list, you've found Northwest Mall's.

[Marcus Allen]

IMO, the mall should be demolished, and in it's place should be a high rise residential tower with two or three stories of retail at ground level. I just am not sure if that is feasible in that area.

[hbcu]

there was a hey day for NW Mall?  lol

 

Considering its close to the Galleria and then Northline and caught in an odd location...was it designed to succeed?

 

 Imagine if HISD's facilities weren't located on it....how dead would it really be.

[Ross]

there was a hey day for NW Mall?  lol

 

Considering its close to the Galleria and then Northline and caught in an odd location...was it designed to succeed?

 

 Imagine if HISD's facilities weren't located on it....how dead would it really be.

HISD HQ is down the road a bit, not at the mall.

[Earlydays]

 

 

.......Considering its close to the Galleria and then Northline and caught in an odd location...was it designed to succeed?............

 

When it was first opened the Galleria and Northline did not exist.

[Purpledevil]

Um...Northline was open before NW. Only mall that preceded Northline was Gulfgate, and Palms Center if you count it as a mall. I never set foot in the Galleria until I was a teenager, in the 80's, but it seems like The Galleria opened fairly quickly after NW.

...and yes, NW Mall had a heyday! Lol. HISD is across 18th. They do nothing to help the mall's occupancy, other than employees eating at the food court.

Mkultra25: I remember the place you're talking about, but I don't think the name was Le Petit. Seems like Le Petit was the name of the clothing store that catered to smaller sized women.

The most dimly lit restaurant in the mall was always El Chico, to me. That was directly across from Piccadilly's in the food court.

As for the article, thanks! I had never seen that story in the Chron. That B. Dalton's mentioned, which was in the Penney's wing to the left of Visible Changes, was where I'd go to get my Pro Wrestling Illustrated fix. The Battlestein's was what Beall's was before it was Beall's.

My problem is that I don't know what's occupying the spaces now, so I can't give an accurate description of what's there now, only what used to be. I haven't set foot inside NW since Piccadilly's closed. When i saw the white wall covering the entrance, the wife and i turned back around, got in the car, and headed to Almeda. Same exact Piccadilly's, only dressed up in green accents. God, I used to love watching the trays move down that conveyor belt at Piccadilly's. I was such a dorky kid.

Methinks I'm going to go to NW Mall sometime real soon and document what occupies the space now, and what it was in my childhood and post my findings here, if you guys and gals are interested in seeing such a thing.

Anyone remember the kick ass boat that Foley*s had in the kids shoes department?

[IronTiger]

I know my colleague and I walked around the mall and took a couple of pictures. The fountain outside of what was Penney's still works, at least as of April of last year. Antique mall's huge. I didn't buy anything, but I know I didn't walk the entire building.

 

It's still pretty neat, but I feel that time is ultimately running out for it. 

[acamarillo]

I liked eating at that Woolworths lunch counter. Some of my favorite burgers ever.

 

Most people don't realize before we got to the era of big box specialty stores, the major chains - sears, penneys, wards, foleys - all sold a full line of goods. You name it, they probably had it.

 

Two of my favorite stores in NW were H&H Music, right outside of Penneys and near Woolworths, where I got my trumpet, and Farrells ice cream in the 80s.

Edited January 16, 2014 by acamarillo

[Purpledevil]

That's what was next to Ritz Camera! H&H Music! Could not think of the name of it, thank you, acamarillo!

I checked with my sister, the clothing store I thought was Le Petit was actually called "Petite Sophisticate". So, Le Petit may have indeed been that restaurant's name. My sister said she believes it was named Madeline's, but that don't sound right, at all.

Farrell's Ice Cream...man does that bring back memories. Orange Julius was always my favorite place in the mall when I was young, but a Farrell's banana split couldn't be matched.

IronTiger, you said the antique center is huge, and it was a pretty good sized J.C. Penney's, but my brother in law went to check it out after it opened and said that the center was only occupying the first floor, with the escalators encased in yellow boarding and the elevator blocked off. Are they using the upstairs now? I'd be interested in knowing what they are using the old catalog, hair salon, and optometrist areas for now. I have got to go look for myself. I hope Carolyn Thompson doesn't frown on picture taking.

[mkultra25]

Anyone remember the kick ass boat that Foley*s had in the kids shoes department?

 

A stroke of genius from a sales & marketing perspective. Every kid I knew whose parents shopped at that Foley's was always eager to go shopping for shoes there so they could get on the boat. Has anyone ever come up with a more effective way to actually get kids excited about shoe shopping?

 

IronTiger, you said the antique center is huge, and it was a pretty good sized J.C. Penney's, but my brother in law went to check it out after it opened and said that the center was only occupying the first floor, with the escalators encased in yellow boarding and the elevator blocked off. Are they using the upstairs now? I'd be interested in knowing what they are using the old catalog, hair salon, and optometrist areas for now. I have got to go look for myself. I hope Carolyn Thompson doesn't frown on picture taking.

 

When I went there several months ago, only the first floor was in use. I had been to the Antique Center in its old location and wanted to check things out in the new one. I'd bet they're using the upstairs for storage, if anything. 

[IronTiger]

Yeah, the antique center uses only the lower level. Despite that, the interior was far larger than I imagined. Even though the decor was stripped out, there's still quite a sense of how grand it was.

[Purpledevil]

You are sure right mkultra. It was a great thing to give our parents a break from us too, I'm sure. They used to have to drag me off that boat. Funny story now, not so much then. My mother got so fed up with me one time, she went to the men's counter, purchased a belt, marched me outside the door, and proceeded to "explain to me" why I should get off the boat when she tells me to.

I'll never forget, the salesman asked her what size belt she needed. Her response, of course, was "big enough to whip his ass". I bet you can imagine how I felt getting whipped in front of the entrance while other parents and their kids were peering and pointing. Ah yes, "the good old days", lol.

I'm going to go check out the mall for myself. I haven't been in it in several years, and I'm interested to see how full it is now, since you said it was pretty full on your visit, IronTiger. It had gotten pretty low on tenants once I quit going to the mall several years ago. The Penney's wing looked almost haunted with Penney's and Old Navy shuttered back then. Just got to figure out how to explain to the wife exactly why I suddenly want to go to NW Mall and take pictures. I figure she's going to give me quite a look...

[IronTiger]

Maybe not "pretty full", but it was more than I expected, people walking around even in the morning, food court had some things open. It was fairly early, though, which accounted for some things.

[mkultra25]

So I happened to be in the area late yesterday afternoon and decided to take a quick detour over to the mall. If you haven't been in some time, you will probably be quite surprised to see how close the new road expansion comes to the old Foley's/Macy's building. Also, if you ever wanted to see the unmistakable paraboloid roof of Delmar Fieldhouse again, now's the time, as demolition is well underway (Swamplot recently reported that a demo permit had been pulled, so I expected it to happen quickly). 

 

My last few trips to the mall had all been on weekends, and if not "pretty full", there were a decent number of people wandering around. Not so around 4PM on a weekday - it was absolutely deserted. I think there were more retail employees than customers in the entire mall. Since it was way past lunchtime, the food court visitors had already come and gone, so I'm not sure how much lunch traffic there is. When I used to work near Greenspoint several years ago, I'd occasionally hit the food court there for lunch, and it was invariably packed with workers from the nearby office buildings (Exxon, etc.) while the rest of the mall had very light traffic. 

 

I didn't go into the Antique Center as I only had a few minutes to spare, but there were some cars parked outside the entrance, so maybe they're doing more business than the other stores. 

 

I hadn't really noticed before, but the decor of the old Woolworth's store does appear to be mostly intact. The windows are blocked off from the back so they can be used as display cases advertising some of the other stores, but there's enough of a gap at the top of where they're blocked off that the original wallpaper inside is clearly visible. I'd love to see what else remains inside there.  

[Purpledevil]

Well....the restaurant area is still there, but the actual Woolworth's store is long gone. The exterior side is (or was) SRO, the mall side is a hodge-podge of small retail, last I saw of it.

I'm going to take whatever pics I can, hopefully this weekend. Not sure how stringent NW security is these days, and whether or not they'll allow me to snap freely within the mall.

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I asked this in another thread, does anyone know how to post pictures from the mobile site? I don't see anyway to attach pics, and I'd like to share several sets that I have. Someone requested my pics of Kaplan's Ben Hur, and I have all kinds of other pictures from my growing up in the Heights during the 70s that I think would interest some of my fellow posters.

I mean, it appears that most people that know of 1407 Studewood as Fiesta, or Clayton's, or maybe even Weingarten's. I have a half an album of pictures when it was Carl Cohen owned "Studewood Food Market" from the 60s & 70s, because my mother ran the snack bar in the back for 20 some odd years. Yes, that store had a full separate snack bar next to the meat market back in the day, not the steam line that was in the front by the door.

Any of you that may frequent Jimmy's Ice House on White Oak ought to know "Bitsy". If so, I can show you a picture of her as a very young woman. (I used to have a crush on her when I was a little kid) If she were to ever read this, she'd know who I am pretty quickly. I just can't attach....help! E-mail is great, here on the forum, or whatever. I certainly would like to share my memories. :-)

[IronTiger]

My favorite memory of Northwest Mall (well, I only went there once) was with one of my friends, while waiting for the antiques center to open, I looked at the inactive fountain that's in the court and lamented of the fate of the mall fountain. And hey presto, it turned on almost immediately after, almost as if someone had seen us looking at it and decided to flip it on that day. (I may or may not have written anything on Yelp about the antique center)

[cowboybud]

Before the mall was built, the Houston Livestock Show/Rodeo owned the land and had planned to build a rodeo arena on the site.

[acamarillo]

Well....the restaurant area is still there, but the actual Woolworth's store is long gone. The exterior side is (or was) SRO, the mall side is a hodge-podge of small retail, last I saw

I mean, it appears that most people that know of 1407 Studewood as Fiesta, or Clayton's, or maybe even Weingarten's. I have a half an album of pictures when it was Carl Cohen owned "Studewood Food Market" from the 60s & 70s, because my mother ran the snack bar in the back for 20 some odd years. Yes, that store had a full separate snack bar next to the meat market back in the day, not the steam line that was in the front by the door.

 

I always think of that as studewood food market. we lived off Irvington, and that was probably our main store since to us it was nicer and cleaner than the Rice on Weiss and Fulton or the Weingartens on Quitman. and I always headed to the back for a vanilla shake while mom shopped, so I probably saw your mom on more than one occasion.

[Purpledevil]

I bet you did! Probably saw me running around the store too. The memories I have of that store, and the people in it, are fond. It's been too many years to remember everyone's names, but Bitsy, Miss Fay, Miss Trudy, and the gang were such great people to me as a child growing up, and have never left my thoughts in all these years. Of course, Miss Trudy and Miss Fay have long passed, but a good friend and former schoolmate told me about Bitsy working at Jimmy's, and I've got to make it a point to pop in and say hello. I haven't seen her in probably 20 years. Glad to read that you, too, share in some of those memories of the old Studewood Food Market. Did you know that wasn't the original store building? The original burnt down in the 60's, and was rebuilt into what it was before it was demoed. I have to get the pictures posted I have of the snack bar. They're sure to bring back some great memories for you.

Sorry fellow readers, I have hijacked the thread. Back to the topic. Northwest Mall had an arcade that was in the corridor of the Foley's wing, down the short hallway that turned right at the Pipe Pub, directly across from Battlestein's/Beall's entrance. Does anyone remember the name of this game room? This article has struck up a debate between me and an old running buddy. He says it was Tilt, I swear it was The Goldmine. Tilt was in Northline, not NW. Which one of us is crazy? I swear it's him.

[mkultra25]

It was definitely Gold Mine. The exterior was covered with fake rocks to look like the entrance to a mine, and the "Gold Mine" sign was in yellow/gold-colored letters. I don't remember Tilt, but I guess it's possible that Gold Mine later changed its name under subsequent ownership before it closed. 

[brhaltx]

Gulfgate's arcade may have been called Gold Mine...

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

there was a Gold Mine at Westwood, too. It was next to Joske's

[mkultra25]

The entry for NW Mall at deadmalls.com claims that Gold Mine later became Tilt:

 

http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/northwest_mall.html

[Purpledevil]

Well, apparently it was both then. Your description of the arcade is exactly how I remembered it, mkultra. I did not know that it later became a Tilt, but not really surprised. Thanks for the link. :-)

[IronTiger]

Gold Mine and Tilt were both common mall arcades.

[IronTiger]

I'm an idiot, because the CiCi's answer was right under my nose the whole time. I was looking through my photos from 2008, and I found this. Unfortunately, a truck was blocking most of the mall (the subject), but I managed to capture just enough to lay to rest a misconception I had...

 

[Colin]

I worked at Northwest Mall in about 2000, and I actually had my car worked on at that little shack. I believe it was a Western, but I only went there once and can't really recall. The guys were nice.

 

I'm disappointed to see that Cici's closed, though it's been a few years since I've been down there. You couldn't access it from inside the mall.

 

That was a Tilt, and my little storefront was right next to it. The manager there (fat Mexican guy) would let us use his bathroom because the mall bathrooms were so far away, and we didn't have our own.

[Michelle C]

My sources (an old book from the 1970s called "Houston Today", checked it out from a library) say that Almeda Mall and Northwest Mall both had 71 stores at start (this may or may not include the department stores). If you find the Almeda Mall store opening list, you've found Northwest Mall's.

 

When they were new they were billed as the twin malls.

 

[torimask]

Scanned this last week, may help, at least if you want to know the stores from 1976 (From the Post classified 2/12/76)

[IronTiger]

I'm not sure of they had the exact same stores on opening day, but by the mid-1970s, they had different stores in different spots, even if it was the same layout.

[Ross]

I'm not sure of they had the exact same stores on opening day, but by the mid-1970s, they had different stores in different spots, even if it was the same layout.

 

If you look at the map, it has things like 52 xxx at Almeda, 52 yyy at Northwest.

 

[IronTiger]

If you look at the map, it has things like 52 xxx at Almeda, 52 yyy at Northwest.

I know, I was just noting that fact. I think the lower right block of stores, that corridor, became a food court later, at least at NW.

[mkultra25]

Scanned this last week, may help, at least if you want to know the stores from 1976 (From the Post classified 2/12/76)

 

Many thanks - this confirms my foggy recollection of the name and location of Le Petit French Cafe.

[Jermaine]

Northwest Mall had an arcade that was in the corridor of the Foley's wing, down the short hallway that turned right at the Pipe Pub, directly across from Battlestein's/Beall's entrance. Does anyone remember the name of this game room? This article has struck up a debate between me and an old running buddy. He says it was Tilt, I swear it was The Goldmine. Tilt was in Northline, not NW. Which one of us is crazy? I swear it's him.

 

Actually, at least during some time in the early-mid 80's, the gameroom was called ALADDIN'S CASTLE...

[Purpledevil]

Yes and no, IronTiger. That part of the mall always had food in it, but it has never been all food establishments. What's listed as "The Saloon" later closed in the mid 80's and became Waldenbooks. El Chico, I believe, is now Foot Action and has been a shoe store since El Chico left the mall. That corridor, at one time or another, also had a Sam Goody's, a candle place called "Wicks N Sticks", a bank, and Ventura's Formal Wear. Northwest has never had a "traditional" food court area like Greenspoint or Memorial City has.

[Purpledevil]

Your recollection is spot on, mkultra. Can't believe I didn't remember it, especially since I was dragged into Lane Bryant next door, by my mother, more times than I care to admit. If I never walk into The Woman's Shop, Lane Bryant, or Naturalizer again in my life, it'll still be too soon.

[Reefmonkey]

I was feeling a bit nostalgic for Northwest Mall recently. I guess because one of my last major memories of it in anything near its heyday was in the summer of 1987, right before I started junior high school, and now my daughter is in junior high.

 

Even though I grew up in the Spring-Klein area, I went to Northwest Mall a lot during my childhood because it was in the part of town where my dad always chose to have his offices. So, many times when my mom had taken us in town to the pediatrician, or shopping in the Galleria, on our way home we'd meet my dad at his office, and sometimes we'd burn a little time in the mall before meeting him for dinner, sometimes in the mall itself, but more often at the Luby's nearby on 290. I remember my mom buying me some Striderite tennis shoes size kids 13 in the Foleys there, to show how young I was and how long go that was.

 

That summer of 1987, I remember my mother had a serious health issue that she needed to be in the Medical Center all day for testing for, so my dad took my brothers and me into work with him, then dropped us off at the mall with some cash to entertain ourselves. We probably just ate at the food court, and rummaged around in the music store (I think I bought a Gloria Estefan cassette), and then saw two movies back to back - Back to the Beach and The Living Daylights, then played in the arcade. Flashbulb memory.

 

For two summers in late high school and early college I worked at my dad's companies, and would go to Northwest to eat in the food court and do a little shopping on my lunch break. It was still a fairly decent mall then.

 

I didn't think much about Northwest until 2012, when I started a job nearby. For old times' sake I stopped in on lunch breaks here and there until we moved our office to the Energy Corridor in late 2013. By then the mall was just a shadow of its former self. I bought a pair of Levis in the Palais Royale there. I guess it was sometime last year I was dropping my daughter off at a birthday party at that gokart track and arcade on Hempstead Highway, and decided to see what was up with the mall. The interior was completely closed off, though the Palais Royale was still open and I could peer into the mall through the glass doors at their mall entrance.