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Historic Houston Shopping Places


citykid09

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I do not remember the fireworks. But we moved to Briargrove Park from Briarmedow in late 1983 when I was in 7th Grade. They might have stopped it by then.

7 months ago my wife and I moved into Walnut Bend. We fought moving that far out, but have grown to love the area once again.

Did you ever ride your bike on the Sam Houston Tollway before it was completed. WE used to get up there and rige all the way to 59. It was pretty much completed for months before it was actually opened.

I think we had already moved to Katy before it was complete, but I remember hearing that people did this.

I drove through WB the other day and past my old house (on Wickersham), past friends houses on other streets, and by the pool where I spent many a day. I was shocked to see WB Elementary gone - it looked so weird. I never attended WB as we went to private school when we lived there, but drove by it all the time. I'm assuming they are going to rebuild.?

I had friends in Brairgrove Park too and spent much time over there. Since I attended private school back then (2nd Baptist) and church off Memorial, I had friends all over that area of town. I still love that area of town, but love our home here too and will stay here. It's fun to visit and spend time in that part of town though. After college we lived off Westheimer near DA for a few years and I loved being back in the area on a daily basis.

Have a great weekend!

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OK, now you are starting to freak me out a little. I too went to 2nd Craptist (I just came up with that one) from Pre-K through 8th Grade. I obviously was not a fan. But that is a totally different post....

I graduated HS in 1989 so that gives you an idea of my age. How old are you? We might just know each other.

I like the anonominity of this site, but if you are the same age we might have to take it offline and see if we know each other.

Did you ever have Mrs Casteneda (sp). She was my 6th grade teacher. She was as mean as a snake (if you are friends with her by some chance, I am just kidding...)

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OK, now you are starting to freak me out a little. I too went to 2nd Craptist (I just came up with that one) from Pre-K through 8th Grade. I obviously was not a fan. But that is a totally different post....

I graduated HS in 1989 so that gives you an idea of my age. How old are you? We might just know each other.

I like the anonominity of this site, but if you are the same age we might have to take it offline and see if we know each other.

Did you ever have Mrs Casteneda (sp). She was my 6th grade teacher. She was as mean as a snake (if you are friends with her by some chance, I am just kidding...)

Hey, that's too funny -lol. I graduated in 1992 so I'm a few years younger. We were at 2nd at the same time though as I was there from 2-4th grade. I had Mrs. Hutchinson, Mrs. Parrish, and Miss Sullivan. Do any of those ring a bell? I doubt you would know me as people don't usually know people 3 years younger unless you have a younger sibling. I might know you though as kids tend to remember/ look up to older kids -lol. You've got me curious now - are there private message capabilities on here?

We moved to Katy for my 5th grade year. It was the mid 80's -poor economy and my parents couldn't afford to keep us all in private school anymore. They didn't want us in HISD (Sorry if I offended anyone ) so we moved to Katy for the good schools. They also were concerned about the effect of all the building right by our house (since we were one block off Westheimer). When we left they had just built that Kaleidscope Center and were working on the tollway. I still love that area of town though. A few years ago I parked at the Kaleidscope center and took a walk along my old stomping grounds. I also love to drive through Lakeside Estates (the part near the bayou) where several of my friends lived.

Funny story (okay, after reading this I realized it's probably only amusing to me as we lived it, but it's already typed so I decided to leave it in- ;) )- if you ever frequent that Wendy's right there at the entrance to WB, you'll see a little piece of my mom's mark on westchase -lol. As you come out of the drive thru and turn right to enter the street (WB), you will see where they concreted in a part of the grass near the inner curb there. (I'm sure that doesn't make sense to you,but not sure how else to explain it.) Before there was concrete there, my mom took the turn too quick/ sharp, went over the curb, and got REALLY stuck in that area as the grass/dirt was low there (in those big 80's style stationwagons). We were blocking the drive-thru line and as kids were really embarrassed of course -lol. They had to call someone to tow us out. They said it had happened before, but not that bad. After that, they concreted it in. Every time I see it, I just chuckle to myself about that day.

Anyway, you've got me curious too. I still have my 2nd Baptist yearbooks, so I may have to go look at the pics for your grade ;) . Have a great day!

Edited by soifan
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  • 1 month later...

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Mosk's for Men - a big 3 or 4 story men's store downtown in the 50s, right next to the downtown Battlestein's

Hi, thanks for info on Mosk's for Men. I found my way to register here after a few glitches, and I found my way to this post, which I appreciate. I'm not sure how I find my way to the picture that shows the name MOSK.

I did find a page with 10-12 photos of old Houston. Is it one of those? I couldn't tell in the thumbnails. should I just go ahead and open each one to a larger size?

Edited by Pixel Packing Mama
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I remember:

U-Totem -- came just before Stop 'N' Go

Globe -- There was one off Shepherd where the flea market is now

Britt's (?) -- That five and dime in Northline Mall

Sound Warehouse

Wyatt's Cafeteria

Remember when Sears used to sell popcorn and candy?

I seem to remember Foley's doing the same thing, too.

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Hi, thanks for info on Mosk's for Men. I found my way to register here after a few glitches, and I found my way to this post, which I appreciate. I'm not sure how I find my way to the picture that shows the name MOSK.

I did find a page with 10-12 photos of old Houston. Is it one of those? I couldn't tell in the thumbnails. should I just go ahead and open each one to a larger size?

Yes. If you're still having problems let us know.

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Rice grocery stores had some low end stores for a while called PriceBuster.

Mervyns also high tailed it outta Dodge, I mean Houston.

One of my favorites was Childrens Palace. It was a toy store.

There was also a Highlands Appliance & Electronics store here too.

Some folks are getting takeovers/mergers/buyouts confused due to the fact that when a store pulls out of the market, there is usually a competitor ready to buy up as many of the locations as possible. A good example is Venture. When they left Houston, KMart was able to get the largest amount of locations and open their stores in them.

Eagle, Gemco, Pharmor, Weiners, Montgomery Wards, Woolco, Woolworth & Globe are some of the many that just closed up shop and weren't bought or taken over by anyone.

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I attended Kindergarten at Park Place Elementary School in 1963-64. I recently found my class photos and my report card. My teacher's name was Ms. Hurlburt. Have any of you heard of her? I doubt very seriously that she's still living.

Ms. Hurlburt....elementary school kids would have had a field day with that name.

I think she was depressed after you moved away and ended up a lonely old woman begging for change under the I-45 overpass at park place. j/k

know her first name??

found this short obit in the chron archives.

GERTRUDE HURLBURT, age 79, of Houston passed away Thursday, August 3, 2000. She is preceded in death by her husband Harvey Zeh Hurlburt. She is survived by a loving family; Sons; Geoffrey Hurlburt, and Tobias Hurlburt. Daughters; Victoria and husband Sid Stevens, Veronica and husband David Mayfield, Susan and husband Jim Bruton, Barbara and husband John Carmody, Claudia and husband Tom Kendall, Octavia and husband Lawrence Heyd. 14 Grandchildren and 1 Greatgrandchild. Sister; Genevieve Mattingly. Brother; Frederick Lepick and a host of friends. The family will receive friends Friday, August 4, from 4:00PM to 9:00 PM, at Crespo-Broadway Chapel, where a rosary will be recited at 7:00 P.M. Procession will depart funeral home at 9:15am for A Celebration of life Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00am Saturday, August 4, at St Helen Catholic Church (Pearland, Texas) Entombment will follow at SouthPark Cemetery

This could have been her since the services were at the funeral home on Broadway (near Park Place)

Edited by gnu
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Ms. Hurlburt....elementary school kids would have had a field day with that name.

I think she was depressed after you moved away and ended up a lonely old woman begging for change under the I-45 overpass at park place. j/k

know her first name??

found this short obit in the chron archives.

This could have been her since the services were at the funeral home on Broadway (near Park Place)

Thanks. I did the math. I was in her class back in 1964. That would have made her 43 back then. She sure looked a lot older than that. I have that class photo with her in it in my e-mail folder. If you could give me an e-mail address to forward it to and if you or someone else on this forum could post it, then all of you could look at it. I think you'd agree that she looked much older than 43.

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I remember:

U-Totem -- came just before Stop 'N' Go

Globe -- There was one off Shepherd where the flea market is now

Britt's (?) -- That five and dime in Northline Mall

Sound Warehouse

Wyatt's Cafeteria

Remember when Sears used to sell popcorn and candy?

I seem to remember Foley's doing the same thing, too.

I remember going to Globe on Woodridge next to Gulfgate. I also remember going to a U-Totem. In my mind, I'm thinking that it was south of where I lived on Galveston Road just before you get to South Houston. If I'm right, it's probably not there anymore. Or if the building is still there, then some other business is most likely occupying it.

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Has anyone mentioned Dugan's Drugs? They were all over town. The one in Bellaire was roughly where the Walgreen's is now, at Bellaire and Rice. The building was torn down about eight or 10 years ago. It had a GREAT grill and fountain in its heyday. Mading's merged with them, and for awhile there were Mading-Dugan stores. Then Eckerd swallowed that up.

What about Sight & Sound, the stereo shop? Sterling Electronics when it was a retail store on the SW Freeway?

Lew's Record Shop in Meyerland! What a record store.

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I loved Dugan's Drugs in Bellaire. I used to make my mom take me there even after we moved out to Meyerland.

I also loved Lew's Record shop. Up until a few years ago, I still had a few tokens from Lew's. I don't know what happened to them.

I used to spend most of my time in Woolworth's. They had huge ice cream sandwiches. We would buy them and walk around in the outside center court of Meyerland Plaza.

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--Handy Andy (very briefly here during the 70s)

I remember Handy Andy located near Hillcroft and Bissonnet. Henry's BBQ was across the street. And Sacco's Grocery Store, as well.

What about Piggly Wiggly? Way Out West? Josky's, JMH (Bellaire/West U) Meat Grocery Store, Westbury Square? Palais Royal?

Eagle, Gemco, Pharmor, Weiners, Montgomery Wards, Woolco, Woolworth & Globe are some of the many that just closed up shop and weren't bought or taken over by anyone.

The Gemco I knew was on Beechnut and Fondren. It was the pioneer of the current Walmarts and such. The first store in Houston (to my knowledge) to have camping equipment, sports, shoes, toys, fabrics, food court, and groceries. Bought my second baseball glove there. My mom loved it and I liked their ice cream!

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  • 4 weeks later...
There was a Food Lion in Sugar Land on the corner of Eldridge & Jess Pirtle. I think it's Gerlands now but could be wrong about that.

There was also one on W. Airport west of Kirkwood that turned into a school or something like that.

I work in this area...the former Food Lion on Eldridge is now a Food Town.

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Being the new girl on the block, trying to catch up around here is daunting. As I read this long thread, a couple of things came to mind.

Solomon's Fabrics became Cloth World became JoAnn's

The White House on corner of University & Kirby (now Half-Price Books) changed to Meyer Bros.

In high school, I worked at Meyer Bros. in Meyerland and you bet Lew's was great.

Bellaire Guy: Remember when Don and his wife owned the laundromat next door to his original shop on Bissonnet? And there was a super burger place just west of the meeting of Bissonnet and Bellaire that served charcoal grilled burger with great barbeque sauce.

Montclair Shopping Center (Bissonnet and Weslayan) became Weslayan Plaza.

As a child, we'd drive to Dallas to see relatives a lot. After Ennis, the sport was to start looking for Pegasus, huge and rotating on the top of the Magnolia/Mobil building in downtown.

The Magnolia Building in Houston was magnificently restored in the 1970's with a most elegant and really good restaurant on 2nd floor called "The Bismark."

Savings Stamps of all kinds and colors were the best. I completely outfitted the nursery for my daughter's birth in 1967 with stamps. I believe every variety crossed my sticky fingers at one time or another.

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Montclair Shopping Center (Bissonnet and Weslayan) became Weslayan Plaza.

My grandparents lived in West University (we never called it 'West U') and my grandmother did most of her grocery shopping at either JMH or Weingarten's in Montclair Center.

The Montclair Center sign had a light at the top that rotated like a lighthouse. When I would spend the night, it would shine in the back bedroom - off and on all night. I felt that it was kind of creepy.

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Alpha,

How cool, at last another familiar with my old 'hood. Your Grandparents must have either lived in what we called "the chimney," section north of Bissonnet or on or close to the Bissonnet strip. We lived at 4226 University. I started shopping at JMH when I was an infant, ha-ha. It was during the War (WWII) and with gas rationing, my mother would put me in my little red wagon and her sister would do same with her 2 kids in Southside Place and they'd walk down to JMH and meet to visit and shop together. I continued to go there all during my daughter's early life. They had charge accounts and you only had to pay your grocery bill once a month, very convenient.

I also went to Weingarten's and all the other stores at Montclair. Sorry the sign freaked you out! You are probably close to my daughter's age, she was born in 1967.

We never referred to our town as anything but West University Place until much later years, when it became trendy to just shorten it. Thanks for your memories!

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Alpha,

How cool, at last another familiar with my old 'hood. Your Grandparents must have either lived in what we called "the chimney," section north of Bissonnet or on or close to the Bissonnet strip. We lived at 4226 University. I started shopping at JMH when I was an infant, ha-ha. It was during the War (WWII) and with gas rationing, my mother would put me in my little red wagon and her sister would do same with her 2 kids in Southside Place and they'd walk down to JMH and meet to visit and shop together. I continued to go there all during my daughter's early life. They had charge accounts and you only had to pay your grocery bill once a month, very convenient.

I also went to Weingarten's and all the other stores at Montclair. Sorry the sign freaked you out! You are probably close to my daughter's age, she was born in 1967.

We never referred to our town as anything but West University Place until much later years, when it became trendy to just shorten it. Thanks for your memories!

I'm a little closer to your age. I was born in 1948. My grandparents lived in the 3900 block of Coleridge.

The funny thing about JMH is that they would cash checks for my grandmother and she didn't have to leave the car. She would give me the check and I would run in and give it to the person in the courtesy booth, and they would give me the cash.

We live in Katy now, but took a little trip to the Village yesterday to go to the Variety 5 & 10. My favorite store was World Toy & Gift. We would go in the back door and spend forever in the back section with all the 10 and 15 cent toys. My mom and my sister and I went back in the early 90s when they were closing. Of course all of that section is gone now.

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Alpha,

JMH was definitely one of a kind. J.M. Huffington originated it. He had a farm/ranch west of Houston and hired some Czech young boys to work for him. There were 2 brothers and some cousins of theirs. He'd haul them in via truck to learn the grocery business and work the store. When he died, the store became theirs. One brother opening a "new" store at Rice and Edloe eventually.

It was the perfect Mom & Pop place. The wives and children all worked there and knew everyone in the neighborhood. You could cash checks, pay utilities, charge your groceries and they catered to the kids. It was so easy. Like yourself, a child could run in and take care of business or buy things and charge them. The old Produce guy, Mack, would go to the Farmer's Market every morning. So anything I wanted, I'd just order it from him and next day, there it was. Also, the Butcher would cut anything to your order, no extra charge. At Thanksgiving, you could ask for a turkey of precise size and poundage and they'd come up with it.

Which leads to another story. When my daughter was around 3, we got home from a big shopping trip there and as I was unpacking, she placed on the kitchen counter a pair of kid's scissors on the cardboard backing, which I had not bought! I checked my receipt and not there. I flipped out when I realized she had stolen them. I was horrified and embarrassed and ready to pummel her, at least verbally. Well, she knocked me for a loop. As I was yelling and furious, she sobbed, "But, Mommy, you never pay for anything at JMH." Damn, it was true. Every other store we went to, she'd see me give them money, but not there. I learned a lesson that day. Of course, I still made her return them and confess, but they were kind and understood.

Variety Fair 5 & 10 came along in 1948. Most amazing and crazy little store I've ever experienced. Sadly, Cathy Irby is facing finally closing it next year if rent is raised too high. Her father, Ben Klinger was so great and there every day of his life. He died a few years ago. World Toy & Gift was a wonderland. Don't all the retailers seem bland these days?

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Don't all the retailers seem bland these days?

That's because everywhere you go, it's the same few stores. Target, Wal-mart, Starbucks, etc. I took a ride to Kemah last January to see the boardwalk. I hadn't been there in over 10 years. With the exception of two, every restaurant out there is also in Katy or on the west side of town. Sometimes it seems like there's almost no point in going anywhere because in a way, it's like you never left home.

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Enviro,

The original JMH on Milton is long gone. It was razed and the owners donated the land to be a lovely little park, which it is now. The newer JMH, at Rice and Edloe still exists, but was sold and changed a few years ago.

The reason for the meat purchase was they raised their own and it was untainted by hormones/chemicals. The best quality, tenderness and flavor you could find. Plus, the price was low. Up until I moved from Houston in 2000, I would still drive from Spring Branch to buy all our meat there.

In the 1970's, raising my child, I used to tell people, truthfully, I could feed my family on excellent sirloin steak from JMH cheaper than I could on hamburger from other stores.

So, E, did you live anywhere in our vicinity?

Sandy

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The original JMH on Milton is long gone. It was razed and the owners donated the land to be a lovely little park, which it is now. The newer JMH, at Rice and Edloe still exists, but was sold and changed a few years ago.

So, E, did you live anywhere in our vicinity?

Thanks Sandy! Great information. I was raised in Sharpstown during the 70's. Went to Sutton Elem., Jane Long JR., and Sharpstown SR. High. My grandmother lived on Lake in West U. I actually live in San Antonio, but travel back time to time to see relatives and friends. I'm working in Little Rock, AR right now.

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Wow...this takes me waaaaaay back. Living in H-Town all my life (36 years) I remember Panjo's Pizza and another pizza parlor called Shakey's Pizza on Calvalcade near Northline mall.

Does anyone remember Studewood Grocery store in the Heights? That's another one that closed down.

I ate once at that Shakey's and it was on Crosstimbers, not Cavalcade (easily mistaken, done it myself).

Speaking of pizza places, I came across an ad from 1974 for Straw Hat Pizza. Ate at the one on Airline at West Road.

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I ate once at that Shakey's and it was on Crosstimbers, not Cavalcade (easily mistaken, done it myself).

Speaking of pizza places, I came across an ad from 1974 for Straw Hat Pizza. Ate at the one on Airline at West Road.

When I played basketball, our team used to stop at a Shakey's Pizza after a win. We played at Butler stadium and I think the Shakey's was in a small shopping center near Fondren and Braeswood.

I was working in Riverside, CA last year and did you know they still have a Shakey's Pizza there? The sign is pretty old, but the students at the University there go there a lot.

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