Historic Houston Shopping Places

[Guest Marty]

Looks like you saved your moon-landing newspapers like I did. Sure is interesting to go back and look at the articles and ads from that era.

My grandpa saved them. I wonder if Suniland on 2817 Main is still around. It was a Furniture store.

[57Tbird]

My grandpa saved them. I wonder if Suniland on 2817 Main is still around. It was a Furniture store.

Ouch!

Don't know if it's still around, but I still have a sofa, love seat, and table lamps I bought at Suniland. It was on Tuam, between Main and Fannin, if I remember correctly. Evidently, it had the Main St. address.

[Guest Marty]

Ouch!

Don't know if it's still around, but I still have a sofa, love seat, and table lamps I bought at Suniland. It was on Tuam, between Main and Fannin, if I remember correctly. Evidently, it had the Main St. address.

The paper mentions free customer parking, Fannin at Drew

[brucesw]

My grandpa saved them. I wonder if Suniland on 2817 Main is still around. It was a Furniture store.

Suniland sold out to Louis Shanks of Austin a number of years ago; I think the Main street store had already closed by then and the main store was on Fondren just south of Westheimer.

[plumber2]

As a kid, riding along in the back seat of the car, I always looked forward eagerly to seeing the one on W. Gray, almost as much as passing the Mrs. Baird's bakery a few blocks east and smelling the fresh baking bread and seeing the loaves moving along the production line through the big glass windows.

Dino never did much for me, but I really dug the Flying Red Horse.

Several people have mentioned Henke and Pillot in this thread. I just came across a special section in the Chron in 1922 - August 15, Henke and Pillot was celebrating their 50th anniversary. Founded in 1872 in Market Square; Henry Henke hired Eugene Pillot as his produce manager and then made him a partner. They were sold in 1956 to Kroger.

Here's a couple more I came across in the old papers that were still around in my childhood:

Waddell's Furniture - I think they were in business up until about 10 years ago.

Ineeda Laundry and Cleaners - started out doing home laundry but by the 50s I think it was mostly commercial and industrial laundry and linen supply. Used to see their trucks all the time.

It was just a few years ago that the beer & wine selections in Krogers were still refered to as and rung up at the registers as "HenPil" items. It appears that the Texas liquor license required this obscure situation to continue on for years after Kroger bought out Henke & Pilot.

[plumber2]

The Jamail family all lived along Fairdale west of Ulrich Rd. (now Fountain View). I remeber as a child breaking my collar bone at one their backyard parties after being chased and pushed down by a couple of the Jamail girls. (they were mean).

[bmil128]

I was goign to mention Bill Douglass' Shoe Box, we went to the one near Champion Forest on 1960, and if I was good I got to go to the Playhouse Toys store next to it.

Saw the mention of Suniland. My mom said they used to make their own furniture polish that had this great smell, and she loved going there because of it. My folks still have most of the furniture they got after getting married there.

[Guest Marty]

Mading Dugan Drug Stores 1969

Southwest

5018 Bellaire Blvd

5101 Montrose Blvd.

5655 Beechnut

9331 Stella Link

4441 West Fuqua

3845 Dunlavy

5104 Almeda Road

6602 South Main st

2401 Rice Blvd

2048 West Grey

1003 Meyerland Plaza Mall

5430 Bissonet

5142 Richmond Ave.

5343 West Bellfort

9601 Hillcroft

8520 Bellaire Blvd.

Southeast

--53 Bellfort Blvd. -- = ink defect

1169 Edgebrook

4927 South Park Blvd

720 Telephone Road

1504 Collage ave.

5301 Telephone Road

7502 South Park Blvd.

8606 South Park Blvd.

Edited January 11, 2007 by Marty

[isuredid]

[Ol' SEHouston Girl]

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.

OMG. My youngest brother had her in '65-'66. My other brother was a year ahead of him.

Ashikaga, where did you live in Park Place? We lived off of Old Galveston Road and my grandparents lived on Easton.

Does anybody know if the Old Chuck Wagon still exists in Park Place? And for shopping centers--is Palm Center still around?

And y'all were talking about Playhouse Toys-does anyone remember the one at Gulfgate? It had a giant giraffe head over the stairs that led down to the ground floor. I still dream about that wing of Gulfgate and that giraffe, no clue why.

Edited January 11, 2007 by Ol' SEHouston Girl

[brerrabbit]

The Jamail family all lived along Fairdale west of Ulrich Rd. (now Fountain View). I remeber as a child breaking my collar bone at one their backyard parties after being chased and pushed down by a couple of the Jamail girls. (they were mean).

I was being a couch potato the other day surfing through the cable channels when I came across a movie called "My Best Friend is a Vampire". For whatever reason I watched it for a while and low and behold the whole thing was shot in Houston. The high school they used was none other than my alma mata Milby High school. The kid who became the "nice" vampire had an afternoon job delivering groceries and the name on the truck was Jamail's. It had numerous shots of downtown Houston, and at one point he was waiting for a bus and the name of the street was Idylwood. I think his house was in West University because from the street scene in the movie you could see what looked like the garage door house that is on the corner of Kirby and another street right across from Rice Village. That house has been featured on the HGTV show "Whats With That House?" Its three stories with metal siding and what look like garage doors on the second floor. The same architech has had another house similar to it in Houston feature on the same show.

If you ever see the movie check it out, not for the movie but for an interesting tour of Houston through Hollywoods eyes.

[musicman]

Does anybody know if the Old Chuck Wagon still exists in Park Place? And for shopping centers--is Palm Center still around?

palm center is still there but is basically only public funded facilitites related to county and city. The montgomery ward still stands across the screen but penneys has been dozed.

[sevfiv]

Ashikaga, where did you live in Park Place? We lived off of Old Galveston Road and my grandparents lived on Easton.

Does anybody know if the Old Chuck Wagon still exists in Park Place? And for shopping centers--is Palm Center still around?

i'll answer that for him - he mentioned it a few times - haven't seen him around lately (HAIF link)

the chuck wagon is now a pupuseria (HAIF link)

[Ol' SEHouston Girl]

i'll answer that for him - he mentioned it a few times - haven't seen him around lately (HAIF link)

the chuck wagon is now a pupuseria (HAIF link)

Dang. Well, I hear that Park Place is heavily Hispanic so that'd be why it changed. But the Chuck Wagon's burgers--ohhh! They were to die for! There's a great discussion of the place on the Milby message board of classmates. com .

[enviromain]

But the Chuck Wagon's burgers--ohhh! They were to die for!

Chuck Wagon's hamburgers were the best! There was a Chuck Wagon Drive-In located near Bissonnet and Beachnut in the 70's. Good ole' mustard burgers!

[isuredid]

The Hosiery Bar - 1010 Main Street

[cowboybud]

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.

Was this in the Safeway/Eckerd's center? I don't remember it, must not have been around long.

[banking214]

Houlihans. The one I remember was where Town and Country Village is located (it affronted the pre Sam Houston Tollroad).

Aberbcrombie and Fitch - prior to the "AF" of today, when the really sold travel gear and upscale equipment. I remember the location off of Post Oak.

[Subdude]

The Hosiery Bar - 1010 Main Street

I'm assuming by the address that this would have been on the ground floor of the National Standard/C&I building. Do you know about when this was taken? There isn't a food store at that location on the "Downtowner" map.

Aberbcrombie and Fitch - prior to the "AF" of today, when the really sold travel gear and upscale equipment. I remember the location off of Post Oak.

I used to really like A&F in their original incarnation as an outdoor clothing and equipment store. They had some very nice stuff.

[isuredid]

I'm assuming by the address that this would have been on the ground floor of the National Standard/C&I building. Do you know about when this was taken? There isn't a food store at that location on the "Downtowner" map.

I used to really like A&F in their original incarnation as an outdoor clothing and equipment store. They had some very nice stuff.

The photo is from 1937

[Bullwinkle]

Here's hoping these stir up some fond memories, even if somewhat off topic:

Joske's, Palais Royal, & Nieman-Marcus, before there was a "Galleria Area" [and their competitor with the advertising jingle, "By Golly .. Go to Leopold Price & Rolle!"]

Alabama Theater complex - Walgreen's Drugs, A&P, Suzanne's Cafeteria, Wackers (or maybe TG&Y), & Western Auto, in addition to the Theater ... the "Valet" (?) dry cleaners just across the street, with the signage of an English butler holding up a freshly-pressed men's suit .... and the Preston Villa apartments just down the street, with the prominent signage of the 1950ish young lady diving head-first and feet-up into the pool ...

Eagle supermarkets

Houston Jewelry & Distributing

Jetton's cafeteria, when Greenway Plaza was going up

Plaid trading stamps, and the redemption center in University Village .. (used to get Top Value stamps at "Enco" stations, up through about 1973 I think)

Madding-Dugan drustores .. Became Rexall, then Eckerd

...when Bland Cadillac used to be Bland-Willis, off 610 I think

And for some really old memories:

Shoppers' Special downtown buses with the white flags on top

Kayo gasoline - the really cheap stuff!

Conoco gasoline, with about 8 different grades, according to the selector lever on the pump

"Buy your Chevrolet from Persia .. Mike Persia Chevrolet!"

The downtown Weingarten's, between the Chronicle building and the hippie dive known as "The Cellar", that used to always have a hearse parked out front

Dobbs House and Toddle House short-order eateries

[Subdude]

Welcome to HAIF. You found the right place - there have been discussions here on a lot of those places.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Budget Chopper, which was a division of Brookshire Brothers.

Minimax/Continental Finer Foods/Holiday Foods/Lucky 7 I think were owned by the same company in the end.

Moore's which (at least in Rosenberg) became Price-Lo Foods. Palais Royal eventually took over the site when the grocery store folded.

Bill's Department Stores, which seemed to be the Dollar General of it's day. Not sure if one or two surviving stores exist, but I remember seeing a sign in Sealy or Bellville in the not-too-distant past.

Remco. Can't forget the goaheadandgetit store... I think a bunch of those became Magic Rent to own along the way.

Miller's Outpost. All sorts of 'unique' promos with those stores.

Kuppenheimer, later Eagle comes to mind. Forgot the name of the guy that was always in the commericals tho...

[Firebird65]

Bill's Department Stores, which seemed to be the Dollar General of it's day.

LOL! Good ol' Bill's. I once told my sister-in-law that if she didn't behave herself and start being nice to me, I was doing my Christmas shopping for her at Bill's. That message sure got through. ROTF!

[Vertigo58]

LOL! Good ol' Bill's. I once told my sister-in-law that if she didn't behave herself and start being nice to me, I was doing my Christmas shopping for her at Bill's. That message sure got through. ROTF!

Miller's Outpost was quite "hip" for it's time too.

Did anyone mention Banana Republic already? Was too expensive for the common folk (like me) so it didn't surprise me if it vanished.

[ArchitecturalPRGirl]

WORLD TOY IN THE RICE VILLAGE!!! Those old Jewish ladies were like Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in the barber shop in Coming to America. It was where Banana Republic and NY & Co. are now at the corner of University and Morningside. Thank God 5 & 10 is still there. No matter if you need a new spatula or a costume, they've got it!

[Alpha]

WORLD TOY IN THE RICE VILLAGE!!! Those old Jewish ladies were like Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in the barber shop in Coming to America. It was where Banana Republic and NY & Co. are now at the corner of University and Morningside. Thank God 5 & 10 is still there. No matter if you need a new spatula or a costume, they've got it!

I have the funniest story about that store.

In 1991, I was in the hospital recovering from surgery and my sister went there to buy me a Madame Alexander Doll. She was trying to decide between two of them - McGuffey Ana and Apple Pie.

After she decided on Apple Pie, the little saleslady (who had been there at least 40 years) announced to the whole store, "If anyone else comes in to buy a doll for Alpha, tell them to get McGuffey Ana, because she already has Apple Pie."

When my sister gave me the doll and told me this, I laughed so hard I nearly pulled out my stitches.

[ArchitecturalPRGirl]

Haha! Yep that's the store. Glad someone else knows about it. I used to ride my bike there with all my allowance and babysitting money to buy dollhouse furniture:) They had sooooooo much crap in there. Then we would go to Baskin Robins across the street. Still there.

[Jermaine]

Kuppenheimer, later Eagle comes to mind. Forgot the name of the guy that was always in the commericals tho...

Kuppenheimer spokesman: Gene Peterson...the voice of the Houston Rockets on the radio.

Here's one for you guys:

BRITT'S in Northline Mall.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Fayva, the shoe & fashion boot retailer

Sutherlands- Why'd it disappear from the Houston area? I'm pretty sure they're still around in a bunch of other places. Definitely recall seeing a huge one in Corpus that was still open on my last trip at the end of last year.

Bookstop, before it was reduced to one store. Always loved hanging out at the one in Sugar Land... wonderful staff and selection. Both of which eventually tranferred to Barnes and Noble when that opened later on. This location was adjacent to another old Houston furniture store, Plantowsky's.

I'd make the same arguement for Cactus before it was only one superstore... My favorite was the one along S. Main near the Astrodome.