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My wife was a steady customer of the Edwards Grand Palace, but gave up on them because of their steadily increasing parking price. Last time she went it was $3.00 just to park...plus $7.00 or $8.00 for the movie...plus $10.00 for a coke and a box of candy. It cost her $20.00 for an afternoon at the movies...$35.00 when I go! We can get a nice meal for $35.00, and it's a lot more entertaining than anything in the theater...

I can understand why people don't go to the movies as much as they used to.

* There were few patrons, and the patrons seemed like they mainly came from apartments.

You'll have to explain that one...how do you tell who comes from apartments and who comes from detached single-family homes? :blink:

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I can understand why people don't go to the movies as much as they used to.

You'll have to explain that one...how do you tell who comes from apartments and who comes from detached single-family homes? :blink:

In southwest Houston outside of 610, most of the low income residents live in apartments. AMC Meyer Park, towards the end, seemed to take mainly lower income families. Movie theaters make most of their money from concession stands. I doubt that the lower socioeconomic end has money to buy a lot of popcorn and nachos.

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Meyer Park was the father of the "moden megaplex theatre"...everyone from 610 North, West, South, Mo. City, etc. hung out there as it was the place to be before the theatre building boom of the 90s and early 2000s. They were the "kings" of sold out premiers and you had to buy a ticket 4 hours in advance to see a showing....how many times did I miss the initial showing of "Ninja Turtles"....lol

What killed Meyer park was stadium seating and the strip center was caught in between demographic changes as it never seemed to replace the stores it lost...Media PLay, Blockbuster Music, etc.

How can you tell an apartment dweller over there Vic? The apartments on south post oak are heavily hispanic and the mass row of apartments on West Bellfort is several miles away and everything is in there....

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My wife was a steady customer of the Edwards Grand Palace, but gave up on them because of their steadily increasing parking price.

We used to live very close by to the Edwards Grand Palace, but I never went there more than a handful of times. I refuse to pay for parking at a movie theater, plus the last time I was there I nearly got run over by some idiot in a big hurry in the parking garage. At least when you go to the Angelika downtown and park in the theater district garage, they'll validate your parking at the box office.

The best theaters in town as far as presentation standards (projection equipment properly maintained, picture always in focus and framed correctly, no blown speakers, etc.) used to be the Meyerland General Cinema, the Loews Fountains, and the Museum of Fine Arts' Brown Auditorium. The Meyerland GC's gone, and I haven't been to the Fountains in several years as it was much farther away once we bought our house, but the MFAH is still without peer; of course, they don't screen first-run movies.

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We used to live very close by to the Edwards Grand Palace, but I never went there more than a handful of times. I refuse to pay for parking at a movie theater, plus the last time I was there I nearly got run over by some idiot in a big hurry in the parking garage. At least when you go to the Angelika downtown and park in the theater district garage, they'll validate your parking at the box office.

MKUltra, some people have a neat trick where they will park in the neighborhood west of the theater and then cross the street.

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Who cares about 2 lousy bucks for parking when a ticket is $10? I go to Grand Palace for all the block busters in the first or second weekend, before they are relegated to the smaller screens, as their big screens are nice with great sound systems. I went to AMC First Colony to watch Spiderman 3 and the sound was awful and the projector was blurry.

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Meyer Park was the father of the "moden megaplex theatre"...everyone from 610 North, West, South, Mo. City, etc. hung out there as it was the place to be before the theatre building boom of the 90s and early 2000s. They were the "kings" of sold out premiers and you had to buy a ticket 4 hours in advance to see a showing....how many times did I miss the initial showing of "Ninja Turtles"....lol

What killed Meyer park was stadium seating and the strip center was caught in between demographic changes as it never seemed to replace the stores it lost...Media PLay, Blockbuster Music, etc.

How can you tell an apartment dweller over there Vic? The apartments on south post oak are heavily hispanic and the mass row of apartments on West Bellfort is several miles away and everything is in there....

well it's when the place was built, it rejuvenated the area somewhat enough to attract residents to the area that are more well off but couldn't quite eliminate the ghetto factor permanently. it is sad to see it go. s post oak hasn't recovered either.

parking across richmond is pretty easy, too - usually

i know someone that was towed over there. IMO, it just is too difficult to find consistent parking at edwards. not worth the effort.

Edited by musicman
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Also, do not park at the restaurant complex and then go to the theater after eating. Even during the night, when parking is not an issue, the center is tow-happy.

well it's when the place was built, it rejuvenated the area somewhat enough to attract residents to the area that are more well off but couldn't quite eliminate the ghetto factor permanently. it is sad to see it go. s post oak hasn't recovered either.

i know someone that was towed over there. IMO, it just is too difficult to find consistent parking at edwards. not worth the effort.

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Went to see a movie at Grand Palace and the parking is actually $3. My bad. Still, big freaking deal. As a small business owner, I empathize with jerks that try and park in the restaurant parking to see a movie. Umm, those are for restaurant customers. That's just in bad form to take up parking for 2 hours. It $3 dollars people. Anyway, with property values going up, its the only way to get a movie theater in that location.

I will say this, I also read that AMC Meyer Park is closing. I remember when it was new and there were huge crowds there. When I was dating my wife, we'd go see a ton of movies over there. Great memories. But its time has passed. Heck they already tore down the Cinaplex Odeon and it was newer than Meyer Park!

Edited by texas911
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  • 2 months later...

I worked at that Wal-Mart, and it was the worst: rude customers (oh how many times did I get money thrown AT me), rude employees, dirty, disorganized, I could go on. On Fridays and Saturdays, the rugrats from the AMC would come in and steal and fight before their movies would start. It was terrible. And Wal-Mart does build in minority areas because they've built a new Super WalMart off of Beltway, within spitting distance of the notorious Spice Ln.

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Tell me more about this Spice Ln. I am native and nver heard of it.

Spice Lane is east of Wilcrest, west of Beltway 8, south of Beechnut, and north of Bissonnet. It is in the Houston city limits and in Alief ISD.

Apartments on Spice Lane:

* Claridge Apartments - 10027 Spice Lane

* Aspen Ridge - 10555 Spice Lane

Edited by VicMan
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  • 2 weeks later...

Speaking of Walmart, I went to the one on Beltway 8 just south of where the Auchan used to be located for the first (and last) time recently. OMG...what a disgusting store! There were people just hanging out in the front and the store just seems very disorderly. To their credit it is a full service super walmart and not a mini Walmart the Meyerland one.

If you want a half way good walmart to go to then the one on HWY 6 south of Dulles is the best one to go to. You can take HWY 90 and go in the back way using Murphy Rd. It is about a 15 minute drive compared to the 5 minute one it would take me to go to Meyerland but well worth it. Up Hwy 6 about 1 mile north on the left is a Sears hardware store. This has also become my replacement for Sears in Westwood.

It is just sad to see Westbury/Meyerland lose 2 theaters in under 4 years like this. I think the Meyerland Theater will be converted into a foreign language version sometime in the future like the theater on W. Belfort and Fondren (the Indian theater) or the a Spanish language one. Otherwise, the building will sit dormant forever. But if Randalls pulls the plug on their store I would love for that entire wing of the center to be demolished and a Sears built. CLOSE THE WESTWOOD STORE SEARS!!!!! They would have to rebuild from nothing but they would have enough room to put in the auto center as well. Napoli pizza made the smartest move going from that center into a small private building near Chimney Rock and Beechnut. Now that is an area you feel safe leaving you car unlocked in the parking lot if you so desire.

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  • 1 month later...

I live in Westbury and spend quite a bit of money at the Wal-Mart Neighboorhood Market on Hillcroft near Braeswood. I also shop a built from the ground up version near my office off Gessner/Kempwood. The Hillcroft store should be a model for future stores as it has a somewhat upscale (as far as Wal-Mart goes) in interior color choices and softer complementary lighting. You have to actually walk into the Hillcroft store and then go visit another one to understand. If they can continue to attempt to keep the parking lot and store clean I will continue to go there. Customer service-wise ... it's Wal-Mart.

When I want to do a Super Wal-Mart I will make a Saturday trip down the Ft Bend Tollway from Westbury to the one in Missouri City (Hwy 6 / FM 1092) which so far seems really clean, staff friendly and I've never experienced it being a zoo. I typically get some lunch while out there in the area too since there is a lot of restaurants around there on the edge of First Colony.

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  • 1 year later...

Tonight, I just got reminded why I usually take the trek to the Wal-Mart in Pearland when I need something from them. I went to Meyer Park tonight, and words cannot express my utter disbelief. I'd just left the Super Target on S.Main and wanted to check on something there. Target is just a whole different type of world compared to Wal-Mart, especially that one in particular. I grew up in the "hood", but that Meyer Park Wal-Mart is too "hood" for me.

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Tonight, I just got reminded why I usually take the trek to the Wal-Mart in Pearland when I need something from them. I went to Meyer Park tonight, and words cannot express my utter disbelief. I'd just left the Super Target on S.Main and wanted to check on something there. Target is just a whole different type of world compared to Wal-Mart, especially that one in particular. I grew up in the "hood", but that Meyer Park Wal-Mart is too "hood" for me.

I live close to Meyer Park as well, and I have general rule, if I can get in and out of that Wal Mart by 10 AM it is cool, after that, drive to Pearland

Edited by Native Son
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What pearland are you talking about? The one on main or the one on 288? The wal-mart is main is always pretty empty. I don't know how they can support a supercenter. The one in Pasadena are getting cheap and dimming/turning off the lighting. I don't like that. Just to save what 15 bucks an hour shutting of fluorescent lights.

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What pearland are you talking about? The one on main or the one on 288? The wal-mart is main is always pretty empty. I don't know how they can support a supercenter. The one in Pasadena are getting cheap and dimming/turning off the lighting. I don't like that. Just to save what 15 bucks an hour shutting of fluorescent lights.

No doubt he's referring to the one off of 288, since it is newer, larger, and closer.

I've had to make the same decision between Meyer Park and Pearland before. It basically depends on how time-sensitive the run is. If my car's battery died and won't take a jump, and I'm in a parking lot on S. Main at 10PM, and a friend has showed up to help me go get a new battery, then I go to Meyer Park. It is closer. If it's 10PM and I'm leisurely going to pick up some basic stuff, I go to Pearland.

Edited by TheNiche
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What pearland are you talking about? The one on main or the one on 288? The wal-mart is main is always pretty empty. I don't know how they can support a supercenter. The one in Pasadena are getting cheap and dimming/turning off the lighting. I don't like that. Just to save what 15 bucks an hour shutting of fluorescent lights.

Niche is right, I'm referring to the one on 288. It takes me about the same length of time to get to the 288 location or Meyer Park from Riverside depending on traffic.

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  • 1 year later...

Does anyone have any official word on what is going on at Meyer Park shopping center. Luby's is building a new location as a pad site in front of their current location. The AMC theatre is now a pile of rubble except for the front wall. Employees at Randall's say they are going to be unemployed in 2011 because that store is closing.

I am hearing rumors from the Willow Meadows folks that Wally World is going to build a new Super Center there. Also from Westbury and Meyerland Civic Clubs there is a reponse "we've heard rumors" to the Super Center. I've asked several real estate folks and they are worried about the impact on property values if this rumor is true.

Can anyone find anything official as to what is going on there?

Thanks.

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The good news is those folks may still have a job. I heard from a reliable source that HEB was going to move in right away. I heard the same thing you did about Luby's, and Kohls is supposed to be opening there rather than Wally's. Let us pray!

Tim D.

Does anyone have any official word on what is going on at Meyer Park shopping center. Luby's is building a new location as a pad site in front of their current location. The AMC theatre is now a pile of rubble except for the front wall. Employees at Randall's say they are going to be unemployed in 2011 because that store is closing.

I am hearing rumors from the Willow Meadows folks that Wally World is going to build a new Super Center there. Also from Westbury and Meyerland Civic Clubs there is a reponse "we've heard rumors" to the Super Center. I've asked several real estate folks and they are worried about the impact on property values if this rumor is true.

Can anyone find anything official as to what is going on there?

Thanks.

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I am hearing rumors from the Willow Meadows folks that Wally World is going to build a new Super Center there. Also from Westbury and Meyerland Civic Clubs there is a reponse "we've heard rumors" to the Super Center. I've asked several real estate folks and they are worried about the impact on property values if this rumor is true.

Can anyone find anything official as to what is going on there?

Thanks.

I can confirm the rumors about the Wal-Mart Supercenter. I can also confirm the certainty of WHITE PEOPLE KATRINA! WHITE PEOPLE KATRINA!

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This shopping center has needed some help for some time. For the great location it just looks like a complete drab. Thank goodness its being taken over.

Back in the day that center was considered fairly nice. I think over the course of my life I saw more films at that AMC theater than anywhere else.

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