Playland Park At 9200 South Main St.

[hartwell]

I remember going to Playland Park in Houston in the 1950s

as a kid,fond memories!. My step-dad operated the motor boats,my brother

and I would operate all of the lock levers to let boats out

and in,that wouldn't have happened these days!.

Please share your memories.

We lived on the old Chocolate Bayou Road,and now

I've heard it is "Cullen Blvd." We were close to Pearland,8 miles

south of Holmes Rd.,near the Brazoria/Harris county line.

What is out there now??. I remember there were cemeteries

around us and not much else!.

Thanks,

Ron Hoover

Denver Co.

Edited December 14, 2005 by hartwell

[Subdude]

There's some info on Playland Park right here.

That area near Pearland has major suburban development now.

[hartwell]

There's some info on Playland Park right here.

That area near Pearland has major suburban development now.

I ALMOST FORGOT THE DEMOLITION CAR RACES,STOCK CAR RACES ETC.,THAT WE WOULD

ATTEND ON FRIDAY,SATURDAY NIGHTS!!

[57Tbird]

I believe this address places it about where South Main and Murworth now intersect.

[Subdude]

Interesting. Same address as Gaido's.

[57Tbird]

Gaido's was on the west side of South Main...right across from Playland. Have no idea why they used the same address. The Playland ad is 1947 time-frame.

[S_M_Pearland]

I remember going to Playland Park in Houston in the 1950s

as a kid,fond memories!. My step-dad operated the motor boats,my brother

and I would operate all of the lock levers to let boats out

and in,that wouldn't have happened these days!.

Please share your memories.

We lived on the old Chocolate Bayou Road,and now

I've heard it is "Cullen Blvd." We were close to Pearland,8 miles

south of Holmes Rd.,near the Brazoria/Harris county line.

What is out there now??. I remember there were cemeteries

around us and not much else!.

Thanks,

Ron Hoover

Denver Co.

Old Chocolate Bayou has been straightened up to align with Cullen. 518 used to dead end at Cullen. Now, it's a major shopping area. You would not believe it.

South of 518 - off Cullen (Old Chocolate Bayou) there is the Silverlake community. http://www.silverlaketexas.com

Down further from 518 and Cullen (about four - five miles) is a new major freeway - SH 288 - that goes up to the Astrodome area and the medical center. All the way from Cullen to the freeway is dotted with commecial shopping areas - Super Walmart, Home Depot, Randalls, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.

Check out the City of Pearland web page

http://www.cityofpearland.com/

I went to Peppermint Park in the old Gulfgate area in the 1960s.....I was also on Kitterick (old 60's TV show) for my 5th birthday...I remember when there were cattle drives down the Manvel Highway (FM 1128 - 2 - 3 miles east of Old Chocolate Bayou) - the cattle would really tear up our lawn.

[northbeaumont]

I believe this address places it about where South Main and Murworth now intersect.

I used to confuse Playland Park with Peppermint Park. I vaguely remember one where you could see the "rock" of the Prudential building. Maybe it was Playland, because I distinctly remember Peppermint being next to Gulfgate.

[JoAnn]

I can remember going to Playland Park back in 1958 with our CYO group. Riding the Tilt-a-World and eating lots of junk food. A boy that I really liked wanted me to ride the roller coaster with him and he wanted us to sit in the front car....and I told him that I didn't want to ride in the first car because it scared me....well he got mad and sat there anyway and I climbed into the second car while the rest of our group filled the back cars. Going down the fifth hill all the junk food in my stomach started churning and I up-chucked all over the "love of my 13 year old life" and then I just sunk down on the seat in embarassment...not knowing that the rest of my friends were getting pelted with flying vomit as the coaster was speeding around the tracks. Needless to say I was not too popular after we got off the roller coaster as I was the only one who didn't get a speck of puke on me. Think that was the last time I went with our CYO group anywhere. It was hard enough having to go to church on Sundays with them. I lived off of OST on Tierwester St. and went to the old St. Agnes Academy on Fannin St. Does anyone out there remember riding the ride that they called the Bullet....I think I told my cousin who rode it with me all the sins I ever commited because I thought I was going to die on that ride...and my cousin later became a nun...guess she made a promise to God if she got off that ride that she would live her life as a nun. I wasn't that desperate because I got married right out of high school and have been married for 46 years. All my family still lives in Houston but I moved to a small town in Bridgeport, Texas where we milked cows! Anybody out there can remember the platform dives at the Shamrock Hotel...oh well that is another story!

I remember going to Playland Park in Houston in the 1950s

as a kid,fond memories!. My step-dad operated the motor boats,my brother

and I would operate all of the lock levers to let boats out

and in,that wouldn't have happened these days!.

Please share your memories.

We lived on the old Chocolate Bayou Road,and now

I've heard it is "Cullen Blvd." We were close to Pearland,8 miles

south of Holmes Rd.,near the Brazoria/Harris county line.

What is out there now??. I remember there were cemeteries

around us and not much else!.

Thanks,

Ron Hoover

Denver Co.

[4PROP]

I can remember going to Playland Park back in 1958 with our CYO group.

Here's Playland Park in 1957:

http://www.historicaerials.com/?poi=3341

[Heights2Bastrop]

We have discussed Playland on other threads, and I mentioned a few times about the maniacal mechanical clown that was in a glass booth at the entrance to the Fun House. I don

[4PROP]

We have discussed Playland on other threads, and I mentioned a few times about the maniacal mechanical clown that was in a glass booth at the entrance to the Fun House. I don't think anyone ever acknowledged that they remembered that.

He scared the Bajeezus outta me!

Well thanks alot Heights. That was a memory I could of gone without. As I remember, the clown was animated and screamed a horrific laugh. My wife remembered it too as soon as I mentioned it to her.

She also recalled a creepy mechanical fortune teller in a glass booth. We couldn't remember exactly where it was in the park. Maybe in the arcade?

[Heights2Bastrop]

I remember the fortuneteller, but it didn

[e streeter]

when did playland park disappear? i don't remember playland park, but further up/down mainstreet was kiddie wonderland which we went to in the 60's. i sometimes wondered if the poor horses were going to make it around the track. kiddie wonderland made it to the 90's before it was demolished.

[slojohn]

I remember going to Playland Park in Houston in the 1950s

as a kid,fond memories!. My step-dad operated the motor boats,my brother

and I would operate all of the lock levers to let boats out

and in,that wouldn't have happened these days!.

Please share your memories.

We lived on the old Chocolate Bayou Road,and now

I've heard it is "Cullen Blvd." We were close to Pearland,8 miles

south of Holmes Rd.,near the Brazoria/Harris county line.

What is out there now??. I remember there were cemeteries

around us and not much else!.

Thanks,

Ron Hoover

Denver Co.

I went there as a boy. Loved Playland Park. I went to Allen School, Sutton Elementary, Johnston Jr High, San Jac. Where did you go to school?

[Jerome Bush]

Man! How nostalgic! I went to Playland Park a lot as a kid. We usually went on "dollar day." Went to M.E. Foster. Would have gone to Cullen Jr. High had we not moved. Thanks for the memories!

[capt. kirk]

There's some info on Playland Park right here.

That area near Pearland has major suburban development now.

PLAYLAND PARK WAS NO WHERE NEAR PEARLAND...........IT WAS IN THE AREA JUST BEHIND WHERE THEY BUILT ASTROWORLD................PEARLAND IS SOUTH OF HOUSTON

[capt. kirk]

I remember the fortuneteller, but it didn�t bother me. What does bother me is that I can get up from the computer to get something in the other room, and when I get there, I forget what I went in there for.

Yet I can recall the most trivial of bits of information from when I was a kid. When you mentioned the fortuneteller, it came to me that there was a fortuneteller in a glass cage at the old Bill Williams Restaurant near Richmond. Why I would remember that I have no idea.

BILL WILLIAMS RESTAURANT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO EAT AND I ALSO REMEMBER THE FORTUNE TELLER................AS FOR AS THE REASON THAT YOU CANT REMEMBER FROM ONE ROOM TO THE NEXT.............HMMMM..........................IT'S CALLED GETTING OLDER AND I TO HAVE THAT SAME PROBLEM.

[capt. kirk]

I can remember going to Playland Park back in 1958 with our CYO group. Riding the Tilt-a-World and eating lots of junk food. A boy that I really liked wanted me to ride the roller coaster with him and he wanted us to sit in the front car....and I told him that I didn't want to ride in the first car because it scared me....well he got mad and sat there anyway and I climbed into the second car while the rest of our group filled the back cars. Going down the fifth hill all the junk food in my stomach started churning and I up-chucked all over the "love of my 13 year old life" and then I just sunk down on the seat in embarassment...not knowing that the rest of my friends were getting pelted with flying vomit as the coaster was speeding around the tracks. Needless to say I was not too popular after we got off the roller coaster as I was the only one who didn't get a speck of puke on me. Think that was the last time I went with our CYO group anywhere. It was hard enough having to go to church on Sundays with them. I lived off of OST on Tierwester St. and went to the old St. Agnes Academy on Fannin St. Does anyone out there remember riding the ride that they called the Bullet....I think I told my cousin who rode it with me all the sins I ever commited because I thought I was going to die on that ride...and my cousin later became a nun...guess she made a promise to God if she got off that ride that she would live her life as a nun. I wasn't that desperate because I got married right out of high school and have been married for 46 years. All my family still lives in Houston but I moved to a small town in Bridgeport, Texas where we milked cows! Anybody out there can remember the platform dives at the Shamrock Hotel...oh well that is another story!

the bullet..........the ride my cousin put me on and the one i screamed at the top of my lungs to get off of, lol. playland was a great place, the wooden coaster and the might mouse or something close

Edited December 26, 2009 by capt. kirk

[capt. kirk]

PLAYLAND PARK WAS NO WHERE NEAR PEARLAND...........IT WAS IN THE AREA JUST BEHIND WHERE THEY BUILT ASTROWORLD................PEARLAND IS SOUTH OF HOUSTON

on further research......playland park was located on south main, just inside loop 610, bordered by south main-murworth-and lantern drive...further east was kirby...the map shows the outline of where the astrodome was to be and the bridge across 610 and of course no astroworld yet. the 1957 image shows everything....by 64 the racetrack was gone and the partial park remained, the next year that shows is early 70's, everything is gone

[Playland Baby]

I'm hoping someone here can help me out a bit… I notice a few of y'all are very experienced and knowledgeable with respect to the stock racing at PLayland Park in the 1950's… I am looking for information about a driver, one Clyde Lowe; I can't be sure of the spelling, sorry. I'd like any information you can provide for a project I am working on.

While I don't live in Houston anymore, I do have some PLayland credentials… my grandfather was Lou Gordon, and Zaydah (what us kids called him) ran the concessions at Playland, the Auditorium, and most of the theaters in those days. At one time the family owned a miniature train ( I believe in Hermann Park). My grandmother, Myrtle Gordon, owned the mug-joint (picture booth) at PLayland, and my Aunt Kitty had the Fortune Tellers… we lived next door to the Park from about 1959 until about 1962, and prior to that on Hatton Street, although my grandparent, mom (Judith), Aunt Betty Jean, and Uncle David actually lived in housing on the Park property until sometime in the late 40's or early 50's.

I will be more than happy to swap stories of the Park with y'all, and I sincerely hope you can help me out with the information I seek. Please feel free to email me privately if you choose.

[57Tbird]

Try this Texas Auto Racing website. They have a "Where are they now?" forum, and others that might help you in your search.

[4PROP]

Try this Texas Auto Racing website. They have a "Where are they now?" forum, and others that might help you in your search.

Hi Tbird! I jumped over to the racing forum and found Clyde's name mentioned by Midget85. In his post he refered to pickup truck races at Playland. Hum. I don't recall those at all. Can you expand on that or direct us to more details? Thx

[57Tbird]

Hi Tbird! I jumped over to the racing forum and found Clyde's name mentioned by Midget85. In his post he refered to pickup truck races at Playland. Hum. I don't recall those at all. Can you expand on that or direct us to more details? Thx

I don't remember seeing any pick-up races there in the mid-50's. Just about everything else though... Powder-puffs, figure 8's, demolitions, and the regular stock and modifieds.

[57Tbird]

Playland Baby,

There was a poster here several years ago by the name of Sparky, who lived at Playland in the 50's. Here is a link to the start of her posts in Old Houston Amusement Parks...

You can look through a lot more of her posts in that time-frame and pick up some interesting memorabilia from her recollections of Playland and the Playland surroundings in that era.

[Playland Baby]

Thanks much everyone! Also, my grandad was Lou Gordon, and I'd love to hear anything you may have heard about him… I do know he wasn't the whitest sheep in the flock, and was well known for gambling at pinochle, and on other things as well, so I won't be offended if the memory isn't particularly flattering…

I'm attaching a photo file taken at Playland in my grandmother's mug joint. I don't know the exact year it was taken, but guessing at my mothers age being around 12, it's '46 or thereabouts.

My grandfather, Louis Carl Gordon, my grandmother Myrtle Jo Aldridge, my mother Judith, my aunt Betty Jean, and my uncle, David.

As it happens, after reading Sparky's posts, I can tell she is my aunt Betty Jean, lol. Her memories and my notes of what my grandmother and mother told me about Sam's death are quite different, but she wasn't living in Houston at the time, so… I'll go with the original source, lol.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Playland Baby

[roym]

Thanks much everyone! Also, my grandad was Lou Gordon, and I'd love to hear anything you may have heard about him… I do know he wasn't the whitest sheep in the flock, and was well known for gambling at pinochle, and on other things as well, so I won't be offended if the memory isn't particularly flattering…

I'm attaching a photo file taken at Playland in my grandmother's mug joint. I don't know the exact year it was taken, but guessing at my mothers age being around 12, it's '46 or thereabouts.

My grandfather, Louis Carl Gordon, my grandmother Myrtle Jo Aldridge, my mother Judith, my aunt Betty Jean, and my uncle, David.

As it happens, after reading Sparky's posts, I can tell she is my aunt Betty Jean, lol. Her memories and my notes of what my grandmother and mother told me about Sam's death are quite different, but she wasn't living in Houston at the time, so… I'll go with the original source, lol.

What happened to Sparky? Is she still around? Did you have trouble attaching your photo? Was it the same one Sparkey posted a while back?

[Dave W]

^^^ Landa Park is very old but it's just a large city park, not an amusement park. Does have a miniature train though.

The park at Main & Kirby was Kiddie Wonderland, not Kiddieland. There's a similar but even older park of the same type still operating in San Antonio, Kiddie Park. It's on Broadway at Mulberry on the southeast edge of Brackenridge Park.

Another old Houston kiddie amusement park was Wee Wild West on Post Oak.

Playland Park was owned by the Slusky brothers, Sam and Louis. After Sam was killed in the racetrack accident in 1959, Louis lost interest and closed it. IIRC Louis never lived in Houston, Sam was active in running the park and track.

[coxjj]

Forgive me for any repetition in this long thread. I might be able to add a little info on Playland Park. Yes, it was on the corner of S. Main and Murworth. My father owned the arcade and skee ball there, so, naturally, I spent a lot of my childhood there. I remember the difficulty even getting there as we lived 2 blocks south of Meyerland Plaza and 610 wasn't built yet. So we traveled residential streets to get there.

With almost unlimited access, I was able to achieve perfect scores of 450 (9 balls @ 50 pts. each) on skee ball. I remember collecting and tracking the coins out of the 100+ arcade machines and rolling them up and helping my dad deposit the bags of pennies, nickels, and dimes at the bank in the Prudential building.

I remember my dad became friends with the man in charge of souvenirs for the Colt 45's and ultimately the Astros. He had a son about the same age as me so I was able to see a number of games over the years. Good times.

[Michelle C]

I too used to go to Playland park. We also went to the stock car races in the back. My dad and I was there that fateful night in 1959 when a car crashed through the fence during the time trials killing three people outside the entrance near the concession stand, We were only about a minute from being at that very spot. As a couple of you mentioned the fortune teller. She was creepy as all get out and I avoided her like the plague.

[blue92]

I too used to go to Playland park. We also went to the stock car races in the back. My dad and I was there that fateful night in 1959 when a car crashed through the fence during the time trials killing three people outside the entrance near the concession stand, We were only about a minute from being at that very spot. As a couple of you mentioned the fortune teller. She was creepy as all get out and I avoided her like the plague.

 

That night marked the end to Playland Park one of the people that was killed that night was the owner of Playland. It closed not to long after his death. I too used to go there with my dad to watch the car racing, A.J. Foyt raced there then moved on to race at Meyer's Speedway.

[blue92]

In 1940 Playland Park was opened on South Main south of OST & South Main intersection. Playland Park had a race track. When I was 9 yo I watched AJ Foyt race there in the late 50s. Could be the race track your talking about.

[Highrise Tower]

A few adds in the Southwestern Times magazine dated November 1944.

[Ross]

Here's the aerials from 1944 and 1953. The 1953 has the race track on the East end of the park

[Highrise Tower]

Some Playland Park articles and advertisements from random newspapers.

What I found cool is they had a dancing venue called "Venetian Grove".  Must have been so cool! I believe I saw that there was a complete list of attractions, rides, food vendors, games, etc.  I'll have to find that list.

I wonder how many rides, or roller coasters, there was?

[JLWM8609]

The main thing I heard about Playland Park from older family members is that they could only go to the park on Juneteenth because of segregation. I'm guessing it never integrated since it closed in '59. 

[Highrise Tower]

The 1950 Sanborn map has the amusement park labeled in details! The map includes the name of the rides and attractions.  Playland Park Stadium is new to me. I thought that was called Playland Park Speedway?

Very cool history here.

[Dave W]

There was no stadium other than the racetrack. What's shown on the map is the grandstand seating around the racetrack.

One of my uncles was a big fan of the stock car races. He took me and the son of his best friend to the races there many times. For years afterward, he claimed that one or the other of us would inevitably have to go to the bathroom on the last lap. 😅