Memories Of Sharpstown

[Modernceo]

Ive always been curious about the developments on Bellaire blvd, and as much as I can see what they are now, im curious what kind of business's were there before.

Specifically, the gessner and bellaire area, gessner area north of bellaire, etc.

What kind of grocery store was in the Fiesta mart lot before Fiesta ? It looks like an old Krogers store from the 80's inside. When did Fiesta take over that space ?

North of Bellaire, but south of Harwin, what kind of business's were in the strip shopping centers on the east and west sides ? Does anyone have any pictures of these areas in the 70's, 80's, etc ?

Id love to hear others input, or stories, or photos about this area of Sharpstown, Bellaire.

Cory

[The Great Hizzy!]

I'm glad you asked, Cory, because I'd be interested to know myself. I hear of how Sharpstown used to be a prominent middle-to-upper middle class area similar to such areas as Timbergrove and Meyerland back in the 60s and would be interested to hear of its history.

[Jeebus]

gwilson might know. He often posts about Sharpstown, as does Maxconcrete.

[Modernceo]

Another business im curious of, that looks like its been in the same location since the mid 80's is a car wash called Royal Car Wash. I cant believe that place is still open as there are no customers there whenever I stop by. Whenever I go into the Royal Car wash I feel like ive stepped into a time warp, they have faded framed pictures of cars from 80's, and antiquated car wash equipment.

Other than that business, and the Mcdonalds close to it, everything else seems like new business's occupying old spaces, or new business's in 90's era strip shopping centers.

[sevfiv]

What kind of grocery store was in the Fiesta mart lot before Fiesta ? It looks like an old Krogers store from the 80's inside. When did Fiesta take over that space ?

in 1994 it became fiesta. it was an apple tree from 1989-1994, a safeway before that (at least 1984, probably before).

apparently it was built in 1977

[Modernceo]

in 1994 it became fiesta. it was an apple tree from 1989-1994, a safeway before that (at least 1984, probably before).

apparently it was built in 1977

Wow ! Fascinating.

Where did you find that information ? Or, do you know this firsthand ?

[sevfiv]

Wow ! Fascinating.

Where did you find that information ? Or, do you know this firsthand ?

i looked at the tax/appraisal history of the address for fiesta (hcad.org only goes back to 1984 i think)

[TJones]

i looked at the tax/appraisal history of the address for fiesta (hcad.org only goes back to 1984 i think)

I can tell a little from firsthand experience, as I used to live in that area back in the 70's and early 80's. The grocery store you are referring to started off life as a Safeway. Kmart and a movie theater were in the strip mall at the corner of Beechnut and 59s. There was a Winchell's Donuts right there also. The strip mall that houses the smoke shop and others across from that Fiesta, has been there for quite a while. The tireshop on the end of it used to be a Firestone. I will take a drive around there and it will all come back to me.

[sevfiv]

I can tell a little from firsthand experience, as I used to live in that area back in the 70's and early 80's. The grocery store you are referring to started off life as a Safeway.

ok cool, then it was a safeway from 1977-1989

[Modernceo]

I can tell a little from firsthand experience, as I used to live in that area back in the 70's and early 80's. The grocery store you are referring to started off life as a Safeway. Kmart and a movie theater were in the strip mall at the corner of Beechnut and 59s. There was a Winchell's Donuts right there also. The strip mall that houses the smoke shop and others across from that Fiesta, has been there for quite a while. The tireshop on the end of it used to be a Firestone. I will take a drive around there and it will all come back to me.

I have never seen anything like a tireshop at intersection of bellaire and gessner.

Theres a very small building thats a flower shop, but its too small to be a firestone building..

[TJones]

I have never seen anything like a tireshop at intersection of bellaire and gessner.

Theres a very small building thats a flower shop, but its too small to be a firestone building..

On the end of the strip mall across from Fiesta, where Bizarre Bazaar is, there isn't an after market wheel place there now ? Like I said, I have to drive over there, I will make a special trip.

[MaxConcrete]

I was born and raised in Sharpstown, SHS class of '85.

You may want to check out the Southwest Freeway section of the Houston Freeways book. It includes some history of the origins of Sharpstown.

http://houstonfreeways.com/ebook.aspx

Also, the Southwest Freeway outside the loop video has some information about Sharpstown

http://houstonfreeways.com/video.aspx

Sharpstown is actually a fascinating piece of Houston history. It was Houston's answer to New York's Levittown and was touted as the "World's largest residential development." You can still see the original 1955 plaque for the time capsule at Sharpstown Park at Bellaire and Mary Bates. The alignment of the Southwest Freeway was changed to go through the middle of Sharpstown since Frank Sharp donated the right-of-way for the freeway. Sharpstown Mall was Houston's first enclosed mall and Houston's first air conditioned mall (opened 1961). As a publicity stunt, Sharp donated homes on Rowan street to the original 7 astronauts when NASA was located in Houston. (Apparently the astronauts were not allowed to accept the homes.) Sharp planned a large zone of high rise condos north of Sharpstown mall, but only 3 towers were built and there is still really nothing to compare to them outside of the loop and uptown. Sharp designed the community to have all urban amenities, including hospitals, the Houston Music Theater (still there), a university (HBU), and a country club (now Sharpstown Park). He sold the land for Strake Jesuit and St. Agnes for a low price since he wanted those schools. It was all quite forward-thinking in 1955 when the project was launched. Houston's first true "master-planned" community was Clear Lake City, launched in 1962.

As for the Fiesta, I heard that the land originally belonged to Strake Jesuit but Jesuit was forced to sell when the Sharpstown Bank went bankrupt in 1971. Jesuit apparently had a large account at the bank and lost nearly all of it in that bank failure.

In terms of Gessner north of Bellaire to Westpark, I can't remember anything notable in the retail establishments on that strip. It was always lower-tier retail development. As the apartments became low-income, retail adapted to that market. There was a tire dealer on the corner of Bellaire and Gessner at the south end of the strip center, but it was not a Firestone.

[MidtownCoog]

Thanks for sharing, Max

Here's a little more on Frank Sharp and the Sharpstown Scandal:

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online...es/SS/mqs1.html

[Modernceo]

You can still see the original 1955 plaque for the time capsule at Sharpstown Park at Bellaire and Mary Bates.

Whoa.

I have an employee who lives off of Mary Bates and Bellaire.

Where is the plaque ? When will the time capsule be pulled up ?

Id love to share with my employee information on the 1955 plaque !

[MaxConcrete]

Whoa.

I have an employee who lives off of Mary Bates and Bellaire.

Where is the plaque ? When will the time capsule be pulled up ?

Id love to share with my employee information on the 1955 plaque !

The time capsule was opened March 11, 2000 with a ceremony and good-sized crowd. Here are photos

http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/hapyom/page17.html

Sadly, moisture had infiltrated the metal enclosure and the contents were destroyed.

The time capsule enclosure is still there, with the original Sharpstown plaque proclaiming the "World's largest residential development". The enclosure and capsule where originally located at the corner of Hillcroft and Bellaire, where Sharpstown was launched on March 13, 1955. It was relocated when the drive-in cinema was turned into a shopping center in the 1970s. Now it is just north of Bellaire next to the Sharpstown park community building.

The capsule enclosure is shown in the video on HoustonFreeways.com

[SpaceAge]

Gessner, north of Bellaire Blvd, was one of the last streets to be built and be developed in this area. Until the early 1970s, the road existed from Buffalo Bayou (no bridge) and extended north thru Spring Branch to West Little York. There was a small portion of Gessner along the western edge of Tanglewilde from Westheimer to Richmond Avenue. Then a two lane portion started again at Sands Point and extended to almost Bissonnet, down the edge of Braeburn Glen.

Since Gessner was not a thru road, it did not have enough traffic to make commercial development worth-while. When the Westchase development was started in the mid 1970's, Richmond Avenue was extended past Gessner and Gessner was completed from Richmond south to Sands Point. The bridge over Buffalo Bayou was built a bit earlier and Gessner was connected thru Woodlake to Westheimer. After all was connected, the commercial strips began to fill in. Westchase had strict land use regulations so all the low end commercial developers were attracted to the Gessner strip just outside the Westchase boundry thinking it would still be close enough to the nicer area to be profitable but without the costly demands. The result is just what you see today- poorly conceived strip commercial. It was never attractive and much of it never got leased for years. It's really a-shame since that is so near the newest section of Country Club Estates. I imagine Frank Sharp was not all that concerned with his development by this point, having already made the most of the rest of his vast development. He was safe and sound in his River Oaks Blvd mansion, until his bank collapsed. The Sharpstown Country Club was closed and abandoned before becoming a city park a few years later.

The Conquistador, at 7575 Bellaire Blvd, was the first condominium building in the state of Texas. The architect and developer of the Conquistador was instrumental in seeing that the laws allowing condominium development and ownership in Texas were passed. I have always thought that building was very attractive. When I was little, I would stand on my bed and look out my window at that building. At that time it was the tallest building in the area so it was required to have red flashing lights on top. The east and west brick walls were originally a handsome charcoal gray color.

[Modernceo]

Gessner, north of Bellaire Blvd, was one of the last streets to be built and be developed in this area. Until the early 1970s, the road existed from Buffalo Bayou (no bridge) and extended north thru Spring Branch to West Little York. There was a small portion of Gessner along the western edge of Tanglewilde from Westheimer to Richmond Avenue. Then a two lane portion started again at Sands Point and extended to almost Bissonnet, down the edge of Braeburn Glen.

Since Gessner was not a thru road, it did not have enough traffic to make commercial development worth-while. When the Westchase development was started in the mid 1970's, Richmond Avenue was extended past Gessner and Gessner was completed from Richmond south to Sands Point. The bridge over Buffalo Bayou was built a bit earlier and Gessner was connected thru Woodlake to Westheimer. After all was connected, the commercial strips began to fill in. Westchase had strict land use regulations so all the low end commercial developers were attracted to the Gessner strip just outside the Westchase boundry thinking it would still be close enough to the nicer area to be profitable but without the costly demands. The result is just what you see today- poorly conceived strip commercial. It was never attractive and much of it never got leased for years. It's really a-shame since that is so near the newest section of Country Club Estates. I imagine Frank Sharp was not all that concerned with his development by this point, having already made the most of the rest of his vast development. He was safe and sound in his River Oaks Blvd mansion, until his bank collapsed. The Sharpstown Country Club was closed and abandoned before becoming a city park a few years later.

The Conquistador, at 7575 Bellaire Blvd, was the first condominium building in the state of Texas. The architect and developer of the Conquistador was instrumental in seeing that the laws allowing condominium development and ownership in Texas were passed. I have always thought that building was very attractive. When I was little, I would stand on my bed and look out my window at that building. At that time it was the tallest building in the area so it was required to have red flashing lights on top. The east and west brick walls were originally a handsome charcoal gray color.

Wow, you and Maxconcrete have a tremendous amount of knowledge of this area.

You two are the only ones who have been able to tell me much of the real history of this area and I thank you both, and others who have contributed in this thread.

[MarthaG]

Before Frank Sharp developed Sharpstown, he developed Oak Forest, which is where I live. OF was known as the 2nd largest neighborhood (second to Sharpstown). I'm not sure if it still holds that title.

I have been told that the house I own was originally Frank Sharps personal home. And the former Mayor Welch lived in a very similar house across the street. Another buddy of these guys (an attorney) had the house right behind me (same floor plan as mine) and there is still a gate in the back fence so they had easy access.

I realize this is off subject, but I find it interesting of course.

[sevfiv]

that is very interesting...i wonder how you find out for sure about your house...

and happy birthday!

[MarthaG]

that is very interesting...i wonder how you find out for sure about your house...

and happy birthday!

Thanks for the Birthday wish.

I was active in the Homeowners Assoc many years ago and the President at the time was my next door neighbor. He was told me the rumors I had heard were true, (he was big into the history of OF), but I have never been able to find anything concrete confirming.

Anyone know how to look up old tax records? It would have been in the early 50's.

[gnu]

Anyone know how to look up old tax records? It would have been in the early 50's.

i think you have go in person to the county offices to get tax records that old.

You could find out who lived in your house in the 50's by using the City Directories in the Ideson library downtown.

[sevfiv]

yes! i have a mid-fifties directory at home. i'll take a peek and see where mr. sharp lived (man, everyone was listed back then )

[gnu]

yes! i have a mid-fifties directory at home. i'll take a peek and see where mr. sharp lived (man, everyone was listed back then )

so where did you pick up your directory? ebay?

[sevfiv]

so where did you pick up your directory? ebay?

i worked at a book store a while ago and it came through (guess the bookstore - where people sell old crap...haha). we always got first dibs on stuff, and that was MINE....hehe

[sevfiv]

okay, so in 1955 it said that frank sharp lived at 2307 river oaks blvd...but there is a street cross reference if you PM me the street name and number...

[gnu]

okay, so in 1955 it said that frank sharp lived at 2307 river oaks blvd...but there is a street cross reference if you PM me the street name and number...

A river oaks address sounds more logical. however....according to hcad this house was built in 1955 too.

So maybe he built this house after he made his money from developing oak forest. And maybe he lived in Oak Forest at first until he cashed his checks and his mansion was ready.

[TxDave]

How would you describe the Sharpstown area today? And how about Sharpstown Mall?

When I moved to Houston in 1990 I was living near the Galleria but did a lot of shopping at Sharpstown. However during my years there I saw the area gradually (perhaps rapidly) decline as newer areas became "hot" and nicer.

When I make it back to Houston these days I rarely make it down to Sharpstown, so I am wondering how this area is doing. My suspicion is that it has become a very diverse working class community, but would appreciate any updates.

[sevfiv]

well, the "public" perception is pretty...bad...

and the last time i went to the mall (quite a while ago) it was mostly shoes and baby clothes stores

[gnu]

well, the "public" perception is pretty...bad...

and the last time i went to the mall (quite a while ago) it was mostly shoes and baby clothes stores

i think the guy that sells "grillz" (sp?) to all the rappers is in sharpstown mall

[AussieinTX]

This is my first post to this message board- I must say I am quite impressed with the knowledge you all have about Sharpstown. I moved into the Sharpstown area 2 years ago but in the last 2 months they have closed the Randalls on Fondren and Bissonett?? and now they have closed the target on 59 opposite the Mall. Does anyone have any idea on where I can find development plans on the area, or what they plan to do with the old target? or if there are plans for a new supermarket in the area?

Thanks All