Memories Of Sharpstown

[apollopride]

In answer to your question, old_sharpstown, I don't know what PID is, but I remember reading about TIRZ an article that was in Chronicle a few months ago and partially quoted here:

The light has turned green for improvements aimed at increasing the Bellaire-Fondren intersection's safety, mobility, aesthetics and reducing flooding along Fondren.

The Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority announced Tuesday that a contractor will be selected from two bidders - Jerdon Construction of Stafford and Reytec Construction Resources Inc. of Houston - to complete intersection improvements at Bellaire Boulevard at Fondren Road.

The project's engineer, HNTB Architects Engineers Planners, estimated the outlined improvements would cost between $2.5-$3 million.

Those costs will be financed through the (Sharpstown) Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 20, created by the city of Houston in 1999 and governed by the Authority.

Bill Calderon, executive director of the Authority and TIRZ No. 20, said the pilot project will set the tone for roadway improvements to rival those in the downtown and Galleria areas.

A couple of months ago there was a house fire at Burning Tree and Sharpview. I heard from a woman at my church that the owners are going to tear down and rebuild a larger home. There is one Sharpstown realtor who has been saying for years, "Sharpstown is the next Bellaire." Maybe this home is the beginning of Sharpstown's rebirth! However - I don't wish for all the old Sharpstown homes to be torn down and replaced with McMansions - they are great, solidly built homes.

[gnu]

In answer to your question, old_sharpstown, I don't know what PID is, but I remember reading about TIRZ an article that was in Chronicle a few months ago and partially quoted here:

PID= public improvement district

Cities occasionally need to make certain improvements to their infrastructures to help economic

growth within an area. New businesses may not locate in cities where the streets are inadequate,

the utility service is substandard, or the public facilities and services are inferior. It is also difficult

for existing businesses to prosper in areas that have poor public infrastructures. Texas law

provides a number of ways to finance needed public improvements including the use of special

assessments. A city may undertake such a project through the creation of a Public Improvement

District (PID).

The Public Improvement District Assessment Act allows any city to levy and collect special

assessments on property that is within the city or within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).

The statute authorizing the creation of PIDs is found in Chapter 372 of the Local Government

Code.

[Subdude]

Found another old Sharpstown picture.

[FilioScotia]

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.

prominent middle to upper middle class? Timbergrove and Meyerland? Oh no. What you see of Sharpstown now is what it has always been. When Frank Sharp built Sharpstown in the mid and late 50s, it was a suburb out in the country. It was rice fields and ranch land when Sharp bought it and subdivided it, and it was built to do what suburbs have always done: give middle income people an affordable place to live. People bought in Sharpstown because they couldn't afford Meyerland or Timbergrove.

[roym]

Found another old Sharpstown picture.

great picture. thanks!

[TexasCE]

While there are a number of factors that contributed to what Sharpstown has become today, one biggest ones no one has mentioned was the oil bust. That was the event that reshaped (and lay the groundwork for) much of the city (not just Sharpstown) for many years to come.

[enviromain]

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.

When I lived there beginning in 1969, Sharpstown had 3 sections referred to as Sharpstown 1 (Bintliff east area, Sutton Elem., Jane Long Jr. High), Sharpstown2 (Sandpiper to SW Freeway), and Sharpstown 3(West side of SW Freeway, Mary Bates area, Pat Neff Elem., Sharptown Jr. High. Don't know how and why Sharptown High School was located all the way up on Bissonnet. Don't know what that section of Sharpstown was referred to.

great picture. thanks!

Worked there for a few years during the early 80's. Drove a '66 Ford Fairlane with an "ooooga" horn on it. Those were the days!

[enviromain]

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

SHS Class of '83. If I remember correctly we had 635 graduates that year. Went to the Astro Arena for graduation. We were the class that gave Principle Jackson a quarter with each hand shake. He started putting the quarters in his suit pockets, but they were heavy and overflowing so he was taking handfulls and handfulls and handfulls of quarters out of his pocket and tossing them on a table. 635 quarters was a lot! He profitted and we laughed! We were making a definite memory!

I met a person attending SHS in year 2000. I told her what we had done to Mr. Jackson when we graduated. Her response was, "that was your class?" I have to admit that felt awesome that we were still talked about! Class of '83 ROCKS!

[enviromain]

Here's a Bob Bailey pic from a book called Houston Today and Tomorrow by Charles Gilbert, published in 1969. The photo may or may not be a few years older than that?

I see the "Conquistador." We used to just look at it when we drove by because it was sooooo big!

[old_Sharpstown]

When I lived there beginning in 1969, Sharpstown had 3 sections referred to as Sharpstown 1 (Bintliff east area, Sutton Elem., Jane Long Jr. High), Sharpstown2 (Sandpiper to SW Freeway), and Sharpstown 3(West side of SW Freeway, Mary Bates area, Pat Neff Elem., Sharptown Jr. High. Don't know how and why Sharptown High School was located all the way up on Bissonnet. Don't know what that section of Sharpstown was referred to.

Worked there for a few years during the early 80's. Drove a '66 Ford Fairlane with an "ooooga" horn on it. Those were the days!

Sharpstown Middle School (formerly Sharpstown Junior High) was originally a consolidated junior and senior high in the beginning around 1971 to 1974. Since I lived across from the school, I recall watching all the kids with beards, long hair, ...hippies I tell ya! I was just a little kid, but I remember seeing those "wierdos" at the school.

My assumption for Sharpstown High School being placed where it was is that it could not be further out West (it would be nearly in Alief) and besides, few homes were built past what is now Corporate Drive. It could not go north as Lee was already built and it covered the areas north of Bellaire Blvd. To the far east was Bellaire HS. I guess based on the then current home building trends, a HS like Sharpstown HS needed to be built and the location was central enough. Old "Sharp" himself may have even donated the land for this purphose ??

[o_tempora]

When I lived there beginning in 1969, Sharpstown had 3 sections referred to as Sharpstown 1 (Bintliff east area, Sutton Elem., Jane Long Jr. High), Sharpstown2 (Sandpiper to SW Freeway), and Sharpstown 3(West side of SW Freeway, Mary Bates area, Pat Neff Elem., Sharptown Jr. High. Don't know how and why Sharptown High School was located all the way up on Bissonnet. Don't know what that section of Sharpstown was referred to.

If anyone's interested, this is what the Sharpstown Civic Association lists as the boundaries of Sharpstown. I drew it out on a big map of Houston once and it doesn't quite fit what I think of as Sharpstown, having lived here for more than ten years, but this is technically where Sharpstown is.

[gwilson]

prominent middle to upper middle class? Timbergrove and Meyerland? Oh no. What you see of Sharpstown now is what it has always been. When Frank Sharp built Sharpstown in the mid and late 50s, it was a suburb out in the country. It was rice fields and ranch land when Sharp bought it and subdivided it, and it was built to do what suburbs have always done: give middle income people an affordable place to live. People bought in Sharpstown because they couldn't afford Meyerland or Timbergrove.

Quite wrong. Sharpstown, being the countries first super-neighborhood, was designed to be a high-middle income area for those who wanted to escape city living. The median income of Sharpstown's SFH residents is still quite high compared to those of many other areas of town. You might also be surprised to find quite a few millionaires living in Sharpstown's neighborhoods.

There are four on my street alone.

[Guest Plastic]

Every 20 years there's a new generation of housing and development in the country. Houston is definetly not an exception.

The 1st flight to the suburbs was in the 50s. Aorund that time a man named Judge ROy Hoffienz was around. He developed HOuston. He built The Astrodome and Astroworld. He als build the Sharpstown subdivision.

Back then it wa sa brand new suburban neighborhood. No mall, no Southwest Freeway, just cow pastures. Infact I believe it was named after the Sharp's Ranch. It was in a part of Houston that started in the fifties or sixties. I want to know when was it Sharpstown started developing. The late 40s, The 50s, or the 60s.

[Heights2Bastrop]

The 1st flight to the suburbs was in the 50s.

Not so! Probably the first flight to surburbia was to The Heights which began in 1892.

Aorund that time a man named Judge ROy Hoffienz was around. He developed HOuston. He als build the Sharpstown subdivision.

I believe it was Frank Sharp who developed Sharpstowm, hence the name.

[Subdude]

There are existing open threads covering this.

Try here

or here,

and here.

You can find all these using the "search" function.

Closing this one.

[DrFood]

Greetings....

This thread tested my 50 yo memory and made me remember all the fun times of growing up in Sharpstown. My parents bought a Vista home on Tanager off Jorine in 1966. They still live there also. We were the 6th house on the street. If my memory serves me correctly they paid ~$18,500 for the 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage house. When we moved there K-Mart at 59 and Beechnut was just a shell under construction. There nothing west of the K-Mart site until you got past Gessner. In 1966 Gessner did not go south of Beechnut. Beechnut did not go west of the drainage ditch which is about 2 miles west of Gessner. Gessner ran north to Bellaire only.

I went to school at Pat Neff for 1/2 of 4th grade, Mrs. Hughes was my teacher. 5th grade I went to Pat Neff also and Mrs. McNair was my teacher. Neff was housing a number of classes in temporary buildings because of the huge influx of kids into the area. Neff at that time served all students from the railroad tracks (where Westpark tollard is today) south to Bissonett east to 59 and west to that drainage ditch. Bonham Elementary served kids on the east side of 59.

FOr 6th grade I transferred to Ed White Elementary. Ed WHite was named for the Apollo 1 astronaut that was killed in the fire aboard Apollo 1 while it was on the launchpad. 2 other schools with identical architecture were built to honor the other 2 astronauts. These schools were also built in fast growing areas of the city. Mrs. Taylor was my teacher. We had 2-6th grade classes then. Ed White was brand new and still under construction. The unique thing about Ed White was the concept of an open classroom in the east side of the school. It never really was used while I was there because the school was still growing. I also remember this was the first school in Houston that intrgrated the PA system into the school and was used extensively.

In 7th grade I attended the brand new Sharpstown Jr./Sr. High School, now Sharpstown Middle School. The school was opened and was still under construction. The auditorium, lockerrooms, gym, athletic fields were still being built. None of the science labs were finished. None of the language labs were finished. The school was "air conditioned" although it never seemed to work right. When we had gym class we sat on folding chairs in the big area between the gym and auditorium. I think it was in the Spring when we finally had lockerrooms and the gym. One thing I remember about this school was that it was my first experience with integration. The boundaries of the school went north of Westpart and included the Jenetta area. There was a lot of tension in my 7th grade year about rumbles over at Lansdale Park. I don't ever remember these happening but it was just kids being kids. In 9th grade it because Sharpstown Jr. High because the High School opened that year.

As far as shopping and other buildings here is a brief history from someone who has live in the area all of his life.

Sharpstown Shopping Center as it was called was built as a 1 story airconditioned mall. The only anchors at that time were Montgomery Ward and FOleys. And Foley's was the second foleys opened, downtown was the first. The foley's was small 2 story + basement with furniture and appliances in the basement. The interesting thing about foley's was that you could access the basement from the parking lot on 2 sides. Yes they had built the parking lot sunken. They finally did away with this design when the basement kept flooding in our Houston storms. There were then 2 additions to the store. There were 2 minor anchors to the mall, FOod Giant and Battlestein's clothing. Food Giant was located where the JC Penney's used to be. Battlesteins was located where the theatres and food court portion are now. Across the street from the mall, where Circuit City is now, was Allstate's Headquarters (not sure if it was regional or national. They moved out of this building in the late 70's. The old Gaylynn theatres, now abandoned in the back of the mall, originally 1 theatre that had cinerama capability. Very upscale and very nice. Then they added a second theatre. There was a dennys right next to it that we hung out at when I was in HS. When I was growing up we used to ride bicycles from my house to the mall. Yes youngsters we actually did get a lot of exercise riding bikes and hanging out at the mall or going to the Walter Branch Library. One of the coolest moments in my life was when GiGi's model shop displayed one of my model rockets in their window for an extended period of time. I was a celebrity in my own right. For those of you wondering what GiGi's was...it was a hobby shop that had everything from model cars to trains to guided model plane to radio control planes and other stuff that supported all of these activities. In the mid-70's Sharpstown's management felt they needed to add a second floor. The original mall was not structurally built to hold a second floor so they had to do a lot of upgrades. At the same time JC Penney was added as an anchor. If you go on the second floor now you will notice in place where the flooring slants toward the inside cut outs. Poor construction plagued the addition. The downfall of Sharpstown was the oil bust of the late 80's. I have been 1 time since 1995 and refuse to go back. It is far too sad to see what has happened to what was Houston's jewel mall.

Southway Center (Beechnut and GEssner) started out with Handy Dan Hardware (what is now Academy). They had to run Gessner through to 59 to build things on that strip of land. When they built Southway it originally housed a Bowling Lane, big toy store similar to Toys R Us (the baskin robbins in the center was part of that toy store), a Weingartens Grocery (became Safeway and then Apple Tree, then closed to become Marshalls or something else), a Madings Drug Store (became Eckerds), and Southway 6. Southway 6 theatres were HORRIBLE. THe screens were like today's 60" plasma televisions. Teeny tiny. We never understoody people loved them so much. In the parking lot was an Enco then Exxon now Mobil gas station,American Savings then Bank United now Washington Mutual, a PIzza Inn now a taqueria, a Texaco Station at Beechnut/Gessner, a KFC and a Winchell's Donuts. Across the street was the Church but nothing else until Phillip 66 built a station and then CVS. Across Gessner was a Shell station, an auto repair place which is now U-Haul, Grandy's, Stower's Funiture which because Havertys then burned in a late nite huge fire then Best Buy.

Sam White Oldsmobile was built when I was in 10th grade I believe on beechnut. Now it's an empty shell. In the shopping center slightly west where there is a vet clinic was one of the original Purple Cow burger joints where you could buy purple ice cream.

Someone mentioned Globe Shopping City. There were 3 stores I can remember in Houston. The first was at Hillcroft and Bellaire Blvd. (what is now Fiesta). Globe was originally a membership store similar to Super Target. Membership was based on employer or credit union. They had everything you could want from groceries to toys to automotive to furniture. Out front where the pawn shop is now was a gas station tire center. The other 2 locations were Gulfgate where Mervyns was and Memorial City where Super Oshmans was. Globe went under in the early 1970's. Fed Mart took over the Bellaire store for a couple of years and then they went under. The store sat empty for a couple of years if I recall correctly then Fiesta took it over. So the physical structure has been there for about 45 years.

I went to Sharpstown Baptist Church and can remember watching the Target on 59 being built. When it opened it was HUGE. Where the Marshalls was was Target's grocery store. Yes in the late 1960's and early 1970's Target had a Grocery store so SuperTarget is nothing new. They also had tire sales and gas sales. When I bought my first car, a 1971 Gremlin (no one laugh), I remember my first tank of gas at Target I paid 39.9 per gallon. Those were the days. Sometime in the 1980's Target elected to get out of Grocery and leased the store to Weingartens but that didnt last long and it closed. Then Marshalls bought the space out. Same thing happened at the Target which was on Katy Freeway at Echo Lane which is now Marshalls etc. They also had a store like that on 610 at Long Drive which closed in the 1980's and then because Auchans for a short time then the FEMA Katrina center.

Memorial Hospital was built in the mid-1970's when they moved Memorial Baptist from downtown across Smith from the main library.

The shopping center at Fondren and 59 where the funky furniture store is was build for Woolco. The discount version of Woolworths. In that center was a Weingartens and other stores. There was a cool place to eat on the end that you ordered using telephones at the table. I don't recall the name.

ANyone remember watching the radar town at Channel 2 being built? When they moved out to that location 59 ended at Beechnut.

Lets see a couple of other items. Yes The Fiesta at Bellaire and Gessner was originally a Safeway. And yes Strake did have to sell the land because of Sharpstown State Bank failure.

Further west where Chinatown begins the shopping center right next to St Agnes was built to house a Lewis & Coker grocery, Furr's Cafeteria(in the corner), and a Sage Drug store (Walgreens took that over later). I used to work in the Sage Drug store in the camera department. The Sage Drug store was a spin off of Sage Discount Stores which was like Globe in that the big stores (Beechnut/610, now lowes location--Town & COuntry now demolished--45 and College now an HISD charter school) that required membership to shop there and you paid in individual departemtnst. Sage was where Arne of Arne's party etc store on Studewood got his start.

Sorry for the long post. I know I've let oout some stuff.....but I wanted to add my historical recollections. If you've got further questions respond here or e-mail me at fooddoc@earthlink.net

By the way my folks still live in the same house on Tanager and as far as I can tell the area they live in is still safe and sound. ALthough I hate the apartments along beechnut, they need to be demolished or something to get rid of the gang activities.

[MaxConcrete]

Yes in the late 1960's and early 1970's Target had a Grocery store so SuperTarget is nothing new.

I seem to remember a conveyor belt in front of the grocery store that would take your groceries from the checkout to a loading area. It was gone by the mid-1970s, as best as I can remember. Can anyone confirm the existence of the conveyor?

By the way, that's a good recollection of the "way things were". I grew up on Pella street and patronized just about all the stores you mentioned, and I even rode my bicycle to Sharpstown Mall. Sharpstown was once upon a time a retail mecca, with both the highly successful mall and the big boxes of the era. Sharpstown's retail has been hollowed out and overrun with dollar stores. But maybe there is some hope: Circuit City relocated to a new facility on Bellaire rather than closing its Sharpstown location.

[DrFood]

Yes. Target Grocery when it was Target Grocery did have a conveyor system with gray totes. Globe, Sage, FedMart, and Gemco did also.

My dad would never allow us to use it ever. Don't know why.

The only hope for Sharpstown is to demolish apartments and the mall and bring in a mandatory home owners association. Only if you get rid of the rif raff can you ever regentrify an area. Sad but true. The other issue, and I know folks do not want to hear it, a number of the apartment complexes serving the area are full of Katrina people who have brought a lot of crime into the area. I refuse to drive through Gessner, between Westpark and West Bellfort after dark.

[gwilson]

I seem to remember a conveyor belt in front of the grocery store that would take your groceries from the checkout to a loading area. It was gone by the mid-1970s, as best as I can remember. Can anyone confirm the existence of the conveyor?

By the way, that's a good recollection of the "way things were". I grew up on Pella street and patronized just about all the stores you mentioned, and I even rode my bicycle to Sharpstown Mall. Sharpstown was once upon a time a retail mecca, with both the highly successful mall and the big boxes of the era. Sharpstown's retail has been hollowed out and overrun with dollar stores. But maybe there is some hope: Circuit City relocated to a new facility on Bellaire rather than closing its Sharpstown location.

The closest I remember to this was Service Merchandise's conveyor!

[george84]

Does anybody know the story behind the big white mansion on the corner of Beechnut and Gessner? I've always wondered about it/

[SpaceAge]

I seem to remember a conveyor belt in front of the grocery store that would take your groceries from the checkout to a loading area.

At Food Giant in Sharpstown Center, they had another system to load your grocery purchases. Do any of you-all remember the sacker had a stack of little cardboard signs he had cut from the grocery boxes and a big juicy marker in a metal can with a screw off lid? When he finished sacking your mother

[SpaceAge]

Does anybody know the story behind the big white mansion on the corner of Beechnut and Gessner? I've always wondered about it/

A Realtor friend told me that is a Gypsy

[roym]

A Realtor friend told me that is a Gypsy

[ahhbree]

I went to Sharpstown Jr. High from 1975 - 1977. I remember that school like it was yesterday. Don't remember the principals name or my homeroom teacher but I do remember I had a teacher named Ms. Horanne who taught science or something like that. We did labs in her class. I was in the band (played clarinet) when Mr. Jack ???? was the teacher. In our last year (9th grade) he was arrested and then fired. A couple of boys said he picked them up in the school parking lot and made sexual advances towards them. It was a BIG blow to the whole school. He was a mean teacher but good. I was also a "pom pom" girl (not a cheerleader but one of the spirit girls who sat in the stands) in the 8th grade. I still remember that little green dress. I was not very popular cause I was very shy. I had three older sisters who went there starting in 1970. And we did swim at Landsdale all the time. Seems like a million years ago.

[ahhbree]

My family moved to Sharpstown in 1970. I went to Bonham Elementary and my older sisters went to Sharpstown Jr. High then Sr. High. We moved to Dallas in 1978. I attened one year at the Sr. High (1977). I was in the band (Mr. Trevathan s.p.?). The jazz section of our band played at Good Time Charlies on the weekends. What a great time that was. I remember another mall that was built during that time called Westwood Mall??? We use to walk that mall on the weekends trying to meet boys (ha ha). Sharpstown was very "happening" in the 70's. I heard that the area we lived in has changed in the demographics but there are a few families that still live on our block. I heard about Astroworld and was crushed. We spent every moment we could over there (season passes). I even took my husband there once when we were down at Galveston. That park ROCKED. Do yall remember Gemco? That was really cool cause you had to have a membership to get in. We use to collect the shopping baskets and return them for something (can't remember what we got). I spent a lot of time in the Braeburn Valley bayou (lol). We use to play like crazy down in all that *crap*....uggg. Do you remember the restaurant called Across the Street? You ordered your food from your table using a telephone. How cool was that. I could ramble forever about how great things were growing up there. The only thing I can remember that I DONT miss is the COCKROACHES. OMGoodness. I still live in fear of those things.

Thanks for reading and hope all is well for everyone

[old_Sharpstown]

WOW...don't know where to start. DrFood...you have a VERY good memory. I recall nearly everything exactly as you stated and I lived a similiar life (although maybe 5 to 10 years younger than you). We went to the same church, etc.

The 2 things I was not ware of was that Globe was a membership store and that the Eckards in the Southway mall was originally not Eckards. As for the store that became Toys R Us...it originally opened as "Kids Kountry"....although it seemed to have the same giraffe mascot. Maybe it was the same chain that started as a different name? Does anyone else remember that the Grandy's (now a taquaria) across from Southway was originally a Steak and Shake? I use to practice little league on that property before that. In the Southway complex, the place that was Champs (??) coffee shop was originally a Jim's coffee shop. They did not make it in Houston (they are still in San Antonio and Austin).

I worked in Foley's during much of the early 80's. It was the place then. The mall's second floor expansion was viable and valuable for a time, but as you mentioned, the oil bust killed the economy and therfore the mall's too. I actually think that the final "fifties" style decor/remodel really killed the mall from being "cool" to "cheesy". It also aligned timewise when the "last" big group of teenagers were leaving the area. Sharpstown was starting the gray then.

Yes, all the apartments (and most of the duplexes) should be razed in Sharpstown. They bring no long term value to the community. I know of families that have raised their kids in those apartments years ago and it afforded them to live in a "nice community" even if they could not buy a house, but I feel those scenerios are no longer around and may even be overshadowed by all the "bad". A strong MANDATORY HOA is needed.

"Mansion" at Gessner and Beechnut? Yes, I wondered what kind of person would have invested in a building at that site at a busy intersection. Gypsy's? most likely. I had always heard the same. They likely had hoped to set-up a Palm Reader service and only realized that the HOA would stop them. I do not believe the house has been inhabited for years and I guess they paid cash so it is owned outright for now.

As someone else just stated, the place in the mall where Woolco was that had telephones to order your meals was called "Across The Street". Great charcoal burgers.

Lastly...does anyone else remember:

Handy Andy - grocery store at the corner of Gessner and Southwest Freeway (became the "Original Christmas Store" for many years afterwards). A Danver's and a Taco Bueno were across the street from there.

Also, does anyone remember the man who use to endlessly weed his lawn by hand at his house that was at the corner of Bellaire and Fondren that was across the intersection from the Gillman dealerships? The home was torn down and it became that Stop N Go eventually. That man may have been a groundskeeper at the old Sharpstown Country Club as his lawn was always the best. Too bad all those nice homes became the cheesy strip shopping center it is now.

[old_Sharpstown]

I went to Sharpstown Jr. High from 1975 - 1977. I remember that school like it was yesterday. Don't remember the principals name or my homeroom teacher but I do remember I had a teacher named Ms. Horanne who taught science or something like that.

"Remember that school like it was yesterday"? Sounds like you do not remember much based on the above...just kidding and giving you a hard time . I had to look up the name of the principal myself. Mr Ed Swearer was the principal in 1978 when I graduated Sharpstown Jr. High. Remember "High Nine"? We had ours at the Royal Coach hotel.

As for the sex scandal..I do recall that. I was suprised, but not shocked, to only hear a few years back that several girls (9th grade in 1978) were sleeping with the men coaches there. Not Gaskamp of course, but some of the others. Seems like that is a common problem in the high schools but that was a JUNIOR high.

Landsdale pool....I lived there nearly all summer every year. Great times.

[Willowisp]

What a read!

I never lived in Sharpstown, but I did go to the mall a few times as a teen. My Aunt lives out near Hwy. 6 and Bellaire, so when I visited her I rode the bus a few times down to Sharpstown to people watch and visit the Cactus Records. From '85 - '90 most of my record/tape collection came from that store. It was a great store!

Anyway, I just wanted to add that Neff Elementary and Sharpstown High School were designed by the architect William Jenkins. I am the self-appointed "William Jenkins Fan Club President" so I have to point that kind of thing out.

After reading these posts I have changed my image of Sharpstown. My former recent image of Sharpstown is the area near Hillcroft and Bellaire where I always nearly hit someone running across the street. Don't you understand what crosswalks are for? That and the people that look for landscape/construction jobs seem to congrigate right in that area.

Is Tanglewilde a desired area? I don't know much about it, but I could see how Sharpstown would be the area where young people buying their first house who couldn't quite afford Tanglewilde would want to live. Like Westbury is to Meyerland?

Like RPS said, it may have to go down a little while before it can come back up again. I hope that they keep their archtiectural heritage though, because I really like the mods I've seen in Sharpstown.

Jason

[Bear_P_I]

Wow, great memories. Wish I could've gotten in sooner. Probably know some of the previous posters or at least some of their family members.

We moved to S'town in'64, when I was 4 years old. My parents still live in the same house on Barberton Dr., and their back yard now has a 20' tall concrete wall between them and the SW Frwy. When we moved in, our back yard had no fence for the first few years, but that was ok because the freeway wasn't completed for a while.

I went to Neff from K'garten through 5th grade, St. Francis from 6th-8th and then on to Strake Jesuit. Class of '78.

My first job was in the BUDGET SHOE DEPT!!! @ Foleys. Wow, that was a trip. Here's some of the things I remember about Sharpstown and the surrounding area.

1) I also remember the flags in the middle of the mall. Thanks to whoever posted those pictures.

2) I remember every year on the Friday night after Thanksgiving, we would go to Sharpstown mall and play in the man made snow, waiting for Santa Claus to come and "land" on the roof in his sleigh. He'd walk to the edge of the roof and wave to the crowd, then go inside and start talking to kids.

3) My brother worked at Gaylyn Theater in the mid-70's. My Dad and I would go pick him up at 10:00 before he had his license. He then got a job at Foley's.

4) I remember playing on the football team at St. Francis in 72 & 73, and our home field was Jesuit Stadium. To this day, my favorite coach is my St. Francis Coach Jim Hyland. I consider him a friend, and I love to run into him at church when we go back home to visit my parents.

5) I remember playing on the basketball team at St. Francis during those same years, and we didin't have a gym. Every game was a road game. We practiced on the old goals in the parking lot, and we actually won a few games every year.

6) I played baseball in the Sharpstown Little League for 10 years. A huge treat was when we would get to go eat at the old "Monterrey House" that used to be across the street from Bayland Park, after one of our baseball games. The treat of all treats was going to Shakey's Pizza with the whole team after our last game.

7) I remember the old EATON Car Parts and repair place when it went up near the corner of Gessner and Beechnut. I thought, "wow, what a cool building". I think we all know the building. I think it's been 10 different businesses since then. Next door to it was "Steak and Shake", but only for a little while. Then it went away. We now have them up here in Dallas. It's just not the same.

8) I remember the bowling alley on Gessner between Beechnut and the freeway. Wow, we spent almost every friday night there.

9) I remember Alfie's Fish & Chips on Fondren between the Freeway and Bellaire. Man, that was some awesome stuff. Being Catholic, we ate there quite a bit during lent.

10) I remember when Sharpstown middle school was the junior AND senior high school campus.

11) I remember rdiding my bike to the 7-11 across the street from SHS and getting an ICEE. One summer, they had collector's cups with major league baseball players on them, and we usually went twice a day.

12) I remember walking across the street with my parents after church to check out the progress of the Landsdale pool when they were building it.

13) I remember when Westwood Mall opened up in the mid '70's. I was so amazed with the store Athlete's Foot. I had never seen a shoe store before that only sold sneakers.

14) I remember when the HBU Gym was open all the time. Nobody really knew about it, and we'd go over there every Sunday afternoon for hours and hours. It was our little secret.

15) I remember when they built the Music Theater at the corner of the freeway and Fondren. They built a huge perfect pile of dirt and poured a slab of concrete over it. That was the roof. I saw Peter Pan there when I was 8.

Sorry, hope I didn't bore anyone.

[SharpTexan]

My Grandfather, Frank W. Sharp, built sharpstown. I think he would be happy to know that it is still active, and a topic of conversation more than 50 years after his dream became a reality.

His plan all evolved around giving good folks a great place to call home.

It appears as if that has, and is still happening. Good dreams never die.

As we would walk around Sharpstown, he would describe what was to come, much the way an artist looks at a canvas and knows his inner vision will create something special, something one hopes will be a source of inspiration to others.

I hope that the memories inspire you to do something great in your lifetimes. It is from good dreams that great realities arise.

Keep the interest and discussion alive.

Frank