Historic Houston Ice Houses

[Flashman]

That's what happens when dogs drink beer.

Excellent!

[AtticaFlinch]

That's what happens when dogs drink beer.

I'm having a little difficulty understanding the mechanics of it all. How is it possible to simultaneously drink beer and bite someone? It seems impossible to me... unless, maybe the dog was using a straw and a beer helmet.

[24zulu]

Boy, am I glad that this subject was posted because it has been on my mind the past few weeks.

It really surprizes me how quickly the ice house disappeared (though it shouldn't). As a kid growing up in Baytown in the 1960s and 70s there were still quite a few of them particularly on Houston's east side, in Pasadena down in Kemah and Texas City, Galveston had some rough ones, Sonny's in Baytown was a good one. My dad used to drop by an ice house off Hwy. 146 in Bacliff when I was a kid. Mom thought they were "common" and "low class." As a high schooler my friends and I used to roll into some ice houses and play shuffleboard and shoot pool (drink beer, too). Seems like they just dried up almost overnight.

If people have photos of ice houses, post them, please! Also, I'd be interested in hearing about the social life of these places because some were just "beer joints," where old men sat around complaining and drinking Lone Star and Shiner while others were very lively places where people danced to the jukebox. Damn, I'd love to sit in an ice house drinking a Miller High Life listening to Webb Pierce or Hank Thompson again! That is a lost cultural experience!

Remember my old hang out, Silver Wings, on 146 in Baytown? Seemed that the air was always cool in the evening, as the ceiling fans harmonized with Merle's every song. I was there the night that everyone found out that Charlie Pride was black. What a shocker that was. We had all played his music, and bought the albums, and then ... the bomb-shell. What a night! Didn't stop us from playin', and buyin' his music. Anyone had a cold one at, Bully Paul's Ice House on Telephone Road?? There's some stories there brother! Give me some feedback, or better yet, a cold one ... or two, or ten...

[6thgentxn]

There was an icehouse on Washington Ave about a mile east of Memorial Park (near Pig Stand??). It was old when I went there in the mid 60s. It catered to the semi-pro and amateur Soft ball crowd at night and the locals in the afternoon/evening.  One evening the owner came to each table and apologized because he was gonna have to start charging a quarter for a longneck. I think they had been 22c.

 

[Chasbro]

I was with my Dad and I remember listening to a Floyd Patterson - Sonny Liston heavyweight championship fight on the radio at Bangs on Bissonet. 

[Melon8855]

Does anyone remember an outdoor bar in memorial park in the late 70’s? I think it was called West”something” Drive in.

 

[mkultra25]

32 minutes ago, Melon8855 said:

Does anyone remember an outdoor bar in memorial park in the late 70’s? I think it was called West”something” Drive in.

 

 

Westcott Drive Inn? It was located where Canyon Creek is now (6603 Westcott).

 

If that's the one, it was there well past the late 70s - I think it closed only a few years ago. 

[Earlydays]

I remember an old ice house on Almeda, it was next to the riding stables on the edge of Herman Park. My recollection is from the late 50's when I was a kid and loved ice-cold Cokes pulled out of an icy cooler!

[roym]

On 8/18/2019 at 5:32 PM, Chasbro said:

I was with my Dad and I remember listening to a Floyd Patterson - Sonny Liston heavyweight championship fight on the radio at Bangs on Bissonet. 

 

Oh wow, someone else remembers Bangs!  Tell me more.  I found an entry on 4504 Richmond in 1957, and one on 4504 Bissonnet in 1964.  There were two locations.

Edited June 16, 2020 by roym
factual corrections