Ice Cold Watermelon Stand

[Vertigo58]

Here's what I learned yesterday...from the Sanborn maps (1939, later unlisted date) & HCAD data.

Tampke Lumber Co. - 7514 Lawndale (between Kellogg & Parsons), NE of Broadway Baptist Church

Blalock-McCall Lumber Co. - 1009? Evergreen (near intersection of Evergreen, Griggs, Lawndale) across (west of) the watermelon stand.

Key Oil Co. - 7201 Lawndale. Service Station (built 1953).

Martini Hardware Store - 7145 Lawndale (built 1935).

Music School (unknown name) - 7160 Lawndale (around where that bakery/previous lounge was, x from Martinis)

Restaurant (unknown name) - 7148 Lawndale (x from Leonards)

Aryway Apartments - to the right of Leonards.

Arrowhead Apartments - off Redwood & Lawndale. (note: the Wahoo bar was in the 'hood, coincidence?) (not listed, but maps showed a bldg. with a barbeque pit behind it, think it was the Wahoo). side trivia note: in the 1960's kids played a marble board game with American Indians painted on it, called Wahoo).

Weingartens was located in the Lawndale Plaza.

Ceramic Shop storage bldg. on Bowie (off Lawndale) - Built 1949, referred to as "Retail Multi-Occupancy". Also lists residential bldg. on same property, blt. 1940. There was also a cleaners business x the street, on Evergreen, I vaguely remember it, had those slanted, painted vertical poles.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. on Harrisburg Blvd. was built in 1946-47. on same property, at 6842 Harrisburg, had a Filling Station at 69th & Harrisburg, as well as a Tire & Service Station. I'm assuming it was part of Sears, same property, blt. 1946-47.

Gulf Brewing Co. located on Polk Ave. (west of Gus Wortham golf course)

Hughes Tool Co. - N. Capitol Ave. (west of golf course, north of the brewery), @ where that Fiesta is.

Wow! There's Tampke's and the Weingarten must have been where that dollar junk store is now and Hughes sounds like an error? Hughes Tool is on Polk not N Capitol? west of gold course was the Simms Estate? then the Fiesta was built later. So all seems correct except for the Hughes part unless there was a tiny branch off the main local on Polk? Just guessing. Great research Nena!

[NenaE]

Wow! There's Tampke's and the Weingarten must have been where that dollar junk store is now and Hughes sounds like an error? Hughes Tool is on Polk not N Capitol? west of gold course was the Simms Estate? then the Fiesta was built later. So all seems correct except for the Hughes part unless there was a tiny branch off the main local on Polk? Just guessing. Great research Nena!

Ran across a map of the Golf Course and exact location of the Club House, and Simms Estate directly across the street, to the West. About the Hughes Tool Co. address, will have to look that one up again, came from the maps, showed Capitol St. as being North, Polk St. being South., address/ entrance is probably Polk, didn't find it. Know the golf course runs as far north as the railroad tracks, where that underpass is, and directly west/NW of it is where those businesses would have stood, north of the Simms estate., right? The railroad tracks were utilized for these businesses, tracks fed into them. You are correct, Simms estate was also west of the golf course. I would like to do a drive by, to investigate more.

Before Safeway, before Fiesta?, before dollar store, Weingartens was in that shopping center, by TG&Y & Eckerds.

If something doesn't seem correct, let me know, as I don't like being wrong!

[gnu]

I think the Weingarten's - Lawndale Plaza wasn't built until the early sixties.

Did it really show the Weingarten there on the Sanborn maps Nena? (latest Sanborn map is early 50's, right?)

[NenaE]

I think the Weingarten's - Lawndale Plaza wasn't built until the early sixties.

Did it really show the Weingarten there on the Sanborn maps Nena? (latest Sanborn map is early 50's, right?)

I remember seeing a store on that corner on one of the maps, can't seem to verify right now, it won't let me access the map I need. I may have assumed (uuu...guess I better not do that) that the shopping center name was the same as a road name I found close by, called Lawndale Plaza. Sorry guys, changed my notes to reflect it. And no, the Sanborn maps did not list Weingartens...I just know it from going there, years ago. Somewhere on HAIF there is a list of all the Weingartens stores, with addresses, as well. I can't find that either. There is a list of shopping centers under the Sanborns - 1955 catagory that includes Gulfgate with original stores. It does not mention Lawndale Plaza.

link: http://www.houstonlibrary.org/research/cat...y/HAT_page.html

Sanborns - 1950, 1951, vol. 6 & 9 for East End

[NenaE]

Ran across a map of the Golf Course and exact location of the Club House, and Simms Estate directly across the street, to the West. About the Hughes Tool Co. address, will have to look that one up again, came from the maps, showed Capitol St. as being North, Polk St. being South., address/ entrance is probably Polk, didn't find it. Know the golf course runs as far north as the railroad tracks, where that underpass is, and directly west/NW of it is where those businesses would have stood, north of the Simms estate., right? The railroad tracks were utilized for these businesses, tracks fed into them. You are correct, Simms estate was also west of the golf course. I would like to do a drive by, to investigate more.

Before Safeway, before Fiesta?, before dollar store, Weingartens was in that shopping center, by TG&Y & Eckerds.

If something doesn't seem correct, let me know, as I don't like being wrong!

After further investigation, found Hughes Tool Co. had a Office & Shipping Bldg. facing Polk, the largest part of the facility was North of Polk & North of the Country Club Bayou, the many machinery shops backed onto Capitol. There was also property to the East of the office, where Hughes Rd. is found, and where rr tracks ran. The Gulf Brewery sat East of the Hughes Office and the Northern border of it's property was the CC bayou . I now realize the Hughes facility is further down Polk than I originally believed. The Hughes facility actually had parking lots backing up to Harrisburg, as well, from @ Texas Ave. Evergreen Cemetary is to the NW corner of the Hughes property. To the SE of all this, the Simms property in one map shows the location of all property bldgs. including the pond. The waterway that ran to the Northwest of the Simms property is listed as Yates Gully. Parker Memorial Methodist Church sat to the South of the estate site, on land that at one time, I believe was all owned by Simms.

Can't believe that I never heard my dad talk about any of this.

[gnu]

I remember seeing a store on that corner on one of the maps, can't seem to verify right now, it won't let me access the map I need. I may have assumed (uuu...guess I better not do that) that the shopping center name was the same as a road name I found close by, called Lawndale Plaza. Sorry guys, changed my notes to reflect it. And no, the Sanborn maps did not list Weingartens...I just know it from going there, years ago. Somewhere on HAIF there is a list of all the Weingartens stores, with addresses, as well. I can't find that either. There is a list of shopping centers under the Sanborns - 1955 catagory that includes Gulfgate with original stores. It does not mention Lawndale Plaza.

Here is part of the page from Sanborn you probably saw..note the 1948 copyright.

There is definately a store there but it doesn't specify what and it isnt the same building that is there today (built in the early 60's) I have a 1958 phone book and it doesnt list a Weingarten's at that location but my 1975 phone book shows Weingartens No. 55 at 7061.

Guess someone is just gonna have to look at some City Directories to figure out what is at 7061 (or 7055) Lawndale in '48

[NenaE]

Here is part of the page from Sanborn you probably saw..note the 1948 copyright.

There is definately a store there but it doesn't specify what and it isnt the same building that is there today (built in the early 60's) I have a 1958 phone book and it doesnt list a Weingarten's at that location but my 1975 phone book shows Weingartens No. 55 at 7061.

Guess someone is just gonna have to look at some City Directories to figure out what is at 7061 (or 7055) Lawndale in '48

Yeah, that's the one I saw, I'm beginning to think those directories are worth their weight in gold. I don't have any. I was surprised that the map for the little Lawndale center wasn't listed in the shopping center maps (1955), looked like to me, (going by recollection) that the western part strip center that had a barber shop (at least) would have been built in the 1950's. Must have been after 1955, like the grocery store. There's the barbq pit, across the street, and the Lawndale Plaza street name. Thnx for posting this. I'm finding that the Sanborns are good for limited info, such as a street address.

Other references to Lawndale Plaza found: (the first has many interesting EE listings)

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v060/AE1997_Vol_60_0097.jpg

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v071/AE1997_71_0019.jpg

[EastEnd Susan]

It was a big treat in the 60's to go to that watermelon stand. I can still smell the wood shavings and watermelon. We never got our christmas trees there though, we went off 45 and Woodridge, close to a high school.. St. Johns? There was a giant tree lot. It was always muddy. On the way home I would stare out the back window of the car, sure that our tree would fall out of the trunk as we crossed the railroad tracks heading home. Such wonderful memories.

[normone]

Yeah, that's the one I saw, I'm beginning to think those directories are worth their weight in gold. I don't have any. I was surprised that the map for the little Lawndale center wasn't listed in the shopping center maps (1955), looked like to me, (going by recollection) that the western part strip center that had a barber shop (at least) would have been built in the 1950's. Must have been after 1955, like the grocery store. There's the barbq pit, across the street, and the Lawndale Plaza street name. Thnx for posting this. I'm finding that the Sanborns are good for limited info, such as a street address.

Other references to Lawndale Plaza found: (the first has many interesting EE listings)

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v060/AE1997_Vol_60_0097.jpg

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v071/AE1997_71_0019.jpg

New to forum but just had to respond. I grew up in Mason Park, worked at Mr. Gaeke's watermelon stand when I was seventeen years old, shopped at the grocery store you are speaking of and can tell you it was Piggly Wiggly long before the shopping center was created. Across the street was Madding's Drug Store and a hamburger stand that I think was Chuck Wagon, but not sure. Next to that was a movie theater that even when I was a small child of the 50's, was an adult theater. Don't remember the name but El Ray sounds familiar but I think that was when it changed to a Spanish movie theater.

[NenaE]

New to forum but just had to respond. I grew up in Mason Park, worked at Mr. Gaeke's watermelon stand when I was seventeen years old, shopped at the grocery store you are speaking of and can tell you it was Piggly Wiggly long before the shopping center was created. Across the street was Madding's Drug Store and a hamburger stand that I think was Chuck Wagon, but not sure. Next to that was a movie theater that even when I was a small child of the 50's, was an adult theater. Don't remember the name but El Ray sounds familiar but I think that was when it changed to a Spanish movie theater.

Welcome Normone, always good to hear personal stories...where exactly was that drug store? I remember the hamburger stand, last I saw, it was a taco place. We've talked about that theater in other posts, check 'em out. Capri was one theater name, early on.

link: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=10341

[airmech1112]

Welcome Normone, always good to hear personal stories...where exactly was that drug store? I remember the hamburger stand, last I saw, it was a taco place. We've talked about that theater in other posts, check 'em out. Capri was one theater name, early on.

link: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=10341

The name of the hamburger stand wasn't the Chuck Wagon but the Chuck Shack. My brother worked there for a while in the 70s. I remember one time he came home from work and told us this story, he went to get a customer's order and it turned out being Elvin Hayes. Mr Hayes ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich but my brother got so nervous that he forgot the cheese. He made him another sandwich and brought it out and started talking to him, it seems that Mr Hayes had been doing some kind of basketball youth camp at the Mason Park Gym and the Chuck Shack was the closest place to get some lunch. I don't remember the store across the street being anything but Weingartens even before it burned down in the mid to late 60s. When they rebuilt is when Ekerd's, Payless Shoes and TG&Y were put in on either side, with Ekerd's on the side closest to 75th st.

[NenaE]

The name of the hamburger stand wasn't the Chuck Wagon but the Chuck Shack. My brother worked there for a while in the 70s. I remember one time he came home from work and told us this story, he went to get a customer's order and it turned out being Elvin Hayes. Mr Hayes ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich but my brother got so nervous that he forgot the cheese. He made him another sandwich and brought it out and started talking to him, it seems that Mr Hayes had been doing some kind of basketball youth camp at the Mason Park Gym and the Chuck Shack was the closest place to get some lunch. I don't remember the store across the street being anything but Weingartens even before it burned down in the mid to late 60s. When they rebuilt is when Ekerd's, Payless Shoes and TG&Y were put in on either side, with Ekerd's on the side closest to 75th st.

Whoa, that's interesting, always good to hear your oral histories. I only knew it from the 1960's on. The Weingartens caught fire? Didn't know that. My dad was a lifeguard at Mason Park in the fifties, probably played little league there, as well. I'm sure he visited the "Chuck Shack" a time or two.

[msteele6]

Whoa, that's interesting, always good to hear your oral histories. I only knew it from the 1960's on. The Weingartens caught fire? Didn't know that. My dad was a lifeguard at Mason Park in the fifties, probably played little league there, as well. I'm sure he visited the "Chuck Shack" a time or two.

Just a few reminiscences about the area around the old watermelon stand at the intersection of Evergreen, Griggs, and Lawndale.

First off, the Wahoo bar. When I was young it was a convenience store called the U Toot We Tote, the idea being that they would take your order and bring the groceries to your car, that didn't last long and it finally transformed into the Wahoo. The bar was owned by the brother (I think) of Bert Wheeler, who owned a liquor store right next door. Spent many evenings in the bar in the late '60's early '70's.

The bar further down (across from Martini's Hardware was called the Souvenir. It was owned and run by a man and his wife, the Palumbo's, I think they had some connection to the Longshoreman's union because there were always sailors in the bar (usually arriving and leaving by taxi).

The first grocery store I remember at the intersection of 75th and Lawndale was Piggly Wiggly's it morphed into a Weingartens and I believe a Fiesta.

There was a drug store at the same corner, started out as a Madings, then as Mading Dugan's and then maybe a Rexall.

The little shopping center was called the AvaLawn and I think that the theater was also originally called the AvaLawn.

Finally, two places that haven't been mentioned in the area were the Lawndale Cue club in the two story building near where the Barber College is now, and Haenel's Grocery, which was right across the street at the far end of the AvaLawn center from the old Mading's.

The bars on Bowie included the Bowie street Ice House (another locus of my mis-spent youth in the '80's). It's still there and I believe that there are poker machines there, although I haven't been there in 15 years.

Broadway Baptist Church (and school) were one house over from the Bowie Street Ice House. I went to school there in the '60's and walked home down the railroad tracks on Griggs often after getting my hair cut in the two story building at the corner of Evergreen and Bowie by the lady that ran a barber shop on the first floor of the building.

[LTAWACS]

Just a few reminiscences about the area around the old watermelon stand at the intersection of Evergreen, Griggs, and Lawndale.

First off, the Wahoo bar. When I was young it was a convenience store called the U Toot We Tote, the idea being that they would take your order and bring the groceries to your car, that didn't last long and it finally transformed into the Wahoo. The bar was owned by the brother (I think) of Bert Wheeler, who owned a liquor store right next door. Spent many evenings in the bar in the late '60's early '70's.

The bar further down (across from Martini's Hardware was called the Souvenir. It was owned and run by a man and his wife, the Palumbo's, I think they had some connection to the Longshoreman's union because there were always sailors in the bar (usually arriving and leaving by taxi).

The first grocery store I remember at the intersection of 75th and Lawndale was Piggly Wiggly's it morphed into a Weingartens and I believe a Fiesta.

There was a drug store at the same corner, started out as a Madings, then as Mading Dugan's and then maybe a Rexall.

The little shopping center was called the AvaLawn and I think that the theater was also originally called the AvaLawn.

Finally, two places that haven't been mentioned in the area were the Lawndale Cue club in the two story building near where the Barber College is now, and Haenel's Grocery, which was right across the street at the far end of the AvaLawn center from the old Mading's.

The bars on Bowie included the Bowie street Ice House (another locus of my mis-spent youth in the '80's). It's still there and I believe that there are poker machines there, although I haven't been there in 15 years.

Broadway Baptist Church (and school) were one house over from the Bowie Street Ice House. I went to school there in the '60's and walked home down the railroad tracks on Griggs often after getting my hair cut in the two story building at the corner of Evergreen and Bowie by the lady that ran a barber shop on the first floor of the building.

Wow.

I read your post and think about how much that part of town has changed. Thanks for your informative posts.

[NickWallingford]

I remember the watermelon stand at Evergreen and Lawndale, where the washateria/video store is. It was close to the "Key" gas station,(north) and that ceramic shop (2-story 1960's bldg., balcony -walkway,white rails & turquoise color), (west). That corner has some very old bldgs. beside/behind it. Across, diagonally from where the stand was, there once sat a 2-story Victorian house. Believe there is an auto parts store there now. That is a complicated intersection, 5 roads & a set of train tracks cross.

Yes, I remember that! I was (in another posting on this forum) trying to remember the location - we used to stop here with our Little League team after the games in the early 1960s...

[Wallingford]

The original Weingartens was built almost to the corner of Lawndale and 75th. Parking was in the rear. The new strip center

with Weingartens, Eckherts, TG&Y etc was built in the late 60's pushed back from Lawndale to allow the big parking area.

As I recall they didn't tear down the old Weingarten's building until the new one was almost complete behind it.

[NenaE]

The original Weingartens was built almost to the corner of Lawndale and 75th. Parking was in the rear. The new strip center

with Weingartens, Eckherts, TG&Y etc was built in the late 60's pushed back from Lawndale to allow the big parking area.

As I recall they didn't tear down the old Weingarten's building until the new one was almost complete behind it.

I recall a bldg. in the Sanborn maps sitting right near the corner. Wonder if that was the original Weingarten's you speak of. The maps don't list names of establishments. It was a smaller bldg. than the later Weingartens. Interesting. The post/ recollections of msteele6 are, as well.

The large, old Victorian house sat at the busy intersection, where the auto parts store is, north of the pawn shop.

[msteele6]

One other thought about the area around the old watermelon stand. One of my first memories of the area was going with my mother to the washateria that was located catercorner from the stand. This would have been in the mid '50's. Behind that washateria there was a nursery, quite possibly owned by the same folks that owned the washateria. This land, I believe, would have had to have been incorporated into the Pentecostal Bible College and dorms that were located there until the '80's (early '90's?) that spread from behind Martini's Hardware over to Evergreen.

I can still remember that way they stored those watermelons in a tank filled with ice and water and then sliced them and sold them to be eaten on the old wooden tables with a big dollop of salt.

[msteele6]

I just noticed a post that said that the Weingarten's burned down. To my knowledge, Weingarten's never burned. I believe the poster is confusing this with the fact that a part of the AvaLawn center did burn down. I remember this well, it would have had to have been in the late '60's, maybe 1968?. I don't think that the whole center burned down, just a portion in the middle, the Haenel's grocery store on the end wasn't affected I don't believe, and I think that this was before the Leonard's store was there, the store I remember burning for sure was a liquor store that was in the center. Some acquaintances of mine appropriated the beer from that burned out store and the first drink I ever took was from that purloined stash. I still remember setting in the Weingarten's parking lot and watching the fire from across 75th street. I believe it was around, if not on, the 4th of July.

At the time, I lived behind the Tropicana Bowling Lanes on Harwell.

[NenaE]

There was a city owned horse stables/ stalls located east of the bible college/ auto parts store. It would have been early on, 1940's maybe, or earlier. Seen in on maps. Don't recall it personally, though. Would have been close to The Key gas station, north side of train tracks.

[NenaE]

There was also a Japanese Gardens or Alvin Japanese Nursery Co. (one location) at 7200 Lawndale (the major intersection with Evergreen). Ads were in the 1907 Blue Book, Maugeritte Johnston mentions in her book Houston - the Unknown City.

Wish that Blue Book (included prominent Houstonians) was online. The Red Book (the African American equivalent is available, and very interesting). It actually includes house photographs with addresses, many are still standing, looked them up in GoogleEarth.

[msteele6]

7200 Lawndale would have been almost exactly where the nursery that I remember would have been located, of course, that intersection has changed quite a bit since then with all of the street improvements and so forth. I'll have to ask my mother if she remembers the names "Alvin Japanese Nursery Co." or "Japanese Gardens".

[dmil]

Probably the one watermelon stand I ever went to the most was Bluebonnet Gardens on Fannin downtown. In the winter they sold Christmas Trees. Right nearby was Swayzes Barbeque that was owned by Pat Swayzes relatives. We also went to one in Pasadena on Southmore and on Lawndale near Griggs road. You ate your slice on newspaper and the opetators had big salt container on the picnic-style tables. Sometimes if you were lucky your piece of melon would be ice cold. Great memories.

 

[megkat]

I thought this photo would be of interest. My great-grandfather was McCall.

[skater]

that watermelon stand at laundale and evergreen had big wooden boxes full of big ice blocks and cold water, full of big black diamond melons. tables on sawdust floor with salt shakers .you could buy a slice of very cold melon that tasted great in the hot summer nights of the 50s.