Ashikaga
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Posts posted by Ashikaga
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By popular demand, here are links to photos of the demolition on May 23, 2001. This was probably the last day of major demolition since they were clearing out the last remains of structures on that day.
This view looks southwest from the Gulf Freeway
http://houstonfreeways.com/images/gulfgate...01_ORIG_ADJ.png
This view looks east
http://houstonfreeways.com/images/gulfgate...01_ORIG_ADJ.png
Here is the sign. It looked like it was being preserved. Is it still there? Your comment above suggests it is gone.
http://houstonfreeways.com/images/gulfgate...01_ORIG_ADJ.png
No, I don't know what's there. I'm going by what other people on this forum have told me. I moved away from Houston back in 1964. Other people on this forum have told me that the only thing from back then that remains of Gulfgate is the pedestrian bridge. Someone said that even the movie theatre that was on the other side of the bridge is also gone.
I just printed the photo of the sign. Thank you for posting it.
Chet Cuccia
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Maybe you are thinking of Hermann Park? They have a kids train and the zoo is there. you probably could have seen the Prudential building from there back then.
I don't know. Like I said, I moved away from there back in 1964. I thought that one evening we went to an amusement park and from the ground I looked up and saw that neon logo "rock" of the top of the Prudential. My memory about my time in Houston has been accurate about 75 percent of the time. Maybe this memory is part of the remaining 25 percent.
Chet Cuccia
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When we went to Gulfgate Shopping Center back in the early 1960s, I remember going down some stairs to an underground bowling alley. I also remember my mother buying groceries in a Weingarten's store which was located at the end on the center next to Woodridge (I think that was the name of that side street). I can also remember going into a Newberry's store which was at the end of the center where a pedestrian bridge that traversed IH-610 from a movie theatre was.
Does anyone out there have any updated information on Gulfgate, such as if any of those old store from 40 years ago are still there or not?
Chet Cuccia
As I said, it's a shame that the only remaining vestige of Gulfgate Shopping Center from back when I went there (1962-64) is the pedestrian bridge.
Chet Cuccia
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I think this is Playland Park
I've learned not to get Playland Park confused with Peppermint Park, which was near Gulfgate Shopping Center. I remember going to the later back then (1962-64). And I think that we also went to the former.
Maybe someone out there can jog my more-than-40-year-old-memory. I remember us going to an amusement park closer to downtown than Peppermint Park was. From that park, I thought that I could see the top of the Prudential Building; the neon logo of its "rock." Is it possible that could have been Playland Park? Was that park within "eyeshot" of the top of the Prudential Building?
Chet Cuccia
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You're right. I stand corrected. I had my "storms" mixed up. It was the Texas Cyclone, not the Texas Tornado.
Chet Cuccia
There was a show one time on the Discovery Channel about roller coasters. None of the ones that they showed was at Astroworld.
Chet Cuccia
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Cyclone.. Tornado... Same thing. The Cyclone opened in 1976 and is still there. I'm not crazy.
You're right. I stand corrected. I had my "storms" mixed up. It was the Texas Cyclone, not the Texas Tornado.
Chet Cuccia
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Hey, it's still there. Last time I rode it was in the mid '90s though. One of the best wooden coasters ever.
I'm surprised that the "Tornado" is still there. I thought that about every 3 or 4 years, they build a new, bigger, scarier ride and dismantle the old one that it replaced.
Chet Cuccia
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The only restaurant that stands out in my mind is the Monterey House (I haven't been in that area since 1964). It was located on Telephone Road where it intersects with Reveille. I remember a driving range was next to it. If we were seated next to the window in the restaurant, I remember seeing people outside hitting golf balls.
Across the street, I remember there was a supermarket called Henke & Pillot (now called Kroger). Someone on this forum told me that the restaurant is now called Monterey Tex-Mex and that a Kroger is now across the street from where Henke & Pillot was. Nobody has said anything about whether or not that driving range is still there.
Chet Cuccia
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Doe anyone have any recollections of what Milby Park use to be like? My Dad often reminisces about it, telling stories of how he and his brothers use to go down to Sims Bayou bordering the southern end of the park and--believe it or not--shoot their BB guns at an alligator that lived in the Bayou. He said the refineries took care of all of that. He says it was quite a park.
I lived on #8 West Court Drive from 1962-64. Sims Bayou was at the end of our street. I remember my parents and I walking down there and standing next to the water. (The house that we lived in was on the corner of West Court Drive and Galveston Road, just down from where Park Place Boulevard dead ends into the latter.) No, I don't remember Milby Park. Someone on this forum told me that if we had stayed in that house that I probably would have attended Milby High School.
Chet Cuccia
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We could probably start a whole new thread on old rides at Astroworld that are no more.
Let's see, off the top of my head:
Astro wheel
Needle
Barrel of Fun
Black Dragon
The only name of a ride that stands out in my mind is "The Texas Tornado." But keep in mind, the last time that I went to Astroworld was way back in the summer of 1978.
Chet Cuccia
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Yep, bought my first album there.
Rush's Fly By Night.
Yes, I remember well. Not at Globe, but I remember going into other department stores when I was a kid back in the 1960s and 1970s and going straight to the 45rpm singles shelves. The average price of them was $1. Only rarely could my parents afford to buy me an album.
Chet Cuccia
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Thank you. Like I said, it has been over 40 years since I've been there. I THINK that that's the place. I remember going westbound on IH-610. We would pass up Gulfgate Shopping Center, and arrive at a skating rink a little way's down from there.
Chet Cuccia
Like I said, to me, if would be an eerie and a spooky feeling to go inside old buildings such at that Gulfgate Skating Rink and the Santa Rosa Theatre, buildings that have been all boarded up and closed down for many years.
Chet Cuccia
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I've got 8mm film of Astroworld in the late 60's, when it first opened. I wonder if people would be interested in something like that.
As a child, I was traumatized when they changed Hannah Barbera Land to Splashtown. Long after I had forgotten about Hannah Barbera Land, there was something that seemed evil about Splashtown - bad vibes you might say. Now I remember why.
It's great to see HAI Forumers exploring their inner child. I wonder if somebody has broken out bawling over this thread.
Yes, it would be interesting to see a film like that. I would think that most everything you would see (the rides at the time, etc.) would be gone now, replaced by other rides.
Chet Cuccia
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A bit of an update. I went by the old Gulfgate skate rink yesterday and the building is actually still there but sitting empty.
Thank you. Like I said, it has been over 40 years since I've been there. I THINK that that's the place. I remember going westbound on IH-610. We would pass up Gulfgate Shopping Center, and arrive at a skating rink a little way's down from there.
Chet Cuccia
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The theaters I would have liked to have seen were the Loews State and Metropolitan on Main St. From the pictures they must have been incredible.
Back when VCRs came out back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, I thought that that technological advance would put ALL movie theatres out of business. We all know that most people would rather stay at home and watch a movie than to have to get all dressed up to go out.
Well, I was half right. Most drive-in theatres bit the dust. But there's still walk-ins around. But I know of no one screeners that I went to when I was a kid. Most of them all have 10-20 screens.
Chet Cuccia
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Did Houston have any Grant's? That was the local discount department store when I was a kid.
Yes, I do remember a Grant's in Gulfgate across from Newberry's back in the early 1960s. Was it some kind of a five-and-dime store? Or some other kind of store?
Chet Cuccia
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The old South Main Drive-In!! I loved that place when I was little. Notice how it says And Kiddie Amusement Park on the sign? I remember going to the drive in movies as a kid, and the minute we arrived, I'd say Bye to the parents, and run off to play in the park. It had a bunch of swings & other typical playground equipment and it was located on a grassy area exactly in front of & underneath the screen. I'd play there for who knows how long, and only go running back to the car for a drink or a snack.
Funny, how you could let your kid go running off to some playground in the dark and never worry about them back in the 60s. Can you imagine anything like that today?
Oh, and I remember my parents getting dressed up to go to the movies at the Majestic when I was young. My father used to get tickets for movie debuts/previews which were apparently a big deal back then. The also went to the Gaylynn movie theatre in Sharpstown when it was brand new.
I graduated from high school in Beaumont. There was a Gaylynn Theatre in that city, too. I remember having a good share of dates there. Sadly, it's now all gone.
Chet Cuccia
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There was a Sage on Westhiemer and Stoney Brook. It is now a Guitar Center. I think it was a pharmacy, but I might be wrong. I remember the toy section well.
All that I can remember is going into the Globe Department Store on Woodridge, next to Gulfgate. We went into the pet department. My parents bought a solid white cat which they named "Purdy." Later we found out that it had a gastric disorder. It kept stinking up our house.
Chet Cuccia
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This is the Wunsche Cemetery, just south of Spring High School on the east side of the freeway. Perhaps you've heard of the Wunsche Cafe in Spring...
As probably all of you know by now, I lived in Houston from 1962-64. I do remember one night my parents and I were sitting in the parking lot at the then-Houston International Airport (now called Hobby) and watching a Good Year blimp landing. It was quite a sight to see in the dark. I remember seeing the lit up "flying shoe" logo.
Chet Cuccia
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Here is area code trivia that I heard (but I can't prove it's true). When they originally introduced the area codes, the ones that were easiest to dial on a rotary telephone went to the largest metropolitan areas at the time. That meant that the middle digit was a "1" instead of "0", and the first and third digits were small so you didn't have to wait long for the dial to spin around. New York, the biggest city, got 212 because it was easiest to dial. Next Chicago got 312 and LA 213. Maybe Houston's having 713 is an indication of our size at the time.
You might not be too far "off base."
Chet Cuccia
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Yeah, torchlight, that's what i meant. It was a MacFrugals right before Gulfgate was razed. I think in the exact location of where it was is probably the parking lot for new center.
Yes, it's a shame. Going by what all of you over there have told me, the only remaining vestige of the Gulfgate Shopping Center that I went to back in 1962-64 is the pedestrian bridge which traverses IH 610.
Chet Cuccia
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Absolutely correct. Ma Bell leased phones and forbade people from buying their own. Their contention was that non-Bell phones might be of inferior quality and would interfere with the phone system. If someone was to damage their phone, Ma Bell made the repairs. The charges were pretty steep.
Of course, if you wanted to pay a little extra and get a 'designer' color or Princess model, Bell was all too happy to help.
I think it took a court ruling, but people were finally allowed to purchase - not lease - their phones about 25 years ago.
You're right. In 1982 the telecommunications industry was deregulated as a result of the courts ruling that AT&T was a monopoly. Years ago it costs more, but it was simpler. After 1982, everyone was swamped by MCI, Sprint, and numerous other long distance companies.
Up until 1983, area code 713 covered not only all of Houston, but all of the southeastern corner of Texas including Beaumont (the city that I graduated from high school in), Port Arthur, Orange, Jasper, Galveston, etc. Nowadays when you drive just a few miles, you don't know if you've entered a new area code or not. Now 713 is the very innermost part of Houston.
Chet Cuccia
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Probably everyone over age 40 remembers rotary dial phones.
The first touch-tone phone I recall seeing was in the late 60's. We were mystified as to the purpose of the '*' and '#' symbols; it was explained that they were "reserved for future use".
There were few optional services on phones (private lines and unlisted numbers are the only ones I can think of), and the hell that is voice mail and automated customer service wasn't even on the horizon.
Yes, I'm 47. Your right about what your "options" were back then. Also back then, when you'd call a person and/or a business, a human being would answer the phone. There was no voice mail, or "for this, press 1, for that, press 2."
Chet Cuccia
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Weingarten's was, at its peak, probably the biggest chain in Houston. I'm not sure if I have the history exactly right, but I think the Weingarten family decided to get out of the supermarket business about 25 years ago, so they sold the chain to Grand Union (though it kept the Weingarten's name). I guess that didn't work out too well, because a few short years later Weingarten's was no more. I think Safeway bought up most of the stores.
Now there's a big HEB at Gulfgate.
Oh, maybe I misunderstood. I thought someone said that "Big Lots" was in the space where "Weingarten's" was. Well, an H.E.B. should do well in that center.
I remember the first time that I went to Astroworld back in the late 1960s. They had a replica of the first "Weingarten's."
Chet Cuccia
Houston Phone Numbers Became Numbers
in Historic Houston
Posted
Yes, you couldn't use a rotary dial phone even if you wanted to because 9 out of every 10 businesses you call are answered by a recording that tells you to "press 1" or "press 2" for this or that.
Chet Cuccia