HoustonianInColorado

I am 52, but still remember my phone numbers when I was a child. While in Kindergarten I lived in Bellaire and the number was MAdison 3-9975. The next year, we moved to Sharpstown, and the number was GYpsy 4-2931. The Gypsy exchange was changed to Prescott for some reason later, and the number would have become PRescott 4-2931. Once they implemented direct distance dialing (DDD) in the old Bell System, they added Area Codes (NPAs in Telephonese, for Numbering Plan Area), and they went to all number dialing. Thus PR 4 exchange was the same as 774. The number would then have become 713-774-2931.

H2B, I definitely remember this. I was actually going to post the same thing until I saw your post. Also, who remembers Mike Peacock Chevrolet on Katy Freeway. Last I knew, he sold it and opened a Caddy dealership on the North Freeway.

Sakowitz Weingartens U-Tote-'M Joske's Best Federated Electronics Woolco

I didn't take any this weekend. On my next trip downtown I will try for the 16th St. Mall, The Brown Palace, The Molly Brown House and the U.S. Mint.

All of these were taken with a Gateway DC-T50 Digital camera and scaled down.

Here are some more of my photos from yesterday: Main entrance to Cherry Creek Mall. Although much, much smaller than The Galleria in Houston, CCM contains many upscale stores of a similar vein. Apparently Piggly Wiggly once operated in Denver. Here is an old warehouse with their name on the building. One corner of the ING Building diagonally across from the Denver Public Library. Colorado History Museum located directly across from the library. KDVR-TV Fox 31 Studios on Speer Boulevard. An old building across from Union Station downtown. Look carefully in the second story windows and you may see people getting their hair styled in the salon located there. Sports bars across from Coors Field The "Electric Razor Building", called that because of its shape. This is located to the west of I-25 in Greenwood Village, a southern suburb. The electric wires are part of the TREX (TRansportation EXpansion) project to widen I-25 and extend light rail. They are to power the commuter trains. I think this is Denver's only trenched freeway, a stretch of I-25 south of Downtown. This is still being redone as part of TREX. I would compare it to the Southwest Freeway between Shepherd & Downtown Houston, although not trenched as deep. There are several identical new bridges like this one for Downing St. that connect the neighborhoods on both sides. Notice the narrower third passageway on the right. That is where light rail is going. Once construction is finished, this will be a nice stretch of highway. Just to make a Houston connection, here is Landry's Seafood Restaurant on the East side of I-25 south of the Denver Technological Center. I took this by pointing my camera out the window while driving, and am very surprised it came out. Although it is along I-25, there are no feeders on Denver's freeways, so you have to exit before or after you get there and find the city streets that lead back to the other side of it, in this case, Clinton St. I wonder how this hurts businesses visible from the highway, but not easily accessible. The same situation exists, only worse, for Denver's only Pappas restaurant, Pappadeaux, located a couple of miles north of Landry's and on the west side of the highway.

For whatever reason, these type of rivalries seem to spring up everywhere. When I lived in Tulsa, people there thought their OKC neighbors 100 miles down the Turner Turnpike were a bunch of hicks living in a cowtown. People in OKC sometimes view Tulsans and old money, oil rich snobs.

Nice photo. Lots of memories for me in that area. When my grandfather was alive, he had a small farm in Pushmataha County, just NE of the town of Snow, OK.

Clean...yeah, a lot of Denver is clean. But cartoony? What part looks like a cartoon? haha I purposely didn't take pictures of the homeless folk sleeping under the trees around the Capitol area. They don't add much to the aesthetics of the place. The Library building is a real mish mash of pieces. It is supposedly pretty avant garde, but I think it is just kind of strange.

OK, I took a bunch of photos in Denver today. Thought I'd share some of them. Enjoy! Denver's Union Station Denver's ABC affiliate, KMGH-TV on Speer Blvd & Lincoln. Notice the 100 degree temperature on their thermometer. Colorado's Gold Domed State Capitol The City and County of Denver Building. Notice the bird flying above it. I didn't know I caught in in the photo until I got home. This photo is facing west, so the Rocky Mountains are out there behind the building, but you can't see them in this photo. The Capitol is behind me to my east when taking this shot. Downtown Denver from near the State Capitol (from the South) Downtown Denver from near Coors Field (from the NorthWest) The Main Denver Library building The main entrance to Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. A castle-like mansion in the Cherry Creek district off Speer Boulevard, across from the Denver Country Club. NOTE ADDED 8/7: Scroll down. I added 10 more pics today!

I find the feeder roads not bad at all. It is one frustrating thing to me here in the Denver area. You cannot easily get off the freeway to any business. I like the Texas design, and I particularly love the U-Turn lanes under the overpasses. I-35 in southern Oklahoma City has feeder road equivalents, but they are considered separate streets. the stupid thing is they are two-way, and traffic entering and exiting the freeway meets oncoming traffic. This has caused many fatal accidents. Here in Denver, I don't think there are any feeders at all. Even the rebuild of I-25 (TREX) which is adding a light rail line is not adding feeders. Yeah, they do ruin a parkway feel, but they are so good at moving traffic.

HiR, may you be home safe and soon to enjoy all the silly commercials back home!

Interesting. In Kindergarten (1958-59) I went to Horn Elementary in Bellaire.

I remember some really stupid ads years ago in Houston...maybe in the 80s...for Academy. This little kid would say something about getting camping gear at Academy, and the announcer would say, "That's RIGHT David!".

93Q was once KYND, an elevator music station, affiliated with the old 790 KULF (previously KTHT). If I recall correctly, Harte Hanks sold the pair to Gannett, who flipped them to 79Q (AM) KKBQ and started the Q-Zoo format in Houston. Then KYND became 93Q KKBQ-FM. I worked at KULF at the time just before the change. Along those lines, does anyone else remember the morning team of London & Engleman on KULF?

Remember when 97.9 was Contemporary Christian KFMK, Houston's 24-Hour Love Song? The protests when Crawford sold it to First Media was the driver that helped put together KSBJ.

The Denver Pavilions is on the 16th Street Mall, a pedestrian mall. It is very busy at lunchtime, and has some cool special events, like Kristkindle, a German Christmas festival, complete with a street fair. It has a few nice eating places, like The Corner Bakery and Magianno's Little Italy, a Barnes & Noble store, Niketown, and a multiscreen cinema. Not all has gone well with it however, as I believe that the Wolfgang Puck restaurant there is now out of business. It is a nice addition to the other shops on the mall, and integrates well. As a stand alone without the mall, I am not sure how well it would do.

I remember the Globe at Sharpstown as I just mentioned in another thread before finding this one. As for Gibsons, a few years back there was still on on Highway 6 near Navasota. Doubt it is still there though.

I used to work in what was then the First Interstate Bank building back in 1991-92. One interesting thing happened that I still recall. . . I got off the Metro bus at street level. It was raining. Rode the express elevator to the sky lobby. The sky was clear blue and the clouds were below me. Rode the local elevator down to my office (47th floor IIRC), and it was densly foggy out my window. Couldn't see a thing. No rain, no blue sky. Just fog.

What a great memory! I am 52 years old and grew up in Bellaire & Sharpstown until I was 9. Mom & Dad used to take me to ride those ponies at OST & Main. One of my early childhood fond memories. Other memories in Houston as a child . . . * Seeing Snow White at the movie theatre in the old shopping center on the north side of Bellaire Blvd. just east of the train tracks on the east end of Bellaire. * Going to see Kitirik at Channel 13 and Captain Bob on Channel 2 at their old studios on Post Oak Rd. * The deep drainage ditches along Avenue A (now Newcastle) and Post Oak Rd. in Bellaire. * Movies at the Trail Drive In, and the new Sharpstown Drive In. * Bissonnet was still called Old Richmond Road from the curve at about Edloe, down through Sharpstown. * A big discount store on Hillcroft in Sharpstown called "Globe". * That jingle . . ."Summer winter spring or fall, stroll in the air conditioned mall, with one stop to shop for all, at Sharpstown Center." * The old Sears on South Main just south of Downtown * U-Tote-M was a fairly large chain of convenience stores in those days. Their radio jingle? "Just in case anyone should ask you, you tell 'em U-Tote-M." Their sign incorporated a totem pole. Probably a lot more stored in this old brain here!

I'm trying to remember here . . . Isn't Carillion Square where Spellbinders Comedy Club was (or is?) located?

Actually the four corner pillars and the roof with the hole were quite a surprise to me on my first visit back to Houston a few years ago. I left in 1992, and that upper extension was not there. I actually didn't recognize the building at first. I think it was know by just its address at one time. Seems to me it was the 1100 Milam Building, but I could be wrong. Very nice photos BTW!