westhouston68

The ice rink in the Farmers Market was just west of where the post office is now and on the site now located where the Brownstones are. The road that goes between the post office and the Brownstones did not exist and the road actually was due west of the Brownstones lots. It was actually the road that now goes between the Brownstones and Luby's (now covered by a parking garage). I remember going back there years later and being confused by the placement of the road because it now borders a neighborhood and the Farmers Market was on the east side of the road and there is no room for it there with the current road. A check of the historical photos on Google Earth (from 1978) confirms the layout in the 70s.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I feel I had to reply to the original poster to set the record straight.

My family moved to Houston in 1972 while I was in high school and we lived right off what was then called West Belt and Memorial so I was quite familiar with the Town and Country area. When we moved here, there was a Joskes that was connected to a small outdoor mall type area on the north side of Joskes. Palais Royal was in another parking lot in a completely different building south of Joskes and further south, bordering on Memorial there was Sakowitz which also had an attached outdoor mall type area at the north entrance. All I remember being there was a restaurant called the Refectory.

There was a Minimax grocery store just north of the Sakowitz area with a James Coney Island and a drugstore to the north of that.

Where the post office now stands there was a large building called the Farmers Market where around 1973, a large part of it was converted to the Ice Haus skating rink where the old WHA Houston Aeros used to practice on occassion. I believe just south of that was a Pier One type store.

The Town and Country Mall did not open until the early eighties where the anchors were Joskes (might of been Dillards by then), JC Penneys, Marshall Fields (wish they'd come back to Houston) and Neiman Marcus.

In 1972 the Sheraton had just opened on the corner of the Katy Frwy and West Belt. Just a bit further south were the Town and Country 6(?) theater and next to it was a Lowe's Theater.

I will post more if I remember.