Purpledevil

I don't know that I'd say Astroworld really deteriorated. The 90's saw the installation of a couple of new coasters like the Taz's Texas Twister and Serial Thriller. Of course, I think it was in the early 90's that the horribly ridiculous Mayan Mind Bender debuted. We stood in line for 2 1/2 hours for that thing, and it was the first and last time I ever rode it.

The park had its ups and down like any business. Some people consider the takeover by Six Flags as the turning point in Astroworld's ultimate demise. Some say it was Reliant Stadium's fault by wanting to take the parking area away for use by the Complex. Regardless of opinion, the park was never going to be anything more than what it was. It couldn't expand the park, due to the roads that surrounded it, and kept tearing down rides and replacing them with modern steel roller coasters.

Never mind, they've replaced it. Well, that kind of sucks. As far as building uniqueness, wasn't that the only double decker McDonald's? Wish they'd have gutted the original structure and started over with the skeleton.

The link you posted to yelp is/was the McMansion, Irontiger. It was quite a sight when it first opened and very modern for its time. It made television news as well as the Chronicle and the Post's coverage of the event. I had stopped by a couple of times before it shut down and didn't find the service or the food exceptional. Hadn't been over that way in awhile, though. Have they built something else on the pad, or is it a vacant lot?

Tremendous list, 9075. The one memory on my 90's list, would be the closure of the last drive-in theater in Houston, the I-45, in 1992. I grew up in several of the drive-ins here, specifically the Airline & Shepherd, and then the I-45 when it opened in 82.

Oh, IronTiger, I could tell you some stories about the Heights. I grew up there in the 70s and early 80s. What the Heights is now, isn't even close. I went through there the other day and saw they tore down most of Baptist Temple. Made my heart sink, as there will never be chimings bells coming from the tower anymore at noon on 20th and Yale. It just isn't home anymore. It just isn't the Heights anymore.

I wish them the best, but if the back to back to back to back (whew) World Champion Houston Comets couldn't survive in this city, the future doesn't appear to favor The Dash. I certainly hope it's a success, though.

Wait! Has something changed that I'm not aware of? All of this talk of restaurants and bars on 19th, but isn't 19th still dry? Same reason the Kroger on 20th can't sell liquor, wine, or beer.

As for the Weingarten's property across the street, there is no current plan to demo or repurpose the strip. Kroger actually wanted to buy it, demo it, and build a Signature there. Walgreens actually had a problem with that, and held the lease on their spot until another establishment could fill the empty space.

Wouldn't been the first time that entire property housed a single, mammoth grocer.

Never heard of the McDonald's townhouse, but we used to call the one on Post Oak just off the West Loop "The McMansion". Biggest McDonald's I had ever seen in my life back then. Two stories and all.

I certainly remember the old burger shaped Burger King on Main. Can't for the life of me remember exactly where it was, but it was near Sakowitz and Foley's.

I don't think there are, IronTiger. 43rd & Rosslyn was one of the last holdouts, but it too has been rebranded in the last couple of years. As Tumbleweed said, most changed to Valero when Diamond Shamrock was bought out. When the DS branded gas was phased out at each location, so was the Stop N Go name.

UtoteM...there's a name I haven't heard in years. We used to hang out at the one on N. Main, next to Christ the King. Once we got bored with that, it was a quick walk down the street to Shipley's and Baby Giant. Such a simple time back then.

(I'm already in love with this place. So many memories being jogged. Thanks Haifers)

Wow, Subdude! That pic of Tommie Vaughn predates my recollection. That is awesome, but where's the big towering Ford sign? That thing's been up there since I was a kid. Hadn't paid real attention to it in years since I don't live in the Heights anymore, but it used to light up at night and rotate. My older brother used to work at the Goodyear there on 11th, next to the old Wiener's.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I remember something of an agreement with 7-11, when the stores were bought by Houston based Stop N Go, they were not allowed to come back to Houston to compete against Stop N Go, unless Stop N Go ceased business. Circle K was given the same stipulation when it too was bought out by Stop N Go.

As I recall, that's why there were so many Stop N Gos in this city. The ones that weren't originally 7-11s, were old Circle Ks. I know for a fact Circle K didn't buy 7-11, it was Stop N Go. All of our 7-11s in the Heights, as well as those in Garden Oaks and Oak Forest, converted to Stop N Gos at the same time.

That is, with the exception of a few like the one on Bevis and W. 20th that went independent and became "Super Stop" or some derivative thereof. Circle K still existed in its own stores, then competing against the "new" Stop N Go chain.

DJboutit: I can assure you, those apartments on Hamilton aren't abandoned. Unless something has changed recently there are squatters living in there. Most of the empty buildings up that way have a resident or three living in them.

The old Kmart at 630 W. Little York instantly comes to mind...

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember them, but Lewis & Coker's stores were comparable to Henke & Pillot stores in building size. For the younger crowd, it was it a little smaller than a regular sized Kroger's, such as the one on W. 20th in the Heights, or Airline in the northside.

It was one of those hometown stores that, if they knew you well enough, would slide an accidental hot check. There were employees at the Memorial store that had literally made a career at Lewis & Coker. I grew up with the produce manager's daughter. He and his daughter, who was a boothie and cashier, worked there clear through the end when Rice bought it and flipped it to an Epicurean Market, even then staying another couple of years in the store under the Rice banner.

I'm sorry Smelly, I didn't pay attention. You're commuting from The Heights to UH, not St. Thomas. Don't know why I had that in my head...

Keep in mind that Metro buses are scheduled by Metro to run late. They'd rather be 5-10 minutes behind, as to give the stragglers extra time. Now, if you're seeing one running 10 minutes early, you need to call Metro as soon as you see the bus pass you by. Metro's "eyeball" makes it real easy for the dispatcher to know where that bus is at what time, and an immediate call to Metro alerts Control to put an "eyeball on the eyeball", so to speak.

The result, in a case like this, would result in a 3 day suspension for the scheduled driver of the bus. That's a tough call for me, because I'd hate to take money out of anyone's pocket. However a bus running that early, or an abusive or unsafe bus driver, would certainly warrant the call.

34 Montrose is a hooooooooorible bus, btw. May I suggest the 26/27 crosstown to get you down to the Westheimer area? It'll take you to the 78, 25, 81/82 and 3 with no problems and little wait time.

Kind of reminded me of Josh Innes taking the parting shot on the way out. I'm sure Arrow PD Steve Fixx didn't appreciate the thumb in the eye, after several years of service in programming the station. Very classy on their part, IMO...smh.

Oh geez...

How old is McNair these days? He said before the start of this season that he wanted the team to win a championship in his lifetime. Not likely, with moves like this. Hopefully, I'll be proven wrong.

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't seen the story yet.

BTW, Nice pic Hercules. That's one heck of a set of man cans! No wonder his girlfriend followed him to Philly. I mean, wouldn't you??

Lance Zerlein was pretty close. He had them pegged at 6-10 for the season. Even he didn't see just how bad this was going to be. The one thing that I will add to this is that without Gary Kubiak here, we can say goodbye to Rick Denison and his heart that belongs to Denver. They can have the rest of him, and his worn out playbook. Let's get Lovie Smith in here and tear some teams up. All this talk about Bill O'Brien reminds me of another "offensive guru" we gave their first NFL head coaching job, and how did that go? 2 years of slightly above average football, ending in the 2nd round to a team with a superior coaching staff. Bill O'Brien doesn't excite me in the least.

Thanks, brucesw, for the warm welcome. I have sent messages to all my contacts here in Texas, already. Also posted a thread at Radio-Talk with a link to the radio/TV boards that are here as well. Glad to be on board!

PD

http://www.radio-talk.net/forum/

http://radioinsight.com/

Not unexpectedly, Cox Classic Hits duo 106.9/107.5 The Eagle has adjusted its own playlist and is now being promoted as "Houston's Only Classic Rock Station, The Eagle".

This is the sound clip of the change at KKRW, today at noon.

https://soundcloud.com/mike-mcguff/93-7-the-beat-takes-over-93-7

Last song as "The Arrow" was Journey "Don't Stop Believin'" at 11:55, first song as "The Beat" was Beyonce feat. Jay-Z "Drunk in Love" at 12:03.

Hello! I am an evacuee from radio-info/radiodiscussions as well. Good to see a couple of names I recognize here, like djrage. For those interested in a good radio board, I have found a couple that are out there trying to fill the void.

radio-talk.net and radioinsight.com/community

Both are nationally focused, Radio-Talk has been known for its technical and equipment talk, as well as its friendliness toward Part 15 operation. It has recently opened up its forums to include discussion within the top 25 radio markets and general radio related news stories from around the country.

RadioInsight was founded by one of the original Radio-Info trio, Lance Venta. A virtual who's who of broadcasting professionals can be found around the boards of the site. They've both recently seen a huge uptick in use, since the demise of Radiodiscussions and I find them to both have great merits.

Now that I have found TheHaif, I look forward to being a part of the community here and will certainly contribute wherever I can. Happy New Year to all! -Joe