lunchbox

Looks like another high rise apartment building.

Never went to the theater but I went to Warren's Hobbies. It was in the shopping center across the street (where Kroger is).

Where was the Kip's Big Boy? Seems like it was on the corner near the theater.

Big Boy was directly in front of it.

No photos of the place, but I do remember going there as a kid (late 70's, early 80's.) I believe I saw more than one Zorro move there, and possibly the Jungle Book.

I definitely remember the Wyatt's. My grandpa was a cafeteria connosieur, so I had many meals there. I also remember a place there across Spencer Hwy back in the late 80's that he was in love with, called Smorgasbord. It was an all-you-can-eat, and they had the self-serve, soft-serve ice cream. I had never seen such a thing in my life!

Wasn't there also a Texas Tumbleweeds back in there?

Yes. That shopping center is still there- at least part of it is. It made a "U" shape, and Texas Tumbleweed was in the back corner. 2/3rds of the shopping center was torn down to make way for a new Krogers. I remember the original, existing section housed a Wiener's and Walgreen's (it's now a River Oaks Diagnostic/Imaging).

I remember going to the Parkview Twin Theatre on Spencer Hwy. (at Burke) in Pasadena as a kid. It was a "Dollar Movie" up until (at least) the late 1990's, and I always remember it being as such. It was kind of gross and dirty with mildly greasy floors. It's now a Hancock Fabric store. Sadly, they gutted the place out and leveled the floor; all remnants of it ever being a theatre are gone. I also remember an old bank being on the opposite corner, as well as an old Wyatt's Cafeteria. They were both torn down in the mid 90's to make way for a Walgreen's and Eckard's (now a PetCo).

Anyways, does anyone ever remember going there? Did they ever show first run movies, or was it always a dollar movie theatre? Does anyone have any pictures of the theatre, Wyatt's, or the Bank?

Does anyone know what this was? It looks like the world's biggest golf tee to me.

The mi tienda is a sign of the changes, When it was Albertson's it closed and HEB opened up...A few years later it closed again, i think it closed 2 times under they HEB brand then recently re opened. Does anyone know what the old food town used to be? It does not look like a standard grocery store. PS: Drive behind the Wards and you can see an old sign that says "Merchendise Pick up" the doors still have MW and wards.com on the botton. I went with my mom to a store on richey and it had a curved sign that had painted on letter. Weird.

Food Town was a home improvement store called Builder Square. That one opened in the mid-eighties, and closed sometime in the mid-late '90s (1998?).

There was also one on Fairmont in Pasadena, and on I-45 between Nasa Rd.1 and Bay Area Blvd. A Lowes now occupies the Fairmont location. If you look at the floor, you can see where there were once tiles on the floor. The Clear Lake location is now a Hobby Lobby.

The other day my dad, who works for TXDoT as an inspector, and I were driving on East BW8, near I-10. When we got up to the inter-change, he told me that when they were building the roads in that area, that the state acquired a lot of right-of-way. Pretty much they tore down EVERYTHING in their way, including an old mansion (on the South side of I-10, but North of the toll bridge). He told me about touring the munitions bunkers that are in that area, too (those were mentioned in a previous thread). When I was little (like four years old), he would drive by the work site on the weekends, and take a look around- making sure that barricades were in place, etc. Sometimes he would take me with him. When he started talking about the house, I started to VAGUELY remember seeing a house there. He said that it was two stories and had a large gate around the property.

Does anyone have any information on this house/mansion, or has this been posted in a previous thread?

Thats the part that really blows me away. If I were as rich as him (or at least I hope he still is) why would any one in their right mind stay in Pasadena? He must have several homes spread out the US? Heck, I would have a home on Lake Travis, I mean he aint no spring chicken. He may as well enjoy his golden years in comfort. I would have imagined him living out in Vegas area or in the mountains. Just dont get it.

Gilley should keep on recording. I always thought he was quite good. I know his son still sings out in Pasadena.

Ouch! C'mon Vertigo! Don't knock Pasadena. We're not all freaks. I promise.

Seriously though, it's a really nice house. I personally grew up in Deer Park,

and remember his house being a bit of a tourist attraction.

I've heard Gilley still owns a home in Pasadena...

Yeah, he does. It's around the corner from where the bar was. HUGE house.

I went to school w/ two of his grand-daughters, in Deer Park- him and his family

are still local.

i think the handy dan was on the northeast corner of shaver and spencer or maybe one block east.

but in the same general location that i thought it was -near wards. if i remember right the diner was sort of behind the weingartens that shared the parking lot with wards.

It was either called Mom's or Ma's Diner. As I remember, the sign was green w/ white text. According to Pasadena legend, it was the only place still open at that time of night when they filmed it. The building was torn down a long, long time ago, but the sign was there as little as ten years ago. It was just East of Montgomery Wards, which was on the Southeast corner of Spencer and Shaver (it's now a flea market). The Handy Dan was on the Northeast corner of the street (it's been a thrift store for a few years now).

I remember ables was a three story building. IT WAS CREEPY! I was 11 years old.(just about 10 years ago) They had an old OTIS elevator. It smelled like 1950 in there. Same smell when i go to Larry's Art on Richey. They sold old figurines at Ables, And the men that worked there were very nice. I have no idea what was in the 3 story building. I went to the 3rd floor for my braces and no door had names. My guess is most of it was probably abandoned. The Dentist moved next to rerun books which he is still there now. Nice old guy.

My mom worked at the Weingarten's deli in Deer Park for a short time when I was a kid. I don't really remember what the store looked like (I was four), but eventually it became a Gerland's, and now it's a Food Town. There was one in La Porte, too. It became a Safeway, then a short-lived Apple Tree. Now it's one of the last (or might be THE last) "Food Fair" stores that still has the Gerland's name on it.

Speaking of Able Drugs, there was one in Deer Park/La Porte infront of San Jacinto College, and another one in Pasadena on Spencer Hwy (between Burke & Strawberry). That one (the one in Pasadena), I remember also had a soda fountain well into either the late 1980's or early 1990's (I don't remember which). The one is Deer Park is a nail shop, while the one in Pasadena is now a Ci-Ci's Pizza.

Oh, and I know what you mean about Larry's Arts. That place gives me the creeps. They too used to have soda fountain. They made good milk shakes... not as good as Able.

I was raised in Deer Park. I remember that it was just about illegal to trick or treat. You had to go to the Civic Center or to the mall in Pasadena. Over time, people sort of forgot and have let up on it all. I remember working at a Deer Park grocery store in high school and them not stocking extra candy around Halloween- and that was in 1997! You can easily find candy, as it pretty much has been pushed to the back of everyone's minds. Personally, I like Pixie Sticks, even as early as last year, Wal-greens wasn't too keen on selling/stocking extra supplies of them during the month of October.

BTW, although it's moved location a few times, the Wal-greens is the only store in Deer Park still around that sold candy in 1974. The Wiengartens became a Gerland's (now a Food Town), and everything else kind of died away.

what was it like inside? how long has it been empty?

I'm not sure how long it's been vacant. I worked there about six years ago in an office, and it was one of two occupied suites on that floor. The bank that was one the ground floor moved into a new building across the street about two years ago.

I totally agree with everyone. I used to work in that building, and it was almost totally empty (to the point of being creepy). I think that it's an awesome example of mod architecture and that it should be preserved. But on the other hand, this IS the Houston area, and if there wasn't already a CVS across the street (or a Wal-Mart down the street) from it, I'm sure that they would have built one there.

I think the place was called "Fame City", and then re-named "Funplex."