silverartfox

3201 Allen Parkway is the reimagining of the former Star Engraving Company Building into a modern retail, creative office and restaurant project in the heart of Inner Loop Houston.

Formally home to the Houston Children’s Museum, the Anza Falco Museum of Art and Design, and the Stages Theatre.

The redevelopment was designed by Perkins + Will.  The landscape architect is SWA Group, and Perrin Projects handled the interior design.

I just received a gallery invitation to view the architect's drawings for this new Houston museum. It's slated to open in 2010, first in some sort of temporary building and later in a permanent structure.

This is the first I've heard about it. There's virtually nothing on the internet as to location or funding and very little about its purpose.

Information, anyone?

Years ago several of the Kroger stores in Houston changed to Henke-Pelot, but I can't find that information any place.

Actually, Henke & Pillot was a Houston grocery chain established in the early 1900's. Kroger, a national company. bought them out several decades ago.

Is it really true that names like Al Ray and Don Gordon were named after specific film actors?

When I attended Jackson JHS and Austin SH back in the '50's, I recall hearing that the Don Gordon Theater was named after the owner's two sons. I vaguely remember that one of them - don't know which - was in the same grade as I was. Facts get less distinct with the passing of time...

A side note on the HEB--what happened to the big tent covering? It didn't look damaged before they removed it--but now it looks stonehenge-esque with the columns and wires remaining.

A couple of months ago I asked one of the managers when the tent would be replaced. She said it might be a year or more due to the design and cost. That tent did a great job of shading the store entrance from the hot Texas sun, but I question the use of a material so fragile in an geographic area with frequent windstorms and the occasional hurricane. What was the architect thinking?

Malls and retail chains, including grocery stores, frequently subscribe to a music broadcast service that plays a mix specifically designed for those outlets. When I worked in retail, we got thoroughly sick of hearing the same stuff played every day for months. The holiday season was particularly bad, as the Christmas music started in November.

I have been in the Gulfgate HEB when Mexican pop classics were being played. Maybe the manager turned off the music service and started playing something from his/her own collection!

Has anyone been in the Galleria Nordstrom store when a live pianist was playing requests from the customers? Now that's class!

my favorite quote from the article:

To make matters worse, animals were getting sick after the summer free days because too many people were throwing cotton candy and other items into their pens, zoo officials said.

Well, the zoo officials might consider putting up lots of big, simply worded "don't feed the animals - here's why" signs in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, etc, throughout the zoo.

A small concrete-lined bayou or drainage ditch that runs from Bissonnet through West U - and possibly Southside Place - is referred to as Poor Farm Ditch on older maps. It connects somewhere near Bellaire to a similar ditch, which drains storm water runoff into Braes Bayou.

No doubt someone here will have more information on its history and location.

There was also a famous casino in Galveston called the Hollywood Club, on Stewart Road, near Jones Road. I remember seeing it in the early 50's, when I was a boy.

Wow, I remember that one, too! It was surrounded by stucco walls and all you could see from the road was the neon sign and the tops of palm trees planted inside the walls.

Even as a child, I had rather peculiar tastes - couldn't wait to grow up, put on an evening gown and go there and to the fabled Balinese Room. Goodness knows where my ideas came from - my parents certainly didn't go for night clubs or gambling...

When the Galleria first opened, there was a chic home accessory store owned by the same company that operated Cargo Houston in Westbury Square. I don't remember its name, but it carried all sorts of high quality items from other countries. It closed after a year or so, due to being in the wrong location at the wrong time. People who shopped at the Galleria back then weren't likely to be looking for Japanese screens or Indonesian carvings.

There was a good bit of excitement among local fashionistas when the Galleria expanded and Lord and Taylor became an anchor tenant. It was the first New York based department store to open in Houston. For the first few years of its existence, it even had a furniture department.

The same people who own High Fashion own Crosspoint properties, so if The Mix actually ever came to fruition, it could occupy all of the older High Fashion buildings Crosspointe owns North of Elgin. Their flagship store at Elgin and Milam seems to make the other High Fashion store across the street redundant.

Not quite. The "flagship store" has fabrics, custom furniture, etc., for the home. The one-story store across the street has what is arguably the best selection of wearing apparel fabrics, trimmings, sewing notions, etc., in this part of Texas.

I find the new larger store something of a disappointment. When it first opened, it was touted as being comparable to New York's fabled ABC Carpet & Home. Unfortunately, it has never achieved that distinction.

Anyone remember Robert Hall Clothiers??

My parents took me to one of these to get a suit way back in the early 1960's.

How about Thom McAn Shoes?????

I used to like this store.

Yes, I remember them! Moderate price range clothes and shoes for men.

I am bothered & bewildered that we even got rid of The Auditorium. Houston kicks itself again.

I never even knew that venue existed. Imagine the neat stuff inside? Are most people that experienced it all gone now? As Sylvester would say...Suffrin Succutash.

Let me reassure you that there was no "neat stuff" lost when the City Auditorium was demolished. It was simply a cavernous, all-purpose hall with plain plaster walls and proscenium. The main floor was flat, and seating down there consisted of folding wooden chairs that would occasionally collapse during a performance. A few steps up from the main floor was the "dress circle" which had upholstered seats with broken springs. Above this were the first and second balconies, which were reached by spiral ramps instead of stairs. As a kid, I loved running up and down those things at intermission!

The stage was large and had only basic overhead lighting. Acoustics were terrible, and the sound system was probably pre-WWII. There was no orchestra pit. The street-level lobby always smelled after stale beer.

The City Auditorium was used for everything from Friday night wrestling to Houston Symphony concerts. Various touring fine arts groups played there, too. In fact, I saw my first professional ballet performance there in the 1950's - the final tour of the fabled Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo before it dissolved. I don't know why they weren't at the Music Hall - its stage facilities weren't much better, but it did have a small orchestra pit.

Years ago, someone connected with the performing arts in Houston told me that the Music Hall stage was separated from the Coliseum by a single wall that was not soundproof. Whatever was going on in one venue could be heard in the other.

It was not uncommon to hear the fire truck sirens from the nearby fire station during performances at the Music Hall.

The Old House Journal has an excellent online forum that might provide some resources. If a search of their database doesn't turn up what you need, just post your request.

Silverartfox you are correct. In fact, you may have passed by me hard at work. From late fall of 1957 to summer of 1958, I worked at Meyer Bros. Terrible job, I was suffering the kicks and tantrums in the Children's Shoe Department, just at the top of the up escalator on the 2nd floor. The one compensation, besides the 50 cents an hour with no overtime paid, was the record deprtment next to us always playing music. I was in 10th grade, working after school every day and Saturdays, plus 10 hour shifts on holidays.

Joske's Post Oak was a very nice store, shopped there until 1981, when we moved out of town. When I returned in 1993, everything had changed.

Historical note: Meyer Bros. started out in The Village, corner of University Blvd. and Kirby as The White House. Currently Half-Price Books occupies that spot. They changed the name to reflect the owners' when Meyerland opened.

WestUNative, thanks for verifying my story! I remember the White House in The Village, too. It's my belief that everyone at some point in their lives should have to work in retail sales or as restaurant waitstaff - the experience develops positive personal qualities in an individual as nothing else can. Even though Meyer Bros. wasn't my favorite store back then, our paths probably did cross. As a side note, my mother lived in Houston for nearly 80 years and was a childhood friend of Leopold Meyer, one of the company's founders.

The old Joske's Post Oak had a wonderful assortment of merchandise in all price ranges. Their going-out-of-business sale went on for a couple of months, and I recall with great fondness the classic denim skirt I bought then. It was a wardrobe mainstay for years.

Does anyone recall if there was a Joske's store at Meyerland shopping plaza? I think there was, but the Wikipedia article on Meyerland doesn't list it.

I have shopped at Meyerland from the mid-1950's to the present. The "anchor" department stores were Meyer Bros. and JC Penney's. but I don't remember Joske's being there. Joske's was the original tenant of the large, freestanding department store on Post Oak across from the Galleria. I believe it was built for them in the 1960's. Currently, it is Dillard's.

I may have mentioned this in another thread, but my cousin worked for Rosenstock and did their TV ads. I also had one of those Dodge push button cars while I was in college.

My dad bought a new '57 Plymouth 8-cylinder 4-door sedan with pushbutton transmission from Rosenstock. A fantastic, flashy car, red and white, huge tail fins and red-black-and-gold lurex upholstery. Fun to drive, great on the highway, but hell to parallel park. After he retired, he sold it and bought a small, conservative Dodge, also from Rosenstock. By then, the pushbutton transmission concept was obsolete.

That Plymouth would be a hot collector's item today!

They should "suggest" $10 or $15, but then let people in who just pay a nickel. That will give it that sort of noblesse oblige air of one of the great museums.

In order to do this, the shortfall would have to be underwritten by a foundation or an individual with deep pockets.

Houston is a latecomer in the ranks of U.S. cities with first-class art museums. It has some catching up to do.

Sometimes, a museum without general admission fees will charge for tickets to a "blockbuster" exhibit in order to offset the astronomical costs of putting on such a show.

Yeah they are fundraising machines, too bad they seem to do that more than interesting exhibits. One of their last shows featured dog portraits. How interesting...

Actually, it was a nicely presented show that featured excellent works from both old and modern masters. It had great appeal for that large segment of the public who can't relate to the chic blockbuster Basquiat, another recent exhibit at MFAH.

The costs of putting on a major exhibit are staggering. In other countries, government funding bankrolls museums. In America, they are supported by the private sector. Securing the loan of art from any museum requires planning and negotiations that can go on for several years.

What type of show would you like to see at MFAH?

I loved shopping @ Walter Pye's. Was that the only Walter Pye's in Houston area?

I used to shop at the one in Meyerland.

Hey people get a grip. In the 50s, it was HISD policy at Junior Highs and Senior Highs with swimming pools for students to swim nude. That''s how it was when I went to 7th and 8th grade at Burbank Jr High in the mid 50s.

The reason given was that ragged swim trunks and threads from torn and ragged trunks clogged up the drains, so they eliminated the problem by doing away with the trunks.

Also, swim classes were not for recreational swimming. They were strictly supervised and they taught swimming skills. One day a week, we went to the pool for PE class instead of the gym. Boys on one day, girls on another.

And FYI, the gender segregation was total. Boys' PE coaches supervised the boys, and girls' PE coaches supervised the girls.

And -- Vertigo58 -- there was nothing creepy or scandalous about it. It wasn't a big secret and it really wasn't a big deal. Nobody thought anything about it. Countless thousands of current baby boomer adults -- including me -- learned to swim in those swim classes.

I have no idea when the policy changed, or why it changed.

FilioScotia, you are correct. However, we girls did wear swimsuits and rubber swim caps. I attended Jackson JHS and Austin HS in the '50's and the women PE coaches were quite strict. If you didn't learn to swim, you flunked PE. Drying off and changing back into school clothes was awful as we were given only two tiny towels. Most girls in those days had an exaggerated sense of modesty, a cultural standard that faded away in the '60's.

This poor old school is getting in worse shape by the day. That front porch has totally collapsed and a few windows are broken so weather enters. More Houston history about to vanish I'm afraid. No buyers I imagine or too much red tape to purchase?

There is a Houston nonprofit that has been in negotiations for some time to acquire Cage School and the storage buildings in back. Both money (or a lack of it) and red tape have slowed things down. Everyone involved is aware of the building's condition issues but it can still be restored.

Yep, the place lost its pizazz around that time as did many other older malls in Houston. The Galleria was the darling of shopping centers and still is.

It must have took millions to do upgrades and bring Meyerland in to the new century, I'm sure.

I was dissapointed in the Barnes & Noble store. From a distance one gets the impression of a modern new B&N, once inside its a real drag. Small, crowded and the low ceilings bring on claustrophic thoughts. The elevator is clearly worn and old. I guess I'm just too used to the brand spanking new ones in Bay Area or newer Pasadena. The selection of items here are very limited. I just don't see how it will last.

Meyerland has a Borders, not a Barnes & Noble.

HEB Manager told me it was going to be another bank. More gridlock, gotta love it.

If only it could be a replacement for the tiny Bank of America on the loop 610 corner across from Gulfgate! They do huge business in that branch - just try to get in their parking lot on a Friday! Once inside, there's at least a 20-minute wait. There are some banking chores that can't be done online or at ATM's.

Although I like to cook, shopping for groceries is way down on my list of fun things to do. HEB is my choice for staple items; house brands are good quality and the Gulfgate store is closest to my East End neighborhood. Each Wednesday, Randall's and Kroger post their weekly specials online. Whichever one has the best buys gets my business that week. The popular term for shopping a grocery store primarily for its specials is "cherry-picking".

Yes, Randall's does tend to be pricey, but it's not as bad as Rice Epicurean. Now that's a chain whose continued existence looks shaky! I've been in their large Holcombe store several times on Friday and Saturday when you could count the number of customers on one hand. I wonder who shops at Rice, other than the Bushes when they're in residence here?

Finding a variety of fresh, affordable produce in Houston's neighborhood grocery stores is a problem. HEB used to do a good job, but no longer. Kroger and Randall's are usually expensive and limited in selection. Central Market and Whole Foods have wonderful things but are so upscale that I can shop there only for special occasion meals.

In front of the Gulfgate HEB there's a pad site with some activity. After being out of town for a couple of weeks, I noticed a large temporary canopy had appeared and several pieces of equipment were under it, trying to move the wet gumbo dirt. Anyone know what's going on?