tomv

Anybody who was single in Houston during the 70's and 80's should remember Lance McFaddin. Sadly, he passed away last week.  He and  his partners developed Todd's, elan, Confetti, Cowboy, RnR, Studebaker's, and the Ocean Club…"just to name a few." I spent a lot of time in those places, and had a blast!

Lance McFaddin obituary

On 6/29/2019 at 10:31 AM, plumber2 said:

Yeah, I remember using this walkway once in the early 60's, I presume to attend the Fatstock Show with my parents and family. I never noticed the moving sidewalk though. I guess it had been removed or floored over by then. I was born in 1955, so I had to have been under the age of 10, as the rodeo moved to the Astrodome in 1965. Of course the coliseum was used for other events up until the very end, however better parking underground was provided on the east side of the bayou by then (underneath Tranquility Park and the Albert Thomas Convention Center). Nobody parked in this west lot much after then except for daytime office workers looking for a cheap lot!

Yes, that's pretty much how I remember it. According to the articles, that moving sidewalk/footbridge cost a quarter of a million dollars, probably a lot of money in the early/mid 50's, and it was not money well spent.  I would not be surprised if Roy Hofheinz, mayor from 1953-1955, pushed through this project. Houston having only the second moving sidewalk in commercial use in the United States at the time would have been something he would have been very enthusiastic about. He would go on to have much more success with the Harris County Domed Stadium (Astrodome) a few years later.

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Context also matters in regards to the bayou. We find it horrid now that the bayou would be treated as such. We not only have a rather contentious relationship with the bayou today, but imagine what relationship was in the past and throughout Houston's history. Every time the city would try to get near it or even interact with the bayou it would always bite back in a very harsh and serious way. You could imagine then that with the ability of new technology and materials to circumvent nature ( much of modernism ethos was about man surpassing nature), plus the overabundance of post-war years, then a dash of apathy to a constantly flooding bayou, and you get things like this and everything that comes with it during the 1950's and 1960's. Luckily we've come to better understand and embrace the bayou even knowing that it doesn't necessarily like us in return. We've learned to live with it and not against it or just pretend it doesn't exist.

Very well said. Wow, there are some really smart and informed people on this forum. I've looked at HAIF for years, but haven't posted in a long time. Seems like it's easier to post now and add pictures and web sites, well done Editor!

Yes the bayou especially doesn't like us when we give it too much work to do, as in Harvey, Alison etc etc etc...Like stuffing your washing machine with 5-6 loads of laundry all at once! 

Guess when they built all those freeways on stilts over the bayou they figured well at least these won't flood, and if they do it won't be for long. Take that Mother Nature!

But we just passed a 2.5 billion dollar flood control bond election by 85%, so maybe there's hope. That's a good start.

Ahhh, "vintage" Houston. When we paved over everything and then promoted it as a tourist attraction!

There's water down there somewhere!

19 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

I love that they put up "purposely opaque" windows so that people couldn't see Buffalo Bayou outside. Because seeing a green, natural feature would have been horrible.

 

Yes for years Houstonians ignored, trashed, and paved over the bayou. The article doesn't really say why the windows were "purposely opaque" (hilarious), but it may have also been for safety reasons. Moving sidewalks were new technology, and there were concerns about how people would react. Maybe they didn't want them stopping en route to enjoy the view!

There was actually a child killed on the moving sidewalk that was installed shortly after this one in Dallas at Love Field.

https://todayinsci.com/Events/Technology/MovingSidewalks.htm

Your welcome. I remembered that moving sidewalk from when I was a kid and attended events at the old Coliseum. It intrigued me, although I don't ever remember it actually being operational. It may have been a failure, I know it wasn't there that long. Certainly not "one of the wonders of the nation" lol.  Not sure why it intrigued me, maybe it was this.

Another clipping

More Moving Sidewalks

That footbridge was built in the 50's to house Houston's very own Magic Carpet Ride!

A picture of then mayor Roy Hofheinz and other city officials trying out the new Moving Sidewalk

Great pictures! I had completely forgotten about those buildings on Main. The most distinctive thing to me was that weird one story connector building (Picture 2) in between the tower and the pavilion. It definitely stood out as you were driving past. I think there was some kind of retail in there at some point, can't remember what, though.          

This will be a nice addition to that part of Briarpark, the Westchase District's "scenic boulevard." Nothing else on that side of the street between Richmond and Westpark is over two stories, and all the buildings are at least 25 years old. That's the Schlumberger campus across the street; their grounds are very well maintained, it looks like a golf course. The building just to the north of the one that's being torn down is the headquarters for the US Professional Tennis Association, those are two tennis courts behind and just to the north of their building. 

This is my neighborhood, I know it well. I like to take walks, and the commercial properties and streets are so well maintained in that area it's like walking through a park.   

Lucas Liquor Superstore at I10 and Kirkwood in an old Randall's location was short lived. They had plans for lots of other stores, not sure what happened. They did have a good selection. 

Will Clayton will get grade separated main lanes much like JFK does into the airport--one day. It's been a part of the master plan. Much of it will also be shifted further south with terminal reconstruction--one day. Check out the master plan for IAH at www.fly2houston.com .

That's pretty interesting. Makes sense that they would have all kinds of long range plans as the Houston area grows and air traffic increases. I definitely like the idea of putting an overpass at JFK and Greens Rd, and direct connectors at 59/69 and Will Clayton. And that Humble Parkway stretching all the way from Greens Rd to 1960 and beyond would provide another way in and out of the area. 

The new ramp from 290 East to I 10 is awesome! It's worth going out of your way a bit just to try it out. From the exit point on 290 to where you join up with I 10 heading towards Downtown is a distance of three miles, almost all of it elevated. I'm not positive, but it may be the longest freeway exit in the country. There's a discussion on the transportation forum in Google groups (misc.transport.road), but none of the examples cited there are longer than two miles or so.

Interesting. He wasn't in any hurry to get through that explanation.

 

 

Yes, interesting. Obviously, we have all gotten much smarter and more aware, at least in terms of business and marketing concepts, since then.      

Good topic! Here is mine...

A couple of photos from inside Huckster House

Well, since indie films are starting to pay attention to Houston, it might do well on the indie circuit, but who knows.

And the '60's are very hot at the moment! Producers? I am available as a consultant! 

Huckster House, 811 Bayridge Rd. Still there, I believe

You're right. Roy Hofheinz's story would make a great movie, but I don't trust Hollywood to make it.

 

H'wood would portray Roy as a typical rich, conservative and racist Texas huckster. And the rest of Texas would be portrayed as a land of racist rubes. To get some idea of what I mean, check out how Robert Altman showed Houston in the god-awful Brewster McCloud back in the 70s. Or how we were portrayed in The Right Stuff, which except for its Houston scenes, was a very good movie.

 

I would pay to see a Hofheinz movie made by someone who respects him for what he did, and respects us Texans.

Excellent point. Unfortunately, you are probably right. I could picture "that" kind of movie, just as I was reading your post, the stereotypes are so strong. Maybe, just maybe, there is a producer who could envision a different type of film.

Nah, probably not. $$$ rules, as it should I guess. Hollywood just gives people what they want to see. Now if people were to change....another topic   

I wonder is anyone has ever considering making a movie of his life. There are so many fun and intriguing elements. 

The Dome, the eccentric private suites out in right field, bringing baseball to Houston, Astroworld, buying the Ringling Brothers Circus, the Celestial Suites, his controversial stint as mayor of Houston in the '50's, his whimsical home on Galveston Bay ("Huckster House"), larger than life personality, the split with R.E. Bob Smith, his financial collapse and health problems, final moment in the spotlight when he came out in his wheelchair to be honored at the Dome, etc...

I may be biased being a Houstonian, but I think there's a great movie there.

loved their bisquits

I did too. Surprisingly, the recipe apparently came from the back of a Gold Medal flour bag. Maybe it was the setting that made them seem so special, or maybe the preserves that came with them!

The San Jacinto Inn!

Great topic. Next time though you might want to be a little more descriptive in the title, for example "What Do You Really Miss About Houston?" It takes a lot to get people to click these days!

This is a good article on the Shamrock from Houston History Magazine 

Sanders-Shamrock.pdf

Is it possible (or advisable) to change the name of a topic? It seems to me that this one, "Lack Of Restaurant Diversity In The Heights," (now over 8 years old), is a bit out of date. Surely there is some diversity by now! Just a thought.

This morning I put this picture on my Facebook telling my friends that it is my "new office," and my Facebook has been blowing up! People absolutely love this. I have to admit the detail is amazing! One person even thought it was actually a picture, not a rendering.

Veto, the name stays as is. 

Agreed. And the preferred way to vocalize HAIF is to say it like you would the word SAFE, instead of enunciating each letter like you would ESPN. Not to be confused with HAFE, of course!