Croberts

once magical place. My love for Architecture began as a young boy, hanging out at Westbury Square. (Tom Williams) Very well put. I had the same experience, and also it stimulated my interest in architecture. Now I teach an upper division college course on the American Cultural Landscape, with an emphasis on vernacular architecture, and it started with the contrast between tacky ranches (not the tasteful mods) and the european influence square. We have many new urbanist projects that attempt a similar thing here in south Florida, but none of them have the feel, the smell, the magic of that amazing collection of independent craftsmen and shops. I cant imagine how such a collection could have come together.

I do.. she was my first grade teacher at St. Thomas Elemetary school near Meyerland Plaza in about 1958-59. Then soon after that she started "The Little Red School House" which I understood to be a day care???(I was 7 at the time). Wasnt it on Fondren road? And wasnt it also called "Mrs. Deats Country Day School"

I joined in the summer of 06, looking for pictures and information about houston skyscrapers. I was shocked to see a thread about the neighborhood where I grew up. It is my favorite thread on HAIF.

You mean water and concrete. Subdivisions often get romantic names, and automobile oriented street names are strongly influenced by subdivision names. It makes sense that when the subdivision precedes or is built at the same time as the street that they would influence the street names. My guess is that some subdivider was mystified by the bray spelling, and it reminded him of the scottish brae.

I have been trying to remember the names of las conseulas and tin tin cafe for years. I remember the family hand and I worked at hobbit hole, but I also remembe the family child, and there was a kundalini (sic) restaraunt behind "a movable feast" which was on westheimer, that had the most excellent enchiladas and salads.

Was it La Merida? It was on canal, but I dont remember where but the most remarkable thing about them was their refried black beans.

I remember it too, more than one persons high school experience was wrecked by it. I remember a similar situation at A.S. Johnston, where they were lined up and anyone with long hair, or the wrong clothes got kicked out. One girl was told she was a slut by the assistant principle for wearing a peasant blouse. I tell my 18 year old daughter the list of proscribed clothing, fashion and hair situations, and she looks at me like I am from mars.

I have a theory that San Felipe was the original road from harrisburg and later houston to San Felipe, capital of austins colony. Washington, north of Buffalo bayou went to Washington on the Brazos. If so these would have been the first roads coming into houston from the west. The only competitor would be old richmond road, which might have been of the same era.

I remember the Jack-in-the-Box at Bellfort and Chimney Rock. Remember Jack Cola? It was their cheap verson of Coke. For spite and to send a message we would drive up and order Coke and they would reply, "We serve Jack Cola." So we would say never mind and speed off. That jack in the box I remember (perhaps incorrectly) as the first fast food chain, followed by the burger king on post oak. In the landscape history of commercial architecture, Jack in the box was perhaps the first drive through chain where you talk to a speaker (jack) and this was one of the first ones. Contrast with the early burger king on post oak- it was walkin only. Thus westbury was percieved as a hot market by two up and coming chains in the early 1960s. I remember doing the same kind of thing- go to jack and the box and start an arguement with jack.....

[iE: Mr. Melanson.. I'll never forget that guy.. Was real hairy... :/ With a little more, he could have been in the Planet of the Apes movies.. I had him for mechanical drawing. I remember him for his influence and his strong cajun accent. I later took mechanical drawing in college, and even later took computer assisted cartography, remote sensing, GIS, and now I teach Geographic Information Science at the undergraduate and graduate level, a five course Remote Sensing GISystems, Geovisualization sequence. I was the one that finally chased the drafting boards and pens out of the department, replacing them with computers.

Durham drive was named for Dr. Charles Edward Durham (Sr.), who i think founded Durham clinic in the heights. He was active until the 1950s, I was told that I was the last child that he delivered (I am named after him) in Heights hospital in 1953. Likely the drive was renamed some time during or after his active period, which it seems ended in the 1950s.

Nude swimming for boys was in effect when I went to Albert Sydney Johnston Jr High around 65-66. It was very awkward, I didnt like it. The rumor was that girls did not swim nude, but I dont know the fact. Boys definately did.

Anybody remember the Bookstore? The Soda Fountain across from it? The sword fighting around the fountain in the middle of the square??? Gee what a great time to be young, cute and dating...... When I was in high school (68-71) some of us considered the bookstore to be the best place to work, period, primarily due to the general feeling of being on the square.

A bigger bummer is that we will never taste that chicken again- the best I ever had. I do remember the indians looked like the summerville one- they were 3d figures and the one on the right as you faced them was kneeling, and the other was kneeling or sitting.

I heard in the mid sixties that the original plan was to build a lake where the depressed parking lot was. I used to ride on the dirt hill and in the trenches. The elevated sidewalk did connect to the square until at least the early 1970s.

I have been trying to think of the name and location of this one for years. Seemed to be the center of Mexican culture in houston, especially late at night. Another one I cant remember the name of was a place on Canal that served the best black bean refritos with huevos rancheros.

I would have to say while all of us on the board, minus a very small minority, wish the square was now as it was once, we have to be realistic. These times in which we live are nothing like the times were back in the 60s. I was born in 78 so I do not speak from firsthand experience but even in my lifetime I have seen our culture and population move towards egomania, anti-social, and flat out rude behavior. These days people want to drive to a big box store in an urban assualt vehicle that screams "I have more money than you do", buy communist made chinese goods on the cheap, and not give a rat's tail about much more. (quote from LarryDallas) These days if you want that kind of walkable marketplace in the neighborhood you have to shell out megabucks and live in a town where not just a subdivision is masterplanned but the whole city is a planned community.(quote from LarryDallas) New Urbanist communities like celebration are rapidly becoming the way to get development project through the planning and zoning as well as public hearing phase. We have multiple examples in Florida, City Place, Mizner Plaza are two westbury squarelike developments in Palm Beach county alone, and just yesterday we had the experience of a developer tooting a megasuburb disguised as a mixed use neighborhood and pedestrian oriented development where everyone would live where they work. One thing that is missing from all of them is the unique quality of the square. I will never grasp how it was possible to get so many one of a kind shops run by the craftsmen themselves to congregate there. The Candle Shop, The scent shop (wrong name) cargo houston, electric paisley, etc. How can so many creative and independent merchants and craftsmen be attracted to a single development? Our New Urbanist plazas are full of corporate chains. Starbucks, Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, high end corporate retail to be sure, but really no examples of a one of a kind craftsmen or merchant.

10speedgal73: You quoted me but you didnt say why?

I have now heard 5 versions of what happened to the square. 1. Neighborhood went down the tubes when they started building apts, such as those next to the high school. nobody wanted to go to westbury anymore 2. Hippies loitering in the square caused the decline 3.Too far away from a freeway 4. Competition with Galleria and other malls 5. Abscentee landlords, dont care about neighborhood lets look at these one by one 1. Crime and low income residents-affects image, may decrease the numbers who will drive to Westbury a bit as well as contribute to property value declines, and an influx of poorer, not likely to shop at the square residents. Did this happen? When my parents sold their house in 1977 it had not happened yet, but the decline at the square was already evident, but slight. Business owners complaining about square mangement is what I remember 2. Hippies loitering? That was part of the ambience of the square. ZZ top premiered there. Electric Paisly was on the evening news for being the first head shop in houston. Mr Fantasy, Cargo Houston. I think they were part of the square at its heyday, rather than the decline. 3. Too far from major transportation artery? Perhaps, but when the square opened it was successful and there was no 610 loop yet, no s post oak ramp, etc. and the city was a fraction of the size that it is today. However if other shopping centers were successful and near a freeway.... 4. Competition from Galleria- I believe this is part of it, because it was already happing in 1970. If you wanted large numbers of people and chain stores, go to galleria. If you wanted to see neighborhood people and specialty shops, go to the square. 5. Abscentee slumlords- and weak neighborhood ordinances (covenents)?I think this is the biggest part of it. The land owners of the most important neighborhood centers did not care, do not care. land is an investment, not for the rent but for the speculative value in future real estate markets. But the neighborhood centers are a critical part of the perception: the square if it was in its heyday today would be a model for other new urbanist designs- WHAT CAN BE DONE? I would suggest several things. First, historic status. The 60s were 50 years ago, nearly. Historic preservation status with the state and with the national register, would help. A press campaign against blighted neighborhoods and slumlords would help. Where is Marvin Zindlers exposee of the decline of westbury square? Westbury has the reminent buildings of the square, the earliest manifestation of new urbanism. Successful until management began driving creative retail out. The square created a main street in an auto oriented suburb Houstons contribution to modern architecture should be noted. There has been some discussion on this site about it, but I dont see anything happening in west bury. The centerette sign is a gem from the past. So it the square. Are there more buildings worth noting? As energy costs escalate houston will boom (only booming housing market in the nation right now) and Westbury should be ripe for a revival if the conditions are ripe. Having shopping centers that send the opposite message does not do this.