EspersonBuildings

They need to rebuild Rusk with concrete like McKinney & Lamar. The stretch between Main and Fannin is in horrible condition..........asphalt on top of asphalt on top of asphalt. It will only stand out even more with a shiny new tower facing it.

With all the talk about Wyatts, Picadilli, DinnerBell, etc, I have to ask does anyone remember LC Cafteria in the basement level of the old San Jacinto Building? Or even better, some photos would be awesome! I remember you could enter through an outdoor escalator on the Main & Walker side. You could also enter through doors which led to an indoor escalator on the Travis & Walker side. I seem to recall a big markee visible while going down the outdoor escalator reading "Entering Houston's Most Beautiful Cafeteria" or something like that. I left downtown Houston in 1985 for New York but came back in 1998. By this time it was an buffet style "all you can eat" with only the Travis side open. Although not quite the same, dining there gave me a sense of nostaglia. I remember when I was little, it seemed huge! Some indoor photos would also be awesome!

It orginally had four screens. Years later two more screens were added. I don't think any of the other screens were split up because I remember the building actually expanding.

The structure was built in 1925 as Albert Sydney Johnston Junior High School. Sometime during the 1950's (when the current Johnston on Manhattan was built) it became William E. Miller Junior High. In the 1970's it became The Contemporary Learning Center High School which occupied the 1st and 2nd floors, the 3rd floor was called Staff Development. Contemporary Learning Center Middle School was at 4100 Chartress (the corner of Chartress and Cleburne) in temporary buildings. Around 1980 the middle schoold moved into the third floor of the 1925 structure and CLC had both it's middle and high schools in the same building. I believe today it is also used as CLC night school. I attended the middle school in 1977-78 (8th grade) and the high school in 1978-79 (9th grade).

Aaaah, "The Loading Dock" I LOVED that place! In 1983, this was the first all male dance place I'd been to! What a blast it was! I'm still hopeful Venture Inn will reopen someday.

I remember going there for a friends birthday party once. I also remember the jingle from their commercials!

Great work from ALL of you! I really enjoyed ALL the photos

Yes, VH1 originated in Houston. I knew about it, but I weasn't into it or MTV back then, so I don't know all that much about how it got started. I do know that it was 1985 when they were in Allied Bank.

VH1 and MTV (both Viacom) are and ALWAYS were in New York City. Hit Video USA a.k.a. TV 5 Houston Hit Video had their office on the 35th floor of The Allied Bank Plaza in 1985. I remember VJ Greg Johnson very well. It was Channel 5 KO5HU and unless you lived inside the loop 610, the reception was not that great, the closer you were to downtown, the better picture you got.

Wow! That many windows were blown out when Alicia hit? ...glad I wasn't downtown when that happened. I remember Alicia ...messed up prom a bit.

I was working across the street during Alicia at what was then Interfirst Plaza (now 1100 Louisiana/Enterprise Plaza). I can tell you that there were not nearly that many windows blown out as in "UrbaNerd"'s model. But I got to tell you Urba.........cool model!

The Lever house was built in 1952 [same year I was built ] and has been overhauled in the last few years. I am confident it will be standing and in use long after I am gone.

But have you been overhauled like The Lever House Building nmainguy? I used to work across the street from The Lever Bldg in NY at Park Avenue Plaza, now that's a cool atrium building.

I want the Venture Inn building on Main, gut it and make it my home!

Now that would be cool!