plumber2

I remember Lannie Griffin early in his radio traffic career, telling drivers when a certain freeway had cleared out that it was "clear to your momma's house."

There was another thread a few years back, where someone spotted the original indian statues at a place of business up near Lake Somerville.

One would think they could keep the brands in whichever sub-market they are strong, while creating savings by merging purchasing, transportation, back office functions etc.  That would be a typical hedge fund play.

I hate hedge funds. Really, why can't they just leave regular companies alone? Go invest in gold or pork bellies like they're supposed to do. And don't tell me that they even things out by taking some of the risk out of the markets. That's a bunch of hooey.

Dow Chemical had a desalinization plant at Freeport for years. I remember reading about it in the Texas Almanac and other publications back in the day. It was something of note that Freeport used in marketing materials back in the 60's and 70's.  

Just heard that Albertson's is buying Safeway. How the worm does turn.

Total Independent Confirmation? You'll get plenty of that here on HAIF!

We had friends that lived in Galveston. In the 60's mosts homes on the island had an outside antenna that had a remote dail inside the home that changed the aim of the antenna toward each broadcaster's tower as you changed stations on your set. Us kids got a kick out of hanging out of the upstairs window just to watch the antenna move around. (cheap entertainment).In the ealy 70's a company named Telepromter Cable entered Galveston and offered better reception for local VHF and UHF stations, along with some variaty including Beaumont and Chicago television stations (Probably WGN). You could even watch Galveston City Council meetings on a local access station. We did not have that kind of service in Houston until years later.

A 63 Plymouth Valiant V200 4 door sedan. It was in pristine condition when my dad bought it for me in 1971. It still had to dealer invoice inside the glove box from the original owner (another plumber) who purchased it new at Willart Motors in League City. It was baby blue and had push button transmission with a 225cid slant six. The car was bullet proof. It always started and was always available even when my buddies' Mustangs and Chargers were broke down or needed something fixed. 

Apparently Knapp is just a block south of The Heights.

Well not really. The Heights is a mile or so west of Houston Ave and "Texasota" is correct,  Washington Ave is the southern boundry of the Heights. Heights State Bank was on Washington Ave for decades at the southern entrance to the Heights. Think back if you were living in Houston at the turn of the century (the one before last), and you were going to visit a relative in the Heights, your journey would have been out Washington Ave, past the cemeteries and various other buildings and landscapes. As you got close to Heights Boulevard you saw a two story building up ahead, you knew you were getting close to the Heights........at last!, but wait, this was only the entrance road, you still had to travel several blocks up Heights Bouleavrd before you actually got close to your relatives house.

Aren't you glad we have freeway's now?

Correct.  What is happening over time is that the grocery market seems to be gradually bifurcating into higher-priced niche marketers (Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's) and discounters (Walmart, Aldi, dollar stores).  Consequently it is getting increasingly tough for the traditional mid-market stores (Kroger, HEB, Randalls) to compete.  Those that can't stay on top of their game won't last in the long run.  Think of it as the food equivalent of what happened to old mid-line retailers like Sears and JCPenney.  

There are some people like me that will never shop at a Whole Foods are a Trader Joes'. Just ain't happening. The market will balance out and shift around, but Krogers and HEB will not be going away.

What did this building replace?

Vacant lot for several years.

The store was added on to several times. You would notice as you walked around that the floors would slope up and down as you went from one addition to the other. The Men's and the shoe department's that faced Yale were in the original store. The entrance that faced 22nd street was a later addition (probably late 40s) and then the entrance on the back, facing the parking lot was the last addition (late 60's). I remember at Christmas time they hired security guards that posted themselves in little elevated huts in the parking lot to watch out for purse snatchers.

I remember Abe, a salesman in the men's department, gave me a back of house tour once. There was a little employee breakroom that required you to traverse up a small narrow stairway. There was also a narrow passageway around the back of the store that led to the offices and storeroom located above the newer section.  Cool memories!   

For the longest time, San Felipe stopped at Voss. Later it was extended up to Buffalo Bayou but the bridge connecting to the other side was held up for years. I think Elanor Tinsley was the person who finally got the Memorial Villages (Kinkaid types) to finally drop their objection to completing the road. Now it's just another thoroughfrare that thousands of people drive everyday, never knowing that it was once the center of a controversy between the working types and elites of Houston.

Charter schools were conceived as an alternative to public schools, but they have been usurped by business venture folks. and with the help of conservatives in the legislature, they are secure and have a strong foothold inside inner city neighborhoods........and also a steady stream of local tax dollars to boot. 

TXDOT decided they need 8 lanes right into their campus.

Don't be too hard on TXDot. They own an unusually wide right of way in front of their Washington Ave campus because of it being at a location of a once planned freeway interchange. This interchange was eliminated early on when the terminus of US290 was routed further to the northwest. This left TXDot with an unused parcel of land that soon would become their regional headquarters.

Nobody said that Sears as a whole was profitable, but this single location apparently is. I'll continue to shop there as long as it is open. It's convenient and has the merchandise I need at a reasonable price.  When it closes I'll be forced to go somewhere else. 

Pssst, but won't be Target!

Jones was built about the same time as Waltrip and Bellaire. Would you feel bad about either one the other's closing instead?

With Sears having bought a Kmart a decade ago, you'd think they could've remerchandised it to better serve the community. It certainly is an old building, and if it survives the year, it would've been operating for 75 years as a Sears! Incredible!

Actually KMart bought Sears. KMart Holdings then changed it's name to Sears Holdings. Not that it makes a difference now, they are both endangered species.

I've shopped at both this Sears and the one in Texas City. I find everything I need. It is convenient to park and pay.

I've been inside a Target a time or too. Never found anything I wanted to purchase. They don't have tools, automotive, hardware, appliances, or anything that I want to but..............except for their popcorn. So go ahead and build your Target store, so that one more middle aged guy can drive by it on his way to Sears.  

At least it's better than a giant cross.

I have a suggestion that some may agree to, others of course will not. There are several acres of Hermann Park land south of the zoo across Cambridge (McGregor, Outer Belt) that is really unused, except by Ben Taub emergency room smokers, and an old log cabin. The "Pioneer" cabin can be moved into the park somewhere, or to another location. The smokers can smoke in the middle of the street for all I care. The land sits idle, as a buffer between the Medical Center and the park. Why not let parking garages be the buffer. The garages could be connected to the park with wide pedestrian bridges over Cambridge. (The only problem would be keeping medical center employees from parking there during the day..........or maybe not)

Don't forget that the Pierce was totally rebuilt about 15 years ago. I've seen it built twice now, don't make me go through it a third time.

Oh there definenetly was a conncetion. Jones built the Gulf Building. Commerce Bank was a prime tenant on the lower floors, with Gulf Oil occuppying the floors above level 6. The adjoing Texas Commerce Bank and Gulf Building Annex buildings were added later. Commerce Bank apparenlty merged with or acauired some other bank later on that prompted the name change to Texas Commerce Bank.

It would not be surprising for Texas Children's Hospital to acquire the adjoining St. Lukes properties on Bates and Bertner. They are already attached, sharing infastructure, heating, cooling and other life safety systems.

Yes, the Gulf Building was home to the National Bank of Commerce, however since Jesse Jones started his financial empire around 1910 or so, and being that the Gulf Building was not built until around 1928 or so, it is beleivable that this building could have been a earlier location of Commerce Bank.

food lion was killed by 20/20....they actually had good prices though

Food King and Food Lion are two different animals. Yes 20/20 ruined Food King's reputation so bad that it couldn't recover.