plumber2

I'm with you Blue92. Even though the Heritage article is interesting reading it is not always factual. I've just been scrolling around the article and noticed several false statements. One was that Sheperd Drive was named after some investment banker. This is false, it was clearly named after Sheperd's Dam, being called Shpererd's Dam Road on early maps.

The next false statement I spotted was that Holcombe Blvd. was named after the mayor of Bellaire. Oscar Holcombe was a mayor of Houston, not Bellaire.

The last one I spotted before stopping to type this reply was that the streets in Ravenswood where named after some bird becuuse the delveloper wanted to keep the street names natural sounding. That is incorrect because the developer clearly wanted to capitalize on the site of Sam Houston's campground, before he defeated Santa Ana. An earlier name given to Sam Houston by the indians was The Raven.

Looking at the "Houston Freeways" chapter about the canceled Harrisburg Freeway, it would be a fair assumption that this neighborhood would have been partially or completely obliterated by that roadway had it been built. Thank god east end residents fought against it ,,,,,,,,, and won!

The political party that these two congressmen (mentioned in the article), belong to has been recently promoting less government spending, and removing the federal government out of our lives. "Let the free market work", they are often heard saying. It seems a little hypocritical for these two to be seeking federal funding for anything, much less more federal highway funds.

Fat chance of this happening!

Did anyone ever shop there? I was never even tempted to. Seemed like a relic.

I went in there after Abe retired at Kaplans, but I was just not comfortable paying $90.00 for a dress shirt (probably more now).

The customer service was similar to what you get at "The Men's Wearhouse" so I didn't return, Plus it was totally out of my way.

W.S. Bellows Constuction, builders of the monument, proudly uses an image of the monument on their stationary and business cards.

I also have a friend that owns the balsa wood model created by the original designer. The model is about 4' tall and has all of the finished details. The star on top is removable, apparently because it was added at the last minute before the structure was approved for construction. This indivudual was apparently a relative of my freind. My freind says he intends to donate this piece to the state eventually.

I probably ran into you at the Shamrock pub.

The bar in the hotel on Montrose was at the Plaza Hotel. It was in the basement of the wing adjacent to the street. I could be wrong on this, but I think the name was Che's, at least at one point.

It was called Chaucers in the mid 70's. I had several drinks, and hangovers from that bar.

Does it still smell. I had friend that went there for the Olympics several years back, and she stated that it smelled like sewer where ever they went.

Even new garden-style 1- to 3-story apartment complexes have comparable amenities. The point isn't that they will be used. It's to create the illusion of a lifestyle. They're there to move units to the majority of people, whom lack perspective. It's a 'stupid' tax, paid for by those with and without perspective on the matter. And you can't escape it, no matter where you go at that price point.

How can stupid people have that much money?

The home with a circular driveway at 100 20th Avenue North was owned by some freinds of my parents back in the late 50's and ealry 60's. I remember visting there once or twice before hurricane Carla. I was very young, however the house reminded me of homes in Tanglewood of the same era.

I can't recall their names but I do remember calling the lady Aunt Helen. Her husband owned a ship's supply company that was located on the Gulf Freeway as the only tenant of a failed business park that was developed right before Carla. What remains of the structure can still be seen on the feeder street just north of the Texas City Wye intersection.

Ashley Furniture, across from Baybrook Mall was originally a Venture store and so was the Target store at Meyerland. Another Venture location was also in Texas City.

That location in Texas City started out as a Woolco, then became a WalMart, then Venture, then Kmart(which basicly moved from across the street). The building has now been repurposed by BP to house several administrative departments.

Don't recall that location, but Litton had a moderate sized complex in Alvin on By-Pass 35. Some other outfit owns the buildings now, but it looks just like it did when Litton built it back in the early 70's.

There was a cell tower behind the Some Burger in the Heights that was disguised as a bell tower. It looked like it belonged there. I'm not sure if it is still there.

The restaurant at Seabrook Shipyard was called the Regatta Inn. I remember they had great hamburgers.

That walkway loop bridge thing is very impressive when you drive under it. It's huge! I wonder if it's going to be more than just a walkway.

Level 3 is for the general public (vistors), level 4 is for staff and patient transport.

I remember it! It was off of 290 near Windfern I believe...I was just talking about it the other day!

Wee Wild West was at the corner of Westheimer and Yorktown. It later became a Putt Putt Golf.

It's not just you. South Park did an episode on the phenomenon last season.

I've noticed automobile commercials (mostly foreign makes) these days using 30 and 40 year old music to lure people to purchase their product. Something just ain't right.

If ad men of 1960 had even considered using the 'Chattanooga Chu-Chu", or the "Boogie Woogie Boys of Company B" as theme music back then, they would have been thrown out of their un-air conditioned high rise office windows.

Thank You Carly Farina,...............wicked witch of the West Coast.

If she would have left well enough alone, and listened to board members, Compaq may still be in business as an independent concern, HP may not have fired her, and she may have been eventually elected to Congress!

Sorry for the pop-up outburst guys.

Our current Democratic party chairman in Galveston County used to be a state representative and sat next to Rick Perry in the legislature. This was back when Rick Perry was still a democrat. Lyold stated that sitting next to Rick Perry was like sitting next to a girl. He said Rick was constantly primping himself, fixing his hair and making sure that he was included in all of the right gatherings and invited to the right parties. He was a scocial climber back then and quickly followed the lobbyist's and their money to the Republican party.

When I learned later that the media were comparing Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchinson as both former cheerleaders, it all made sense. This guy belongs in Hollywood, not Washington D.C..

A friend of my dad acquired property on Lake Livingston before the dam was completed. He created a small subdivision with several waterfront lots. (Made up all of his money just by selling those waterfront lots).We went up there several times while the lake was filling up. It was amazing to me as a young kid to see the progress and I for the life of me couldn't figure out how the engineers knew exactly were the water level would be upon completion.

Nena is correct about a cemetery being submerged. Dad drove us out into the bottom land several times during that period to see the water slowly creep up and consume houses and barns left behind. Some familys stayed in their homes until the last minute.

I think the plumber was reveling in the fact that he is a ****.

Correct!.....and sometimes I even pay in CASH! It must be really annoying to be standing behind me when a clerk (or human, as VicMan calls them) is trying count my change back to me.

Two words. Flood Insurance. Get it, even if you don't think you need it.

Flooding is not a thing of the past. It will happen again. Yes get flood insurance, but a flooded residence is still a pain to recover from.

I suggest the Heights or Norhill. If you look at some older topograhy maps, you will understand why the Heights was built were it was and didn't go further west beyond Nicholson or Sheperd. Shady Acres is built on land that is naturally prone to flooding, even though the bayous have been enlarged and drainage improved.......it will happen again.

Other than that, it is a nice area, currently desirable and trendy.

I'm all for removing the self check out stations. I find it annoying that a business expects me to scan my own groceries and then sack them, and then transact my own payment. Not this mid century man.

I stood around really annoyed the other night in the Dickinson Kroger, because a checker was not available. A clerk suggested I use the self check out counter. I refused and said that they could either provide a checker for me, or that I am leaving and they can put the items back on the shelf themselves. She called a checker, and I was waited on promptly and courteoulsy. I even paid by CHECK!.

I guess that answers my question on why the Chevron station that occuppied the median at MLK and OST is gone. I always thought that the wide median was left for a future underpass. Wishfull thinking on my part.

If you notice on the photo where it is marked "I45" that is actually the road bed of the Houston - Galveston Electric railway. You could get to Galveston faster from downtown Houston in the 1930s than you can now. The Gulf Freeway was built over much of that railroad bed. Those streets were not there in 1944 south of Sims Bayou as that was mainly the Burton horse ranch. Telephone road was just that - a road built along the telegrah then telephone line then State Highway 35. Garden Villas was there as it had begun in the mid 1920s with Carter Lumber developing the airport. Belfort wasn't built through until the early 1960s with the bysecting of then GolfCrest Country Club. I remeber seeing JFK drive by on Broadway as he came into the airport. The next day he flew to Dallas and the world forever changed ...

One correction Historian; Belfort crosses the old Sims Bayou Golf Course. Golf Crest was up on Long Drive, were the HISD stadium was built. Also JFK left Houston that night and flew to Ft. Worth. He flew from Ft. Worth to Dallas that morning. Stay Happy!

Surprised this wasn't brought up earlier. The most famous non-building in Houston:

Bank of the Southwest Tower:

http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=103046

This one was brought up several years ago. I remember commenting on the building being designed with a giant gyroscope on the top floor of the building to help control sway. The weighted gyroscope would apperrently move in the opposite direction of the wind force, thereby tourqing the structure. It would have been quite unique, from an engineering standpoint.