texianjoe

Before McDonalds came to town there was drive inn hamberger place a lot like Princes off the corner of 610 and South Park(MLK) also called McDonalds. I always heard that is why we did not have the fast food variety of Mcds in Houston. There is a McDs in its spot now.

joe

One of my favorites was the Texas Steak Ranch of Richmond and Chimney Rock. The Anchorage on the North Loop is gone. Alfreds may be gone but I think his son owns Kahns deli in the village. Subway Pizza off Westheimer had the best deep dish.

joe

A lot of good stuff happened there including my High School graduation in 1976. Talk about the greatest show on earth. lol.

I bet a lot of you also graduated at the Music Hall.

joe

Speaking of characters there used to be a guy on Almeda Rd. at the corner of Southmore I think who stood out there everyday in a robe and shadow boxed all day long.

I also read and article about 5 years ago, Alan Hale I think, about a hermit who lived in the woods at the end of Lee Rd. in the 50s and 60s. He lived in a shack made of cardboard boxes. The article said he used to be a doctor who became mentally ill and homeless.

joe

I remember them. There was a street that cut over from Park Place over the bayou and over to Hwy3 that had some big homes with huge yards. The bridge was washed out several years ago so you can't cut over anymore, but most of the homes are gone now anyway.

joe

How true....a coworker who used to live in glenbrook in the 70's still references it that way as well.

In the old days there were no controls. A stop sign on the north and south bound feeders, one on Park Place and Broadway both sides, and all the curbs and dividers were not there. It was just one big 4 lane circus, I mean circle.

joe

Don't forget Don Carlos on 76th just north of Harrisburg. They have been around a while. They have really good fajitas. We get a "Parillada" which is a mixture of different grilled meats.

Also Del Sol on the Broadway/Parkplace circle is yummy and cheap. My boyfriend is a new fan of the "green bus" a taqueria out of a green bus on Belfort just east of 45. It may have a real name, but he calls it the green bus. I haven't tried it yet.

Ok now stolitx, I see you are from Glenbrook Valley, thats suicide circle to us natives. lol

joe

Howard Johnsons was near there too. That was a CB hanout in the early and mid 70s. We would meet there for coffee then someone would get a head start and the rest of us would try to find him using our signal strength meters. That whole area from Broad to Telephone went downhill fast.

joe

the house i'm talking about is in garden villas. the house in the pic is different.

They are talking about the Witch Hat House near downtown. The one you are talking about if memory serves me right is behind the Whataburger. My brother reminded me this weekend. You turn off of Telephone onto Haywood and at the first right there is a house on the Y, it is right next door on the left, all you see is the drive entrance the house is set way back. If this is the house it was for sale about 8 years ago. I was told by the realtor it once belonged to a bootleger and had tunnels underneath leading to a small creek that goes to Sims Bayou incase a quick escape was needed.

joe

There are some existing topics about this. Try here and here.

That was intresting reading, thanks for the link. Here all these years I thought I was just doing really good with these women at the club.

joe

There is a building that looks very similar to that at Spur 5 and IH45. Its off on the northbound feeder and has old glowing signs for exotic car makes like TVR and Lancia. They havent imported Lancia's to the US since the 70's and im not sure if their even around anymore.

I drove by there this weekend and the roof has caved in. If I remember right that was an MG Dealership originally and then a Checker Dealership.

Frizzell Pontiac GMC Renault was on the west side of Woodridge, off the corner with 610 was a gas station, Frizzell and then Globe.

joe

Even though not part of the mall you can't talk about the Gulfgate and General Cinema area with out mentioning the Carousel Motel. The sign on the freeway side had a carousel that turned on top of it. It was nice in it's prime and then in the early 80s got a bad reputation as haven for prostitutes and drug addicts. In the mid 70s I hung out at the Carousel Club. It was a round night club at the top of the main tower on the 610 side. They had a live band, it was before the disco era. It was finally demolished sometime in the late 80s. I can't remember when, just one day I noticed it was gone.

joe

I scanned through the three pages and I don't think I saw a mention of Busch Gardens on the corner of I10 and the East Loop at the Budweiser brewery.

I Hanna Barbara the same as the now Splashtown or is that a different park.

joe

I worked at the Gulfgate Cinema a couple of summers in 70 thru 73. I was working there when M.A.S.H. premiered, also Dirty Harry and McQ.. We traded movie passes for food at the deli by the Weingartens I think it was called Mises'. Later I worked for Joskes at the Post Oak store in the early 80s but would fill in for the Credit Manager at the Gulfgate store when she would go on vacation. My senior ring came from the Zales there. A friend of mine drove a 64 Dart and he would drive it through the tunnel under the mall at night. Ahh memories of our youth.

joe

Sorry Joe, the trailer park is definately in California my friend. There is even a location credit for it. Watch the movie again, you can see the mountains in the background as Bud pulls in after work.

They may have filmed some of the shots, or substituted some shots, but I saw them filming at the trailer park and at an empty lot a little farther down the street where they had placed another trailer.

I double checked with my wife. She remembers the trailer park scene was in Deer Park, I got that one wrong. Some of the other trailer scenes were on Garner near Lafferty. She even sneaked onto the set and looked into the trailer as John Travolta was changing clothes setting up for a scene. They may have reshot some the ones they didn't like and tried to sneak them in on us.

joe

I think the info you're looking for is in this thread.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=7250

That's it, thank you Alpha.

joe

Not to try and highjack the thread, but you all sound like you are very familiar with the area. Do any of you remember a mansion that sat on the inside corner of 610 across from Meyerland Plaza and does any one know the story behind it. It's been gone for a while.

joe

i used to love going to that Spanky's as a kid. I remember occasioning the Dot always with my best friends family because they smoked and that place was always lit up like a chimney as i remember it.

we would also hit the Brisket house on Sundays sometimes that was good stuff.

I also remember going to a Big Boy restaurant with the big figure outside holding up a burger. was there one of these in the vicinity it must have been on 45 south if memory serves me?

Kips Big Boy was on the NW corner of South Park now MLK and Griggs. Across the street on the SW corner was Montgomery Wards on the SE corner was Palms Center, a pre-mall shopping center but not really a strip center, I don't remember what was on the NE corner.

Big Humphrey was a wrestler. I don't remember where it was on Park Place but I do remember Kolchak's BBQ just west of Telephone Rd., it closed in the last couple of years.

joe

Hey guys, I found this site looking for info on Sonny Looks Depot and saw this thread.

I dated a girl in Pasadena during the filming and spent most of my spare time driving her around trying to get a glimps of John Travolta, the trailer scene where the bouncer lived was actually behind Gilleys. The trailer park were Bud and Sissy lived was on Garner between a nursing home and a 7/11. The trailer park and 7/11 are gone now. The restaurant was where described earlier next to a muffler shop the slab is still there.

joe