AllendaleEstates

Back in the late 1950's and early 60's there was a club called the"Club Gulfgate". It was in the days that you could not sell mixed drinks unless you were a private club so everyone would have to have a "membership". It was underground basically across the parking lot from the bowling alley. My Dad was the manager of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. store so I spent a lot of time at Gulfgate. There also was a music store called Holland Music and I took guitar lessons there that were given in the basement. I remember my parents going to hear one of our relatives, Smokey Wood, known as the "Houston Hipster" play piano in the club.

Thanks for the information. "Club Gulfgate" could have well been the space that I was trying to get information on. Like I said, I don't believe that this particular area in question had anything to do with the bowling alley. There was some distance from the bowling alley to where our tenant space was located (more near where they set up the kid's train inside the mall).

I had a roommate during that time who had a boyfriend that set up the electronics for various touring bands. Her boyfriend was working on the Clash's Combat Rock tour. When his bands came through Houston we could get in free and sometimes hang out with the bands after the shows. The next day the band would usually go to Austin and me and my roommate would take a road trip to see the band again in Austin. The bands always stayed at the same motel on South Congress, but I can't think of the name. It reminded me of the Allen Park Inn in Houston. Anyway. while we were there they were filming the "Rock the Casbah" video and we got to watch them making that video. I think the concert was at the Austin Coliseum.

I don't have my tickets anymore to the Clash show, but here's another ticket I have from that time:

I thought The Stray Cats show was very good, but after the show we went to some Icehouse down the street when we heard some there were some blues guitarist playing. The blues guitarist were Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn, Joe Ely, and "Little" Charlie Sexton. After listening to that group jam for a few hours, the Stray Cats show didn't seem quite so good anymore.

Isuredid,

The motel on South Congress is called the Austin Motel. Here's a link:

http://www.austinmotel.com

I'm wondering if anyone knows about an underground bar that was located at Gulfgate Mall?

I worked at the mall around 1989/90 and when we took out the trash for the day we would unlock a door within our tenant space, walk down two levels of stairs, unlock another door and come out in a long hallway that lead to a dock where the trash was picked up. Off this hallway were several rooms which held old storage racks and mannequins for other stores. There was one door down there that had signage indicating that it was a bar. Maybe it was at some point, but I can't remember ever seeing patrons down there. As if the old mannaquins weren't creepy enough, on our trip down we were faced with cobwebs, one or two lights flickering and a terrible sewage stench. My employer (The Limited) made us walk in pairs to take the trash out.

The Limited's location was near the center of the mall. I don't think that this supposed bar would have anything to do with the bowling alley.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this bar or these creepy areas beneath the mall?

This is my first post although I've been lurking for years....

I'm somewhat late on this topic, but do remember the mansion in question. It seems to me that the mansion was demolished to make way for the Sims Bayou South WW Treatment Facility probably around 1980 or shortly thereafter. I have searched, but can't seem to find the date of the construction of the WW Treatment facility. I seem to remember the mansion being white and having large columns across the front. I remember a swimming pool also.