chrispy

On 9/27/2019 at 12:55 AM, John Terrazas said:

I was born in 1975 and lived off linden street and fondly remember gulfgate as a kid. Does anyone know where we can see photos of the area from that time ? I would love to see them. I remember a big two story church with a tall steeple near that area as well.

My cousin Heath Sotomayor also lived on Linden St- would be your age, maybe a year younger. 

Plum Alley Windows,

When things pick up after the holidays, I may hit you up for an estimate. My home is 97 years old- no telling when the last time the putty was replaced and definitely need some work done. I have to get the foundation leveled first but, after that, I hope to get some of the windows repaired. 

Montrose1100: you must have had to reach all the way back to 2018 in my comments! Which is cool- I do the same thing. Having lived in New Caney for five years only made me appreciate the East End more! Even though we still came down here almost every other day, I still had to go to sleep in that dreadful shi*hole town. I didn’t have much choice in the matter of moving out there but my father’s illness (and passing away shortly after the comment you saw in 2018) brought me back home- even though I was still here much of the week. 
I guess I sound like that angry old guy that hates change/progress...which is exactly how I feel! And since 45 isn’t that old, I’m sure I will be here voicing my unpopular opinion for a bit longer. 😂 

When there were companies like Markle Steel, Maxwell House, Community Coffee, and many more, these working class people didn’t have a lot of money so they shopped locally, ate and drank locally. They went to bars like the D&W and Country Club and, in the case of D&W, they had hours to accommodate workers getting off in the mornings/mid afternoons. Now that those workers are gone, things change. Change is inevitable, I guess. Nevertheless, we had a thriving manufacturing market here and it’s gone. These small, mom-and-pop businesses are great and I support them by shopping there when I can. However, there’s no way they can pay a worker the $15-$20 he/she would’ve made at an industrial job. I used to work at Grant Pride Co (formerly Hughes Tool building on Polk). Nobody else in the area would pay me what I made back then because the competition moved outside the Beltway. These jobs downtown- that’s great if you work in a comfy office or cubicle but many of us do not.

I don’t mind seeing empty lots, myself. As for violent crime, I rarely see any of that. My father left his windows open every night in spring/summer/autumn and was only robbed once back in 1983- and that was probably some acquaintance that knew what he had in the house. There was plenty of crime in Montgomery County also. In fact, kiddie porn and meth, burglary and DWI’s are the most common crimes out there (they even have an online and print newspaper specifically for shaming these folks that are arrested- guilty or not- called Montgomery County Police Reporter aka MoCo Facebook). I can’t tell you how many times I heard those rednecks complain about the high crime and traffic in the big city only to remind them that there is just as much traffic and crime in the burbs. So I’m grateful for the taste of living out there simply because it made me appreciate being home again. 

As for the person that made the comment about East End schools being “sketchy”- I can see what you mean but they aren’t any better out in the suburbs. My nephew died last week at only 19 years old. Why? Because he had been using Zanax ‘bars’ and codeine syrup since he was 15 and lived in the most expensive, affluent neighborhood in Pearland. People have this illusion that those schools are so much better and nothing bad could ever happen there. The truth is much different: New Caney HS is a dropout factory, Conroe HS has drugs all over the place, Pearland HS is where my nephew got his Zanax bars. Not once did he ever think that they could be laced with something more deadly. All of these schools have kids getting pregnant at the drop of a hat. A few hundred die of coronavirus and people freak out and want to wear a mask. Thirty million die of AIDS and nobody wants to wear a condom! It’s a crazy world. 
So yeah, I’ll be the crazy old man on these posts, I suppose. Nevertheless, you can’t say that change has its flaws. I’ll concede a little: I look forward to seeing what’s done with that large property that’s being developed off Buffalo Bayou. I saw the plans on here and was pleased to see patio homes mixed in with the townhomes. 

Has the work stopped here? It seems like it’s in limbo nowadays. 

You asked for opinions so, as unpopular as it will be, I’ll throw mine in. I always love to see an old home being lived in as opposed to being torn down for some tacky townhomes. I like what they have done with that house on Polk. 
However, many of you are new to the East End. You moved in when the area started getting a ‘buzz’ and started becoming ‘the next big thing in town’. My grandparents came here during the Depression, I was born in the same hospital my father was born in, I live in the same house that my parents bought in 1976- and the lady that sold it to us lived in it when her parents had it built in 1923/1924. It’s run down, needs work but is completely original- from the wood floors and trim to the big attic fan. Restoring a home as opposed to renovating one is always preferable to me. 
 

When I was a kid, Montrose (and eventually, the Heights) was an area full of hippies and musicians and artists. My 2nd cousin Billy lived in an old antique store right across the street from Numbers (now it’s a dentist office) so I distinctly remember all the characters that would be wandering the street over there. I thought it was a cool place to be in the 1980’s/1990’s! Sadly, so did the folks we refer to as ‘hipsters’ today. They started moving in, developers tore down lots of old bungalows and other homes to make room for ugly and bland townhomes. Nowadays, all the cool folks that made that area so attractive have moved away, priced out by developers and hipsters buying into the hype. The same thing has happened in the Heights also, now it’s here in the East End. 
The first sign of encroaching ‘gentrification’ was when developers pushed for an area once just known as East End (or erroneously called Second Ward- before the Gulf Freeway it was part of the Third Ward) to be called EaDo. I’m sure I’m in the minority but I refuse to use that term. It’s ironic that white flight drove middle-class people out to the suburbs and now so many of them are coming back. Frankly, I wish these folks would stay in Kingwood or Sugarland or Woodlands or wherever they’re moving away from. 
The very things that make this area so awesome are going to end up being changed by rising property taxes/rents, more traffic, a different demographic. To the new residents, I guess you see yourselves as a savior. Maybe akin to a missionary bringing salvation to the savages. Yes, parts of this area are very working-class and run down. Yes, we don’t have a lot of the amenities of the suburbs. But most of us long-term East Enders like our area as it is- not some hipster’s paradise full of trendy bars, $40 barber shops, and no local industry. 
This area used to have decent industrial jobs (that’s why the East End has more miles of railroad track than the rest of the city combined). We used to build things and live close to where we worked at. Rising land values and other factors have run these businesses out to the suburbs. I hate driving all the way to Channelview for work. Unless you work Downtown, you’re just trading one commute for another. 
 

As I stated earlier, my opinion will be unpopular and you have the right to disagree. I will continue to believe what I believe but, if you think about it, you can’t deny there is a lot of truth to what I’ve said. Eventually, the East End will be as boring as the Montrose has become. I see quite a few empty storefronts in the Montrose, I hope we don’t have that problem here as well. I’m sure you recent residents of the East End have your heart in the right place but every person that buys one of those ugly townhomes is a contributor to the very things that will make this area another played-out version of Montrose/Heights. Spend the extra 10k-30k and renovate a beautiful old home and have your own piece of land! There’s no substitute for that. Townhomes are just expensive apartments if you’re sharing a wall with your neighbor. You can probably afford it anyway- just add a little more to your mortgage! 👍🏼
 

I’d love to see any pics or videos of the sign and/or Italian Beef House. My mom ate there often, took us along several times. 

I notice Vertigo58 hasn’t been on here in a very long time. If anyone knows him in real time, I hope he is doing well. I always enjoyed his posts! He must live somewhere very close to me (Griggs/Gulf Freeway). 

I miss that Steak and Egg...but it did go downhill the last couple of years it was open. I ate there about 6-8 months before it closed down and wasn’t impressed...especially when you have Tel-Wink right down the road. 

I’ve eaten at the Wienerschnitzel in College Station and it was terrible. My mother in law lives in New Caney so I pass the new one twice a week. Haven’t been tempted to try it but it has some large crowds checking the new place out. 

As for defunct Houston restaurants: I miss Fiesta Loma Linda and the JCI at Woodridge/Gulf Fwy. Yes, I could drive to the nearest one off I-10 or even Shepherd but that’s not the point. I miss the specific one right by my house. That place was my first job back in 1994 to 1996. 

Isn’t it ironic that we once had a great train service throughout Houston called the Interurban? We replaced it with the Gulf Freeway because of the growing number of cars on the road. FF>> 80 years and here we are still arguing about trains vs. cars. I hate when they tear up a road and inconvenience us with construction but screw it- build the rail already! I just wish more Houstonians would use public transport. 

We give them free food, showers, clothes. Why should they want to do anything at all? If they collect cans or stand on a corner, they can get enough to buy the things that Star of Hope and others don’t give them. We make it easy. 

Put them in a camp, make them perform 20 hours of community service, give something back for all the charity that they take. Yeah, yeah: I’m the as$hole for saying it but I stand by what I said. 

I hate that I am limited on how big my picture has to be and I don’t know how to resize them. I was throwing out a lot of stuff my father had saved and came across a bag from Lewis and Coker. Just thought it was funny to come across it after reading this post. 

I also enjoyed the night shots! Very good video!!!

I remember my father giving us money every Mother’s Day to buy her perfume at Sakowitz and Joske’s. Sakowitz was a bit pricey so we ended up getting White Shoulders or something else at Joske’s most of the time. Eventually, we realized that she must’ve been sick of that fragrance so we upgraded to Exclamation. Like the perfumes, the parents are all gone now.

We ate at Piccadilly Cafeteria about 3x a week (Josie was the best server- always remembered what we liked and greeted us by name). I remember we would walk in right there: the old bowling alley and post office was to the right. As you’d walk in there would be Pickwick Music/Sam Goody’s on the right and Great Expectations and the GNC vitamin store on the left. I think the GNC used to be a Hallmark card store before that though. My mother had a fixation with Afro-like perms for a year or so and we always got our haircuts at that salon. At the end of that hallway was the Walgreens drugstore with their soda fountain. Loved the milkshakes! 

As you stand in that center section, if you turned left you would be walking towards the bridge over 610. There was a Wilson’s down there and I think that the Armed Forces recruitment office was at the end. I used to get their free book covers with images of futuristic battle cruisers in space and whatnot for my schoolbooks. 

If you had turned right, I believe there was a Palais Royal. I remember taking my grandmother there to buy dresses. NOT a fun thing for a kid to do! Lol

As you walked down that way, I remember there was a Casual Corner with a rustic wood facade and plastic stained glass windows. My mother loved their suede jackets, embroidered belts, Chelsea boots, etc. Very hip for the 1980s! At that point, there was the entrance to Joske’s and I think Sakowitz was just past it. There was also a Piercing Pagoda in a kiosk there in the 1990s. First piercing I ever got and it got horribly infected!

At that intersection, you’d be at the center of the mall. I remember, if I turned left and away from Joske’s, I would be heading towards Time Out arcade, KAY-Bee Toys (I think?), and a Radio Shack. There were other stores there like the Gap, Foot Locker as well but I’m trying to remember the layout. The Gap and Foot Locker were over by the Joske’s end of the mall. Eventually, Foot Locker was the only store making a profit in there  

Once you got to that end of Gulfgate, I vaguely remember the Weingarten’s being over there but we always shopped at Lewis and Coker on Telephone Rd. If my mother wanted something specific from Weingarten’s, we usually went to the one on Lawndale @ 75th. 

I remember shopping there as a kid shortly before it was razed. It’s a shame to see them all gone now. 

They recently restored the auditorium and it looks incredible! I felt bad for sticking my chewing gum under the seats back in the day. 

It's been a while! Husband and I have been living in the wastelands of New Caney for the past few years BUT my dad is pretty sick and is passing his home to me now. Once we fix the house up, we will move in and be back in the East End for good! <3

Anyway, I drove past the Church of the Redeemer several months ago and found a demolition crew out there. They were nice enough to let me look inside for a minute and snap a few pics. 

I really wish I could find a set from 1979-1984 or so. Even older ones would be cool! They're impossible to find.

Glad I'm not the only one that hates the 'EaDo' moniker.

Don't quote me but my uncle (who still talks to people at the Redeemer) says that the Tellepsen family (who built the current church buildings in the 1950's) has donated enough to keep the church open and handle the major problems. Hopefully the diocese will decide to keep the building and help restore it for the 21st century. I'd like to hope more people attend services there if the church is reopened.

My mothers' parents went there around 1930/1934, both of my parents went there, my brother and I went there (1990's) briefly before moving to Austin HS. My uncle has a bunch of report cards from my grandparents which I would love to scan...but he won't part with them. I used to skip class and go shoot pool and play video games at UH- can't get away with that anymore.

They make good food.

I'm no fan of WalMart by any means...however, it beats the prices and quality of the Sellers' Bros. across the freeway! The HEB at Gulfgate (oh, how I miss that mall!) isn't bad but I agree with the previous comments: they DO need to step up their game. The Fiesta on Wayside isn't so bad but the location right on 45 feeder is excellent! As for the traffic...that intersection is always busy.

You and I are in the same group then, mkultra25. I can see both sides of the story but I prefer my neighborhood just the way it is- warts and all.