Libbie

What a great picture! Exactly as I remember it, even to the big inkblot-shaped ceiling design!

Interesting! My father had an MRI done very near there in about 1989 or '90, but I don't have a picture.

Do any old-timers remember the original incarnation of UHD, the University of Houston Downtown School, located at 925 Caroline, downtown? My father taught there and once mentioned that the Caroline building had previously housed a paint store.

My father was Mr. O.R. Hicks. He taught English in the night school there from the late fifties until his retirement in 1973. I can't find anything in Wikipedia or elsewhere about the first UHD. The current one, at One Main Street, was established in 1974. My father may have planned his retirement to coincide with the closing of the U of H Downtown where he taught, but at 22 I didn't have those details on my radar. In any event, I wonder if any HAIFers either actually remember or have heard anything about the original University of Houston Downtown School.

Your mom worked at Suzanne's? Interesting! I must have seen her during the years when my parents and I ate there. In the mid eighties, a sort of high-end Mexican restaurant (an Austin transplant called Fonda San Miguel) had a brief stint in the old Suzanne's building. I remember sometimes taking my attention away from my pollo pibil  to look around and see what I could recognize that had been there when it was still Suzanne's. 

On 8/6/2020 at 7:02 AM, Susie Homemaker said:

I attended Montrose Elementary.  Many happy memories.  I do recall the May Fete, the Halloween Carnival, the Montrose Spaghetti, and playing jacks on the smooth concrete.  I was there from 1954-59, first through fifth grade.  I had Miss Menier in second grade and took French from her in the early mornings before school started.  Miss Ott was my fifth grade teacher.  She wore a wonderful black sun hat during recess.  And, I remember Miss Jorgenson well.  She later went to Poe Elementary and was there when the bomber attacked the school.

 

I was sorry to see the lovely building torn down.  

I remember Miss Menier. I had her for my first few days of third grade (1959 it would have been), but then several of us were moved to Miss Shapley's class. As an adult, remembering the Montrose teachers, I've thought vaguely that Menier sounded like a French name. So Miss Menier knew and taught French! That's a nice and very interesting bit of trivia. 

I was in high-second, in Miss Millard's class when we children learned about the Poe bombing. I could read fairly well by then and I remember reading a scary account of the tragedy in the Houston Press (no relation to the current weekly of the same name).

The only one of those you mentioned whom I don't remember was Miss Ott; maybe she wasn't there by the time I started school there.

Remember the Alabama at Shepherd strip center in the old days? It's still there, of course, and Trader Joe's kept the old Alabama Theater marquee, so that at first glance the strip center looks almost as it used to. But do any of you remember it from the old days? Left to right (i.e., south to north on Shepherd), it was Walgreen's, A & P Supermarket, Alabama Theater, Suzanne's Cafeteria, Wacker's, and Western Auto. When I was a child and a teenager, it was my great treat to be taken (or to ride my bike) to the soda fountain at that  particular Walgreen's for a big glass of chocolate milk -- or on more luxurious days, an ice cream soda. The A & P, AKA the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (just to the left of the Alabama Theater, I think) was, to my child-mind, merely a supermarket, nothing special, a place where we shopped if we happened to be in the area -- second choice after the Dunlavy Weingarten's (which had been the 1400-block-of-Richmond-Avenue Weingarten's in the earlier '50s). Next door sat the Alabama Theater, which lasted a long time, till the '80's, wasn't it?  To its right (north) was Suzanne's Cafeteria, a very good cafeteria of the same species as the Cleburne, Albritton's, or Luby's, run by a genial Greek gentleman called Mr. Gus. On Thursday nights it was sort of festive, and a pretty waitress would sing. Her specialty was "Moon River." We continued to eat there even after my mother was served a well-boiled grasshopper atop her bowl of spinach one evening. And next door to Suzanne's was my childhood shopping paradise, Wacker's:  a sort of mini-Woolworth's, where a child with a quarter could buy a small plastic doll with MUCH more strength of character than one of those snooty, new-fangled Barbies. Finally, on the north end, was Western Auto. My father would go there -- not to browse in dreamy joy as he did at Southland Hardware (at this writing, still sitting there, ageless, in its appointed spot at 1822 Westheimer) -- but simply to buy something for the car when the need arose. 

In 1969 I moved to Austin for college and for a long time didn't think much about the Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center and its various shops. I moved back to Houston in the mid-eighties. Venturing back to the Alabama Shopping Center, I encountered  Butera's,  Whole Earth Provision Company, Cactus Video, Bookstop, and Whole Foods . Roaming one day in Bookstop (constructed within the old theater) one day in the 1990s, I suddenly had a joyful flashback, among the bookshelves on the second floor: a sudden memory of having seen NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS  there in 1958 with my parents. Now, well into the 21st century, the A & P is Whole Earth, I think; the Bookstop is Trader Joe's; and Whole Foods is Petsmart.

I still enjoy driving past the new/old Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center, squinting a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I can almost see Walgreens, the A & P,  the Alabama Theater, Suzanne's, Wacker's, and Western Auto. It's a good feeling. 

I know a lot has been written about the recent closure of what used to be called the "South Main Sears," but does anyone have nostalgic memories about shopping and hanging out there? I do: the smell of popcorn at the little snack stand by the shoe department (long, long ago, when I was a kid); the beautiful displays—especially around Christmas—in the big windows, in the years before they were bricked in;  my mother saying, “Meet me in an hour in the shoe department,” since back then it had chairs; the little diner attached to the outside of the building, which in the ‘90s became a bookstore. By the 2000s it had really changed a lot, but it was still Sears. I was sorry to see it go.

I know a lot has been written about the recent closure of what used to be called the "South Main Sears," but does anyone have nostalgic memories about shopping and hanging out there? I do: the smell of popcorn at the little snack stand by the shoe department (long, long ago, when I was a kid); the beautiful displays—especially around Christmas—in the big windows, in the years before they were bricked in;  my mother saying, “Meet me in an hour in the shoe department,” since back then it had chairs; the little diner attached to the outside of the building, which in the ‘90s became a bookstore. By the 2000s it had really changed a lot, but it was still Sears. I was sorry to see it go.

On 2/22/2018 at 11:08 PM, EspersonBuildings said:

I apologize if I've responded to this in the past (or maybe I just read it a while back).  LC Cafeteria was under Walgreen's on Main @ Walker, not Woolworth's (Main & McKinney)  You could enter from the front entrance on Main @ Walker via an escalator (right next to the entrance to Walgreen's) or from the back entrance on Travis @ Walker (right next to the back entrance to Walgreen's).  It was huge, occupied the entire side (the basement) of the southern half of the block (Walker, Travis, Rusk & Main) directly under Walgreen's.  I came back to Houston in 1998 (gone for 15 years) and by this time it was an all you can eat buffet but only occupied the western half of the original LC Cafeteria, you could now only enter and exit at Walker and Travis.  Don't think it lasted very long after this and years later the entire San Jacinto Building was demolished.  Across the street on Main was James Coney Island, so many eating places on street level in those days!

I remember the L&C. From 1950 or before till some time in the '70s, every Tuesday night the Scribblers Club met there. That was a group of amateur and published writers, including Hughie Call (some old-timers or old-book lovers may have read her). I started going with my mother in the early '60s when I was in junior high. I remember the food as being very good, as well as the novelty of entering a restaurant from a down-escalator, right outside in the open!

On 10/24/2011 at 4:49 PM, NenaE said:

Nice pics everyone! Love old dept. store photographs and postcards.

I remember Woolworth's with great nostalgia. A year or so ago we were in Monterrey visiting my husband's relatives. We went into a store, and suddenly I felt "time warp!" I thought, this used to be a Woolworth's! There was the familiar layout of everything. There were the stairs going down to the basement level. It really was a repurposed Woolworth's. It was still a similar sort of store. My husband remembers going to the Monterrey Woolworth's as a child, mainly to buy candy.

When I first moved back to Houston in 1984, I saw it and was really impressed by it. It had a sign that said "Boarding House," and there was what looked like a cabbage patch or vegetable garden along its front walk. I soon moved into the neighborhood but had little reason to pass by the mansion/boarding house for several years. In 1991 I enrolled my daughter in a daycare home down the street, and by then the mansion looked vacant, but soon there were signs of construction and remodeling, and before long I was told that a fraternity moved into it. I wished I'd had some excuse to go inside when it was a boarding house. How was that for an anachronism!

Interesting! At what church? I liked Mrs. Martines, very much. I remember that she (like most of my grade school teachers) read us a story every day after lunch, and the story book I've most remembered over the years was a collection of Greek myths for children, with half a dozen myths, including one titled "The Miraculous Pitcher," the story of Baucis and Philemon. A little recent googling revealed to me that the book was a collection written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and I bought it for my Kindle! But not to digress too much, I remember that Mrs. Martines gave me a memorable, valuable grounding in such aspects of "cultural literacy" as afore-mentioned myths, the states and their capitals, and a quite a few other things other things for which I'm grateful, even now in my sixties. 

Mrs. Jorgensen was still there my first few years at Montrose, succeeded by Mrs. Ivens. In 1956 I was in high-second grade (Miss Millard), then low-third (Miss Shapley). I recall that Miss Shapley and Mrs. Martines were chums, each frequently appointing a child to carry a note to the other. We were all honorable and incurious, and never read them.

6 hours ago, mollusk said:

Scott and the Gulf Freeway still has two gas stations - they're different brands now, but that's not exactly unusual.  The main building of the Phillips 66 / chicken joint that's there now even looks like a reskin of the former Gulf station.

I thought it might be farther west, like maybe West Dallas at Montrose, since it's both far enough and close enough to see so much skyline. Could we see that much skyline at Scott? Dunno. I'll have to look and visualize the next time I drive that way.

 I remember the oleanders, but at that age I didn't know a sassafras tree from an oak tree (But was introduced to one at Girl Scout camp between 5th and 7th grades. The leaves smelled like root beer). So, if you and your sisters were at Montrose in the  '50s we might have coincided. I was there from 1957 (high-kindergarten and low-first grade--remember those mid-termer highs and lows of every grade?) through 1963 (6th). I remember an annoying "big boy" named Ollie who used to say rude things in the lunch line. A classmate named John (He was Dutch-Indonesian, I think) had an older sister named Cisca. Some other classmates--1956-7 to 1962-3 were Jimmy, Mike, Anita...

It was really nice to see your post, JPM, two years after mine. Our time at Montrose definitely must have overlapped. Maybe I knew y'all. Anyway, happy New Year!

Tom Terrific, I'm glad to hear you remember the roses, yellow or not. I didn't know that detail about the Montrose Spaghetti recipe being sent home with everyone before the Halloween carnival! I hope you do create a Montrose Elementary group on Facebook. That's a delightful idea.

My husband, Mr. Martinez, taught there as a full-time substitute (they called them "dedicated" subs) from 1986-1988.

I haven't read this entire thread from 2007 to 2 weeks ago, so I might be repeating something,  but how about Reba in River Oaks, which becomes Fairview East of Shepherd, which then becomes Tuam right before downtown?

 And Gray, which just past Shepherd becomes Inwood.

My wife went to Montrose School and remembers it well. She first attended Kindergarten there in 1951 and her teacher was Mrs. Hudson. She then went to Holy Rosary School for 4 years and returned to Montrose School for 5th and 6th grade. Her teachers were Mrs. Chandler and Mrs. Ott.  She remembers Mrs. Chandler as her favorite and best teacher of all time. She remembers the May Fete, as well as an annual Halloween Parade. The school would also invite children that went to Holy Rosary to march in the parade.

My wife lived on Stanford, a half block from the school.

The school was built in 1916, somewhere she has a picture of the school from circa 1917 with her mother standing in front of it. If we find it I'll post it,.

Wow, Mrs. Hudson was versatile, having taught both kindergarten and firth grade! Hope you find the 1917  picture. It would be fun to see it.

Did any HAIF members go to Montrose Elementary, located at 4001 Stanford, where the High School for the Preforming and Visual Arts is now? I did, from 1957 to 1963. The teachers I had, in descending order from sixth grade to kindergarten, were Mrs. Hudson, Miss Shuttle(s)worth, Mrs. Martines, Miss Shapley, Miss Millard, Mrs. de Ybarrondo, and Mrs. Lucky, as well as 2 music teachers: Mrs. Fogel and Miss Womack. All were, as I remember, quite good teachers. Others whom I didn't have but whom I remember were Mrs. Roper, Mrs. Menier, Mrs. Blackwell, Ms. Luna, and Mr. Schmidt. This latter, one of just a few male teachers, always organized the musical and dramatic programs and did so with much professionalism. Ah, and I just remembered a long-term sub we had once, named Mrs. Giles, who read us Kipling's Rikki Tikki Tavi.

Every spring we would have a May Fete, for which we practiced assiduously, and which was (of course) performed outside, we children dancing, in choreographed  formation,  to music that was probably of Mr. Schmidt's choosing. 

The school's architecture and layout closely resembled that of Lantrip Elementary, still standing at 100 Telephone road: Spanish-mission style architecture, with arches, open-air corridors, and interior courtyards that had flowers, bushes, and the like.

Not infrequently, I wonder about fellow Montrose alumni, and what they remember about the school.

Another quirky Village store I remember from the '90s was a handcrafts shop called Iowa and Guatemala, which sold hand-made folk art crafted by rural Iowans and rural Guatemalans.

I think you mean El Meson.  It's still there, and still good.

It's actually Mexican-Spanish-Cuban. I don't know if the elderly owners I knew are still living, but the husband was a Spaniard, the wife was a Cuban, and the adult son was a sort of Cuban/Spanish/Tex-Mex-American Houstonian. Very nice people, all three of them.

There was a half-priced books in an old bldg. I used to frequent in West U. I loved walking through, checking out the details of the place, 1990's, I think it was. I think it would be west of the tapas restaurant, now. Had old display windows & a back loft, balcony, staircase, and a tiny smaller room to the left. Reminded me of those '50's ladies clothing stores at Gulfgate. 

It's still there. It's now double the size it was, though, because a few years ago it took over the space of what had been a baby-clothes-and-accessories store.  (Come to think of it, in the late 80s and early ninties,

Rice Village had two baby stores. Was there a baby boomlet in those years?)

I was using my lap top earlier and didn't have any pictures on it. I have found the picture, hope you enjoy it. It also has a big Rettig's ice cream sign on it too. Looking close at the picture it appears that an A & P store was next to the drug store. The photo is from the Sloane collection so we will give him credit for the pic. I have posted two pictures one from when It was built and the other as it looks now.

That's a fantastic old picture! And it DID have a Rettig's ice cream sign on it. It is delightful beyond all logic to see that old picture.  You have helped me to scratch a decades-old memory itch! Thank you.

I hope you find the picture. I would really love to see it.