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4PROP

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  1. 4PROP
    Thanks for sharing this unique photo. I took my girl friend (now wife of 40+yrs) up there around this time. I recall the pay telescope jammed "on" so we got lots of free viewing time. Hey! Ten cents was a lot of money back then to a teeny-bopper. The photo is a little fuzzy, but in the south view I can make out the South Main drive in theater screen as well as the Playland Park roller coaster. Best I can tell, the demolition of the race track grandstands had already taken place at the east end of the coaster. The large structure in the upper right must be the HL&P plant, but I may need a second opinion on that.
  2. 4PROP
    Well thanks alot Heights. That was a memory I could of gone without. As I remember, the clown was animated and screamed a horrific laugh. My wife remembered it too as soon as I mentioned it to her. She also recalled a creepy mechanical fortune teller in a glass booth. We couldn't remember exactly where it was in the park. Maybe in the arcade?
  3. 4PROP
    Here's Playland Park in 1957: http://www.historicaerials.com/?poi=3341
  4. 4PROP
    RhinoVP, Did you ever make it to the Showboat drive in movie? I know it was pretty cold the Friday after you posted this reply. If you have, please share your experience with us and in particular how your kids liked (or didn't like) it.
  5. 4PROP
    Hey Carol802, I think I can see your house from here: http://www.historicaerials.com/?poi=3380
  6. 4PROP
    There's a couple of videos (old film) from Meyer Speedway on YouTube. Just use Meyer Speedway as key search words. (Plenty from Playland Speedway also) You'll also find alot of posts and photos on the Texas Speedzone (TXSZ.com) forums under Texas Racing History.
  7. 4PROP
    FYI; We have one in Tomball. http://www.theshowboatdrivein.com/
  8. 4PROP
    You are absolutely correct in your location and description. I hope we can lay that confusion to rest. I'll confess, I was always jealous of those living in the houses across the back of the theater and wondered what you did to hear the sound clearly. I recall the speakers around the sitting area at the concession stand were not that loud. I hope the bouncing blue VW with the fogged up windows (often near the back) row did not distract you. My steady girl (now wife of 41 years) frequented the theather in the mid sixties. We actually did see parts of the movies sometimes...har har. My first disappointed in life was at the South Main back in the fifties. They had a kiddie train in front of the theather entrance with a sign saying Disney characters could be seen inside the tunnel. Heck, I was only 5 or so and was expecting live characters. The pictures of Mickey Mouse painted on the inside of the tunnel wall did not impress me at all. If anyone runs across good aerial photos of this south main area up through Playland, please post info.
  9. 4PROP
    Back in 1964, I live at 4042 Law street in an old style studio apartment at the corner of Law and Academy. it was part of a complex called Montclair Apartments and directly north of what was called and may still be the Montclair Shopping Center. (Back then: Weingardens, Western Auto, etc.) This was at the intersection of Bissonnet and Weslayan. The apartments had green shake siding, hardwood floors and for a few bucks extra you could add window unit A/C's. At the time the complex was managed by a Mrs Overstreet. Rent was $125 per month all bills paid for our 3 bedroom studio with two A/C's. (No pets!) The pool was across Weslayan directly to the east. Best I recall, the project was leveled way back in the seventies. I don't know if this could be the one you were referring to, but thought this might be interesting anyway. There are definately "MacMansions" there now, just slightly south of the S/W Freeway.
  10. 4PROP
    Great topic apoftexas. You might also want to post in http://txsz.com/forums/. You would most likely get "quality" replies and feedback there. I look forward to seeing more from you on your local racing history.
  11. 4PROP
    Hi Sparky, I second the nomination for your Oscar and look forward to your future Playland postings. I think LeeinMT is correct in referring to the Wild Mouse at Playland. It was a steel-framed coaster built some time after the race track had closed. It was near the east end of the park not far from where the ferris wheel was located. Compared to the wooden "rollie coaster", the Wild Mouse could have been considered miniature, but it was definately not a "pee-winker" ride like the ones at Kiddie Wonderland. Have you seen the Playland race films posted on you-tube? Some go back to the early dirt track days. Use "Playland Park Houston" in the search box.
  12. 4PROP
    Does anyone remember a Wild Mouse ride at Playland Park? It would have been in the early 60's and was a miniature roller coaster that turned sharp corners just as it seemed the car was going over the edge. My wife certainly remembers it. She HATED that ride because of those slow but sharp turns at the top. The cars ran on a double set of wheels so the car would actually tilt outward a bit with the bottom wheels riding against the bottom of the rail. This was about 25 feet up, not so miniature!
  13. 4PROP
    Indeed, one of many. Best I recall, it goes; Let me tell you about my hometown, largest in the Lone Star state. I'll have to brag a little bit, but I really won't exaggerate. Big H - O - U, S - T - O - N, Houston, Houston, That's my hometown. Where in the world have you ever seen, so much construction? Where will you find a sports stadium, fully air conditioned? And where will the tallest building be, west of the Mississippi? Houston, Houston, That's my hometown. Houston Oilers and the Colts, fabulous River Oaks, Battleship Texas and Hermann Park, and such friendly folks. It's recommended for a lifetime, or just a day; Houston, Houston, That's my hometown. Houston, Houston, ......That's my hometown...... .......for what that's worth.
  14. 4PROP
    Was this cookie shop you refer to at the corner of South Post Oak and South Main opposite the R/R tracks? I recall a small cookie shop along side a large drainage ditch was about the only thing at that intersection back around 1959. I think it appears within a 1960 aerial photo in this forum under a Meyerland (T33) plane crash topic. (Westbury area picture)
  15. 4PROP
    You might want to contact: http://www.positiveimage.com/ They have an impressive collection of vintage aerial photos from all around Houston. I have seen many covering the South Main area including the drive in. The only catch is, the photos are not posted anywhere. You must visit them.
  16. 4PROP
    I recall touring the KTRK studio somewhere around 1964 (WEIRD days). As the technician showed me some of the equipment, he reached into a projector device and pulled out the "Weird" display overlay. The face was on a card about 3" by 5". I guess I can say that was the weirdest thing I ever held in my hand. During program start, a second "motion pattern" layer was superimposed through it as they zoomed in on the "cat's eye" center of the face during the movie intro. I loved the Weird series! It was simply the airing our favorite old "B-flick" monster movies. It was sorta like an Elvira presentation, but with no commentator. Hey, that would have been a great moonlight gig for Kitirik!
  17. 4PROP
    I can't sing, but on a slightly related TV subject: I think about the "Weather Gal" from way back in the weather ball days. I don't recall her name or the station she was on. She stood behind a transparent glass weather map and used a black marker to draw (backwards to her) fronts, temps, etc. By doing so, she never obstructed the view of the map. How often do I think about her? Every time I watch the local news channel and the weather "personality" steps in front of my neighborhood's area of the radar screen. *&%$#@!
  18. 4PROP
    You may say, "RIP Wards", but if there is such a thing as a corporate heaven, I personally don't think Wards made it. From a customer's point of view, I might go along with "true Texas icon", but here's another point of view: My son worked for Wards as an Electronics Avenue manager. Now I am not a parent that will claim my child can do no wrong, but I will stand by the fact that he is an upright, honest and respected professional. Never would I have believed a company could treat employees the way MW literally abused him. He was constantly under pressure, degraded with extremely offensive language and his employment continuously threaten based on number of service contracts pushed. It was no surprise to me the "Monkey" went out of business. Professionalism and ethics didn't seem to be at the core of their business operations. Although there seemed to be many rotten apples in Wards upper management chain, regretfully there were many good, honest, hard-working people that lost gainful employment when they closed their doors. From what I observed, all I can say to their management style is, what goes around, comes around. I feel confident and certainly hope that most displaced MW employees found themselves much better off elsewhere. I am happy to report that Wards' closing turned out to be a good move for my son.
  19. 4PROP
    FYI: Additional information on wrong airport landings. http://www.thirdamendment.com/wrongway.html I had my own close call experience with a wrong airport. I was flying a light Cessna between Victoria and College Station inbound for Easterwood when I started to call the tower about 8 miles out with my intentions and to report the airport in sight. Thankfully, I hesitated just to recheck my bearings only to realize it was Texas World Speedway in the distance. I quickly scanned to the left, spotted the actual airport and proceeded to contact them. I often wondered if they would have cleared me for approach and landing, turn four.
  20. 4PROP
    The Mitchell inn was severely ravaged by a fairly significant tornado back around 1965 or 1966. It seems I recall further damage across the street. I think it may have been (of course) a trailer park. That same night, some roofs were blown off buildings at the (then new) Madison High School just off Orem Road. Can anyone add details (or pictures) on this event.
  21. 4PROP
    Well, seeing is believing! We indeed had "bombers in our backyard". Thanks for linking to the picture. I recall seeing it before, but didn't notice the B-24 to which I have no excuse! I guess with those big fat tires, the Liberator didn't always need concrete below it. Any idea what publication this picture was taken from? Great topic!
  22. 4PROP
    There were some PBY Catalinas kept out at Clover (now Pearland Regional) during the fifties. They were in really rough shape, but managed to fly in and out of there. I shot some 8mm of them from our C182 as we taxied out one time. We T-hangared just down from them. I saw no bullet holes in them but they were otherwise really battered and bruised! I couldn't imagine they were still airworthy. During one flight within 100 miles or so of Houston I observed a number of decommissioned B-36 "Flying Cigars" parked in storage at an airfield somewhere. Although I'm thinking it was towards Louisiana, it must have been Kelly AFB in San Antonio. Any additional information out there on where that may have been? Houston Municiple (now Hobby), aside from Ellington was the closest thing to South Main that had concrete load bearing runways back then. I would think the stored WWII aircraft must have been rolled in on rail cars since Sam Houston was right along side the tracks. (My dad's first flight lesson was in a J-3 at Sam Houston in 1946.) I sure hope additional feedback comes in on this story. Being a native Houstonian (from Bellaire) I am certainly fascinated by the thought of "bombers in our backyard".
  23. 4PROP
    Here is a typical "then and now" photo taken from 4341 Oleander. The vintage shot was from 1953.
  24. 4PROP
    Additional source for Ed Gooding's story at: http://www.maxmcrae.com/major_fires/poeElem.htm I was in 4th grade at Fondren at the time which was a small country school way out in the middle of no where back then. We were all affected by this terrible event and took our fire drill bells very seriously after that.
  25. 4PROP
    More info here: http://www.maxmcrae.com/major_fires/ammonia.htm I remember the environmental impact. The vegetation in the entire area was dead for some time. I don't recall if the grass was replanted or eventually grew back on its own.
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