jwphillips2

The Chuck Wagon I remember was on the South East corner of Willow Bend and South Post Oak. Wheel Burgers, Hub Burgers and Spoke Burgers. Best chocolate malts (not shakes) in Houston. You drove up, parked, and walked up to that little window in the front to place your order. I still can't imagine McDonalds under-cutting their price by a nickel!!

Gateway Skate was a huge roller rink in the late 50s. The floors were polished oak which is why they wouldn't let you bring your metal skates. Giant mirrored ball which was lit during the "All Skate". I think it was wishful thinking about the proximity to Kelly's, but it made me think about where all the addresses in Houston are based - Number 1 Main Street, the M&M Building. The first building in the US that was accessible from trains, boats, cars, horseback, and air. The 8510 S. Main address on the Gateway postcard is further from M&M than the 3512 address on the Kelly's card (where do you guys find this stuff?!). Sometimes knowing this helps with placing addresses in Houston. I remember meeting the wife of the Kelly's owner at one of the Medical Center hospitals in the late 50s - he was dying. I'm not sure how long after that the three locations had disappeared. Outrageous good steaks! "I used to know a guy who told me that swimming pools in Houston have a chemical added to the water that turns a dark purple color whenever someone urinates. " My chemical would make their suits dissolve.

My hand prints are still in the concrete of the Scout House behind Shearn Elementary on Stella Link. There were two Scout camps that were just out in the boonies - Camp Hudson way out on Memorial Drive and Camp Strake north of Houston. I've got 8 mm movies of both. Camp Hudson is now Hudson on the Bayou Condominiums. Cub Scout 58, Boy Scout - almost got to Explorer. Thanks for The Motto.

Alpha, you nailed it, but Subdude trumped us all with a postcard! I remember that it was also called Gateway Skate and Swim, I remember the Hokey Pokey, and that Crystal Pool was the only other Olympic size pool in the area(Shamrock), but the hills and meadows escape me. Thanks everyone!

I totally don't remember the name. It was on the same side of S. Main as Gaido's (remember the giant crab?) almost directly across the street from Kelly's Restaurant.

I remember going to the bottom of the Crystal Pool and entering the air dome made by a B17 plastic canopy. The canopy was chained to the bottom of the pool and air was pumped in from the bottom. The canopy trapped the air and floated about 3 feet off the bottom. I know Liability Lawyers would be break dancing to get a shot at that now! Anyway, my question is "What is the name of the skating rink that was right next door on S. Main? ".

It was just called "The Jester" and it was directly behind Byron's Barbeque on Westheimer between the railroad tracks (The Deputy drive-in) and 2K's restaurant on South Post Oak. They were going to open it closer to Sin Alley (Mid Lane), but Byrons had a bigger parking lot. The Jester was strictly after hours opening at 1:00AM and closing around 6:00AM - we still had liquor by the drink. It was about as big as Sand Mountain in The Montrose. They had a lot of individual performers as well as small groups. Great music!

Anytime. There was a serious folk presence here at the same time. I remember watching my older brother play at places like The Jester, The Bird Cage, La Maison, Sand Mountain, La Bodega, etc. with C(addo) P(arish) Studdard, Scott Stripling, Lightnin' Hopkins, Doug Saum (later Sir Douglas Quintet and The Uranium Savages). No one has mentioned Jim Scruggs and his poster store Dirty Jim's Dry Goods in Market Square. I've got a great story about having a pre-Christmas dinner with all the Texas musicians in the San Francisco Bay area one year, all 11 of them from Hot Tuna, Tower of Power, Van Morrison, Jefferson Starship, etc. Better make a new thread, huh?

The original Catacombs was started by Memorial and Kinkaid high school kids who were ANGRY about the lack of safety and good entertainment in Houston. The original President of Catacombs was Scott Black, I was Vice President until becoming President the second year. I can't remember how many original members we had, but I remember Joann Hastick, Linda & Carroll Muller, Curran Phillips, Bruce Endendyck, and most of the Junior and Senior class of Memorial, St. Johns, Kinkaid, and Lamar. The members had peer review and self-policing. No in-and-out privileges, no alcohol, no smoking. I may still have one of the Catacombs membership applications somewhere. This policy was vital to the parent's attitude about dropping off Bobby and Suzie at the Catacombs and not worrying about their safety. I booked the bands for the club through KILT (the number one Rock and Roll station in Houston) and with the help of Bob White, the Program Manager. I booked Sunny and the Sunliners, Clarence Henry, Levinia Lewis, The Moving Sidewalks(later ZZ Topp), Lanier Grieg (still playing in Houston), The Glass Kans, Jay and the Americans, Earnie and the Interns, One-Eyed Jack, and I actually booked The Rolling Stones until the insurance company found out and said "NO!". The national bands (more expensive) were booked on the basis that they would come to Houston for two or three days for a single performance and then have a day or two off. I would book one of these off days for dirt cheap. A national band for $5,000 dollars!! I ran into Bob again in Korea. He was in the Armed Forces Korean Network in 68 - 69 and have lost touch with him since then. The local bands had auditions at the club on Thursday nights. They were voted by the members who showed up. If they only knew two songs, they would be paired with enough other bands to fill the whole evening. There were hundreds of good local bands and they were supported by the Catacombs. We built the 2 stages so that a musician's audio cord (cable) could be plugged into the stage and then connected off-stage to the sound equipment. Blown-in insulation was sprayed on the walls and ceiling, sometimes over the wire structures at the doorways to make it look like a cave. This had the additional benefit of sound-deadening. The back stage was always for the breaks. Everyone donated their time and money to make it work and that's why it succeeded. Imagine your customers doing all the work and paying for the privilege! Everyone wanted to come to Houston for the Catacombs. I talked to people from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas who would commute every weekend they could to be here. I wish I could remember Mr. Jackson's first name. He owned the three 10,000 square foot warehouses behind Sakowitz and Zindlers that became the Catacombs. He was a risk taker and developed some of his other projects into the first motocross track at the patch of dirt surrounded by Richmond, S. Post Oak, and 610 West. That later became the Texas Amphitheater. He was a true believer of UFOs and was willing to trust a bunch of kids when we told him that the Catacombs would work as a non-profit organization. There are a lot of stories about the beginning of the Catacombs, but all good things come to an end. The club was making a gazillion dollars and one day Bob Cope arrived and took it over. I went to the Army and the Catacombs was gone by the time I got out. Gone, not changed, gone, and that is the real truth.