readam

From my days in HISD as a teacher some names sound familiar...Mr. Melanson's wife taught at Fondren JHS in the 70s and 80s and they lived down the block from my family in Bellaire in the 50s-60s he also drove a school bus to JJHS( they are both still alive and I see them occasionally), Oliver Littlejohn went on to be Stadium Director at Butler complex and his wife was secretary to Principal ZT Madeley at Fondren, Jim Ashmore went on to be Athletic Director for HISD in the 80s. There are some other names that I feel certain about but NOT that certain so I'll shut down.

Thanks for the You Tube on Wee Wild West( post 240)...went there many a time and the Golf course next to it...many trips to the Post Oak Drive In...also Uncle Bert Lynn show at Channel 2( remember this is 50 years ago-- if memory serves me, they had a guy named Bobby Lahr on the show who eventually went out to California to work on Truth or Consequences)... all of these places were in the area of the Galleria and Williams Tower... met with KITIRIK at the old channel 8 studio when it was Channel 13...she came out into the lobby and talked to me and my bro and sis and mom, I think I remember her saying that she was a cheerleader at LSU and knew some football player from my parents small home town back in the day...thanks to earlier posts about the Kiddieland out on HWY 90 in Spring Branch area, I too remember going out there

Great book now out on the history of Movie theatres in Houston

Just remembered other dealers from the past--Richardson Chevrolet moving from downtown to 59 and Hillcroft , Boyd Mullen Chevrolet and Tejas Toyota on Main, near old Prince's Drive Inn

I don't remember a lot of auto dealerships from those days....but I do remember those my parent's used...here might be some that have not been listed or pictured:

OK Bud Moore (on 59 and 610 North)

Aubry, Orville and Mack ( don't remember their company affiliation, they may have sold used autos)

Sam Montgomery Olds( on Kirby with the Rocket Ship coming off of the roof)

Rosenstock Plymouth/Dodge downtown ( oh those Dodge push button transmissions)

DeMontrand(sp) Buick at Kirby and Westheimer

Art Grindle (at Chimney Rock and Westheimer) "I want to sell you a car !"

Jack Roach( at Buffalo Speedway and Bissonet) had stuffed animals in the showrrom

As you can see by my posts I have not been very active. I have enjoyed immensely the threads especially dealing with theatres, Bellaire, West University, Stores etc. Kudos to Alpha and WestUNative, your posts bring back many,many memories of those areas in the 50s, 60s and early 70s. My Oh My how those areas have changed. Unfortunately as they say "you can't go back home again". But it sure is fun remembering those times. My first years were on Swarthmore in WUP and later on Pin Oak in Bellaire behind Marian HS

on Gulfton before it was known as Fournace. Both houses are now MacMansions

Yea I remember going to the JMH near Auden and University,that and other stores used to have folks in the produce section weigh your goods and then put them in paperbags and mark the price with a black or green crayon...personal service indeed.

Evans Music in the village in a small wooden building on Kelvin (I think ) before they moved across the street to the strip center that now has 1/2 Price books and other shops, Jack Roach Ford on Bissonet and Buffalo Speedway with the huge stuffed animals inside, Fed Mart in the Bellaire theatre center, Meyer Bros in Bellaire(center on Rice and Bellaire Blvd) and Kirby & University, Bert Wheeler's, Kelley's Hardware, George's Barber Shop, Frenchy's is still around.

Near downtown on Elgin and Main there was a strip center that had a Woolworths and Wonder Fabric and closer to town was (in)famous Simpson's Diner.

Thanks HAIF for the chance to relive some great times

OK Folks I went through a matchbook collection and found these eating places in the Houston area. If there are duplicates , as I wrote before, excuse me. Here goes:

Bill William's branches on OST and in Richmond, Tx right before the Brazos River Bridge

Vittorio's in the Village ( Rice and Kirby) there is a wings joint there I think

Gallagher's Old Irish Steak House ( many locations)

Daddy$ Money

T.J. Crump's ( Sak's Fifth Avenue Center on South Post Oak)

Houlihan's Old Place ( same as above)

Liliane's Maison des Crepes ( 80 Woodlake)

Alexander's (212 Westheimer)

Houston Oil Company ( Meyerland Plaza)

Lennox Barbecue

Swiss Chalet (511 S. Post Oak)

Strawberry Patch (5839 Westheimer now the Pappas Steak House)

Restaurant El Michoacano (7041 Harrisburg)

Greenway Terrace Restaurant

Stouffer's (Top floor of the hotel near the Summit/Church)

The Magic Pan ( in the Galleria)

The Mariner ( 5919 Westheimer also 1960@Champions)

The Big Mouth Frog ( 2727 Crossview)

Dunfey's Family Royal Coach ( SW FWY at Sharpstown)

Bavarian Gardens ( 3926 Feagan)

Hacienda de los Morales ( near the Villages area in and around Memorial)

Look's Depot (downtown)

Thanks for puttin' up with me...although I can't remember some of these palces too distinctly

After seeing that list from 1955 I remember going to the "Village" Weingartens on University and the "Montclair Center" Weingartens on Bissonet and Weslayan before the "Bellaire" Weingartens was built near the intersection of Bellaire and Bissonet. The Montclair center store had one of those circular donut machines that you could look and see the donuts dropped, turned and finished. Pretty neat for a young kid to be mesmerized. They also had those old fashioned "Flip card" movie machines that flipped through hundreds of cards to show you a "moving picture" show. They expanded out farther to Maplewodd near Braeswood and Chimney Rock and points west and south. The only problem my parents and later I had with the stores was that they always seemed to have had a very limited amount of checkout stands open at any one time...it took too long to check out. If I remember from talking to colleagues from Louisiana they had Weingartens in Lafayette as well.

We had U-Tote-Ems in Bellaire too along with 7-11 on Rice Ave and the famous Midget Market near Bissonet and Avenue B near Gordon Elementary and Feld Park. Great place to buy baseball cards in 1958-60.

Great List of stores from the 70s. There was a back door from Woolworth's near the Lunch counter that led to the walking area in the interior of the center where you could find the Gibraltar Savings and other stores including Penney's. There was also a W.T.Grant Variety store in the center. In fact on November 22, 1963 my mother and I were in the store and saw the stories about the Kennedy assassination on the floor TVs. I had the day off from Strake Jesuit because of a retreat and we just happened to be in the Grant Store. That was about 4 years before 610 was completed.

Alvin was with KTRH at the old Rice Hotel in the early 70s. One of his favorite callers was "Leonard from Victoria". I had several classes with him in Grad school at UH in the Geography department. He was well read and perhaps a perpetual student but he was as personable as can be in the classroom and in the offices of the profs. He later went to KPRC and finally to KTRK TV. One of his favorite react responses to a caller who was trying to make a point or argue with him was "OK, Name me one who/ that/ was" ...you can fill in the rest

I grew up in the Bellaire area and Price's on Bellaire/Holcombe was the early 60s version of MacDonalds/Burger Chef/ Burger King before they hit it BIG. Someone mentioned Jack's Yogurt Shop; it was named for Jack Chaluh a student from Westbury High School whose parents ran the place-- it was next to Zinnate's Delicatessen on Hillcroft. Zappo's Sandwich shop in Meyerland was around, if I remember, before Schlotsky's hit the scene. There was a place that I have not seen mentioned in the HighLand Village area at the RR tracks and Westheimer called Granny Haber's Chez Orleans-pretty decent seafood. There was a pretty good One's a Meal in the Bellaire Triangle. We'd go there after serving mass as altar boys at Holy Ghost Church. Timmy Chan's in Greenway Plaza, the original Cleburne Cafeteria near the downtown Sears, Tony's original small restaurant on Sage near Westheimer, and many more that I've mentioned on another thread...Good eating and good memories

The Bellaire theatre was in the strip center on Bellaire near Stella Link. The center was an "L" shape with a grocery on the east side and a coney island on the south. The theatre was at the junction of the letter "L". I have not been by in a while but the marquee and tower of the theatre should still be there. The Saturday "Fun Clubs were great and we wouldgo to the theatre because it was air-conditioned and our house wasn't. The center was next to a telephone switch center MOhawk, remember MO and MA numbers?

I've been looking for a while but finally decide to post for the Bellaire forum. So here goes history and minutia..

Grew up in Bellaire ( moved there in1952-71, 74-75) on Pin Oak just south of Marian HS went to Holy Ghost and Jesuit when it was a staggering $400 a year...got out in 1967.Remember many happy a joyful days with neighbors from both HG and Gordon, Cunningham, Long, and Bellaire. The days before the West Loop ran through and riding bikes all over the place, building motorbikes with lawn mower engines, hide n' seek in the fron yard in summer time...too simple and enjoyable a time...3-1-1, one car, moms not working...oh well the old home is gone and a monstrosity is up in its place I hate to see the area change more each time I drive through but some old timers are still hanging on...there land more valuable than their homes....I guess they call it progress

Here are a list of places that might stir up some memories, I know it did mine---Charlie's Auto Supply, TGY, A&P, Wagner Hardware, kelley's Hardware, Frenchy's barber shop that's still there just scross the stree from the original, Hannah Niday Floral, Bang's drive Inn, Sullivan's Drive Inn, Anderson Pharmacy, Dick Gage Sporting Goods, DPS Drivers Licence Office, Jay's Pharmacy, Butler/Grimes Variety, Meyer brothers, Jackson's Drugs, Duggan's, Maddings, Guy Gibbs Liquor, Camardo Shoe shop, Bellaire Men and Boys Shop, Chapman's Young World Clothing, Midget Market, Don's Records, Betty's laundamat, Mancuso's Gulf Station, Hubert Lumber Co., Whaley's Pest Control, James Engineering, Westmoreland dairy, W.T Grant, Early Meyerland, early Triangle, Food Giant, Weingartens, Sacco's, Wee Wild West, Pink cameo beauty Shop, Bellaire Lanes, Post Oak Drive Inn, Bellaire Theatre ( was 25 cents but the owner raised it to 35 cents and almost had a riot..it was not a member of the Interstae theatre chain like the Village and other theatres), Pin Oak Stables, Pin Oak baseball for those that didn't make the official bellaire LL teams, Vic Driscoll and theThe Bellaire Gym where I broke my arm off of the rings, the Parrallel parking posts for the driving test and practice in the

Bellaire Pool and Gym parking lot, Belden's, Fed Mart, Henke and Pilot, Youngbloods chicken, the Old post office by Kelley's and Guy Gibbs, Feld Park Baseball( pee wee to Sr. Teenage), Feld's tennis courts and club house mor I'm sure but my brain needs a rest for a while. Thanks for the chance to list and vent.

I've been looking at this post for a while so if I repeat any places forgive this neophyte, this is my first reply...Here goes

Hebert's Ritz,

LC Cafeterias

Foote's cafeterias

Allbritton's cafeterias

Jetton's cafeteria

Weldon's cafeteria

Mr. Hamburger (many locations)

Griff's hamburgers (in Bellaire)

PRICE'S not Doug Prince's( OST also Holcombe and Stella link)

Art Wren's

Bill bennett's

Trader Vics

Don the Beachcomber

Victoria Station

The Foundry

Velvet turtle

Red Lion

Ten Fathoms( near original Massa'S)

Captain John's

Green Parrott( in MacGregor area)

Ming Palace( next to River Oaks theatre)

Ding How (in Bellaire)

Lee's Den( OST and Main)

Kapan's ( next to Kiddie WonderLand)

Pier 21

Jamey's hamburgers( East side corner of Main and N.Breaswood)

Howard Johnson's( Near RRTracks on Bellaire, now Moeller's Bakery)

Burger Chef

Weber's Root beer Stand on Main

Sullivan's drive Inn in Bellaire

Someburger

Kelley's seafood on Main

Zorba the Greek

Molina's Old Mexico ( Main and Alabama)

Mexico City (on Grey)

Linoleum Club( upstairs at james Coney Island on Walker)

Lums

Safari( 610 and Richmond)

Harry's kenya

Christies on Main and Holcombe

Kips (especially after a hard night gigging and foolin around)

Alfreds ( in the Village and later on Stella Link)

Monterrey Houses

Vallains

Bill Williams

Ye Old College Inn

Youngbloods Chicken( many locations)

Panjos Pizza

Can't jog the old memory much more