marmer

Wondering about the cladding: I wonder if the original concrete? stucco? walls had deteriorated (Hurricane Carla, maybe?) and the metal cladding was a cheaper alternative to redoing them? I can't think of another building that has that kind of cladding as an architectural feature. Yes, good store, that Sears. I don't live there anymore, but when I did live in the area it was a very good (reasonable price, good quality) source for car stuff, clothes, photo studio services, things like that. Marty

I would vote for earlier than '68, too, By 1968 you didn't see fifties cars as commonly or in as good of shape as the ones in the Richmond photo. I know because at that age I was totally obsessed with cars and ones that old would certainly have caught my attention. In those days a ten-year-old car would have been much closer to the scrap heap than a ten-year-old car is today. Oh, and South Main is actually from about Elgin or so south, at least in the old vernacular. Rice University changed its address from 6100 South Main to 6100 Main Street within the last six years or so. Marty

I remember the before and after posts too. As I recall there was some discussion about the sign, too, and I posted that I had seen a very Art-Deco Sears sign on ?Durham? ?N. Shepherd? in Garden Oaks. Marty

I thought the ?canopy? over the ?atrium? (I could be wrong) was one specific change he objected to. Marty

Ugh. The more I think about it, the more I think that this is exactly the reason NOT to allow property owners to do anything they want. I'm sure that no one really thought that Weingarten Realty would deliberately destroy one of the nicest shopping areas in the city, and the last functioning pre-war movie palace. Especially since we're not talking about a blighted, dilapidated area. This is a cultural venue, not just an old building. The ability to see a movie in an environment that is the last surviving reminder of the way that past generations saw movies is something that you can't recreate anywhere else. Doesn't anyone else wonder what Houston was like before you were born? It's not just about the facade. It's about the lobby, and the snack bar, and the stairway, and the seats, and the carved relief panels, and the overhead details. And to give up the Pea, and Jos. A Bank, and Three Brothers, and Archway Gallery for a *Barnes and Noble*? Ummm... why don't they just change the Bookstop's name? And there's a perfectly fine Barnes and Noble on Holcombe which is about five minutes away. To say nothing of Borders just a few blocks away. Ya know what? Developers are stupid. How many super-size stores have opened and then failed less than five years later? Planet Hollywood, anyone? or Incredible Universe? Maybe the Menil Collection could be redeveloped into a CVS. It's private property, after all, and it's about the right size... Marty

Sure, it's probably bigger. But it's nowhere near as beautiful nor as important historically and architecturally. It'd be great to see it restored and thriving. But it has nothing to do with the River Oaks and it would sure be a shame for someone to try to make any kind of argument about the RO's future based on the OST. Marty

Starbucks -- asked and answered. For Asian, there are at least two pho places and an "Indian Fusion" place in Silverlake and a new Tokyo Bowl sushi place a little farther east down 518. Moving even farther east are a couple of very good Asian places: Pearl Dynasty in the Kroger center at Cullen and Thanh Phuong across the street from the Kroger at Barry Rose. Marty

Bellaire Broiler Burger? 59 Diner (used to be Phil's, serves much the same kind of food) Hobbit Hole? (new location, same menu, more or less) Star Pizza? Goode Company BBQ on Kirby? Dante Italian on the Gulf Freeway? Gaidos in Galveston The Hot Bagel Shop in Bellaire Regarding old places: River Oaks Theatre (not to be too obvious about it) Variety Fair in Rice Village Neiman-Marcus in the Galleria Marty

Subdude, you are correct about schools. The baby boom led to lots of school construction during MCM's heyday. And the south Brazoria County area, which really took off after WWII, was/is a particularly good crucible of MCM schools, public buildings and houses, as others have noted. Unfortunately, to many people of my generation who grew up with that, it looks old and outdated, and a lot of it has been lost and what remains is very poorly maintained. Brazosport HS was built in 1950-51. It embraced the blue sky and the prevailing breezes from the Gulf of Mexico that was just barely out of sight. It embodied the spirit of learning and excitement that permeated the 50's, and it was far more beautifully detailed than the neo-Brutalist Brazoswood HS that became its larger crosstown rival in 1970. Schools are generally so tied up with our emotions that it's difficult to see the architecture. But that blue-roofed McSchool , though certainly as "modern" for our day as the original was for its day, sure was a jarring sight last weekend. Marty

Brazosport High School in Freeport is getting a new school building. Actually, from what I can see it's about 99% complete. I'm sure it's great for the students, but I'm sad to see one of the great MCM buildings of that area (the other being Mackie and Kamrath's 1957 Dow Chemical Admin Building) gone. I didn't go to school there, but I visited many times and remember the soaring folded-plate breezeway, the courtyards and green spaces between the classroom wings, the lovely and graceful aluminum-framed window-wall library with sheer curtains, and the (fortunately still extant though now architecturally incongruous) auditorium arcade with sparkles in the sidewalk. Unfortunately, not a great picture, but the best I could find: http://www.brazosportisd.net/schools/BPort/Bport.jpg Here's the new: Inspired by Freeport's nautical/maritime history and heritage, but it leaves me cold. http://www.brazosportisd.net/bport/AboutUs...chool%20web.jpg Marty

The Hitchcock one was for Navy antisub blimps during WWII and the hangar was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961. The one in Spring off I-45 was a base for the Goodyear blimp that was based here until the mid-80's. Marty

I thought that the headquarters building was used by some kind of detention center for juveniles during the 80's. Boy's Home or some such. But I could be misremembering. Marty

In fact, there was a fairly generic first-run multiplex just down the street on Gray in the late 80's/early 90's. It got torn down and redeveloped. I remember very well back in the early 80's when the River Oaks used to show daily double features of classic movies. Once in a while they'd have a week-long run of a foreign or indie movie, but usually it was double features, often with some common theme, like Casablanca and Key Largo, or 2001 and Silent Running. They would publish a free tabloid-style schedule every month. That's where I saw my first Hitchcock movies, among others I can't really express well enough how cool this was. Being able to see these movies in a theatre, with popcorn and a big screen, was amazing, and something I now sorely miss. And the cost of admission, corrected for inflation, was about what a movie rental is now. Marty

Thanks! That would explain why it looks different on Google Earth. Both the mall and the house are still there. Marty

On the south side of US90A (Main St./Holmes Rd.) just past Beltway 8, there's an empty field with white brick piers defining a former driveway. Just a little farther down the road is an abandoned parking lot; overgrown, but with light poles remaining. What used to be here? I've read the posts about the former Domain Privee, but this seems to be farther west on US90A than that seems to be. Thanks, Marty

It's not a neighborhood, but Cole's Flea Market on 35 in Pearland, just south of Beltway 8 becomes Little Mexico on weekends. There are lots and lots of Mexican food vendors with all kinds of exotic produce, fruit, and stuff. There are also quite a few other vendors primarily selling Mexican items (Spanish videos, CD's, clothing, etc.) Last time I was there it cost a buck to park. Marty

There was one in the Brazosport area for a few years, complete with throwed rolls, but it closed about four years ago. It was spelled "The Potatoe Patch" (with the trailing "e") Marty

Yes. Rally's, Taco Bueno, Del Taco, Bonanza, Shakey's Pizza, Steak 'n' Shake, and Pizza Inn have all been in Houston at one time or another between now and about 1975. Of that bunch, I rather miss Rally's, SnS, and Pizza Inn. Not particularly impressed with the others. Glad to see the SnS coming to The Woodlands; anyone know how far along it is? Surprised no one has mentioned Braum's. Marty

Yes. It was. I went to Rice from 1980 to 1985 and the Village is a lot different now. Weingarten's was indeed at University and Kirby, near where The Gap is. It was a very bad grocery store in terms of selection, but for a time it was open 24 hours. In my early Rice years before ATM's, cashing checks here was one of the easiest ways to get cash. Just down University across Kelvin was a free-standing Eckerd's. Next door to that was a shopping center built around the Village Theatre, which showed porn movies. The tenants were the University Men and Boys Shop, which sold polyester-y old-men's style clothes, and the World Toy and Gift Shop, which was run by cranky old ladies and had pretty much every toy made from 1955 on. There was also a gas station at the corner of University and Kirby, right by Weingarten's. IIRC both the gas station and the Weingarten's building stood empty for a surprisingly long time before construction of the Village Arcade development started in the mid-90's. PS. There was also a Weingarten's where the Fiesta at Dunlavy and Alabama is, and one on W. Gray across the street and just down from the River Oaks Theatre. Again, IIRC, the W. Gray one was one of the last and nicest ones they opened. Marty

Yes, it did, and the one at Westheimer and Hillcroft/Voss had a much bigger classical section. My housemate in the mid-80s worked there for a while. As much as the walls may have contributed to the perception of longhair elitism, the real reason was so that they could play classical music in there with a little less interference from the rock and pop music blasting in the rest of the store. After Cactus changed its format and inventory, Sound Warehouse (or Sound Whorehouse as pretty much everyone I knew called it) was still an adequate place to buy classical music. I'm pretty sure that Joel of Joel's Classical Shop got his start in the classical section of Sound Warehouse. Marty

I have both of the new editions, too. I got my '99 actually from the AIA office on Richmond. The ?1990? version has a white spiral and the '99 has a red spiral. I've seen the '71 (Rice U. library has a copy) and it's interesting, though without the commentary on each building and with many fewer buildings. And the Galveston Architecture Guidebook, from about the same 1999 period, is equally impressive and highly recommended. Marty

I'm pretty sure that the Houston Architectural Guidebook said that the structural damage was a result of the ?1936? flood of downtown, and that it stayed in that picturesque condition ever since. It was in the Magnolia Brewery entry; I'll have to check it when I get home. Marty

Apparently the other oldsters haven't weighed in yet, because no one has mentioned that Cactus was once by far the best place to buy classical music in Houston. Back in the late 70's/early 80's, during the Golden Age of Recorded Music, Cactus occupied both its own space and the space where Whole Earth Provision Company was, and they made a big effort to stock the complete catalogue of most major classical music labels, as well as several smaller ones like Nonesuch and CRI, and pretty much all of the usual rock, country, and jazz. This was way before CD's, and just before video rental and the significant rise of Latin music as a major market. If you wanted a certain piece, you would browse in Schwann catalogs scattered through the racks, choose the work and artist you wanted, and then look for it in racks with the records organized in numerical order. The store had the atmosphere and feel of a spacious grocery store for all kinds of music; it is completely different now. Still cool, with its local stuff, weird tchotchkes, and weird movies, but completely different and about 1/3 the size. Also in those days you could buy a bargain LP for $3.99 and a full-price LP for $7.99. For a short time, the price went up to $8.99, but because of public outcry (!) it then was restored to $7.99. Even adjusted for inflation, music is more expensive now, and with generally poorer album printed content. I remember seeing The Empire Strikes Back at the Alabama Theatre and then browsing Cactus. That was most definitely the shiznit, especially for a small town boy like me. I also remember that for a brief time after the introduction of CD's there was a CD rental place (like movie rentals) in the Sandman Center near Sound Warehouse. They rented CD's and sold blank cassettes (!). Didn't last long, but I was one of their best customers. I hope Allrecords is still there; Fred Allred, the owner, is a great guy and a real music buff. He specializes in jazz and vocals and in hard-to-find older stuff and leaves most of the mainstream pop to the big boxes. But if you want something traditionally cool chances are he can recommend several things and he's happy to do special orders. He's sort of the anti-Soundwaves, specializing in the over-40 market. But I'll bet when he decides to retire that will be the end of that store too. Marty

Wasn't there a reasonably spectacular big wavy slide (the kind kids slide down on a piece of cardboard or waxed paper) at Almeda-Genoa and Telephone? There where it makes the one-block jog north to continue to the east? ISTR a ?junkyard? there on the lot in the 80's and remnants of the slide structure still being visible. Marty