aggieengineer

Seemed to me that Luke's at the corner of Willow Bend and Post Oak turned into Annie's after the divorce. I worked at Belden's Food Giant in the '70s and used to walk over there for lunch regularly. Wyatt's Cafeteria directly across the street was also on the list. Also along the road were Westbury Yamaha, Cactus Tapes & Records, and AJ Foyt Chevrolet.

Great memories. I used to drop by Westbury Yamaha on my lunch breaks from Belden's Food Giant. I was, and still am, a motorcycle nut. One day, while talking to the parts guy at Stubbs Cycles, he asked if I had a set of metric tools. When I responded "yes", he asked if I would like a job assembling new bikes. Would loved to have done it, but had no car at the time to drive to work. The '70s were a great time in motorcycle history. 

At the time I lived in the area, '60s and '70s, that area was grass. Imagine that!

Used to stop by Westbury Yamaha during my lunch breaks at Belden's. Great place for a teenager to hang out. J. Rich Sports was great as well. My dad bought three bikes and several guns from them back in the early '70s.

Mama Leoni's Flying Pizza....I think. It was in the shopping center just to the west of St. Agnes and Strake Jesuit schools. The cheese was so thick and hot that you had to let it cool before eating it. Great memory. 

5 hours ago, gnu said:

 

9700 Hillcroft (I think this used to be a Rice in the 80s before Walmart)

 

I remember that one.  Across the street from where Lewis & Coker had been. We lived only a few blocks away.  I worked a Belden's during that era. Grocery stores were reliable employment for youngsters back then. I haven't spent much time in the area since the early '80s. Time for an exploratory visit. 

On 6/17/2016 at 10:03 PM, Gurgis said:

Ha ha!  I remember Texas Tumbleweed on Fondren at S. Braeswood because I worked there. In fact, it was my first job. I helped it get prepped to open, then stayed another month or two. That must have been about Summer 1979. 

 

The restaurant wasn't quite at the southern end though. I was fairly centered in the middle of the side facing Fondren.

I'm trying without luck to remember that restaurant. I lived in Maplewood at the time, and do recall a pizza joint in that strip mall. Wish I could remember the name. They had one of the first video games back around 1974.....Pong! 

I mean it's not really historic, or about Houston.. but here it is

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kirby+Dr,+Denton,+TX+76210/@33.1649455,-97.1036562,16.69z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x864dcb48ee861c6b:0x2069921d1912bf02

 

Kinda wonder who did it.. and more so, why?

I suspect it may have been nostalgia. Those roads were being constructed when I was a kid, and that was pretty much the southwest edge of Houston. Perhaps the developer grew up about the same time and place. Pure speculation, however. 

There is a neighborhood in Denton with some curiously familiar street names from my youth: Dunlavy, Gessner, Fondren, Westheimer, San Felipe, Chimney Rock, Kirby, Bissonet, Hillcroft, and Weslayan. Ahhh, must be a coincidence. 

I'm trying to remember the location of an old Houston meat market. I believe the name was "Paul & Bill's", perhaps on the southeast side of town. I used to go there with my parents back in the '60s, and don't remember a lot of details. 

I remember when Der Wienerschnitzel opened. About 1970 I would guess. Seems like it was at Hillcroft and Bissonet. Not sure after all these years. I remember sitting with my dad at an outside table there for lunch. 

Edit: 1971

Der Wienerschnitzel at 7801 Hillcroft Street

As a kid, I remember going to a meat market in Houston. I think the name was Paul & Bill's. Had one of those oyster shell parking lots. Sound familiar to anyone?

My aunt and grandmother owned homes at the corner of Sul Ross and Greenbriar. When visiting, I would walk over to Cactus Tapes & Records on S. Shepherd. I believe it had been an A&P grocery at one time. Neat place with an incredible selection. Remember how good a record store used to smell? Perhaps that was just ventilation from the head shop! Demeris Barbecue and a Coney Island hot dog establishment were also across the street. 1970s were a fun time. 

That makes sense.  I don't remember that at all and it has bugged me for a long time.

 

Rice built a much bigger store on Hillcroft, just south of S. Braeswood (address on Hillcroft although it's back behind a strip center) that was a Rice Epicurean and is now a nice Walmart Neighborhood Market.

 

For aggieengineer, it's still a very nice neighborhood.  Meyerland, after all.  Houses immaculately maintained on the outside, anyway.  Interesting boutique businesses - The Russian General Store in the center where the L&C was, probably the biggest selection of salamis in Houston and lots of import goodies, My Pita, a Kosher bakery that makes fantastic pitas, and the New York Coffee and Bagel Shop with probably the best bagels in town.

I remember when the New York Bagel Shop opened. I'm pretty sure I was in high school at the time. None of us had ever had a bagel, so my dad took us there one morning to try it out. We were hooked! Anyone remember Zinnante's Delicatessen in the same area?

Say, you didn't work at the College Avenue Albertsons did you?

No, but I did work at Belden's Food Giant at Post Oak and West Bellfort while I was in high school, and during Christmas vacations while I was in college - 1974 until about 1980 probably.

There was a Lewis & Coker at the southeast corner of Hillcroft and S. Braeswood when I lived in that area from the mid-'60s until the '80s. My mother shopped there, claiming it was cleaner than other stores. In the same shopping center were an auto parts store (formerly a drug store), The Taxco Inn mexican restaurant, and a Schwinn bicycle shop owned by a rather stern man. It certainly was a nice area to live in back then.

There used to be a hamburger joint named "Luke's" at the corner of Willowbend and Post Oak. Vastly better than Burger King down the street. Further to the east on Willowbend, near railroad tracks, was a barbecue place who's name escapes me. I still remember the smell of smoke had permeated the walls after years of operating the indoor pit.

Edit: Sorry, this was the downtown location at Fannin & Rusk.

The cafeteria mentioned was Wyatt's. Pretty good back in the day, about the same as Luby's. I used to eat lunch there occasionally during my breaks from bagging groceries across the street at Belden's.

That shopping center had an A&P market, which closed and later became Cactus Tapes & Records. Cactus was just too much competition for Evolution Tapes & Records, just a few hundred yards to the north. Evolution sold records, car stereos, and ...... paraphernalia. I still remember the smell of incense in there. I still have most of the albums I bought there with my tip money. Music was a big deal back then. What memories.

As a kid back in the '60s, it was such a thrill to go to Prince's on South Main near Braeswood. I can still remember waiting for the french fries to cool off enough to pick up. What a treat, and what a great time in Houston history.

My wife and I made a long-postponed trip to Houston this week and visited Westbury Square. The condition is basically hopeless. One can look through the windows of many of the old shops and see sunlight streaming in through the roof, or what's left of it. I think this was the old glassblower's shop, and it's in the the best condition of any of the buildings.

The Christmas decorations give some indication of how long this place has been idle. In fact, the whole place has a kind of Omega Man feel to it. There's not a soul in sight, but there's scattered evidence of human activity - the occasional illuminated outdoor light, and lots of trash. There was considerable police presence in the area, and we watched one guy being driven off on West Bellfort in the back of a cruiser. It's not a place I would go after dark. How sad. I grew up a few blocks away, and it was such a nice place to spend an evening. I suspect the bulldozers will be along shortly, but the area is so blighted, I don't know who would want the property.

I did a lot of that. I built plenty of Li'l Satans and Ringmasters. When I couldn't afford kits, I'd liberate some of Dad's balsa supply and build them from leftover plans. I still remember the agony of trying to start Fox .15s.

Back in the '60s and '70s, my dad and I spent countless hours flying radio control models from a field off Roark Road and Bissonet. Dirt from the Braes Bayou excavation had been spread out there years earlier in a chain of small hills. The top of one of the hills had been graded smooth, and on any weekend, there were lots of flyers. Some fine people, some fine times. Wish I could go back!

It would be great to see a photo of the old Shamrock 8 theater as well. Not exactly a famous landmark, but a fond memory.

Does anyone recall Timmy Chan's in Greenway Plaza? My dad used to take me there from time to time. They had an exquisite dish called "Pressed Duck". I ordered it every time I ate there. Ahh for a time machine!

Hey, I was in Ms Deats 1st grade class in 66'. She wrapped my arm in newspaper to stop me from sucking my thumb. I think that was also the year they put in a bunch of new play elements in the school yard. Don't know why but I remember some names: Kimberly, Lauren, Jeremy, Paul, Stuart, Tod. Any sound familiar? I've got a snapshot of her at a picnic at the Battleship Texas. That was the big trip of the year.

There was a gate at the back of the Little Red School House that always seemed to be the entrance to another world. When you went through that gate you knew you someplace special. I always thought it had been there forever and looked so old.

We stumbled across it in 2005 and it was certainly in sad shape. Had coffee in the new/now defunct coffee shop though. I noticed in the recent pics that the fountain statue inside the belfort entrance is gone and the iron work on the roof of the arch building is gone. They were there in 2005. It seems that the place is just fading away.

We used to go to the Village Inn Pizza to watch Paul Buskirk play banjo in 71-73. Johnston Jr High did their football victory parties there after every game. I thought they had the best pizza anywhere.

Later in 1974-75, I worked in the Fun Shop. I think it was in the old Electric Paisley shop because the there was a "Black Light" room about 10x10 for the velvet posters. I sold alot of majic and posters along with gag gifts and masks. It was a cool gig for a 15 yr old. The best part was closing the store to run down to Village Inn for a take out cheeze pizza.

Wow...I need to stop now.

Cheers to all.....

Ahh, it's a small world indeed. I vividly remember the trip to see the Battleship Texas and the San Jacinto monument. I remember Kimberly too. I'm pretty sure her dad was a state senator, last name Ogg. If you remember Steven and Susan, send me a PM sometime. My wife and I are going to take a trip down there this fall and get some pictures before it's all gone.