ding

as someone who was away from around 1970 until may of this year 2008, is there anyway to post the downtown buildings and to identify them individually? when i was leaving one shell plaza was just being finished and replacing the Humble building as the tallest.

i heard about pennzoil's trapezoid towers from los angeles where i moved. they still are a powerful and inventive statement,don't you think? i believe they were from around 1974. i had not been gone many years.

ding

Basically 2 things did in the big Texas banks:

Short term, it was the S&L crisis of the late '80's.

Long term, the restrictive state regulations that prevented branch banking for generations limited the capital growth of the banks and they could never compete with the super-regionals, which then went nationwide like Citi, Chase, BofA, Wells, etc. These are the banks that ultimately acquired all the large Texas banks.

yes, even in the late 60s, there were complaints here about lack of size and funds to supply loans for big projects.

subdude, thanks for fascinating info.

WHY all these failures of big banks certainly like 1st city? i would have thought they would have been thriving in the houston expansion.

ding

was the english restaurant with the red bus outside close to the shamrock?

ding

OMG Ding! That's the first time I've heard of anyone mentioning 'Freaky Foods' on HAIF and YES INDEED, it was a freaky place to shop. Most of the items on the old, rickety wooden shelves were DUSTY and expired; many of the can labels were faded. It was mostly a cigarettes, beer and wine kind of place. My future husband and I stood in line with many a transvestite (including Liza with a Z and Dr. Spock) to buy our Stouffer's frozen entrees, the safest food there. One evening we actually bought a wino his bottle after 5 minutes of watching his shaking hands pull penny after penny out of his filthy pants pocket. We were fairly poor back then so it was a big sacrifice for us. Yes, we contributed to his problem and no, rehabilitation didn't seem to be in his future. (We lived around the block on Colquitt and often walked to FF).

It was formally named Richwood Food Market and it is actually still there. They put aluminum siding on it and it's now a Texaco convenience store, same spot.

Borden's still makes a killer egg nog (but I think Schepp's is richer) and the House of Pies is now the House of Guys.

Hope this catches you up a bit. Welcome home!

THNKs marketingwiz.we both go back aways.

and i have more questions on whatever became of...

when i left, branch banking did not exist in texas. i believe the largest bank in town was texas commerce or 1st city national. and there was the bank of the southwest and others. in fact i banked at a little place on kirby north of richmond called Chemical Bank - no kin to the big new york bank. NOW, there are all these banks like B of A, Wells Fargo - which was my bank in california and colombia. ANYWAY, who bought whoml, etc? for example, what bank did wells fargo take over to get into houston? and any info you guys know about the others, i would appreciate.

ding

well, thank goodness for small favors. i will have to make an homage to freaky foods. i wonder if the owners know its once very well known title to everybody in montrose?

my partner asks that all of you experts in chicken fried steak come forward with any opinions on where you think the best one is NOW in houston??

and yes, i was at the house of pies - which everybody in montrose back then simply called it 'The Pie House' last week for an entire german chocolate. and you know what it tasted just like it always did. but $11 instead of $1.95.and i ate it all - just like back then. :P

din

and, altrhough pancho's mexican buffet calls itself a buffet, there seems to be disagreement over the definition of the word buffet b y various people.

do you guys know of any authentic mexican buffets - where you take a plate and get what and as much of what you want??

ding

i went to 2 baseball games there - one against the giants,and the other against the pirates. we lost both. back then, there was this new rookie, ces

thanks to all who responded to the alfred's in rice village. what a shock to drive down rice from greenbriar and not see it. the sour cream cheesecake from the bakery gave me so much comfort food back in the late 60s. they also had fruit topped cheesecakes, but the sour cream topped one was so good.

...also, a kosher bakery called 3 brothers are braeswood had the BEST onion rolls. and, 3 brothers still is there and not all that different except for prices, of course.

again, anyone know anything about the old albritton cafeteria on waugh drive not far south of allen parkway? it just may be too far in the past for most of you.

ding

ah...so randalls is now safeway in houston...interesting. and i definitely will look for the bordens in the cans.

:P

ding

thank you guys. golden age is the local drink company, you are right.

as for the beers, do pearl and lonestar still exist?

on the bordens eggnog, it had elsie on the carton. carnation did a carton also, but weak weak. not thick and as if borden had used at least 10 times as much eggs and cream as carnation had. is carnation still around in the store dairy areas? i have not seen it at foodtown.

incideentally, when did foodtown surface? i do not remember it. henke was becoming kroger at the turn of the 70s, and randalls was much much smaller.

ding

as someone who has been away almost 40 years and is now back, can anyone say what happened to these?

albritton's cafeteria on waugh dr close to dallas? great twice baked potatoes

Jetton's cafeteria on richmond maybe at buffalo speedway? close to greenway plaza

alfred's deli and bakery on both rice blvd and stella link? good bakery

- and back then luby's in houston and dallas was called Romana, not luby. the first one in houston was on the buffalo speedway south of the SW FWY. I have stood in line 25 minutes many many times in that place for the fried fish, tartar sauce, pea salad, pecan pie, and iced tea. the building is still there but closed up now. of course, there are lots of luby's. why would that locale close? the area certainly could support another luby's - or former Romana.

and, last, dunkin donuts on shepherd north of richmond - east side of shepherd. you could get a dozen filled for 99 cents. this is not to downplay shipley at all. i ate my weight lots of times at shipley too.

ding

how about any knowledge on these two things, and i am going back to the mid 60s here, so a lot of you may have no idea what i am asking about. but....

there was a local line of soft drinks - cream soda, rootbeer, fruit sodas - was the name - golden times or something like that? not around anymore that i can tell. anyone know the story?

also, what happened to pearl and lone star beer?

and lastly, at the holiday period, Bordens would put out the VERY best eggnog ever. so so so thick, and a quart cardboard carton would cost 99 cents - truly expensive for those days. i would buy it after work late at night at a place open 24 hrs at the northwest corner of woodhead and richmond. we called it freaky foods, because the night people would be in there. it may actually have been called the richwood market, but it was freaky foods to all of us. freaky foods no longer is there. but please tell me that bordens still does this great eggnog during the holidays.

incidentally, the house of pies on kirby. i remember when it opened in early 1970. those pies were so good and 1.95 in price. banana cream was the favorite, but the black bottom, german chocolate, and butterscotch were great. and as i said, 1.95 for one of those pies.

ding

even before i left houston for los angeles in early 70s, montrose and westheimer was the center of the gay community. and westheimer always was the 'heart', so to speak. i am not surprised at anything you guys saw on westheimer. having just returned, i don't know if it is chic now or not. it wasn't in the mid 60s to 1970. lots of gays lived in the area and it was inexpensive. those trying to climb up or show their future popular images were in 77027 - complexes on chimney rock, hillcroft, etc-

thanks to all who have replied. i hope someone will have someinfo, because i have another one to ask about rightt now--- /and don't think toobad of me if a lapse into spanish from time to time in spelling - it is much easier to spell in than 'ingl

if i am not in the right forum, i trust a moderator will forward me on. this is my first post

i left at the beginning of the 70s and only came back - and to live, at that - in may of this year. i was in los angeles until early 2004 and moved to bogot