Specwriter

I was skinny and had long hair in the '70s too. What the Hell happened?

Thank you, Cluffs, for sharing that. I have to say Lonnie Yancey was the type of person who created good memories and that will always be special.

Are you trying to find the builder or the architect? It's a long shot but there may be a record of the building permit available if the house was built in one of the incorporated municipalities in the Memorial Area. That document would probably have the builder's name and maybe the architects as well.

I know you do not want to publish the address, or give any more context to reveal its location, but perhaps someone will recognize the house and contact you via the e-mail address you provided. It is a very nice looking structure. Good luck.

My father was a pharmacist (now retired). He and my grandfather had their own drug store and after my grandfather passed my Dad went to work for a small local chain of apothecaries. They ordered their drugs (mostly prescription drugs) through Southern Drug Company. I remember seeing large boxes in the back of the drug store with the Southern Drug label on them. My understanding is Southern was not a manufacturer but a wholesale company as mkultra25 stated. It would buy drugs from Abbot, Lilly, SmithKlein, etc. and repackage them for local drug stores - at one time in the warehouse building shown in this thread. Realize that Walgreens, Eckerd's (absorbed by CVS) and other larger chains had real competition from locally owned independents by back then.

Is this next to the defunct hamburger restaurant? I wonder what will become of that building.

NYC F.A.O. is definitely as much a tourist attraction as it is a retail outlet. I think what a revived Toys R Us needs to avoid is competing with on-line stores (perhaps even itself) and focus on the new and unusual in its brick-and-mortar stores. People will want to "test drive" innovative products and buy them if they like them. This may have been what made Sharper Image an initial success. Are there any of those stores still around?

Is Toys R Us trying to become F. A. O. Schwarz? Why not? I was at Rockefeller Center in June about 11:00 am on a Tuesday and the place was packed.

I have the same publication from 2011. This new edition seems to have about 100 more pages! Thanks, Reefmonkey.

Tumbleweed is right but with a "Juliet balcony" the sill of the opening is usually at or near the floor level. I think Luminare pegged it: the larger opening was VE'd out. I sure hope no one ever has to be rescued from one of those windows. 😟

15 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Store Closing Sale banner has been posted.

 

I get the realities of "progress" and I hope for the best with whatever replaces Southern Importers but it is sad to see this one go away. What fun we had buying costumes here for various parties and other events.

1 hour ago, Alec said:

The HSPVA red is no more. Long live AIMS emerald green!

 

 

Wow! That is every bit as green as the red was red.

IIRC there was a Mathis Jewelry on North Shepherd in the shopping center just across Garden Oaks Blvd. from the Sears store. My father bought a Bulova Accutron pocket watch as gift for me around 1976 from Mathis. Yelp lists a Mathis Jewelry on Westheimer but I doubt it is the same owner. Mr. Mathis was murdered in a robbery not long after my Dad bought the watch.

I wish I had seen blue92's post from October 21, 2011. I dropped the watch shortly after my Dad gave it to me. There was no apparent damage on the outside but it never ran right since. Are you still out there, blue?

13 hours ago, hindesky said:

High rise catacombs?😎

I had a studio instructor in architecture school who thought it would be a great idea to turn the old rice silos along Allen Parkway into a columbarium for cremains. I don't think he envisioned individual urns but to just pour ashes into the silos much like the grain had been stored. Novel or bizarre, or both? 🤔

On 5/15/2019 at 1:30 PM, mollusk said:

In this context, is "REMUV" really graffiti?

It would be great if "REMUV" was on the drawings for a demolition contract. 😊 I've wondered for sometime if this thread should be merged with the 801 St. Joseph Parkway thread in Crater Houston Alliance. Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

11 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

 

Thumbs up to HISD for repurposing the building as another magnet school and concurrently addressing the Arabic Immersion school's need for more space.

 

I expect that once the rednecks get wind of the move, they'll start referring to it as the "Montrose Madrassa". 

 

Kudos to HISD for repurposing a building which also has architectural significance. I wonder how many intolerant people even know what a madrassa is.  After all, ignorance is the mother of prejudice.

On ‎2019‎-‎05‎-‎06 at 2:24 PM, Blue Dogs said:

I have a question, who was the person that swore in Shivers as the 37th Governor ?

I became curious since you asked the question, Blue Dogs. I wasted a bit of time looking for the answer and even consulted copies of the Texas Almanac but I could not find out who swore in Gov. Shivers. I assume you meant at the time he was sworn in upon the death of Gov. Jester.

It's strange that the Post would misidentify the Lt. Governor, Allen Shivers.

"Gov. Jester's death, attributed to natural causes by Justice of the Peace Tom Maes and Dr. Howard L. Evans, automatically

made Lt. Gov. Allan Shriver chief executive of the state."

5 hours ago, Mr.Clean19 said:

Wow, wild idea, but I wonder if they could somehow bring a batteship or something into this portion of the bayou to dock up against the banks. It is definitely wide enough. They would have to dis-assemble portions to fit under bridgest but it would definitely be a cool addition. 

How about a replica of the Laura, the first steam ship to navigate Buffalo Bayou to Houston in January of 1837?

1 hour ago, Triton said:

Yes, it may look multifamily but the real question HAIF has... is there GFR?

Of course there will be GFR. Every U-Haul store that I've been to sells moving boxes, tape for the boxes, and locks for the storage rooms. You don't even have to be renting a space to buy this stuff.

Maybe it will incorporate a Starbuck's too. Folks will need a little jolt to unload all there stuff into their storage spaces.

4 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

Sweet!

There's this in West U. The coolest thing about it is the loom in one of the second story rooms. https://www.har.com/6701-brompton-road/sale_2845458 

What a great mid-century mod! The bathrooms are so right especially with the angled-front drawers in the one with the pink tile. I sure hope the new owner resists any urge to "modernize."

There is a ranch in my neighborhood built in 1960 for sale (already under contract actually). It is truly a time-warp and appears to be in great condition and well maintained. Unfortunately(?) it sits on a 10,000 square-foot lot so it's future my not be a happy one. https://www.har.com/6623-vanderbilt-street/sale_62136555 The listing even shows a McMansion under construction directly across the street to suggest the possible fate of this house. I guess if one is plunking down $1.4M (+ the price of demolition) a 2,000 sq. ft. 60-year-old structure just won't do. 

One will notice there is also an image of a pretty nice mod immediately to the south of the subject property. I would guess its future is also precarious.

I like the photo with the palm too. I wonder how Tradition compares with Brookdale further north on Buffalo Speedway price-wise.

21 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Considering the building's age and the word "original," as well as the phrase "taking on a modern look," it sounds like the building originally had a detailed plaster ceiling of the type in vogue in the early 20th century. It looks from the photo like there is no detail, leading me to wonder if it was covered over. Is Sonokrete something that would hide details?

 

It may be however that any detail was lost when the building was renovated in the 50's-60's and they are mistakenly using the word "original."

 

 

Sonokrete can be applied from 1/4 to 3/4 inches thick depending on how much sound attenuation is desired. So, yes, it can hide some finer details on original plaster. Looking at the image on this thread I expect there wasn't much, if any, fine detail to begin with but I am not certain.

On ‎2019‎-‎03‎-‎07 at 2:52 PM, H-Town Man said:

 

So wait. The original plaster ceiling was still intact and they sprayed it over with something called Sonakrete to make it look modern?

 

Sonokrete is an acoustical finish. It should not change the look of the original plaster ceiling but hopefully attenuate the reflected sound in the space. Vaulted, and especially domed, ceilings can do some wonderful acoustic "tricks" like reflecting a quite conversation to the opposite of the room.