Specwriter

So too W. S. Bellows (fourth generation since 1914) has done much in the Texas Medical Center especially Texas Children's and Memorial Hermann. It is great to have fine companies like these helping to deliver great health care in our area.

9 hours ago, hindesky said:

And they won again. What really chaps my butt is that ESPN ranks them as the 5th best team even though they have a better record than the 4 teams ahead of them.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31208667/mlb-power-rankings-week-1-biggest-risers-fallers-first-week-season

I'm afraid it is all about TV market with ESPN and the other networks. I've seen it before when the 'stros were kicking butt and the announcers treated it like a fluke.

2 hours ago, Texasota said:

Is it little known though? 

Well, yes and no, it is known among the cognoscenti but probably not by folks outside the loop. That is why it has been a staple of the community for a while. In fact, it can be absolutely crowded sometimes which is completely understandable. I just hope increased popularity doesn't cause a decreased quality. I've seen that happen before.

2 hours ago, Texasota said:

 

It is good to  see La Gudalupana getting the kudos it deserves. It's one of those "little known" (thanks for outing it hindesky 😀) treasures you can take your out-of-town guests to and amaze them with your gastronomical prowess. Now I'm hungry and I've already had dinner.

Thanks, Urbannizer. I've been following the Astros through thick and thin since 1965. I don't remember the Colt .45s. The year they became the Astros is about where my awareness of things outside my own little world started.

Like I said, thick and thin but they've been a joy to watch lately. Winning is great but like anything else in life you have to take pleasure in the small things: a great hit, a diving catch, a vicious pitch for a strike-out. Ah, baseball.

3 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

I would also add Avalon Drug Store's original location at Kirby and Westheimer to your list. The diner was sold in 1993 and both it and the drugstore moved down the street to the current location before the drugstore portion closed in 2008. 

How could I have forgotten Avalon Drug. I had lunch there a few times when I worked in the Greenway Plaza area.

5 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

The Dugan's at 249 and 45, I assume. I have fond memories of that lunch counter and soda fountain as well, although I was still very young when they got rid of it. Hard to imagine that such a thing once existed, and was even commonplace in many drugstores, in the current era of cookie-cutter CVS beige boxes. 

mkultra, your are correct but it was Farm-to-Market Road 149 instead of State Highway 249 in those days. 🙂

I don't want to reveal too much of my identity but my grandfather also had a drug store with a full lunch counter/soda fountain. I spent a fair amount of time there as well but Papa passed away when I was very young. The equipment and fixtures were sold and the building was rented for other purposes.

A few other drug stores with lunch counters that lasted into my adulthood were Huston's on Washington Ave., Park Place Pharmacy on Park Place Blvd., Yale Pharmacy on Yale, and the Post Oak Pharmacy across the street from Four Leaf Towers in uptown. That was the last one to go I believe.

I guess I'm just nostalgic but I really enjoy eating at drug store lunch counters. My last visit to a drug store lunch counter was the City Drug Store in Jacksboro, Texas about 20 years ago. I guess I'll go to the Frost Town Brewing Co. at first opportunity, grab a cold one, and reminisce.

10 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

 

I remember it well. A treat when I was young was a trip to Dugan Drug store, one of the last in town to have a "soda fountain" for a root beer float. IIRC, the Dugan Drug in my neighborhood became a Rexall, then an Eckerd's, then CVS.

On 4/3/2021 at 9:39 PM, cspwal said:

I know they want to have a brewery, but they missed out the chance to have "Frost Town Ice House"

I'm sure they will serve their brew in a "Frosty" mug - the way I like it.

12 hours ago, zaphod said:

I'm sure the interior build out is very nice, but if I didn't know what was going on I'd say from its external appearance that the old Fiesta was becoming some kind of non-denominational church with a name like "Praise Connection" or something. Or maybe it's a new "Junior Striver's Academy Charter School". Or a Mega Self Storage. Just looks the part, lol.

I say put the money on the inside. This structure's days (years really) may be numbered. There is no point in gilding a lily that is intended to be demo'd for something else in the future. As we have seen with some churches and charter schools, former big box stores can make useful, if temporary, homes for such uses.

Truly an icon in the ilk of Mollie Ivens, J Frank Dobie, and even Hondo Crouch.

Great reply, mkultra. My seventh-grade English teacher was a classic. I'll never forget her walking into the classroom on the first day of class and saying "Analyze and criticize and I won't penalize." She was tough but we did learn 'reedin n riten.' 🙂

6 hours ago, Triton said:

Renamed this to Houston Farmers Market since that's the official name now. 

Surprised there haven't been new pics of this place in a year. It's looks like it's close to be finished with giant Houston Farmers Market lettering on the top.

Let's have some punctuation fun on this St. Patrick's day (notice Patrick's is singular possessive - it's his day after all). Does the lettering retain the apostrophe between the r and s in farmer's (belongs to one farmer) or was it moved to the right of the s (belongs to more than one farmer)? 🙂

If there is no apostrophe it could be assumed it is the market of the farmers (created by them - was it?), by the farmers (run by them - which it may not be), and for the farmers (to sell their wares and make some money).

Thank you for indulging my early morning whim.

All silliness aside, I really enjoyed the original Canino's farmers market and I hope to visit the new facility as soon as I get my second vaccine. I've already received my first. Yay! 😁

It would be nice if the Church would incorporate some of the elements into a plaza in front of the present Co-Cathedral. IIRC The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens traditionally took place outside the nave (sanctuary) so it would be appropriate to have an outdoor space for this purpose.

What about the stained glass windows? I have seen other churches donate those to another, occasionally even one of a different denomination.

In Europe, and maybe Central and South America too, it is not unusual to have a parish church next to the Cathedral. Maintaining two structures obviously costs money but it also makes sense to have weekday Mass in a smaller structure since attendance is almost always less.

17 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

 

Does anybody remember what was in the 'missing' sign between Lancia and TVR? Maybe it was Alfa Romeo. It is a pity the 1958 showroom piece did not survive. It was a great example of Mid-Century architecture. Even if became a phone store or check cashing place it could have preserved that wonderful roof.

1 hour ago, mollusk said:

perhaps they were sold at the place on the Gulf Freeway that also carried various other oddball European cars (like TVR), and maybe Motorsports (if that was their name) on the Southwest Freeway.

You are talking about Chequer Imports. It was the TVR dealership and Lancia too IIRC.

I'm really not sure who sold Yugos but I might guess De Montrond on the North Freeway. At one time De Montrond also sold Peugeots. Somebody high up in the organization must have had a thing for not very popular (at least in the U. S.) automobiles.

16 hours ago, gene said:

haha coffee maaaaaaaaybe once or twice a week but definitely no energy drinks and no sodas for like 20 years...

(*footnote, i have never tried any alcohol, cigarettes, drugs of any kind in my life... #funfact 🙃 )

 

 

gene, I applaud your healthy life style. I believe it will serve you well. I was pleased to see CVS discontinue tobacco sales a few years back. I'm not a zealot but I think it is inconsistent for a concern that is supposed to be dedicated to good health to sell some of the things it did and still does.

Of course, taken to an extreme CVS would also have to stop selling energy drinks, sodas made with sugar, most candy, and sugary cereals. I'm sure there are other items too and that would certainly go against the company's business model.

41 minutes ago, august948 said:

It's a new concept store: CVS Half Price Books and Drugs

Great! Do they have buy-back? With WFH I don't need my anti-anxiety meds anymore. 😄

With Shepherd Drive scheduled to be under construction from Westhiemer to the Southwest Freeway it seems some of the tenants fronting that street would want to move to Shepherd Plaza that can be more easily accessed from Richmond and Greenbriar.

It is essential that food for delivery or take-out travel well. French fries are an example: if they are cold and limp they are all but inedible IMO.

3 hours ago, IronTiger said:

A few years ago when I wandered in (December 2018), there was an old man in line who I struck up a conversation with mentioned that he had been at the store when Kennedy was shot. I wonder if the old man (well, younger back then) and your mother had talked for one brief moment in 1963.

It could have happened. I under stand from people who were of an age to be cognizant of what had happened that a general sense of shock and dismay was prevalent. My mother was a young woman with two small children at the time. I wonder what went through her mind on that afternoon.

14 hours ago, hindesky said:

The part of the lumber shed still remaining. I wonder what their plan is for it?

 

That is curious. Perhaps the structure is being saved to become the area where Porsches are delivered to their new owners (do people own Porsches or do Porsches own their people?) I could see it housing amenities like a gift shop and perhaps even a biergarten! Woo-hoo!

"Congratulations on your purchase, Sir / Madame. Enjoy a mug and bratwurst as we perform a final detailing on your new car but remember to partake responsibly. Prost!" And in these days of the pandemic, "Zum Wohl."

I do not think it would meet the contemporary needs of a service garage though.

8 hours ago, htine said:

 Maybe I'm remembering wrong because there's not much art deco left...

I'm afraid you are looking at it.

Doesn't this make me feel old. Congratulations on a remarkable career and best wishes in the new phase of your life, Mr. Koch.

On 6/5/2018 at 10:46 PM, Firebird65 said:

One radio station - KLEE (now KILT) - built four transmission towers across the highway from what would be my high school. People were always asking me when they were erected. I was finally able to find out (1948) just the other day thanks to an obscure post in the Houston Radio History blog. This report might also fill in some pop culture gaps.

 

 

Firebird, I've always appreciated your contributions to HAIF. I also grew up in the Aldine area. My parents' house was in Hidden Valley. I well remember standing in our front yard (probably when I was about five years of age) and wondering what those strange rows of red lights were to the north. I didn't realize it was north but I knew they were in the direction of my great aunt's house in Conroe. 🙂 There were very few trees in the area to block the view at that time.