Specwriter

On 8/22/2020 at 3:42 AM, ernie5823 said:

1964 had vertical headlights. That looks more like a 1962.  

https://www.google.com/search?q=1964+catalina&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjf2OavtK7rAhUCUFMKHWdDDEAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=1964+catalina&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIIxAnMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjoICAAQCBAHEB5Qn7MCWOGGA2DvowNoAXAAeACAAUWIAcUBkgEBM5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=ctlAX9_XF4KgzQLnhrGABA&bih=578&biw=1280&hl=en

It is a 1962 Pontiac. My father had a 1964 Catalina in a very attractive turquois blue. Starting in 1963 full size Pontiacs had the headlights arranged vertically. This was the configuration through the 1967 model year. Cadillac did the same with its 1965 through 1968 models.

Is anyone familiar with the Torre de David in Caracas, Venezuela? It is never finished residential tower that was "colonized" by some homeless in the city. The government was either powerless or indifferent to prevent it though the residents were relocated in 2014, some 20 years after some had first move in. There was book published about the building available on Amazon of course. https://www.amazon.com/Torre-David-Informal-Vertical-Communities/dp/3037782986

15 hours ago, hindesky said:

Dredging up this old topic but they have a proper fence now.

Much better.

17 hours ago, rcseptemple@gmail. said:

Any memories of Bill Miller Steakhouse on OST?

That would be something interesting to learn about. Your wrote "OST" so I take it you are not confusing the restaurant with Bill Williams that was on Main Street. There is a Bill Miller's chain of bar-b-que restaurants in and around San Antonio. I believe the closest one to Houston is in Seguin at Interstate 10 and Texas 46.

That's a pity. It is a great building. One thing I find remarkable is the pay phone on the porch. It looks like it is in pretty good shape. I wonder if it is operational.

They will be present as long as they meet demand and highest, best use.

Check out Brookdale. https://www.brookdale.com/en/locations/texas/houston.html They have locations all over town. My mother-in-law (who is still VERY independent) has been living at the West University location for the last six years and has been very pleased. Note also that Brookdale has varying levels of care depending on the resident's requirements.

12 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Really more Sicilian than Italian.

 

That is true H-Town and I should have made the distinction.

On 7/10/2020 at 12:29 PM, mkultra25 said:

Henry Js were also quite popular among drag racers in the gasser classes.

 

So were the British Ford Anglias. Take a small, light body, stuff in a big powerful engine and voila, win some races! I still miss the popcorn at the N. Shepherd Sears - just the right amount of salt and butter for my taste. 😋

12 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

It may have been an unsold 'Allstate'. which was Sears' rebadged version of the Henry J.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_(automobile)

From the article:

"Initially, the Allstate was offered only in the south and southwest United States, with plans to expand distribution as demand for the product grew. Sears locations selling Allstates included... Baytown, Texas; Beaumont, Texas; ... Houston, Texas...";
"...some Sears outlets tried to stock at least one sample of the car..."

Houston, I'm pretty sure you are correct about the care being an Allstate. It may have been a promotional of sorts for Allstate insurance which, IIRC,  was available from a manned desk under the escalator.

So many trips with Mom to the Sears on N. Shepherd to pick up items at the catalog counter (the Amazon of its day sort of). Probably everything I wore as a child came from that Sears store or the J. C. Penny's across Garden Oaks Blvd.

I remember a Henry J. automobile sitting inside the store at the front of the hardware section. Why it was there I couldn't tell you. By that time the car was about 10 years old. It wasn't junk but it didn't look pristine either IIRC.

One very unpleasant memory came from my mother: she and her sister had met for lunch then went into the Sears store to do some shopping afterward. That is when they learned that President Kennedy had been shot.

One pleasant memory was the candy counter in the middle of the first floor. The smell of fresh popcorn filled the air. Once in a while my sister and I would be treated to a bag of cherry or lemon sour candy from that counter.

I wonder what will become of that rather large piece of land.

blue92, if you are still reading this forum I want to let you know I had the Bulova Accutron repaired several weeks ago and it appears to be keeping time as it should. What I paid for the repair in 2020 was probably more than the watch cost in 1976 but it has sentimental value since it was gift from my father.

On 6/15/2020 at 5:37 PM, Blue Dogs said:

Meteorologist Erika Lopez is heading back to ABC 24 KVUE-TV Austin, becoming the TEGNA station's Chief Meteorologist. 

 

https://mikemcguff.blogspot.com/2020/06/erika-lopez-kvue-austin.html?m=1

 

 

Understandable but, darn, she is so much fun to watch. 😞 She always seems so cheerful and happy. I wish her the best and I know which station I'll turn to when I am in Austin.

Try to find a small (one or two principal) mechanical engineering (HVAC) firm. If they don't do it directly perhaps they can recommend a consultant.

JM, what about I-10 between Houston and San Antonio? I believe it will eventually be 3x3 all the way also. I do the Houston to Dallas drive several times a year and I don't see the need for the expansion. Whatever they've been doing around Corsicana has taken a very long time.

John C. Calhoun (if this is the Calhoun the thoroughfare* was named for) was a segregationist and a staunch proponent of slavery. I doubt there is much sentiment in favor of returning to that name now. That said, I'm not a big fan of renaming things for political expedient though I can certainly see removing names of people whose actions were so odious as to cause great consternation and loathing among the population.

Why the asterisk? I was told once, and am now too old to remember by whom, that the original layout of thoroughfares in what is now the central business district named  those going more or less north and south as streets and those east and west as avenues. So we have Main Street and Texas Avenue and those parallel to either keep that same designation, i.e. Smith, Louisiana, Travis, Milam, Fannin, San Jacinto Streets and Capitol, Rusk, Lamar, Dallas Avenues.

You are probably bored of my post but I continue: St. Joseph "Parkway" is NOT a parkway. Allen Parkway qualifies in my opinion and the Sam Houston Parkway does not. There are probably thoroughfares in the suburbs that would meet my expectation of a parkway - at least until they are lined by strip shopping centers and drive through restaurants. Are there any other kind of restaurants these days? 😬

Be safe and healthy.

Interesting. I never heard about this track before. I hope someone can give more information. I am familiar with Epsom Downs that might have taken its name from the race track in Surrey England and existed here between 1933 and 1937. It was located roughly where present day Jensen Drive (formerly Old Humble Road) intersects with U. S. 59 - the Eastex Freeway. Then we have the Sam Houston Race Park which, while still physically present, hasn't seen a race in a while. 😞

There did seem to be a concentration of people of Italian decent in the area around Assumption Catholic church (corner of Little York and Airline Drive). I attended Mass at that church with my parents in the 1960's through the mid-1970's. It seemed most of the parishioners had Italian surnames. There were also those with Czech and German last names but in smaller numbers.

As Poppahop wrote, there were Italian families in the area, - farmers, raising mostly vegetables, many of which found there way to Canino's farmers market - but that was many years ago. I remember as a very young child riding in the back seat of my parents car as we drove along Airline between Little York and Gulf Bank roads looking out the window to see rows and rows of crops just across the ditch from the road.

It's been a few years now, but I often met with friends on Thursdays  at the Sacred Heart Society of Little York on Whitney (Knights of Columbus Hall) for pasta and meatballs lunch. There were mostly Italian-American men running the show. I believe it was a fundraiser for  their charitable activities. 

Great statue, great "plinth."

1 hour ago, ATH said:

Those rooftop condensing units are awfully close to each other.  Hmmm.....

Servicing one will be a lot of fun - not.

On 4/2/2020 at 2:12 PM, FilioScotia said:

You're right. That old neighborhood bordered by Houston Ave., Washington Ave., Sawyer and Memorial has some very beautiful old homes. Take a drive through some time. Gentrification has been going on there for some time now.

Gentrification yes' but fortunately not a lot of tear-downs to be replaced by McMansions. Thankfully, most of the lots are too small for that. Almost 30 years ago I drew some plans for the renovation of twin shot gun houses on Decatur Street. This was a project by the then Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (now Preservation Houston). I believe each was sold to a young professional who probably worked nearby. It is good to see so much of the original fabric of the neighborhood being adapted and preserved to the extent that it is.

On 2/29/2020 at 8:00 PM, hindesky said:

This image rocks! Thanks, hindesky.

On 5/13/2017 at 3:01 AM, cloud713 said:

 

There's a lumber yard north of I10 in the heights that has a big variety of specialty woods, etc.

cloud, are you talking about Clark's Hardwood Lumber Co. at 700 E. 5-1/2 Street? There is also Houston Hardwoods at 4910 W. 34th. These are not traditional "lumber stores" where one gets Southern yellow pine 2x4s etc. They have more exotic species generally. Years ago there was another specialty lumber store (also in the Heights IIRC) called All Woods/Schroeder. The corporation was dissolved in July of 1991.

I visited All Woods Schroeder and Houston Hardwoods to get certain species for projects. They had/have some wonderful stuff. When I was a child living with my parents a neighbor was a buyer for All Woods Schroeder. He made many trips to South America and a few to Africa.

Last week I noticed the "marquee" on the front of Stahlman Lumber (facing Greenbriar) read that it was moving to Stafford. It seems appropriate to have a Porsche dealership in that location. There are several Porsche's in West U. and Southampton and many, many Audis. I wonder who patronizes the Porsche dealership way out the North Freeway. People in the Woodlands perhaps.

There was a Lucky 7 at the corner of Airline Drive and Gulf Bank. I don't remember the actual name (Firebird probably does) but it was owned by the Io (ee-oh) family.