Azt3r1x

I don't see any threads here regarding Magnolia Gardens which was, for years, a popular music venue where country-western acts as well as early rockers like Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash played often. The place sits on the San Jacinto River, I thought in the Cloverleaf/Channelview area north of I-10, but I believe that it is actually north of old Highway 90. The old memory is pretty unsteady about this since I haven't been there since about 1973 or so. It had a big open-air dance floor and bandstand in its heyday.

When we would fish the San Jacinto, my dad liked to motor over there in the boat and talk about all the people who played Magnolia Gardens. By that time (the 1960s) I remember that it had a restaurant/club that overlooked the river and they used to have boat races. Singer Rodney Crowell wrote about seeing shows there on his 2001 album The Houston Kid (which any HAIFer who prowls the history board should have).

Any memories, relics of the place?

Magnolia Gardens is in what is considered to be "Sheldon."

I'm much too young to remember anything past this decade, so it is surprising to know that it used to be a popular place.

I went by Magnolia Gardens last year and there is no evidence of there ever being anything big there.

I did some research, and there are plans to re-develop the area into an environmentally friendly mixed-use place with single-family residences and a senior citizen center.