57Tbird

Montrose Elementary was built in 1913, in the block bounded by Stanford, W. Main, Sulross, and Greeley. Don't know when it closed, but the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts was built on its former site in 1971. This info from a friend who attended Montrose in the 40's. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?

KNUZ Studio circa 1952-53 Paul Berlin- April, 2004, at 74.

I was there last year. It is a very diverse city consisting of both elegant, historical buildings and churches, mansions of the wealthy, and slum areas of the poor and very poor. Overall, it reminded me very much of Los Angeles, in that it has the mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other. I guess this location might account for the similarity in the climate and air quality. I have included a picture that illustrates the air quality comparison. We stayed at the Hyatt, which was very nice with views of the city and the mountains. One of the must-sees is a visit to Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher Hill) with its white statue of the Virgin Mary at its summit. There are also some spectacular hilltop views of the city from the top of the hill. While up there, we ate at a very nice restaurant whose name I don't remember. Visit the Plaza de Armas, which is surrounded by several municipal buildings, a museum, and a beautiful, old cathedral. You can drive through some of the more affluent neighborhoods...Bellavista, Vitacura, and Los Condes, to view some of the upperscale homes, parks, and shopping centers. We visited several museums while we were there. Pick up some tourist info and see where they are. A visit to a winery or two makes for an enjoyable morning or afternoon. You might want to use a tour service if you're inclined to do much "tasting". There is so much to see and do, and I could go on, but just look on the internet and check out the things you might be interested in. A couple of things on the downside I should mention.... there is grafitti everywhere and many, many homeless dogs wandering the streets. Sad items for a, otherwise, very attractive city. If you have time, take a trip west of the city to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, which to me, resembled some of the San Francisco area's small resort towns like Monterey and Carmel. The scenery on this trip of about 50 miles is beautiful, with many wineries along the way. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Some views from St. Christopher Hill showing the smog. You can barely see the mountains in the background Views from our hotel room View from the hotel lobby

I think you're right about that Burger King being one of the originals. I had never heard of them before that one opened. My regular Sunday evening trek was Landsdowne to W. Airport to Chimney Rock to Gasmer to Post Oak to Burger King, just north of Willowbend. Mid-60's... a Whopper was $.35.

Good point! Add to the list... my old school, the Lamar Redskins.

When I lived in Westbury South in the early 60's, there was a nursery on Gasmer, just west of Post Oak, and a bar-b-que place at the southeast corner of Post Oak and Benning. Are those the ones you refer to? Edit: May 25, 1967 Paul's Ranch House Bar-B-Q At 11201 South Post Oak Road.

Fred Pepper was my baseball coach at Lamar High School in the early 50's. He was very good. He went to Rice in the mid 40's and was, briefly, a pitcher in the Yankee's farm system before he came to Lamar. I had heard that he eventually became the principal at Westbury.

Ouch!

I remember those names too. You may be right, but I sure thought there was a girl involved with the beach murder. I don't think I can compete with your memory though. What details you remember!! Thanks for the enlightenment!

Paul and, I think, Justin Wilson of Cajun humor fame.

Filio, I think you got it! I sure remember that name. I still think there was a young girl accomplice that was involved. I think she got off with just some jail time at Gatesville. Percy was a real piece of work. I guess "Racehorse" Haynes became his successor... as to whom you wanted for your attorney, if you could afford him.

I remember that one, and the location, very well. A girl I dated in high school, about ten years prior, lived on Driscoll, just a few blocks south of the murder scene. While we're on the subject of sensational murders.... There was one that involved a young couple and a murder on Galveston beach back in the 50's. I have been trying to remember their names but draw a blank. Maybe one of you research experts can shed some light on this one.

I have a good friend who lived on Squiredale, off Lakewood Forest Drive, just south of Louetta. He had two feet of water in his home when Allison hit the Houston area. Several years later, after finally getting his home repaired, he sold his house and moved to........ Magnolia.

Good memory! Houston Open history... "The Shell Houston Open is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is currently played in March in Humble, Texas at Redstone Golf Club. Shell and the Houston Golf Association are the main sponsors of the tournament. The 2006 purse was $5,500,000, with $990,000 going to the winner. The event was played at several Houston venues until the 1970s, starting at River Oaks Country Club in 1946 before moving to Memorial Park Golf Course in 1947 and, after a year off, moving again to Pine Forest Country Club in 1949 and BraeBurn Country Club in 1950. After this period of wandering about, the event settled in at Memorial Park from 1951-1963. In 1964 and again in 1965, the event was played at Sharpstown Country Club, before moving to Champions Golf Club from 1966-71 and Westwood Country Club in 1972. In 1973 the event ventured outside of Houston, being played at Quail Valley Country Club in Missouri City, Texas. In 1975, the event relocated to The Woodlands, Texas, first at Woodlands Country Club until 1984, and subsequently at the TPC at The Woodlands until 2002. In 2003, the event moved to its current location at Redstone Golf Club."

Have you seen the R.O. Elementary Alumni website? I contacted the webmaster, Peter Denman, ROE Class of '66, and told him I had some old class photos given to me by a friend who attended. I inquired if he would like to have them for his historical pictures section on the website. He had just started a section with old class photos and he was happy to get them. Check it out if you haven't already.

I spent the first years of my life in the late 30's in the Riverside/Riverside Terrace area at 2655 Oakdale, just west of Ennis. I wonder what that house looks like now. Neighbors were Leon Jaworski, a young, up-and-coming attorney, and a very young Bill Archer, future congressman, both of whom some of you may know of. I attended kindergarten and first grade at Sutton Elementary, which was not too far from my house. I see there is now a Sutton in Sharpstown. I guess the original Sutton I attended was renamed.

You're looking east in that photo. See post #1 by MaxConcrete on this topic for the approximate boundaries of the airport. It would have been just about due north across South Main (90A) from Butler Stadium. Westbury now occupies the old airport site.

I received the following in a PM from a new member of the forum... curious1. I couldn't help him with his inquiry, but possiby someone (maybe sevfiv or suredid) who has been in that area recently can help. Not sure why he hasn't posted this. If someone can offer any information, I'll pass it on in reply to his PM. Thanks! "I grew up in the Harrisburg/Manchester areas of Houston in the 30s, 40s and 50s. I roamed every street and railroad track in these areas. In 1945, a Harris Elementary teacher told us about a historic marker located east of the Milby home, across Broadway and behind Jack Roach Ford. I found it easily and checked it out several times. The marker basically stated that The Capital of the Republic of Texas was located at the site, and it gave dates. I live in Mississippi now. In 1990, my brother and I looked for the marker and couldn't find it. I think I'm the only person that knows the marker ever existed. Do you know what happened to it? The location was between the Milby home and Glendale Cemetery, but closer to the Milby home. It was north of the railroad tracks that ran by the cemetery. 'Preciate any help you can give. (The Houston Library was clueless)"

"Reagan-ites" Uh-oh! I think I see H2B with steam coming out out his ears and about to jump on board.

Actually, the Majestic was as "nice" as the Metropolitan or Loew's (correct spelling). The Majestic was several blocks further north and around the corner on Rusk, between Main and Travis. Perhaps you were thinking of the Kirby which was across Main on the east side and about a block further north, You can barely make out the KI on its sign up the street on the right side in the picture with the Metropolitan and Loew's State. The Kirby was fairly nice when I went in the 40's - 50's, but didn't show the first run quality movies that the other three aforementioned did. It may have begun degrading somewhat later on.

Speaking of Dubai. How about this indoor ski run that was completed last year. emirate25... Is that where your snow pix were taken?

Filio, More on Bobby.... He gave Kenny Rogers a gig in 1959 and replaced David Clayton-Thomas in Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1972, but piano player Bobby Doyle made the most impact locally by establishing Ego's, a dark apartment complex lounge on South Congress Avenue, as a live music venue in the early '90s. A musician's musician, Doyle succumbed Sunday to lung cancer, surrounded by friends and relatives in his North Austin home. He was 66. Able to handle requests for songs by everyone from George Gershwin and Nat King Cole to Jerry Lee Lewis and Stevie Wonder, Doyle, who was blind, was a brilliant, self-taught piano thumper who possessed a raspy, soulful voice. "There aren't too many white guys that can do Ray Charles, but Bobby Doyle was one of them," said keyboardist Riley Osbourn. "He had such a broad range," Osbourn said. "He could play blues, R&B, gospel, jazz. . . . He had his own style by combining all those things." He was "the main cat," said former Asleep At the Wheel pianist Danny Levin. "If you were thinking about doing a solo piano thing, Bobby Doyle was the guy you looked up to." A Houston native, Doyle moved to Austin at age 7 to attend the Texas School for the Blind. While at McCallum High, where he was the first blind student to graduate, he played on KVET-AM on Saturday mornings. "Bobby always had a transistor radio in his pocket," said Eddie Wilson, who would later book his former classmate at Threadgill's. "He'd be bopping to the radio in class. He'd keep it just loud enough for him to hear, but not the teacher." Bassist Jon Blondell, who played in a trio with Doyle in the '90s, said the pianist "had the ears of a bat." After high school, Doyle started the Bobby Doyle Three, a popular local jazz outfit, with a University of Texas student named Kenny Rogers on standup bass. Rogers soon dropped out of college to play full time with Doyle, singing high harmony and playing bass on the 1962 album "In a Most Unusual Way." The trio disbanded in 1965, and Rogers went on to become a country-pop sensation. "Bobby told me that he used to write checks for Kenny Rogers for five years, then Kenny went on to make $200 million and ain't written Bobby a check once," Wilson said. But the Gambler never forgot Doyle; about 10 years ago, David Letterman asked Rogers to name the best musician he'd ever played with, and "Bobby Doyle" came out instantly. Doyle also impressed producer Phil Spector, who used him on several sessions in the late '60s, when Doyle lived in Los Angeles. When Clayton-Thomas left BS&T in '72, Doyle was tapped as a replacement, but the piano player didn't last long with the horn-driven pop band, appearing on only two tracks on 1972's "New Blood." Doyle moved back to Austin in the late '70s and performed five nights a week at an East Riverside Drive lounge. But he was soon back on the road, ending up with steady work in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe during the '80s. He moved back to Austin for good in 1990, performing every Thursday and Friday at Ego's, a dive he'd enjoyed playing during visits to Austin. The word got out that there was an incredibly soulful singer and piano player at Ego's, and Doyle's sets soon were frequented by musicians and hipsters. Two nights a week, the dank, hidden joint on South Congress was cooler than any basement jazz club in Greenwich Village. Because of Doyle's draw, the club started booking other acts, even rock bands, and the dive was transformed into a scrappy stop on the live original music circuit. Doyle also played regularly at the Driskill Lounge and Eddie V's. Doyle played regularly until two months ago, when he became too ill. Wilson said playing music was one of Doyle's few pleasures after his wife, Mary, died in August 2004. They had been married for 17 years. "They were quite a team," Wilson said. "I've never seen a couple have so much fun together. He was ready to go the day after Mary died."

I read in the Austin paper a couple of weeks ago that Bobby Doyle died. His obituary.... Robert G. "Bobby" Doyle Robert G. "Bobby" Doyle, age 66, of Austin, Texas, died on Sunday, July 30, 2006. He was born on August 14, 1939, in Houston, Texas, to Edward and Ella Doyle. Bobby was a renowned musician, whose original trio included himself, Kenny Rogers and Don Russell. He appeared on the Joey Bishop Show, the Steve Allen Show, and toured with Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Kirby Stone Four. In recent years Bobby performed regularly at Ego's, Driskill Hotel, and Eddie V's Restaurant. When he wasn't performing, he enjoyed all sports, especially baseball and football. Bobby was preceded in death by his loving wife, Mary; his parents; his daughter, Kathleen; and by two of his sisters. He is survived by his children, Michael, Kevin and Adam and wife Melissa; stepchildren, Lewis Powell III and wife Barbara, Misty Lampani, and Melanie Kooser and husband David; brothers, George Doyle and wife Edith, John Doyle and wife Geneva, Patrick Doyle and wife Jean, Raymond Harkey; sister, Ruth Drousche; and by 5 grandchildren, Lewis IV, Dominic, Logan, Addison, and Evelyn. A Memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 3, 2006 at Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel with Mr. Duane Miller officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Bobby's name to The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and South Texas, 2224 Walsh Tarlton Lane, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78746, (800)880-9474. Published in the Austin American-Statesman on 8/1/2006.

I went to just about all the Frontier Fiesta shows in that time-frame. Loved it! Knew some of the kids who performed there. Some of the more famous were Tommy Sands and Paula Ragusa (who later became Paula Prentiss). They were comtemporaries of mine at Lamar HS. Robert Foxworth also went to Lamar, but he was several years behind me. I don't remember Kenny Rogers performing at the FF, when I was going, but I did see him around town, when he started out with The Bobby Doyle Trio and, later, with his group, The First Edition. Speaking of the "Larry Hovis Trio", I remember Larry as a member of a group from Reagan High called The Four Spades. They were a big hit playing at the Frontier Fiesta and at school proms around town. Happen to have a picture of them from about 1953. Of course, you know which one is Larry.