msteele6

I think they were used by airmen from Ellington. I know that the Redwood Apartments across Lawndale were built for airmen from Ellington but not sure about the 

Lawndale Apartments.

On 9/23/2017 at 8:08 AM, texianjoe said:

 

Also there was Cooters, Roxy's, the Rubiat, Tuesdays, The Crazy Bannana, and one I cannot remember the name at the moment but it was on the westbound side of Wertheimer around

Fondren area.  It was two stories and in the middle of an apartment complex.

Maybe Napoleon's Retreat at the West Point Apartments??

I remember at least three Hamburger by Gourmet locations, of which I regularly patronized two, the one on Kirby and the one on Alabama next to Saint Thomas. There was a third one on Fondren (Hillcroft?) maybe more. Don't really remember the one one on Park Place which is odd since I lived and frequented that area until the 1980's, it must not have lasted long. They've been closed for quite a while, however, I read somewhere on this site that they had reopened down south somewhere (Clear Lake?).

One of my all time favorites, I always ordered the number one with barbecue and fries.

I went to Milby High School just down the street from the RB Department Store on Broadway. If I'm not mistaken it was demolished when the ill-fated 225 extension was constructed.

Thanks for the info gnu, it jogged my memory just enough to remember the name "Vic" associated with Carpet World which led me to an obituary for William Blackmon which in turned mentioned his business partner Vic Vitaro and that is the name I remember for the carpet store "Vic Vitaro's Carpet World".

I do believe that we bought the first carpeting for our house from this business and that they advertised on television.

NenaE, I also picture the store at the right end, however, that would certainly be tenuous.

I had forgotten about the carpet store in that center. Now that you mention it, I went to that carpet store with my parents and I believe that we actually bought the first carpet for our house from that store.

If I remember correctly that carpet store had an ad on television, however, I can't remember the name of the store. It might have incorporated the owner's name into the business name.

NenaE,

That strip center across from Woodridge Baptist was the location of the Thornhill's cafeteria you were asking about in another thread. It was situated perpendicular to the church fronting on Winkler.

The church on Winkler was Woodridge Baptist Church. I went there a couple of times as a kid before my parents decided to become members at Freeway Baptist a few blocks west on Winkler.

The donut shop at the Wayside split was built in the late '60's early '70's. I went there as a kid, well before your time there in the '90's.

Actually knew two of these people, Hubert Harold (Harrell?) and Billy Lassiter. I went to school with them at Milby in the '60's.

I had no idea they worked there and was not really well acquainted with either, although I did know Billy a little better, he lived right up the road near the intersection of Griggs road and Redwood streets on Myrtle I believe across from the Redwood Grocery store. I moved away from the area in 1989 and it was probably some years before that that I last saw Billy. I was somewhat better acquainted with Randy Guerrero but he worked there a little earlier around 1966 or 67 maybe.

Didn't go to Queen of Peace, however, I knew some people that did go there, specifically the Guerrero brothers, Dennis, Randy, Paul, and Pat. Probably quite a few others as well.

They lived right down the street from me and I was pretty good friends with Paul and Pat at one time. Have lost all contact with them over the years however.

Don't really remember the donut shop, however, I vaguely remember the grocery store at Lombardy, I knew some folks that lived very close by there on Godwin.

The bar at the intersection of Telephone and Lawndale was a landmark for many years in Houston as that intersection was at one time the main cut-off for people heading to Galveston via Old Galveston Road, it was called Lorino's the last time I remember (or Local Charm maybe), I read an article in the Chronicle that stated that it was the oldest operating bar in the city at the time of the article, don't know if it's still open.

The little neighborhood bounded by the freeway, Lombardy and Telephone was a predominately Italian neighborhood at one time.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing a man named Grady Gaines. He mentioned playing the Club Matinee with Little Richard. It might behoove you to attempt to interview him as he might have further information on the club. The interview date was 11/3/15, I think it was on the program named "Texas Time" at approximately 1:00.

If she was at Bonnie's (the Foundry, the Beef and Barrel, Bonnie's Beef and Barrel ) it wasn't Bob Robertson's. Bob Robertson's was inside of Wayside (next to Queen of Peace). Bonnie's is outside of Griggs, you can't see that far.

I think that that Sambo's was actually located just north of the South Loop on Wayside.

It changed it's name to something else after a controversy concerning the "Sambo's" name, probably in the early '80's(?).

It was on the same block as the Auchan (another defunct establishment).

I was working in the construction business in the mid '80's and when the S & L's went busted (after de-regulation allowed them to turn from places where people saved money to make big purchases like homes, into casinos) that busiuness tanked incredibly quickly.

I well remember speculative building projects setting empty for years afterward. The one that always comes to my mind was the Tang CIty Mall on South Main, an attractive Chinese themed mall that I can never remember having a tenant. The mall itself was finally demolished a few years ago.

Of course, that wasn't the only speculative building project that tanked. In the mid '80's you could drive all over town and see building after building advertizing for tenants, usually to no avail.

At about that time (1984?) I was looking to buy a house and attended several auctions for foreclosed properties, the most fertile area was out past what is now Beltway 8 in an area called Mission Bend. You could drive through that neighborhood and see multiple houses on every block that had been foreclosed on.

Maybe de-regulation isn't the answer to every problem.

I know nothing about Club Matinee, however, I was surfing the net today and came across an article in Wikipedia about Little Richard. As I was reading I came across a reference to Little Richard playing at Club Matinee in Houston. It reminded me of this thread and I just thought I would mention it. There were two references given and they might be something you might want to consult.

Yes, Palms Center (Palm Center?) was just down the road and it was the first shopping center I remember in Houston. Of course, it was not on nearly the scale of the second one, Gulfgate, but it still qualified. Palms Center does have the distinction of still being in existence albeit in an entirely new incarnation.

Another oddity is the complicated intersection at the OTHER end of Griggs (up north) where five or six streets all intersect with the same railroad tracks.

I lived just down Griggs road from the FedMart located at the corner of what is now the South Loop and Mykawa (and Griggs and Long Drive, a pretty complicated corner when you throw in the railroad tracks) and it was the first discount store I remember in Houston. This was before the Globe at Gulfgate, if I remember correctly. One of my friends worked at the store. This would have been in the mid to late '60's.

I think some are confusing this intersection somehow with OST. I don't ever remember a FedMart at that corner, although it seems like there was a fairly large shopping area there, including a Weingarten's and some other stores.

My parents bought a 1967 Pontiac Le Mans from Frizzells. I believe that Frizzell's original dealership was on Harrisburg across from the old Sears and Roebuck at Harrisburg and Wayside.

There was a club at Gulfgate that was underground (not a part of the bowling alley). It was located right next to the flagpole next to Joske's.

This topic was brought up in the section on the East End under the topic "Old Gulfgate Mall".

There is a picture there showing the area in which the club was located.

Filioscotia,

I remember the theater being on Wayside just south of Telephone Road (same corner, just facing Wayside not Telephone). I still remember having to avert our eyes when driving by with my mother (her being a strict fundamentalist). We never had any idea of what went on inside, but the Saxophone player that stood astride the marquee was evidence enough that some variety of the Devil's work was going on inside.

Yes. not safe.

 

Try walking from the end/start of the line to the CoH courts. Try it. Let me know how reasonable it is for you...

I'm 65 and somewhat handicapped. I walked from the tram to the courthouse, found out it was the wrong courthouse, walked to the correct courthouse and to the tram again and survived quite nicely. Of course, some people are just constitutionally against public transport (insurance companies, car dealerships, gasoline stations owners) but I think that I have my big boy pants sufficiently gird about me to make this dangerous trek.

In regards to the track along Holmes, I used to drive that way quite a bit and I have seen only one of the Metro trains using it, however, I did see one.

It could be a little street car that just goes up and down Commerce, being utterly useless

That sounds suspiciously like our current House of Representatives.

The Thornhill's was in a little center on the south side of Winkler, just before it runs into Woodridge, the address was 320 Winkler.