Telephone Rd.

[gnu]

Handy Andy also had a good bakery while they were around (not around East-End).

Very interesting history...but...

i thought Handy Andy was a hardware store chain???

[isuredid]

Very interesting history...but...

i thought Handy Andy was a hardware store chain???

You are thinking of Handy Dan...who turned out to not be so handy after all

[gnu]

You are thinking of Handy Dan...who turned out to not be so handy after all

you are right!

so handy andy was a grocery store?

the name sort of sounds familiar.

[musicman]

You are thinking of Handy Dan...who turned out to not be so handy after all

handy andy was also hardware type store...i thought it was.

[isuredid]

handy andy was also hardware type store...i thought it was.

Not in Houston it wasn't. Are you from the mid-west?

Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers was a mid-western chain of big box home improvement centers led by president Richard George and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. The stores operated in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The stores were highly visible and well known for their very large vertical stripes of brown and white that would typically cover the entire building. In 1987, Handy Andy acquired the Forest City lumber chain with stores in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois from Forest City Enterprises.

Bankruptcy

Handy Andy declared bankruptcy on October 17, 1995 due to creditor pressures, which led to the closure of about 20 of its stores. At that time, Handy Andy had over $120 million in debt and was planning to reorganize into hardware supermarkets. However, in early 1996, creditors forced Handy Andy to liquidate its assets to repay its outstanding debts. On January 25, 1996, Handy Andy announced it would be closing its remaining 54 stores, laying-off over 2,500 employees. By June of 1996, Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers ceased to exist

[mwkellner]

Not in Houston it wasn't. Are you from the mid-west?

Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers was a mid-western chain of big box home improvement centers led by president Richard George and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. The stores operated in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The stores were highly visible and well known for their very large vertical stripes of brown and white that would typically cover the entire building. In 1987, Handy Andy acquired the Forest City lumber chain with stores in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois from Forest City Enterprises.

Bankruptcy

Handy Andy declared bankruptcy on October 17, 1995 due to creditor pressures, which led to the closure of about 20 of its stores. At that time, Handy Andy had over $120 million in debt and was planning to reorganize into hardware supermarkets. However, in early 1996, creditors forced Handy Andy to liquidate its assets to repay its outstanding debts. On January 25, 1996, Handy Andy announced it would be closing its remaining 54 stores, laying-off over 2,500 employees. By June of 1996, Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers ceased to exist

I know there was a Handy Andy grocery store on the north side of San Antonio when I was in college (1990-94).

[musicman]

Not in Houston it wasn't. Are you from the mid-west?

no i'm from here. i just spoke with my mom she said there were handy dan's and handy andy's here but the dan part was more hardware while the andy part was more grocery. i knew i had been there but my mind pictured it as hardware.

[Vertigo58]

no i'm from here. i just spoke with my mom she said there were handy dan's and handy andy's here but the dan part was more hardware while the andy part was more grocery. i knew i had been there but my mind pictured it as hardware.

Maybe their existance in Houston was short lived as it seems they come from San Antonio as others mentioned above. In any case it was before my time. I just recall Lewis & Coker next to that specific Target on S Wayside Drive at 610 mid to late 70's. About a decade later became Auchan Market then evaporated into thin air. (well almost) became site of infamous FEMA recovery CTR.

[isuredid]

Maybe their existance in Houston was short lived as it seems they come from San Antonio as others mentioned above. In any case it was before my time. I just recall Lewis & Coker next to that specific Target on S Wayside Drive at 610 mid to late 70's. About a decade later became Auchan Market then evaporated into thin air. (well almost) became site of infamous FEMA recovery CTR.

I remember that sign. I believe there were only two Handy Andy stores in Houston and I think both were on Gessner. One was on the west side of Gessner just south of Westheimer (probably still a grocery store of some sort) and the other was on the west side of Gessner just south of 59. I don't know what is there now.

This is a bit off topic, but my first experience with Handy Andy was in the Hill Country in Kerrville around 1969. We had a family friend who lived in Hunt and I would stay there for a few weeks in the summer. I liked the Handy Andy in Kerrville because they carried Hill country brands of beef jerky. When they came to Houston I drove over there expecting to find that beef jerky in Houston (finally), but they didn't carry it in the Houston stores. That probably has something to do with why they failed..because I never went back.

[NenaE]

The building with the flag on it in this old map is the school and the same building you are discussing. The cross street is now Griggs and a bit further north, what would become the Gulf Freeway

I looked this up on the yahoo maps, it's right across from the Forest Park Cemetary...north of the Frito Lay factory, across Griggs. There was an "order at the window" ice cream stand on the corner, believe it's still there. That nabe is still kind of self-contained, when you look at it on a map. Always wondered where it was, exactly.

[isuredid]

I looked this up on the yahoo maps, it's right across from the Forest Park Cemetary...north of the Frito Lay factory, across Griggs. There was an "order at the window" ice cream stand on the corner, believe it's still there. That nabe is still kind of self-contained, when you look at it on a map. Always wondered where it was, exactly.

The "order at the window ice cream stand" was Carr's Tastee Freeze.

[readam]

Just south of the tele-wink on telephone was a pretty good little german restaurant "The Old Munich Inn"...more toward the airport was the "Ranger Drive Inn" and their dipped fries

[detached]

While doing a search for Park Place Pharmacy, a very cool-looking pre-1957 building (I wonder if it is still in business?), I came across a fascinating link for a new book that I surely will buy a copy of! Telephone Road, Texas by Burton Chapman. According to an audio interview at that web site, Mr. Chapman is looking for more information about the area, as well as many other historical sites, and many of you here probably would be able to add your stories and remembrances.

http://blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/20...on_chapman.html

[detached]

Another view of the old Brookline school

Of interest, HISD actually has a web page which discusses school histories and the story behind their names:

http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/...00052147fa6RCRD

It says this about the school:

"BROOKLINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

6301 South Loop East

Brookline Elementary School, one of several campuses named after a residential community, was located on Telephone Road when it first opened in 1914. The new building on the South Loop was built in 1953."

[Vertigo58]

The "order at the window ice cream stand" was Carr's Tastee Freeze.

That small structure is still there! I barely remember eating there as a kid. It is just about a block away from the old Brookline Rentals place, also still in business after all these decades!

Thats where everyone could rent whatever it took to unclog the can!