Houston In The 1980s

[RedScare]

*Redscare imagining 19 year old Crunch in a pair of Rockies*

Mmmmm...

[Rammer]

5) Babes Cabaret

4) GiGi's(old)

3) The Men's Club

2) The Gold Cup

1) Treasure's

Only needed 5....

[Rammer]

5) Babes Cabaret

4) GiGi's(old)

3) The Men's Club

2) The Gold Cup

1) Treasure's

Only needed 5....

Oops, this would actually be the 90's.

[crunchtastic]

another for the list: The Wortham being built. That was a real source of civic pride, in the middle of the bust. I remember my parents buying opera season tix.

(PS to Red, more like 19 year-old Crunch in a vinyl dress and doc martens. Sorry to ruin it for ya. )

Edited August 6, 2009 by crunchtastic

[IronTiger]

Safe in the 80's? - Houston's murder rate in the late 70's through 1985 was four time higher than it is now. No, Houston in the 80's was much more dangerous than it is now.

...wasn't everyone's?

But then again, some areas in the 1980s weren't bad and then got worse? Like, say, Greenspoint Mall?

[TJones]

*Redscare imagining 19 year old Crunch in a pair of Rockies*

Mmmmm...

....and YOU in a pair of Z.Cavaricci's...........ACK !!!

Now, Galveston was ALWAYS fun back in the 80's, East Beach in particular.

[KimmerTX]

My top ELEVEN but in no particular order..........

• Cruising Westheimer
• ACA Joe and Corona Beach Club t-shirts everywhere
• Texas Commerce Bank on every block
• original Vargo's
• Sam's Boat on Richmond
• La Bare
• 16 mi Rd at Jamaica Beach Galveston
• Southern Star Amphitheater
• Joskes
• Acapulco Bar in Windsor Plaza
• Dream Merchant

Edited August 11, 2009 by KimmerTX

[gto250us]

My top ELEVEN but in no particular order..........

• Cruising Westheimer
• ACA Joe and Corona Beach Club t-shirts everywhere
• Texas Commerce Bank on every block
• original Vargo's
• Sam's Boat on Richmond
• La Bare
• 16 mi Rd at Jamaica Beach Galveston
• Southern Star Amphitheater
• Joskes
• Acapulco Bar in Windsor Plaza
• Dream Merchant

Hey I am glad I did my time in the 60's. It sure must have sucked to have to have been a kid in the 80's.

[spiderroller]

1. Ocean Club

2. Rick's Cabaret

3. Yucatan Liquor Stand

4. Astros 1986 NL Pennant (witnessed the Mike Scott no-hitter clincher)

5. Astros vs. Mets NLCS

6. Club Proteus

7. Cineplex Odeon on Bering Drive

8. Still mostly a black and white cit

9. No cell phones

10. No internet

Edited August 11, 2009 by spiderroller

[spiderroller]

1. Ocean Club

2. Rick's Cabaret

3. Yucatan Liquor Stand

4. Astros 1986 NL Pennant (witnessed the Mike Scott no-hitter clincher)

5. Astros vs. Mets NLCS

6. Club Proteus

7. Cineplex Odeon on Bering Drive

8. Still mostly a black and white cit

9. No cell phones

10. No internet

[gto250us]

I don't know, but having titty bars in the top 10 cool things about Houston does not say much for Houston, or is it just the folks making the list?

[crunchtastic]

I don't know, but having titty bars in the top 10 cool things about Houston does not say much for Houston, or is it just the folks making the list?

I would tend to agree, but, all the bidnessmen doing big deals needed something to do after they ate their expense account steaks. Houston's strip clubs were very well-known.

Is that still the case?

[spiderroller]

I would tend to agree, but, all the bidnessmen doing big deals needed something to do after they ate their expense account steaks. Houston's strip clubs were very well-known.

Is that still the case?

Sorry guys... but the strip clubs in the 80s are as non-existent as the horse and buggy.... today the "strip clubs" are simply organized prostitution and nothing else.

And Rick's had no competition.

[SchwinnChopper68]

9. No cell phones

10. No internet

Hmm...in the 80s I lived in there were cell phones (I had one) and there was a pre 1993 BBS type internet. Remember 2400 modems and compuserve?

In general yes, cellphones had not yet become the addictive commodity they are today where you even hear someone in a public bathroom stall talking to his wife while doing his bidness. I have never been able to figure that one out and more than likely I never will.

Edited August 12, 2009 by SchwinnChopper68

[spiderroller]

Hmm...in the 80s I lived in there were cell phones (I had one) and there was a pre 1993 BBS type internet. Remember 2400 modems and compuserve?

In general yes, cellphones had not yet become the addictive commodity they are today where you even hear someone in a public bathroom stall talking to his wife while doing his bidness. I have never been able to figure that one out and more than likely I never will.

Yep... was Prodigy in the 80s or early 90s?

My best friend had one of the first 'mobile' phones.... the kind you could actually take with you. Many people in the 80s had CAR PHONES... you know.... they pretty much had to stay in your car... some you could take the whole contraption with you.... but... I'll never forget my buddy who had the Oki mobile phone... looked like a massive walkie talkie.... we would go into a restaurant and he'd call people... and others in the place would look at him, tranfixed, wondering what the hell he was doing and what he was talking into!

[SchwinnChopper68]

Prodigy was mid 80s. I remember seeing the service displayed in the local Sears in 1985. Never gave them a try until 93. Very unique service with great chat boards IMHO. Used them until Netcom ambled along.

[marmer]

Yes, let's not get this thread confused with the equally enjoyable "Back in the '60s when we had an actual culture..." thread.

The first time I saw cell phones was at the opening of the GRB convention center in '86 or '87. There was a giant fireworks display created by some Italian fireworks artist and the Rice orchestra played live music for it. Several of the organizers and event staff were walking around with "bag phones" slung over their shoulder, having Very Important Conversations. These phones were about the size of a purse or large hardback book. I wonder what they were paying per minute? I bet it was something like a dollar or something.

[rsb320]

I had a bag phone from Houston Cellular. There was a phone cord to the receiver. I have no clue what the cost was back then.

Speaking of the GRB opening - Does anyone remember the Continental jet doing a flyover? I've never seen a jumbo jet fly that low outside an airport.

[marmer]

I had a bag phone from Houston Cellular, too. It was a Christmas gift from my wife, probably '89, '90 or so. It was pretty expensive at the time. Don't remember what the minute charge was, either. Expensive enough that it was pretty much only for emergencies.

Edit: I don't remember the Continental flyover, and I was there. But I had a thousand things to worry about with the orchestra, and that may have been earlier in the day.

Edited August 12, 2009 by marmer

[bachanon]

i graduated high school in 1983. although my love of houston began before my teenage years, the mid/late eighties are when i actually ventured out and had some REAL fun.

personal pivotal 80's events/discoveries:

#s

NRG

power tools

record rack

cruising westheimer

marshall fields/matinique/dream merchant/judy's/visible changes

jean michel jarre, rendezvous houston (celebration of houston during a difficult time)

sony walkman, cd players

after hours clubs/parties

the menil

[RedScare]

I had a bag phone from Houston Cellular, too. It was a Christmas gift from my wife, probably '89, '90 or so. It was pretty expensive at the time. Don't remember what the minute charge was, either. Expensive enough that it was pretty much only for emergencies.

Edit: I don't remember the Continental flyover, and I was there. But I had a thousand things to worry about with the orchestra, and that may have been earlier in the day.

$30 per month base charge, 38 cents a minute usage. I don't believe there were any free minutes, but I may be mistaken.

[Gary]

I remember a club called "The Fizz" on Richmond (about a block east of Fondren) that was so hot they had people being bussed in. I also seem to remember that it was before exctasy was made illegal and they would have the pills in glass bowls before you walked in the door. Of course my memory may be a little fuzzy on that one.

[Subdude]

Yes, let's not get this thread confused with the equally enjoyable "Back in the '60s when we had an actual culture..." thread.

The first time I saw cell phones was at the opening of the GRB convention center in '86 or '87. There was a giant fireworks display created by some Italian fireworks artist and the Rice orchestra played live music for it.

I was there too! It was in front of the GRB. They had a lot of fireworks that were on sort of pinwheels, instead of shot into the air.

[marmer]

I was there too! It was in front of the GRB. They had a lot of fireworks that were on sort of pinwheels, instead of shot into the air.

Yes, exactly. We (the orchestra) played Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien and the fireworks artist was in contact with the various "firing stations" by radio or more likely wired intercom. I don't remember if he had a cue person following the score, but I think he did. Anyway, in time with the music, he would call commands like "Venti due.......GO!" It was very cool.

It was at a planning meeting for this event that Dancie Perugini Ware greeted my arrival by throwing a chocolate truffle at me, which hit my jacket with a very surprising "splat!" Sort of a chocolate paintball, I guess. She paid for my dry cleaning and sent a box of truffles to my office. Classy lady, classy firm.

[J W]

....and YOU in a pair of Z.Cavaricci's...........ACK !!!

Now, Galveston was ALWAYS fun back in the 80's, East Beach in particular.

I remember West Beach in the 80's when you could build a fire , camp and spend the night . Not a beach house in sight .

[Subdude]

(The Montrose topic got me thinking about Houston in the 1980s.)

My top ELEVEN but in no particular order..........

• Cruising Westheimer
• ACA Joe and Corona Beach Club t-shirts everywhere
• Texas Commerce Bank on every block
• original Vargo's
• Sam's Boat on Richmond
• La Bare
• 16 mi Rd at Jamaica Beach Galveston
• Southern Star Amphitheater
• Joskes
• Acapulco Bar in Windsor Plaza
• Dream Merchant

I think my Aca Joe shirt is still lurking in a closet somewhere.

Fast 'n' Cool on Kirby. They had the dancers in cages.

[GBryant]

Hey I am glad I did my time in the 60's. It sure must have sucked to have to have been a kid in the 80's.

Aww, c'mon now! I was aged 4-14 in the 80's and I still have very fond memories of the era. I guess it's just what you grow up with. My top 10 (in no particular order):

10. The OLD Third Planet in that little house.

9. GiGi's model shop in Sharpstown Mall (especially that model of the Invisible Woman)

8. Trick or treating - after dark!

7. Funland arcade at Meyerland Plaza

6. Open-late Thursdays at the Bellaire Public Library (Yeah, I was/am a dork)

5. Cruising Westheimer (It was in the back seat of my parent's station wagon, but Westheimer at night still felt magical)

4. 25 cent bowling at Palace Lanes on Bellaire during the summer

3. World Toy and Gift

2. Astroworld when a season pass was $30 - not that my parents ever got one for me.

1. PLAYING THE FARK OUTSIDE. The city is safer now, but back then parents seemed to have less compunction about letting kids play outside. At least my parents and my friend's parents didn't. There was also less emphasis placed on safety

and that "neglect" was lots of fun. I wonder if kids still try to climb the electric towers in the horse field between Bellaire and Beechnut, east of Newcastle? Or cross the trestle over Braes Bayou? Or navigate Bellaire and Meyerland via bayous

and drainage ditches? I spent much of my youth playing in - and around - sewage. Fun.

I do hold some envy for those that were young and on their own in Houston during the 80's. But, I wouldn't give up my childhood in Bellaire during that time for anything.

[samagon]

being that I was a kid in the 80s, my view's a bit skewed...

8. roller skating rink at bellaire and kirkwood.

7. keemah before the boardwalk.

6. NASA visitor stuff before they disneyfied it. I may have been a little kid, but I certainly enjoyed seeing the real stuff over seeing props and playing on a computer simulation.

5. fame city (bowling, puttputt, rollerskating all in one?)

4. season pass to astroworld, and watching the fireworks display every saturday night, it never got old! (I wonder if it got old for my parents? I remember after the display, all 4 of us, mom, dad, sister and me would run back to the greezed lightning, or over to the cyclone for some no line action after the fireworks)

3. sesquicentenial celebration, jean michel jarre laser show.

2. miller outdoor theater the friday and saturday nights we weren't at astroworld, we were sitting on the hill.

1. moonlight bicycle ramble

okay, so that's all I got.

[4PROP]

Hey I am glad I did my time in the 60's. It sure must have sucked to have to have been a kid in the 80's.

Hey I am glad I did my time in the 50's. It sure must have sucked to have to have been a kid in the 60's.

10. Steam locomotives daily down the double tracks.

9. Escape to monkey's hill.

8. Seeing the distant 4th of July fireworks at the Shamrock Hotel.

7. Open windows, attic fans, quiet city at night.

6. Saturday morning double horror features at the Bellaire.

5. Looney auction.

4. You actually see stars in the night sky over Bellaire.

3. Safely walking to and from Horn Elementary without a care in the world.

2. Leaflet drops from DC3's.

1. Rides and races at Playland Park.

[GBryant]

Hey I am glad I did my time in the 50's. It sure must have sucked to have to have been a kid in the 60's.

10. Steam locomotives daily down the double tracks.

9. Escape to monkey's hill.

8. Seeing the distant 4th of July fireworks at the Shamrock Hotel.

7. Open windows, attic fans, quiet city at night.

6. Saturday morning double horror features at the Bellaire.

5. Looney auction.

4. You actually see stars in the night sky over Bellaire.

3. Safely walking to and from Horn Elementary without a care in the world.

2. Leaflet drops from DC3's.

1. Rides and races at Playland Park.

I see you mentioned monkey's hill. In the 80s we had a Monkey Hills that was the drainage ditch at the north end of the horse pasture between Bellaire and Beechnut. We'd jump our bikes across the ditch. Same place?

I, too, remember walking to Horn Elementary. My folks never gave a second thought about my walking home form there.