Houston In The 1990s

[Purpledevil]

Aren't the big grain silos still on I-10 west, behind the community college? Those and the ones at Hempstead Hwy and Long Point are the only two I can think of that are left standing.

The silos on Studemont were the entire stretch of land from Walgreens to where that street is (don't know the name) where you enter the complex of condos off of Studemont. Used to be a big paper company right there too. In its place is that tall building next to Memorial / Allen Pkwy on Studemont.

[rsb320]

Aren't the big grain silos still on I-10 west, behind the community college? Those and the ones at Hempstead Hwy and Long Point are the only two I can think of that are left standing.

The silos on Studemont were the entire stretch of land from Walgreens to where that street is (don't know the name) where you enter the complex of condos off of Studemont. Used to be a big paper company right there too. In its place is that tall building next to Memorial / Allen Pkwy on Studemont.

 

That silo burned in the 80's - biggest fire I've ever seen in my life.

[Purpledevil]

I did not know they had burned. They are still standing though, no?

[IronTiger]

One thing for sure is that in addition to rails still downtown, there were all sorts of crazy railroad crossings: MKT running through the Heights, crossing roads straight through intersections and directly parallel to the road (with not much ROW), Westpark and Edloe, Memorial Heights and Washington Avenue. That last one serviced a number of businesses demolished in the not so terribly distant past: Sacks Waste Paper, the Sears warehouse, etc.

[kbates2]

 

• Incredible Universe went under and the building became a satellite campus for HCC.

 

Incredible University

[Subdude]

 

I remember Wolfe Nursery on Beechnut.  Just west of the nursery was Builder's Square, which was briefly redeveloped into a store called Pace; after that it was torn down to make way for Lowe's.  Next door to Builder's Square was a Toy Store called Children's Palace, which was later redeveloped into a music store.  I think a bike store is there now?

 

A few more memories:

• Sharpstown Mall was still respectable in the early part of the decade, but we stopped shopping there around 1995 because of the increased crime in the parking lot.
• A redeveloped Meyerland Plaza opened ~1996
• Video Central rented VHS tapes and video games.
• The Rockets and the Houston Aeros played their games in the Summit, which later became Compaq Center, which later became Lakewood Church.
• There were large street parties held on the Richmond strip after the Rockets won the Championship two years in a row.
• There was a lot of vacant land along the south side of 59 between S. Shepherd and 610 that was redeveloped towards the end of the decade.
• An outdoor concert venue called "Lone Star Amphitheater" was located on Westpark, just outside of 610.  It was later converted into a church called "Prayer Mountain".  I think it was demolished in the late '90s to make room for the Westpark Tollway.
• Many of the high-rise condo towers around the Galleria were built in the later part of the decade.
• The Houston Chronicle bought the Houston Post in the early part of the decade.
• The Bel-Air Theater on Bellaire Blvd closed, and was converted to an indoor playland for kids called "Discovery Zone".
• "Celebration Station" on 59 and "Fame City" on Beechnut were popular places for kids.
• The Village Arcade shopping center opened in Rice Village (~1994?).  A few years later, The Village Arcade II opened on the next block.
• The Hard Rock Cafe was still on Kirby, and it had a '60s-era Thunderbird mounted on a pole.
• There was a car dealership (Buick or Cadillac?) on the SE corner of S Shepherd and Westheimer in the early part of the decade.  Across the street was an Academy Sporting Goods Store and an Oak Farms Dairy facility.
• Dietrich Coffee House on Westheimer was a great place to hang out and people watch.
• Bookstop on S. Shepherd was an awesome book store.
• There was a movie theater on West Gray (Cineplex Odeon?).
• The Jeff Davis hospital sat abandoned on Allen Parkway as a giant creepy Art Deco monument.
• A blighted Allen Parkway Village sat next door, adding to the creepiness.
• The rice mills were still standing on Studemont in the early part of the decade.
• Washington Avenue and the surrounding area was in pretty rough shape.
• We would roll up the car windows and lock the doors when we drove through the Heights area.
• The long-vacant Rice Hotel downtown was renovated and re-opened as the "Rice Lofts."  "Enron Field" opened about the same time.  There was a lot of hope that these developments would revitialize downtown.  They eventually did, but I think it took much longer than everyone anticipated.
• It snowed in the early part of the decade (~1992 or 1993?)
• There were some big floods around 1995 or 1996 that caused many businesses and schools to close.  I seem to remember there being a lot of damage in the Kingwood area.

 

 

Good list.  

 

I remember the popular movie theaters were the Cineplex on Fountainview, River Oaks, and Meyer Park 16.  All gone now, but that the time they were all considered plush and state-of-the-art.  

 

The 1990s were a major turnaround story for Houston.  At the beginning of the decade we were still deep within the bust of the 1980s, but ten years later the city had started a huge amount of redevelopment.  This was especially noticeable downtown, with the opening of the Rice, the streets improvement projects, the construction of Enron Field, the opening of numerous bars around Main Street, and the beginning of construction of the Reliant building, the first new downtown office building in more than a decade.  Houston was proud to be the home of two of the most important and fastest-growing  companies of the time:  Compaq and Enron.  

 

Another important change was the beginning of redevelopment in Midtown and Fourth Ward.  In 1990 Midtown was mostly vacant or home to sketchy "modeling studios".  

[Montrose1100]

DZ Discovery Zone on FM 1960. It blew Chuck-E-Cheeses out of the water (I think it's a candle store now). Marco's on Kuykendahl in the strip center where Klein Bank was. Was my favorite tex-mex place as a kid.

 

Also the tall hospital that use to be on Allen Parkway. I remember every time we would drive to see my dad we would pass it. I can also recall there being some kind of tall crops on FM 2920 @ Kuykendahl. Maybe corn? Oh and how could I forget Charlie's Hamburgers? Man those were SO GOOD. We use to eat there after seeing a movie at the theater which is now a fitness place on West Grey.

 

Edit: Enron Field... I remember my first game there. I got some nachos and tripped down the stairs and got a 3rd degree burn on my arm. The scar is still visible under my left arm. 

Edited January 6, 2014 by Montrose1100

[august948]

Aren't the big grain silos still on I-10 west, behind the community college? Those and the ones at Hempstead Hwy and Long Point are the only two I can think of that are left standing.

 

 

Those silos are still there along with the outbuildings.  It's Shadowdale RV & Boat Storage now.

 

http://www.shadowdalestorage.com/boat-rv-storage

 

[rsb320]

I did not know they had burned. They are still standing though, no?

 

There's still a Success Rise silo on the west end.

[IronTiger]

Was Zone D Erotica in Galleria area still a restaurant in the 1990s? I think I read it was originally a restaurant.

[Ross]

Was Zone D Erotica in Galleria area still a restaurant in the 1990s? I think I read it was originally a restaurant.

 

Luke's Hamburgers, I think

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

yep, it was Luke's

[IronTiger]

What were the trendy neighborhoods in the 1990s?

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Cinco Ranch, Fairfield, New Territory

 

 

[brucesw]

yep, it was Luke's

 

Originally one of the roast beef franchises, Roy Rogers Roast Beef IIRC, before Luke's.

 

[JLWM8609]

I seem to remember a Continental Airlines DC-9 landed at IAH in the mid 90s with the gear still retracted. I believe it was pilot error instead of a mechanical problem.

[Purpledevil]

What were the trendy neighborhoods in the 1990s?

The Woodlands really took off in the 90's. It'd have to be one of the trendier picks of the decade.

[august948]

What were the trendy neighborhoods in the 1990s?

 

When we moved here in late '99 I recall our real estate agent mentioning The Heights.

 

[Subdude]

What were the trendy neighborhoods in the 1990s?

 

West U.  

[brhaltx]

 

River Oaks Body Shop on Kirby was a restaurant called Frankie Mandola's.

 

   They had good burgers...  The body shop was already there; it occupied the back part of the building.

[brhaltx]

I remember there being a rice mill in the shadows of downtown back in the 90s. I think it was on Allen Parkway?

 

   There were grain silos on Memorial, between Memorial and Washington.   Between the cemetary and Studemont, I think.

[Colin]

I know this is a bit late, but I've just found this thread, and got 90's Houston on the brain and wanted to share or maybe even trigger some nostalgia.

 

Music Venues:

Millenium: It was a metal club on 1960 near the Hardy Toll Road. I was in a drum competition there in about 1994 (I lost in the first round to the eventual winner). There were always interesting people in there.

The Abyss: "Alternative" club on Washington by Westcott, that was shut down by about 1996. It was inside an old movie theater, and had a sloped floor going to the stage and a balcony. Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and other big acts of that day played there before they got big, and they happily plastered their logos on the walls. It was a good place to see a show.

The Engine Room: "Indie" club Downtown that, I guess, finally closed in '08. This was kind of a dump but they had some great bands come through. They charged for parking in their lot, but I would usually risk the street. I saw Man or Astroman, Built to Spill, and even Godspeed You! Black Emperor played there on their last tour.

Mary Jane's: Indie club on Washington. People will call this place "Mary Jane's Fat Cat," but that was a name change that occurred in about 2000, and I always hated the new name. My band at the time, in probably our biggest show, opened for The Gloria Record and Antarctica in, I believe, 1999. 

Hands Up Houston: Not a club, but a web site that existed in the mid- to late 90's where show listings were posted. At the time, that was the most reliable place to find out about these shows. A couple of years ago even, the site was still up, with concert calendars from 2000.

 

East Downtown:

El Sol Market: I don't know if there are already threads about this, but I'm sure there's info available online because of the pains Houston had with this place. It was in today's "EaDo" back when it was the epitome of urban wasteland. By the 90's, it was long-abandoned, but I know the big, white sign on the building's side was up well into the early 90's.

Francisco's: I don't know if this still exists, but it is/was a band rehearsal space on McKinney, just east of 59. I was there a lot in the early 2000's, but it was opened in the mid- or late 90's. It was just about the only place where you could practice at that time, so it was kind of a microcosm of Houston bands. They also had LAN parties some nights.

 

Southwest:

The South Main Motels: Does anyone remember any names? These were in their last days, and some had already been torn down. They rebuilt the road in the early 2000's, and that took care of some, but the Astrodome's demise seemed to closely coincide with theirs. In about 2000, I delivered a pizza to a crackhead in a room at one of them (she tipped me about $0.25), then refused to go down there again when they called back for more pizza because I was worried about them robbing me.

The Summit: My first NBA basketball game.

The Religious Tower: This was abandoned before the late 90's, I know, but I don't know its history because I cannot recall its name and it's, of course, been redeveloped into condos. It was at the southeast corner of Almeda & MacGregor. There was a church-looking building at the front, but then a 10- to 15-story brick tower behind it. The sign was still out, and it belonged to some church. Any ideas on this?

Alief: We almost moved to Alief when we first came to Houston, but it had already started its unfortunate decline by that time, in the early 90's, and it showed.

 

Southeast:

Gulfgate Bennigan's: It's my strongest memory of this area because it seemed so random, and we would go there quite a bit.

Mall of the Mainland: I remember going there in about 1996 to buy shoes, and I drove there a couple of times in 1999. The first time, the mall was pretty busy. I believe we even ate lunch there.

Gulf Greyhound Park opened in the early 90's.

 

North:

Greenspoint: It was still a really, really bad area in the early 90's, but we would go to the mall quite a bit before The Woodlands Mall opened in the mid-90's. We would not go there at night, as this was about the time they had the string of robberies/rapes where the assailants would hide under the cars and wait for you to return. The shopping center across I-45, then called "The Commons at Greenspoint," featured some sort of massive CD/computer/electronics store that I cannot recall the name of, but it only opened around 1994.

I-45 North: It was a parking lot until they finally rebuilt it, which I believe was in the mid-90's. It was two lanes in each direction north of 1960, and was in terrible shape south of there with these old overpasses for most of the intersections.

Hardy Toll Road: A virtual ghost freeway at that time. They filmed "The Chase" here and repainted the northern toll booth to look like a Mexican border crossing. It was like that for a few weeks.

Goodyear Blimp Station: People would always talk about how Phil Collins had used it at one point.

IAH: Rankin Road was the west entrance to the airport. Terminal B was the old Eastern Airlines terminal, and it was kind of creepily empty when they went under. The weird people mover in the basement (I was told that it still exists, but it's now only open to employees) was a fairly efficient way to get between the terminals, and there was even a stop at the hotel (always a Marriott). Terminal D was "IAB". As of my last flight into IAH, just a few months ago, Terminal A still looks exactly the same as it did in the early 90's. I may be mistaken on some of this stuff.

Sam Houston Race Park opened in the early 90's.

There was an antique car museum along I-45 South, just north of the Hardy Toll Road. It was part of a larger truck stop.

 

West:

The Igloo Factory/Plant: I was always so intrigued by this, I think because the logo made it look so fun. It was basically underneath the I-10/SHT interchange. I believe it closed with the Katy Freeway expansion.

 

East:

The Baytown Tunnel closed. I remember seeing it on the news. The Grand Parkway was supposed to be built within the next few years, though it would only exist near Katy until somewhat recently. I have a 1994 Key Map that prominently shows the proposed route in a red line.

 

That's all I can think of right now. I have a bunch of digital pictures of central Houston in 1999 that I have somewhere. Sorry if this is dull or well-tread.

[Colin]

Just wanted to update that I found the abandoned marketplace, and I was slightly off on the name: El Mercado del Sol. Photos and architectural renderings from 1985, and you can find a number of articles on its several sales and eventual loft conversion in the early 2000's through Google. According to IMDB, it was a filming location for RoboCop 2.

Still curious about the church compound on Almeda. That was not even that long ago...

 

One more: the flophouses Downtown on Chenevert. I think a couple of them even made it into the Enron Field days.

[IronTiger]

Yeah, Mercado del Sol is now lofts. It was saddled with many problems, closing in 1987 after being in foreclosure since 1986. The problems were many: they tried to make it a touristy destination, but the location was hard to find, it wasn't in a good part of town, the center had lost about half of its tenants since it opened (and that probably wasn't even 100%) and by 1986 they were already finding alternative uses like an inhalant abuse center. 

 

It joined the ranks of many, many festival marketplaces opened in downtown areas in the 1980s that have since failed and closed (remember Catfish Town in Baton Rouge? No?)

[technoevil]

What were the trendy neighborhoods in the 1990s?

 

First Colony, Cinco Ranch, The Woodlands, Cypress

[sootycat]

The Fast and Cool Club in Rice Village was a fun place from the 1990s.

[Subdude]

Shepherd Plaza and before that the Richmond Strip.  And what would the 1990s in Houston have been without Enron?

 

 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Francisco's rehearsal studios is still there- half the people i know who are in bands have spaces there

[IronTiger]

Greenspoint: It was still a really, really bad area in the early 90's, but we would go to the mall quite a bit before The Woodlands Mall opened in the mid-90's. We would not go there at night, as this was about the time they had the string of robberies/rapes where the assailants would hide under the cars and wait for you to return. The shopping center across I-45, then called "The Commons at Greenspoint," featured some sort of massive CD/computer/electronics store that I cannot recall the name of, but it only opened around 1994.

Were the "hiding under the cars" actually a real thing? That sounds more like an urban legend to me (look at your own car and try to crawl under it, and then crawl out of it. If you can do the former, can you get out quickly?)

[htownproud]

Jamals grocery stores (I think where pet smart is on shepherd and near Alabama and Kirby)

The various Buteras grocery stores/cafés (rice village where Brian O'Neill is; Chelsea Market; and the grocery next to where Ravens is now).

City Streets (who wouldn't love 4 bars in one)

the Houston BBQ cook off and stickers. Back then, each booth would have stickers made, and the sponsors would slap the stickers on girls backsides. If you had a sticker on your bum, you could get into the tent. Girls would walk around with a hundred stickers on their jeans.

The apartments next to best buy at 59 and 610 used to also be a mound of dirt. In December, Wolfes would use it as a Christmas tree lot.

And the lonestar amphitheater was a kids play land back in the 80s. Good times.