Montclair Shopping Center AKA Weslayan Plaza

[SpaceGhost]

So I'm trying to get my website up and running again. So I'm researching new material. At the moment I'm trying to find to find info anything that anyone could add is very much appreciated. Here's what I have so far.

 

History:

The shopping center was planned designed to be an indoor mall and to have Weslayan routed underground. In 1952 Weingarten's opened their store (which would later become Randall's) this is the first store in the shopping center. It was built with a basement likely to mesh with the mall design. The idea for this to be a full blown mall was dropped sometime around the same year.

 

Questions:

 

Who where the former Tenants?

 

Was the entrance to Weingarten's/Randall's always on the side it currently is?

 

Was anything else built for the mall that was later used in the shopping center?

 

A few pages on the center's original design.

Ad for Dor-O-Matic showing a great proposed design.

List of Tenants and a nice pic of Randall's from 2005.

1978 mention in Texas Monthly of the address Petco currently uses.

1994 mention in Houston Press of H&H Music at Petco address.

Image of "Regal Sleep Shops".

Small mention notes that the mall was intended to be one story.

Brasco Door Ad with pic claiming to be Montclair Weingarten's.

[IronTiger]

There's a prospective plan of the mall here, no idea if it was to be one of the full anchors. If built it would've been the first fully-enclosed regional mall in the world, an achievement Southdale Center later took.

[SpaceGhost]

I've been working on a 3D model of what Montclair Mall may have looked like was it actually built. It's far from done, but it provides an interesting insight to what could of been. I wonder if this is also why North of Bissonnet Weslayan has a wide median, possibly for support beams from the mall?

 

Well without further to do here it is! I put some labeling on to provide context.

 

[NenaE]

Nice collection of links and info. on Wesleyan. I have read about Graham and Gruen, and the competition. But, was unaware of the Montclair connection, and Smith. Interesting, how some of the proposed modern features were incorporated into the sixties (enclosed, air-conditioned) mall design. 

[FIREhat]

A few years ago when Spec's was moving into the old LInens 'n' Things space they had to take out some foundation to add infrastructure for the kitchen. They found curbs underneath, like the shopping center was built over a street without removing the old pavement. Looking at the historic imagery in Google Earth you can see there was a street there but it looks grown over before the center was even built. It also shows the Weingarten's/Randall's was built as a standalone building.

[SpaceGhost]

A few years ago when Spec's was moving into the old LInens 'n' Things space they had to take out some foundation to add infrastructure for the kitchen. They found curbs underneath, like the shopping center was built over a street without removing the old pavement. Looking at the historic imagery in Google Earth you can see there was a street there but it looks grown over before the center was even built. It also shows the Weingarten's/Randall's was built as a standalone building.

 

Huh I had no idea that street was found. If you check out Historic Aerials the 1953 image shows both streets have been cleaned up, although the one on the left is much wider, possibly from having the concrete removed? By 1957 the left side of the street is fully removed, while the right side is there although it's starting to become overgrown. By 1962 the rest of the left side of Montclair has been added onto Weingarten's/Randall's and the right side of the street is faintly visible. By 1964 it's pretty much gone and what looks to be maybe a car lot? is there..

 

As for the Weingarten's/Randall's yup that was built first. It was built with the mall in mind though. It had things like a side entrance, and that huge canopy space that exists between it and Walgreens was left so it could be filled in and an entrance fitted allowing direct access to the mall (or so I've been told). Also there's a huge basement under that area that held the offices, staff bathrooms, lockers, and some extra storage until the last remodel when everything was moved above ground. The basement still exists and it still used by the deli for storage, although everything has to be on risers because when it rains it floods, and when management stopped using it they stopped repairing the sump pumps. There's even an extension of the basement towards where the mall would of been hinting that possibly the whole mall was going to have a basement.

[IronTiger]

Very interesting! I need to check out this Randalls sometime, it would make a great addition for my blog. The road, Albans Road, looks like it's already been closed by 1953 (Google Earth) because the road looks very different from the rest of the roads...I'd guess that it may not even have been fully developed.

A couple of other things before I go to work:

- I don't think Weslayan had those medians because of support columns, there are plenty of other examples where wider roads were built.

- Was the building where Spec's is one big store originally? Was it a Globe or Sage?

[SpaceGhost]

Very interesting! I need to check out this Randalls sometime, it would make a great addition for my blog. The road, Albans Road, looks like it's already been closed by 1953 (Google Earth) because the road looks very different from the rest of the roads...I'd guess that it may not even have been fully developed.

A couple of other things before I go to work:

- I don't think Weslayan had those medians because of support columns, there are plenty of other examples where wider roads were built.

- Was the building where Spec's is one big store originally? Was it a Globe or Sage?

 

Yeah it's an interesting store. Let me know when you're going to head over there if you'd be willing I'd be more than happy to tag along and point out things I remember from working there.

[Absinthe_1900]

- Was the building where Spec's is one big store originally? Was it a Globe or Sage?

 

It was Woolco.

 

[HardcoreHoustonian]

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2014 at 7:29 AM, IronTiger said:

There's a prospective plan of the mall here, no idea if it was to be one of the full anchors. If built it would've been the first fully-enclosed regional mall in the world, an achievement Southdale Center later took.

I grew up in the 1960's & '70's a few blocks from there and never knew about this plan. Very interesting. It also covers my first two jobs, Woolco (Berings) & Weingartens (Randalls). Thanks for posting it.

[SpaceGhost]

On 6/10/2018 at 1:04 AM, HardcoreHoustonian said:

I grew up in the 1960's & '70's a few blocks from there and never knew about this plan. Very interesting. It also covers my first two jobs, Woolco (Berings) & Weingartens (Randalls). Thanks for posting it.

 

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It hasn't made the rounds to my website yet, but soon will.

 

I had heard in passing that Woolco/Berings was also briefly a Kmart, do you remember this?

[HardcoreHoustonian]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 5:17 PM, SpaceGhost said:

 

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It hasn't made the rounds to my website yet, but soon will.

 

I had heard in passing that Woolco/Berings was also briefly a Kmart, do you remember this?

No, no Kmart at that location. The Woolco closed in 1981. It occupied the entire building except for a Color Tile that was at the left corner and a chicken place behind the Color Tile. I can't  remember if the Woolco space sat vacant for a while or it was divided up and remodeled shortly after it was vacated. I'm almost positive there wasn't any business open there between the time Woolco closed and Berings opened.

[HardcoreHoustonian]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2014 at 11:45 PM, SpaceGhost said:

So I'm trying to get my website up and running again. So I'm researching new material. At the moment I'm trying to find to find info anything that anyone could add is very much appreciated. Here's what I have so far.

 

History:

The shopping center was planned designed to be an indoor mall and to have Weslayan routed underground. In 1952 Weingarten's opened their store (which would later become Randall's) this is the first store in the shopping center. It was built with a basement likely to mesh with the mall design. The idea for this to be a full blown mall was dropped sometime around the same year.

 

Questions:

 

Who where the former Tenants?

 

Was the entrance to Weingarten's/Randall's always on the side it currently is?

 

Was anything else built for the mall that was later used in the shopping center?

 

A few pages on the center's original design.

Ad for Dor-O-Matic showing a great proposed design.

List of Tenants and a nice pic of Randall's from 2005.

1978 mention in Texas Monthly of the address Petco currently uses.

1994 mention in Houston Press of H&H Music at Petco address.

Image of "Regal Sleep Shops".

Small mention notes that the mall was intended to be one story.

Brasco Door Ad with pic claiming to be Montclair Weingarten's.

Here's a rough drawing of Montclair's layout around the mid 60's-70's. I'm almost positive it was a Big Bonus Stamps store next to Weingarten's because the stamps were pink. I'm not 100% certain about the 7-eleven, it could have been U-Totem or Stop N Go. There may have been other stores between Walgreens and Grants, but if there were I have forgotten them. 

[SpaceGhost]

23 hours ago, HardcoreHoustonian said:

Here's a rough drawing of Montclair's layout around the mid 60's-70's. I'm almost positive it was a Big Bonus Stamps store next to Weingarten's because the stamps were pink. I'm not 100% certain about the 7-eleven, it could have been U-Totem or Stop N Go. There may have been other stores between Walgreens and Grants, but if there were I have forgotten them. 

 

 

If I recall correctly the walk through section on the right (Where Massage Heights is now, and Souper Salad was) open closed right before Souper Salad opened, or shortly there after.

[Kathy J]

Weingarten's was there when we moved across the street (Albans Road).  There was a big empty field to the north where we used to fly kites.  The early center had Grant's at the north end.  Next to it was a small set-back fabric store; don't remember the name.  Then there was an open walk-through; it didn't have any stores in it.  There was some clothing store (maybe Lerner's), Western Auto, Al's Formal Wear (still there!!),  Across the walkway south of Walgreen's was a small gift shop, then a hair salon.  There were no entrances to anything in either of the walk-ways. The addition with BR was the first added.  The Shriner's used to practice their marching/music at night on the parking lot on the west side of the center.  I thought the name of the center was spelled Montclare, but I could be wrong.  The Montclare Apartments were just to the north of the center.  At some point part of them were sold and renames the Claremont Apartments!  If you drove all the way north on Academy, the street dead-ended in a house that had been converted to a small store.  It's official name was Cloud's, but everyone in the neighborhood called it The Little Store.  They custom cut meat; whenever we had neighborhood BBQ's my father always got his meat there.

[driveinfan]

The clothing store in the late 60's was Palais Royal and there was a beauty salon as you came out of the side entrance of Weingarten's in the late 60's.