Mading's Drug Store In Hugo's Restaurant Building

[Libbie]

For years, whenever I would turn left from Mandell onto Westheimer, I would look at the building on the north-west corner (now Hugo's Mexican Restaurant, http://kaldis.com/hugosrestaurant.html ,  before that, Imperial Plumbing Supply, before that (?), and I would have a dim toddler-memory of having eaten ice cream there, some 60 years ago. I had the notion that it had been a Rettig's Ice Cream Parlor, but I learned a few years ago on HAIF that the nearest Rettig's had been 3 or 4 blocks east, on Windsor at Westheimer.  Finally, my dim bulb lit up enough for me to do a little googling and discover that the building had been a Mading's Drugstore.  That made sense: most drugstores back then served ice cream;  as a toddler I probably thought that any place that served ice cream was called Rettig's;  there was a Rettig's down the street... .  But the memory is both indelible and dim.  Did anyone else ever patronize that business when it was a drugstore?  Just wondering.

[Michelle C]

When I lived in the neighborhood in the late 50,s the building was a cleaners. I think I have a picture of it when it was a Madings. I will check tomorrow and if I do I will post it here.

[Libbie]

I hope you find the picture. I would really love to see it.

[Michelle C]

I was using my lap top earlier and didn't have any pictures on it. I have found the picture, hope you enjoy it. It also has a big Rettig's ice cream sign on it too. Looking close at the picture it appears that an A & P store was next to the drug store. The photo is from the Sloane collection so we will give him credit for the pic. I have posted two pictures one from when It was built and the other as it looks now.

[txn4art]

Another sign on the building is for Joseph Finger, the architect who designed Houston's City Hall as well as other local buildings in the Art Deco style..

 

The small metal decorations and the light fixtures on the edge of the canopy in the old photo are interesting details.

 

[NenaE]

Another sign on the building is for Joseph Finger, the architect who designed Houston's City Hall as well as other local buildings in the Art Deco style..

 

The small metal decorations and the light fixtures on the edge of the canopy in the old photo are interesting details.

 

I was going to say, I've never seen those dome light fixtures hanging under canopies. I agree... nice details. 

 

***** & Pacific Tea Co. is to the left. 

Edited September 8, 2014 by NenaE

[Michelle C]

The metal decorations on top of the canopy look like the fleur-de-lis. The dome light fixtures hanging from the bottom look to be very similar to the domed lights of the era that were common indoors. The grocery store on the left would be the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co or commonly called the A&P.

[brucesw]

I lived a block and a half from there in the early 70s when I first came to town.  I remember the toilets and lavatories on display in the picture windows, for those who wanted to go window shopping for toilets and lavatories.

 

I Love the open windows above the canopy for ventilation.

 

A & P -wow.  Grocery stores were so much smaller back then.  That's not all that big a building.

 

Did Mading's have three entrances so close together or was Rettig's a separate business?

 

I wonder if the presence of the architect's sign and the debris off to the right indicates it was a very new building when this picture was taken?

 

 

Edited September 8, 2014 by brucesw

[Libbie]

I was using my lap top earlier and didn't have any pictures on it. I have found the picture, hope you enjoy it. It also has a big Rettig's ice cream sign on it too. Looking close at the picture it appears that an A & P store was next to the drug store. The photo is from the Sloane collection so we will give him credit for the pic. I have posted two pictures one from when It was built and the other as it looks now.

 

That's a fantastic old picture! And it DID have a Rettig's ice cream sign on it. It is delightful beyond all logic to see that old picture.  You have helped me to scratch a decades-old memory itch! Thank you.

 

[hindesky]

"As Hugo's celebrates 20 years, chef Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught discuss their flagship restaurant's even older history."

https://www.chron.com/food/article/hugos-houston-building-history-17333333.php

[hindesky]

Looks like they are adding on.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

"Hugo’s restaurant, at 1600 Westheimer in Montrose, unveiled the Zoila Room, a private dining room available for events. Named for the mother of chefs Hugo Ortega and Ruben Ortega, the room fits 80 for seated events and 100 for standing receptions. The modern design is inspired by the colors and traditions of Mexico, where the chefs were born and raised. Hugo’s is part of H Town Restaurant Group. "