Mystery Rural Houston Area Photograph

[Michelle C]

GNU is dead on target, I looked in my 43, 44 city directory and got some addresses. In 1944 Mary's was called LaHoma café the address was 813, the service station was not yet built. The oil field tool company was Dalley-Owens Tool Co. at 773 McCarty. The auto courts just north of the tool company was named Nif-Tee Tea cabins and was owned or ran by Liles Beulah.

 

The location of Mary's and the service station was a Union 76 truck stop in the 80's and 90's. The building that someone had thought to be the original Mary's was built when the truck stop was built. I had been in that truck stop before with my husband and have eaten in the café where Mary's used to set.

 

Its funny with all the looking that everyone on this board was doing trying to find Mary's café it is hard to believe that I had been by that very same spot many times and had actually eaten in that very spot. It gets to be a very small world sometimes and the answers to questions are under our very own noses.

[marmer]

That would explain why I thought it might be "Neptune" Motor Courts.

[NenaE]

Bravo... great work, Gnu. I was getting a little obsessive, too. Had to walk away, nothing was matching up. 

[Michelle C]

I have some updated info for this thread. I was in Austin today and went by the state library to look at some old Houston directories. I looked at the 1945, 46, 47, 48 49 and 50 directories. Apparently Mary's café was for only a brief period, not one directory called it Mary's café. In 1945 it was Bill's café and kept that name through 1949. The Humble service station next door did not show up in the directory until 1949, so the picture had to be taken after 1949. Some time about 1950 or 51 it showed that the owner of the service station named Anderson put in an auto parts store next to the service station and I think it was the old Mary's café building. The Dalley-Owens tool company at 773 McCarty had also changed names to George Rental Service