Bill Williams Chicken House At 6515 South Main St.

[Earlydays]

I wonder if the canvass canopy is for that restaurant. It appears to be of the Prince's Drive-In vintage.

Yes, it was part of Bil William's....

[blue92]

Bill Williams Chicken House on S. Main.

http://blog.chron.co...-chicken-house/

My family ate there many times during the mid 60s we always went there for seafood. I was wondering if the restaurant ever changed it's name in the mid to late 60s. I for some reason thought the name was Bill Williams Sea Food Restaurant and Oyster Bar.

Edited February 9, 2012 by blue92

[Tana]

Love this clear and wonderful photo, especially the cars.

[roym]

Yep, that photo is sweet. Thanks for posting. One of the better ones I've seen aside from the one in the Chronical article.

[Specwriter]

Notice under the canvas canopy there is a 1958 Chevrolet (looks like a Bel Air two door hard top). Detroit was all about annual changes in the appearance of its cars then but I can't think of another that was a radical as that between the 1958 and 1959 GM products. My grandmother had a 1957 Pontiac Super Chief two-door hardtop and my father had a 1959 Catalina two-door hardtop. It's amazing those two came from the same manufacturer and only two years apart. Somewhere in a box of photographs in my parents house is a picture of the two cars, side-by-side, in the driveway of our house.

Almost as radical was the difference in appearance of Dad's '59 and '64 Catalinas. The latter was also a two-door hardtop but it had no fins and seemingly less than half the bright trim of the '59. The roof had two transverse ribs that made it look like a convertible (sort of). Because the windshiled on the 1959 GM cars wrapped so far up and the back glass on the two-door hardtops did the same, the metal roofs of those cars were small indeed.

[plumber2]

GM designers were shocked when they first saw the 57 Chrysler products. They rushed back to their studios and scrapped their 1959 designs, but their all new 1958 designs were already too far along to change. That is why there is such a stark difference between the 1958 and 1959 GM models, leaving the 1958 models as one year wonders!

[Michelle C]

Least we forget a picture of good ole Bill Williams, one of my favorite haunts when I was a teen. Bill Williams was located at 6515 Main. Known for their savage style fried chicken. The drive in portion of the restaurant was the big attraction for me. A hamburger and a drink that took an hour to eat gave you ample time for some boy to notice you and start up a conversation.

 

 

[brhaltx]

What is "savage style" fried chicken?

[plumber2]

There was another thread a few years back, where someone spotted the original indian statues at a place of business up near Lake Somerville.

[LarryDierker]

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/12904-bill-williams-indians-mystery-solved/

[Michelle C]

I have this picture showing the Indians albeit its not the best but you can see them pretty clearly.

 

 

[GEM]

Kool............

 

Edited March 25, 2014 by GEM

[Greta]

Those Indians sat at the end of our property in Brazoria county.  When my parents moved to Somerville (late 1980s), the Indian moved too. Ironically, the road they lived on in Birch Creek Forrest was called Straight Arrow lane.  If you were lost in the neighborhood or as a landmark, look for the Indian.  Our family has wonderful memories of the Indian. My children played, climbed, and hid in him.  Folks used to stop and ask to take pictures with him all the time.  I have pictures of my kids, etc playing with him. The last couple years I have made my kids stop in Lyons and snap a pic with him.  

Sir, if you ever decide to get rid of him, please contact me first.  Greta Shelton 979-709-2719. Gretalcrocker@yahoo.com. Now with grandkids of my own, I would love for them to experience what my kids did. 

Hopefully I can posts a few pics here 

 

[Greta]

1999.  Straight arrow lane. Birch creek forest. Youngest son and myself.

Greta Shelton/ Steven (Bud) Crocker

[Greta]

ROYM,  

I will see if he is still there. I think the old lady that lived there died.  If he's not there, I will try to ask the new homeowners if they know where he might be, if they know.  It was so cool as a teenager to watch people in awe looking at both of them.  They sat on each side of her driveway.  My dad(Jim Wheeler) bought the property that the kneeling Indian sat on. Since the lady did not move him in a timely manner, we aquired him. Looking back now, I'm pretty sure my dad wanted to purchase the other one, but she wouldn't sell it. It would be awesome to have them back together again.  I doubt if many people even know the story behind them. 

I absolutely love the fact that my family and children know the story. 

Greta

[Highrise Tower]

Found some Bill Williams matches listed for sale.  I know there was 3, or 4, Bill Williams locations across town.

However, I do not know the dates of the business operations.

The matchbooks include different buildings in different years. Were these buildings all in the same location? Where was the original Bill Williams restaurant located at? If so, was there previous buildings in the same spot? Trying to understand these matches.  The 1936 building looks so simple, like a stand, not a full restaurant. ID of location?

The dates listed are:

1936
1938
1941
1942
Unknown (front of the matchbook)

[Dave W]

3 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

Found some Bill Williams matches listed for sale.  I know there was 3, or 4, Bill Williams locations across town.

However, I do not know the dates of the business operations.

The matchbooks include different buildings in different years. Were these buildings all in the same location? Where was the original Bill Williams restaurant located at? If so, was there previous buildings in the same spot? Trying to understand these matches.  The 1936 building looks so simple, like a stand, not a full restaurant. ID of location?

The dates listed are:

1936
1938
1941
1942
Unknown (front of the matchbook)

He opened the South Main St. location in 1936 so I believe these were all expansions of that location.

[EspersonBuildings]

Wow, seeing those Indians really brings back a lot of memories.   Never dined at the restaurant but always remember driving by them on "South" Main in the early 70's and, as a kid, thought those Indians were so cool!