Pla-Mor Amusement Center At Dallas St. & Fannin St.

[57Tbird]

Sparky said:

I do have pictures I can post but I will have to have my son show me how to do that. I just discovered that my sister had posted #119 on 5-10-2006, as member No. 2116. What a pleasant discovery. She passed away on July 3, 2006, one day shy of her 73rd. birthday on July 4th.. When we were little she always thought the July 4th. celebrations were for her birthday. I really don't know what kind of posts to do so I will just ramble on about living in the park. Some one said they remembered the neon towers at the park entrance. They did look like giant toothbrushes from a distance. They were hollow inside and filled with spiders, webs, and a lot of wiring. Before the school bus was allowed to pick us up inside the park grounds, we would have to catch the bus in front of the park. We would take cover in the towers if it was raining. When my dad found out we were doing this, he got the buses to come into the park and pick us up by our frozen custard stand. The first job I can remember having was blowing us ballons for the dart joint. I blew them up by mouth, tied them and them put them in a big ballon box. If you ever try this game at a carnival throw the dart up so it will come down to hit the ballon. It works better than a hard straight throw. I worked in the front food stand until I was old enough to run the snow cone, cotton candy, and popcorn stand by myself. I still roll cotton candy cones if I am holding a dollor bill. To change the subject, my sister had mentioned Playmore that was in downtown Houston. It had bumper cars, a penny arcade, my dads food stand, some joints, and of course the man who was buried alive. That was my "Uncle Homer". He was not really a blood uncle, but was one of the people that came in off the road when my family did. Coming in off the road meant that you had left the sawdust trail and settled down. The saw dust trail meant that you traveled with a carnival or a circus which we had done. If anyone is interested I can post some stuff about that. Uncle Homer not only was buried alive, he also managed to make the board cut-outs that my mom used in the mug joint. The favorite cut-out of course was the jail. When I married and moved away from the Park, I still could hear the sounds at night when I went to bed. My father had the concessions at Arrowhead which was on Old Spanish Trail. The monorail was also on OST.. As a matter of fact the year my father passed away he had the concessions at almost all of the public places in Houston. The Colliseum, The Music Hall, The Auditorium, The Zoo, Herman Park, Playland Park, and was bidding on the Astrodome when it was built. Like I said I am just typing what comes to mind. Let me know if you like it. Thanks again for the site. Sparky

I had forgotten about the Pla-Mor arcade downtown until you mentioned it. It was on Dallas, between Main and Fannin, across from where Sakowitz would eventually be built. I went there many times as a youngster in the mid-40's. As I remember, it was open-air, on the ground floor of some type of structure that may have been a parking garage.

Where did you go to school while living at Playland? You and I are the same age. I am the "gentleman" you mentioned in your first post who was buying a Coke when that horrible accident occurred at Playland in 1959.

[Highrise Tower]

I take it the Slusky Bros. also owned Pla-Mor Amusement Center? Both times I have seen Playland Park advertised, there is Pla-Mor a long with it.

It appears the Slusky Bros. owned/managed three centers in Houston.
1) Playland Park
2) Pla-Mo Amusement Center
3) Hermann Park Train

From the year book from University of Houston called Houstonian dated 1943:

For the Time of Your Life
Visit
Playland Park
9200 South Main

and

Pla-Mor Amusement Center
Dallas at Fannin