Memories Of Bellaire

[sevfiv]

Welcome to the forum - was the Locust address inner loop/Post Oak/Ave. C?

Locust is all now commercial in that area, but here is a block book map showing lots on the eastern side of Post Oak:

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v037/AE1997_37-38_0053.jpg

[JohnEric]

Welcome to the forum - was the Locust address inner loop/Post Oak/Ave. C?

Locust is all now commercial in that area, but here is a block book map showing lots on the eastern side of Post Oak:

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v037/AE1997_37-38_0053.jpg

The Locust on your map, east of Post Oak is where I lived until 1955. The first block on the north side of the street. I have drivin through the area, the small frame homes have been demolished and given way to much larger homes, still some of the smaller ones still exist. In 2000 the house I lived in on Locust was still standing...Eric

[sak]

I had forgotten about the Driver's license place. That's where I got my first license. Don't forget Shakey's Pizza, Kip's Big Boy, and what was the name of the restaurant in the center where the driver

[GBryant]

Bellaire was a fantastic place to grow up(77-89). We lived on Darsey street and I went to Horn and Pershing. I thought it had the perfect mix of urban and sorta rural living. Random bursts of nostalgia:

1. The horse pasture

2. The ditch and railroad tracks

3. The trestle over Brays Bayou

4. Monkey Hills

5. 25 cent bowling during the summer at Palace Lanes

6. The Veroner Boner

7. Hitting the bumps on Southdale (Baldwin Ave.) at Mildred and Effie in the back of my dad's van with the crappy suspension doing forty.

8. There was railroad tie laid across the ditch at Mildred(?) that afforded the easiest crossing of the ditch.

9. "Dad, can I have a dollar to go swimming at Evergreen?" (we couldn't afford the summer pass)

10. Sticking my toes in the tar they used to fix the horrific streets in our neighborhood.

11. Riding my bike to the arcade at Meyerland.

12. Dollar movies at the Bel-Air

Yeah.

[RPB]

Thanks a bunch for the photos. We moved from First street to 4300 block of Lafayette (a 2-block long street, same as Maple) in the Southdale addition, in 1957, sold that house in about 1982 for $45,000.00 :s

People used to ask why we wanted to live so far from Houston, dad worked on Bellaire Blvd and Acadamy at the Phone company, behind the theater, mom was a school crossing guard for Paul W. Horn, and later a columnist for the Bellaire Ttexan

I recall when Beechnut was built, it was the busiest freeway we ever saw, kept us kids from walking to the Bayou to swim and picnic.

[RPB]

OMG, I had forgotten the BonTon cleaners, we used those cleaners, they delivered in a wooden-sided panel truck/station wagon looking thing. My dad worked on Acadamy, you could see the Theater's tall sign from the Phone company parking lot. LOVED what went on in that balcony at the theater. ahhhh memories of youth lol

[VicMan]

5. 25 cent bowling during the summer at Palace Lanes

AFAIK Palace Lanes in Southside Place is the only bowling alley inside the 610 Loop...

[plumber2]

Don't forget about roller skating at the Bellaire Skating Rink on Chimney Rock.

[plumber2]

That Studebaker is either a 53 or 54 model. Could be a Champion or Commander coupe. Both were also available as hardtops. Hawks did not become available until 1956. Studebaker-Packard then updated this model one last time in 1962 as the GT Hawk. The last GT Hawk's built were '64 models. Studebaker ceased auto production in South Bend, Indiana in December, 1963 and then finally in Hamilton, Ontario in March, 1966.

[plumber2]

Do either of you two remember when the freeway was built and the houses on Post Oak were torn down? I specifically remember the two story house that was on the northeast corner of Bellaire Blvd. and the West Loop. Half of the house remained standing for several months afterwards, just like a doll house with the back removed. The garage to this house was still standing just a few years ago. Apparently this wedge of property is not usable.

[sevfiv]

Is this it in the map?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...aXcoqNUvR4Xsz5g

here's a capture of it:

[sevfiv]

Well, it seems that's just a small house - must be the neighbor of the place you wrote about

[plumber2]

That's it. The house stood just to the south of that garage, which you can see with the drive way . The house faced White St.

The highway department must have only purchased the amount of right of way it needed, slicing the property right down the middle of the house, leaving the garage stranded.

Thanks sevfiv!

[jmills]

I grew up in Bellaire in the '50s and '60s mostly, and frequented the Bellaire Theater quite a bit. When "The Alamo" came out, I saw it three times, one time from the projection booth because my next-door neighbor's dad was a projectionist there.

Does anyone remember the ball field and youth center that was on Bellaire Boulevard just across the tracks, about where the apartments and the bowling alley are today? More or less across from the old Southwest YMCA, which is now a West University rec center or something.

The Bellaire Texan folded in the late '80s, I believe. It had been sold to a chain, which eventually ceased its publication for awhile. Then the daughter of founding publisher Jack Gurwell, who died in the early '80s, revived it for a few years. If you go to the Bellaire library, be sure to look at the volumes of the old Southwestern Times, too. It was published from the late '40s until (I think) the early '50s.

My mom still lives in the house where I grew up, a little 2-1-1 that was actually the model home for that floor plan when the subdivision was built in 1949-50. Then I lived in Bellaire again from 1991 to 2003, and it was interesting. A lot of good people still live there. But the McMansions are mostly bringing in self-absorbed yuppies who shut their doors and rarely speak to their neighbors. Not all, but too many of them send their kids to overrated private schools and swim at The Houstonian instead of Evergreen. The Bellaire City Council encourages this by allowing oversized home construction which attracts these folks. Very short-sighted on their part.

I too grew up in Bellaire, and returned in '85. Our present home is still one of the original 1950's ranch-style homes, but we are rapidly being overtaken with the starter-castles. I am in a lucky position now as this is Bellaire's 100th anniversary, and I am a filmmaker that was chosen to make a documentary for the city about Bellaire's history. It's my opportunity to preserve what's left of what made Bellaire special.

You--and all on this forum--please let me know your remeberences, and if you have pictures, get in touch-- we need historical images or home movies of Bellaire for the film.

[sevfiv]

That is excellent to hear - and I know I and others are fans of your work!

I too grew up in Bellaire, and returned in '85. Our present home is still one of the original 1950's ranch-style homes, but we are rapidly being overtaken with the starter-castles. I am in a lucky position now as this is Bellaire's 100th anniversary, and I am a filmmaker that was chosen to make a documentary for the city about Bellaire's history. It's my opportunity to preserve what's left of what made Bellaire special.

You--and all on this forum--please let me know your remeberences, and if you have pictures, get in touch-- we need historical images or home movies of Bellaire for the film.

[Alpha]

I too grew up in Bellaire, and returned in '85. Our present home is still one of the original 1950's ranch-style homes, but we are rapidly being overtaken with the starter-castles. I am in a lucky position now as this is Bellaire's 100th anniversary, and I am a filmmaker that was chosen to make a documentary for the city about Bellaire's history. It's my opportunity to preserve what's left of what made Bellaire special.

You--and all on this forum--please let me know your remeberences, and if you have pictures, get in touch-- we need historical images or home movies of Bellaire for the film.

I posted some pictures in this thread: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...mp;#entry248348

[sevfiv]

Houston Public Library's Houston Area Digital Archives (HADA) is home to Bellaire's digital archives. There are quite a few interesting city and street views, some newspaper scans, and other ephemera:

http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm4/index_BelLib.php?CISOROOT=/BelLib

Here is a sample image of A&P and Valian's Pizza (images in the collection have a slider for zooming in):

http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/BelLib&CISOPTR=209&CISOBOX=1&REC=10

[4PROP]

Thanks so much for posting this. I had it saved it but lost track of it. The aerial pics are priceless! It's in "my favorites" again.

[GBryant]

Sevfiv, you've made my day. The pics of the playground at Evergreen Park brought back lots of fond memories of growing up in Bellaire.

[sevfiv]

I hope they add more!

Just for reference, the A&P above is the present day HEB on Cedar St.

Also, you can still see a little bit of the original modern building of 1st State Bank (the image of the bank, Perfecto Cleaners, and Belden's is located here: http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/u?/BelLib,212 and the current is streetview):

[Fringe]

Just for reference, the A&P above is the present day HEB on Cedar St.

I believe it was an Academy store after A&P before it became an HEB or was that next door? 

[sevfiv]

I don't know what was there between A&P and HEB but I can check a directory later on.

Another stucco-ization - the shopping center on S. Rice (then N. Rice) and Bissonnet (Hickory Pit on the SE corner, Ruby's in the picture). Here's the 1950s image:

http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/u?/BelLib,204

and more recently:

[GBryant]

I don't know what was there between A&P and HEB but I can check a directory later on.

Another stucco-ization - the shopping center on S. Rice (then N. Rice) and Bissonnet (Hickory Pit on the SE corner, Ruby's in the picture). Here's the 1950s image:

http://digital.houst...g/u?/BelLib,204

and more recently:

I'm pretty sure it was an Academy. My dad bought me my first airgun there. It was a pump pneumatic Benjamin in .177 with a real wood stock and everything. That thing was a beast. (to a ten year old).

[sevfiv]

Around what time was this? The only post-1950s directory I have access to at the moment is 1976 and at that time it was a Gerland's Food Fair..

[Fringe]

Early 80's.

[Alpha]

I lived in Bellaire from 1950 to 1960. There are two places I attended that I would like to find out the addresses if possible. One was a nursery school. I believe it was called Playhouse. I attended it in 1952 when I was four. While I was there, they acquired an interesting playground apparatus. It consisted of several tricycles arranged on a round platform. It worked somewhat like a merry-go-round. All of the children sat on the trikes and pedaled to make it go around.

The other place was the Ann Keene Dance Studio. I attended there from 1952 to around 1955. I thought it was in the center next to First State Bank, but I don't really remember.

If anyone has access to phone directories from this time period, I'd love to see them.

Thanks

[GBryant]

I lived in Bellaire from 1950 to 1960. There are two places I attended that I would like to find out the addresses if possible. One was a nursery school. I believe it was called Playhouse. I attended it in 1952 when I was four. While I was there, they acquired an interesting playground apparatus. It consisted of several tricycles arranged on a round platform. It worked somewhat like a merry-go-round. All of the children sat on the trikes and pedaled to make it go around.

The other place was the Ann Keene Dance Studio. I attended there from 1952 to around 1955. I thought it was in the center next to First State Bank, but I don't really remember.

If anyone has access to phone directories from this time period, I'd love to see them.

Thanks

You're before my time, but there was a very similar tricycle apparatus at Fame City in the late 80s. The problem was that the pedals were tied directly to the wheels. Thus, if the trikes were moving, the pedals were moving. And there was no platform. There were just these bars that connected the outer ring/rail upon which the trikes rode to the central pivot. Sooo, if you were to, say, put your left foot down while the trikes were moving, it was really easy to get your ankle wedged between a pedal and one of the aforementioned bars and have to be carried out of the place on your dad's back. Ask me how I know.

[Lloyd-TX]

I believe it was an Academy store after A&P before it became an HEB or was that next door?

I wasn't aware that the present day HEB location had ever been an A&P, but yes - prior to HEB it was indeed an Academy store.

My auto repair shop is located at 5118 Spruce St., almost directly behind HEB, next door to the O'Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Charlie's Hi-Lo).

We moved our business to this location in December of 1990, and until they closed up I'd walk over to Academy on my lunch break just to window shop. Bought my work shoes there for years . . .

Lots of changes around our area of Bellaire in the 20 years we've been here!

[johnlyphotography]

I am new to this forum and just want to say hello to everyone.

[Alpha]

I recently began scanning all the color slides we have, and ran across some color photos of Holt Street in Bellaire. As you can see, from one of the pictures, the house across the street closed in their front porch. The original pictures were taken in 1957, and the color slides were from late 1959. The picture of the children on the driveway is facing west - toward Post Oak.