devonhart Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Found this postcard for sale on Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 So cool...too bad, it's office towers and parking lots. now. GoogleEarthed the location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 It is unfortunate that downtown lost its retail and residential core over time. Does anyone remember another 'fun shop' that was on the east side of downtown until at least the early 1980s? They sold novelties, gag gifts etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icepickphil Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 The other downtown 'fun shop' I remember from the 70s was Archies. It was a newstand also. Is that the one you're thinking of Subdude? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 The other downtown 'fun shop' I remember from the 70s was Archies. It was a newstand also. Is that the one you're thinking of Subdude?Where was that located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Going to Howard's Fun Shop was a rite of passage in 7th grade for kids my sister's age. She graduated from Bellaire in 1971, so that was probably 1965.ish. When she was 13 and I was 10, I would always hear about her friends going there on the Beechnut 88 bus. It was usually a proto-date, boy asking the girl if she wanted to go with him. Whether he asked about Howard's in particular, or downtown in general, I don't know. For some reason, when I got to be 13, in 1968, no one was doing that any more. Maybe Howard's was gone. I remember going downtown on the bus with two friends in 5th grade for a series of fashion and makeup classes at Neiman-Marcus. I loved downtown. I heard that "bums" lived in the rr cars at the end of downtown, but we never saw any. Nearby was Sam's Pawn Shop (I think) where I bought stuff that enchanted me, don't remember what. I remember signs outside the Adult clubs. I thought "No cover" meant that the dancers were naked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icepickphil Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Howard's was there well into the 70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semih Kandiyoti Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Well my granny has weaved many memories around that Fun Shop! According to her, it was the most amazing place to be...filled with the mirth of amusement and pleasure. Houston is special for all of us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earlydays Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Nothing quite like going there as a kid and buying fake vomit...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnstarstripe Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I would visit Howards Fun Shop whenever I went to downtown Houston with my dad. My dad awas the Continental Trailways bus terminal manager in the 1960s and Howards Fun Shop was right around the corner. I remember buying the "grab bags" for 25 cents.I also remember the electric shock gags they had in there. The lady in there was always tricking me into getting shocked by picking something off the counter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnstarstripe Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I would visit Howards Fun Shop whenever I went to downtown Houston with my dad. My dad awas the Continental Trailways bus terminal manager in the 1960s and Howards Fun Shop was right around the corner. I remember buying the "grab bags" for 25 cents.I also remember the electric shock gags they had in there. The lady in there was always tricking me into getting shocked by picking something off the counter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston Magic Shop Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 We have a new Magic Shop in Houston !! Just google "Magic Shop" its on Hwy 6 North. Lots of stuff in stock now, but more coming !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 In the early 60s, my friend and I would catch the 10 S Main bus downtown on Saturday mornings, watch the matinee at Loew's or The Majestic or The Metropolitan, eat lunch at James Coney Island, and spend the rest of the afternoon at Howard's. After a while we got invited to the back where you could often see guys trying new tricks or old guys just showing off close up moves. Because of my magic education at Howard's, I know how most stage magic is done and a lot of close up work, too, and it only makes me appreciate the talent and skill it all takes even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decaf Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 In the 60's we lived in the southeast neighborhood of Overbrook, and because of my allergies, my mom would drive me to the medical center every Friday for a weekly allergy shot. From time to time mom would combine these allergy clinic visits with a downtown shopping visit to Foley's and of course drag me with her. It was during one of those of those downtown treks that I discovered Howard's Fun Shop nearby Foleys. What a magical experience for a kid! There was a cowbell on the door to alert employees of our entrance. I'm not sure if Howard was still alive when I discovered his fun shop as it would have been at least 1968 if not later, but I relish the various magic trick demonstrations which they showed during my visits. I still have a hand buzzer from Howard's that I purchased as a child, but all the other tricks I purchased from that shop have unfortunately seem to have disappeared. I remember a plastic egg with balls trick and a disappearing coin trick which were mesmerizing to me at the time. The only thing that I haven't heard discussed on this forum (maybe I missed it) is that at the glass showcase, at least during the late sixties, they had a lot of adult-only nudie card sets, pens w/nudie pics, racy cigarette lighters, etc. that were probably a lot of fun for grown-ups of that era. Those kinds of adult gag gifts are unfortunately probably considered too politically incorrect for today's social climate. God bless Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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