I remember Montrose and Westheimer in the 1970's (Houston, Dallas: sales, club)

[ExTexan70]

I grew up in Houston. From 1942 until I left for work reasons in 1996, Houston was my home.

Oh, there were a few years I didn't live there. My step-father had a job with an oil company that sent him to Colombia, and we lived there for a year in the early 50s. Also, I was in the military from 1961 to almost 1970, so of course I was "out of town" for those years.

Still, though, Houston was my home. More specifically, the southwest side of town, primarily in the Shepherd Drive, Richmond Avenue, Westheimer Road, Alabama Drive, and all the other streets in that area: this was my world for my younger years. I started school at Wharton Elemenary, attended Lanier Junior High, and finished up at Lamar, the "2nd River Oaks Country Club." I delivered papers there(the old Houston Press at first, and later the Post.) While in high school, I dated a girl who lived on Danville Street. Don't bother looking for it now; it's been covered up by the Southwest Freeway. My first wife lived on West Main, and, when I wasdischarged from the military, we rented an apartment on Dunlavy.

I can remember when the old Gulf Building was the tallest building in town, and on a clear day, you could see it from 'way out on Westheimer Road, out past Lamar, almost to the Addicks Dam! Does anyone remember the "lollipop" that Gulf Oil put on top of it? A huge Gulf logo sign, almost as large in diameter as the width of the top of the building. It rotated slowly, and was illuminated at night, making a striking sight from quite a distance away at night!

I even remember when they (finally!) opened the Gulf Freeway all the way to Galveston, in 1952. Of course, sections of it had been open since '48, but now? Wow, you could drive at highway speeds all the way to and from Galveston without having to fight traffic on the Old Galveston Road, that three-lane death-trap!

I remember the original Brittain's Broiler Burger, on Westheimer where Greenbriar ended. It was a favorite place for me, since it had a sheltered outside seating area, surrounded by a low concrete and rough stone wall, with some of the stonework (!!) tables and seats positioned such that they were hidden from view, both from casual glances from the street, and also from the pickup window. This made it a prime location for stopping after school with your "steady", getting a Coke and a burger, and indulging in a little surreptitious necking before walking home.

Football games in Jeppesen Stadium, riding the old orange, non-air-conditioned city buses: going to movies at the Alabama or Tower Theater, or, if there was a really special movie, riding the bus downtown and going to the Majestic, Metropolitan, or Capitol Theaters. (Remember them?)

Speaking of downtown: remember when Foley's had that huge, curved glass display window between the front doors? It turned magical for Christmas, with their annual Christmas toy display. Of course, to a young boy, the most fascinating thing of all in that window was the trains. They always had an amazing setup of Lionel trains, the tracks winding their way around, through, under and even over the other toys. Several trains traveled those tracks, sometimes almost magically suspended in mid-air by hair-thin wires that allowed the tracks to sway gently as the train passed over them. Amazing... I could watch those trains for hours on end.

In the summer, we would sometimes go on picnics to the San Jacinto Battlegrounds. We would arange a blanket on the ground under the Spanish moss-hung trees along the bank of Buffalo Bayou and eat our cold fried chicken, potato salad and cold pork'n beans as we watched the ships slowly churn their way back and forth on the ship channel. Afterwards, it was a short walk to the old Battleship texas, and I would spend a joyous couple of hours with other boys on board, shooting down Japanese Zeros and German Messeschmitts with the old guns.

Yeah, I remember the old Houston. It wasn't a perfect city, even back then, but it was home, and dammit, I miss it!

[mikey713]

Wow must have been nice. I live there now, by alabama and mandell. I had hispanic tranny neighbors, see way too many hipsters, but time changes!

[Montrosememory]

I too frequented Slugs (almost nightly). I lived a few blocks away in an old house turned into 4 apartments on Kipling St. Slugs is what brought me to this website. I remember it being amazing: dance floor & bar on the first floor, air hockey (my favorite) on the second, and seemingly another bar & foosball on the third floor. And the yard was really cool. I especially remember an old dentist chair out there. Slugs was my home away from home. Lots of great memories of Montrose: The Palace, Damians, Herman Park, Westheimer Rd. Does anyone remember a little dance bar at the edge of The Heights? I believe it was called Miss (something). This was early to mid 1970s. Great times!

[Montrosememory]

Originally Posted by slingshot

I met my second wife on the hill at Miller Theater in Hermann Park in 1972. We had 27 wonderful years together. Lots of good memories of living in Montrose. Now I'm with my third wife that I actually met in 1971 when I was a manager at Houston Blacklight and Poster Co. across from Allen's Landing in downtown Houston.

I spent many summer days on the hill at Miller Theater in 1971 & '72. Also lots of time at Allen's Landing. That was my first year in Houston & as a 17 year old, I fell in love with it! I remember the little underground area with stores. It was all rock (or stone). Is that where the Houston Blacklight & Poster Co was? Do you know if that place is still there? I lived in Montrose for a while & in the Heights for a while. Loved them both, but so many good times in Montrose! I plan a visit soon & had wondered about Allens Landing.

[Montrosememory]

Originally Posted by sneighbors

I grew up just west of there,around Westheimer and Shepard.We used to go to the midnite movies at the Alabama theater on shepard.I could hitchhike around town almost as fast as you could drive.I never knew at the time how much the world would change and how innocent we really were.Although we thought that we were hard core.(we weren't)

So true. I remember those days. I too went to those movies. Loved them & the times! I moved to Montrose when I first moved away from home in 1972. For two years I didnt have a car & hitchhiked everywhere I went. Occasionally I would try the bus, but it was not very dependable and HH was much faster. God was definitely with me because I could certainly tell some HH stories. However, I was always kept safe.

[Montrosememory]

Originally Posted by sneighbors

I remember seeing Loudon Wainwright III at Liberty hall.

I saw Velvet Underground there. Do you remember where Liberty Hall was?

[Grasshopper744]

Liberty Hall was at 1610 Chenevert. I saw Taj Mahal play there. It was an awesome place. One name I haven't seen mentioned on this thread (unless I overlooked it), was Annabelle's. Seems like I recall it being in an old 2-story house on Alabama, just a block or two west of Graustark. And if anyone was into the singer-songwriter folk era, there was Sand Mountain, where Townes Van Zandt and Jerry Jeff Walker hung out. Remember Houlihan's on lower Westheimer, or the orginial Philidelphia's Cheesesteak place? What about La Bastille, downtown, anyone ? Midnight movies at the Alabama and River Oaks and Westheimer Theaters, I saw 'Harold and Maude' at one of those theaters--it's still one of my favorite off-beat movies. Oh, how glad I am to have found this thread! But it's 2:15 in the morning and I've been reading it for hours! Let's hear more stories!

[ExTexan70]

Oh, yes! I was there, and I saw the folk music thing come and go. For that matter, I was there during the birth of Rock 'n Roll! Does anybody remember what radio station was the first full-time rock 'n roll station in Houston, and who owned it, and what was his nickname? (Here's a hint: the original station is still in business, has the same call letters, and is on the same AM frequency, has an FM "sister" station, but neither is a R&R station.)

[Montrosememory]

Thanks for the location of Liberty Hall. I too saw Harold and Maude, I believe at the Alabama. Great movie. I can't recall the other places you mentioned. What years were you there?

[AmberAzeneth]

Originally Posted by ExTexan70

Oh, yes! I was there, and I saw the folk music thing come and go. For that matter, I was there during the birth of Rock 'n Roll! Does anybody remember what radio station was the first full-time rock 'n roll station in Houston, and who owned it, and what was his nickname? (Here's a hint: the original station is still in business, has the same call letters, and is on the same AM frequency, has an FM "sister" station, but neither is a R&R station.)

Wasn't it KILT? The owner's name was Dickey Rosenthal or something like that, correct?