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

[slingshot]

Originally Posted by montrosenostalgia

I see a lot of people referencing the Houston Blacklight and Poster Co. Where was it? Do you recall the address? it seems like it was a cool iconic place.

I was a manager at Houston Blacklight and Poster Co. from 1971 and 1972. Actually I was manager of their 'head shop' that was on the ground floor level of the building. It was located almost directly across from Allen's Landing and Love Street Light Circus which was a club on the top floor of a building at Allen's Landing. All this was close to the corner of where Main St. crosses over Buffalo Bayou.

[montrosenostalgia]

Originally Posted by slingshot

I was a manager at Houston Blacklight and Poster Co. from 1971 and 1972. Actually I was manager of their 'head shop' that was on the ground floor level of the building. It was located almost directly across from Allen's Landing and Love Street Light Circus which was a club on the top floor of a building at Allen's Landing. All this was close to the corner of where Main St. crosses over Buffalo Bayou.

Cool! thanks for the info. I bet it was a great place to visit. Wishing for a time machine!

[slingshot]

Originally Posted by montrosenostalgia

Wishing for a time machine!

Me too. It was a great time in my life. I am now married to a lady that I met in that head shop in 1971.

[124c41]

This is like a trip down memory lane for me. After my divorce in the early 70's I was well aware that the Strip was where it was happenning. I was rooming in a bachelor pad with a friend out a ways on Westheimer, and we would haunt the Montrose area for the action. I remember sitting in a club one night, and listening to this guy sing with an unusual voice, then finding out later it was Leon Redbone. Folks from that time will know who he was. Someone else mentioned some of the old Victorian homes that were converted into clubs. I remember being able to walk into one, going upstairs, and listening to the band on the first floor, then leaving after awhile, and going down aways to another home set up the same way. Throngs of people wherever you went.

We parked at a lot one Halloween night, and had the greatest time of our lives watching the costumes. I remember two guys, each one dressed like a breast walking together down the street. It was a hoot!

The Alabama was my haunt as well. Many a midnight movie there.

I can't remember the name of the club, but my buddy and I went there, and met some college girls, and partied the night away. My buddy told some friends of his about the club, and built it up, and so about 2 weeks later we went back. We walked in and sat at the bar to order a beer, and we were commenting on the lack of single ladies there. As we looked around, it suddenly dawned on us it had become a gay bar. Well, we left, and never heard the end of it. His buddies said to never invite them to go with us again.

So many memories. Thanks for posting everyone!

[austindog]

Hi rwsteiger,

I just joined. Don't know my way around the site yet or how to use it…
Joined because I googled "the Montrose" one night and saw your post about the Family Connection.
I believe it was on Commonwealth in 1970.
I lived there at the Branard location in 1971-73.
My counselor at the Connection in 1971 hired me in 1977 to work at another half-way house for runaways, Sanddollar. I also got to work full-time as a counselor at Family Connection. By then, it was on Huldy.

I went to Of Our Own mainly because I was only 13 when it opened and lived in West University Place. So, it was a place me and my friends could walk to, and they let in minors (we had to have some kind of smudge on our foreheads that could only be seen under a black light).

The Natural Child, I remember hearing about but never went there.

Please tell me about your interest in Family Connection. I've always wanted to reconnect with fellow Montrose runaways from that era and find out how they are.

[124c41]

Thanks to the photo tour from jfre81 I remembered another Montrose memory. I was working for an air conditioning company, and we had to run some ductwork in Felix's. It was one of those mid-summer, hot, humid days, and when we got there that morning we were less than enthused because it was in an existing space, one of the hardest kinds of jobs to do. As we were getting the material ready to start, the cook came out to the truck with a huge bowl of fresh made tortilla chips, and another big bowl of fresh made pico de gallio. He said he appreciated what we were about to do because it would offer him relief where he cooked. Great folks at the restuarant.

[124c41]

Montrosememory you stirred my memory of Allens Landing. I remember Love Street Light Circus. You could sometimes hear the music cranking out of the place as you walked around the Landing. I snuck my way into a club called The Cellar, and felt like I was in another world. I was 16, and had never seen a place like that. Big, overstuffed pillows spread around, and waitresses with "I dream of Jeanie" outfits on. I noticed some of them carried their trays with one hand, and the other hand was behind their back. As one passed me I looked at the hand behind her, and saw it was brass knuckles. I figured this place was a little too rough for me.

[montrosenostalgia]

Originally Posted by VictorD2

Thank you. That may have been a typo or The Magick Cauldron was really around since the '70s, I don't know. I've been meaning to make a day of researching that in the Houston Public Library newspaper archives one day.

I found another post on this site:
Swamplot Street Sleuths: Something About Mary’s, Design Stalkers | Swamplot
that mentions Sybil Leeks being where Charlie's was. I wonder if some of the confusion may be because there was a separate building, used to be the Barn? and Bacchus II, behind Chances, that was eventually attached to it with a hallway and formed a courtyard between the two. Because of the way it was situated the back place (once was a house I imagine) always appeared to be part of the front building. I do know that in the 1930s it was a Texaco filling station. The photo at Half Price across the street proves that. This is fun, trying to find what was where and when! I would die to see a photo of Prufrock's. It was long gone before I ever lived there, but I am fascinated by it. Where is my time machine?

[Louise Joles]

I wondering if anyone can help me identify a beautiful, small Swedish (I think) bistro I used to go to in the 70's.It was on either Westheimer or Post Oak Blvd. It had a red awning and had a distinctive name. They served yummy little plate lunches which included a shredded carrot salad. It had a European feel and the food was really good. I think it might have been located at the end of a strip center. This, I believe was in the same era as The Enchanted Cup and Los Troncos.

[sketteroo]

Biggest change to Montrose since the 70's? Skyrocketing value of real estate, hands down. During the oil bust of the 80's, the Montrose bungalows and their lots could be had for 30-35k. Now it's more like 300-400k at minimum.