Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Houston: department store, to move)

[*mud*]

Originally Posted by Dwangle

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CA 6-3232--The Frost Bank number--

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When telemarketers call and ask for the owner or the lady of the house, or whatever,

I always tell them they have the wrong number, and need to call 210 226 3232.

I actually had one guy call me back to laugh about it.............
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[RGJ]

Anybody go to the Boy's Club over by Page? It looked like an aircraft hangar. Used to hang out, play ping pong, etc. Also, for a while there was a YMCA small building by the water tower on Meadowlark? Carey Sinclair, who was also the principal at Hot Wells/Connell, kinda ran it....I remember as a kid playing ping pong against him. And the dump,(pardon me, the landfill!!!) where now Skyline baseball park is? Is there any greater experience than going to the dump as a kid?

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by HillCountryHotRodMan

Hey Will', where is that located?

Here you go:

Colonna's Grill. 12540 Bandera Rd Helotes, TX 78023 210 372-0053

A friend said the pizza tasted as good as it did back in the 80's.

[BudB]

Originally Posted by RGJ

Anybody go to the Boy's Club over by Page? It looked like an aircraft hangar.

I asked that question a while back as it was a fave hangout way back when eventho things got a bit rough there on occasion. Here are old and new fotos of the Boy's Club building when it was just built and a couple years ago when I stopped by and shot a frame or two. They bring back a lot of good and a few scary memories for me so I hope you'll enjoy them too. The big trampolines were always fun but you usually had to wait because everybody wanted to jump around or see how high they could go. I wonder whatever happened to Stanley the manager? He drove a white, late 40s Chevy pick-up with the Boy's Club emblem painted on each door. Wish I had a pic of him and that truck.

[BudB]

Also a while ago someone asked about the old and long gone River-Vue amusement park that backed up to the SA River across from Mission stadium. I found this foto yesterday at the Institute of Texan Cultures while visiting and was told this is probably the only image of River-Vue they have. This is a xerox but the detail is good enough to show the lay of the land and the two historic sites. That's Probandt in the upper distance while the park sat on Mission Road and the Stadium on Mitchell & Mission Rd. with Steves snaking across the middle.

[wayover20]

Originally Posted by RGJ

Anybody go to the Boy's Club over by Page? It looked like an aircraft hangar. Used to hang out, play ping pong, etc.

My 2 brothers went there all the time after school to use the trampoline and the other gymnastic stuff. I remember riding my bike over there and my older brother saw me, came out and said "you can't be here, it's for BOYS only!" Heck, that's why I was there!

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by BudB

I asked that question a while back as it was a fave hangout way back when eventho things got a bit rough there on occasion. Here are old and new fotos of the Boy's Club building when it was just built and a couple years ago when I stopped by and shot a frame or two. They bring back a lot of good and a few scary memories for me so I hope you'll enjoy them too. The big trampolines were always fun but you usually had to wait because everybody wanted to jump around or see how high they could go. I wonder whatever happened to Stanley the manager? He drove a white, late 40s Chevy pick-up with the Boy's Club emblem painted on each door. Wish I had a pic of him and that truck.

Great photos Bud!! I used to pass by this facility all the time and actually went there to work on something many years ago. Not sure if i ever went in the Quonset bldg but certainly bldgs. at the rear.

Originally Posted by BudB

Also a while ago someone asked about the old and long gone River-Vue amusement park that backed up to the SA River across from Mission stadium. I found this foto yesterday at the Institute of Texan Cultures while visiting and was told this is probably the only image of River-Vue they have. This is a xerox but the detail is good enough to show the lay of the land and the two historic sites. That's Probandt in the upper distance while the park sat on Mission Road and the Stadium on Mitchell & Mission Rd. with Steves snaking across the middle.

That would be me Bud!! Never thought I'd see a photo of the park along with Mission Stadium. Don't recall the additional baseball diamond across Mission Rd. Great photos Bud!! Thanks a lot!!

[tclhd]

Unfortunately Colonna's did not last long and closed several months ago. Some other restaurant opened after them and has also closed.

[DickZ]

Originally Posted by Willsatx

Anyone know the history of Wolff and Marxx, I know they were bought out by Joske's in 1965 anyone know when they started?

I recently bought on eBay a silver tureen dating back to 1913 that was used at Wolff and Marx. Here is part of the history that the guy selling the tureen had put together.

Abraham Wolff (followed by Albert Wolff) originally had a dry goods and clothing store in San Antonio ca. 1874 on the corner of E. Commerce and Alamo. In 1913, Albert Wolff along with his partner Daniel Marx expanded into a major department store in the Rand Building at 210 W. Houston Street and called it 'The Wolff & Marx Company'. This was an impressive 7-story tall store that included a fancy Tea Room where many luncheons, fashion shows and community events & celebrations were held.

The Wolff & Marx Company was a famous department store whose flagship store was located in San Antonio Texas at Houston, Soledad and Veramendi Streets and Main Avenue. The building was designed by "skyscraper architects" Sanguinet and Staats of Fort Worth - this was the tallest building in San Antonio when constructed in 1913. In those days department stores held all kinds of merchandise, including linens, notions, millinery, clothes, fancy goods, furniture, tools, horse supplies, plants, food, books, antiques, gifts. This flagship San Antonio store had a Tea Room ca. 1913 - 1930's, when it was updated to another restaurant, which I think was called the "Bright Shawl". A San Antonio Light (newspaper) article dated August 10, 1913 highlights a major event - Wolff & Marx were going to use motor cars and not horses to deliver parcels! The SAL on October 14, 1913 gushes about the glove sales at W&M breaking records. The SAL and also the San Antonio Express newspapers continued to document the Wolff & Marx history up until 1965.

I ran into a lot of interesting facts about Wolff & Marx. W&M thanked their customers for the 'demobilization of suits' - another word for sale? March 3 - 8 1919 W&M held a 'Domestic Science and Culinary Arts Course' on their 7th floor. W&M's Basement Sales were legendary, and they advertised mail order as an option. In 1920 W&M closed the Tea Room July 1 to move it up to the 7th floor, where it was to re-open in August 1920. In 1927 W&M held a children's book contest with the Carnegie Library. In 1930 W&M advertised a "Fountain" where patrons could buy sodas and food. A Jan. 18th 1931 advertisement touted "Our six big Houston Street Windows are fill with silk underwear! See this display! (I thought that daring for the times.) A June 2, 1935 notice said "Notice to the Public: It is the Desire and the Intent of the Wolff & Marx Co. to follow to the letter the regulations of the NRA..." (must've been an interesting controversy going on.)

In February of 1938 the W&M began a modernization project. In August 1938 during San Antonio's Texas Day Event, Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, a famous aviator who made a solo flight from NY to Ireland when he was supposed to fly to California, was to make a personal appearance at Wolff & Marx. In March of 1945, W&M confirmed their policy was to keep their prices down to Help Fight Inflation in full cooperation with the OPA (war effort?). In 1957, the Alamo Orchid Society held its first orchid exhibition at the Wolff & Marx department store. Many of the W&M advertisements in the 1950s and early '60's announced sale after sale, seeming to indicate business problems.

The New York Times reported on Nov. 27, 1964 that Allied Stores Corporation announced that it was offering to purchase the stock of Wolff & Marx, Inc., a San Antonio department store, for $11 a share. In January 1965, Wolff & Marx was purchased by rival Joske's (owned by Allied); in less than a month, against specific promises to the contrary, the seven-story Wolff & Marx flagship store downtown was closed (reason given: no escalators). The building was sold in 1968 and is now known as the Rand Building. (sources: wikipedia)

[RGJ]

Originally Posted by satx56

Great photos Bud!! I used to pass by this facility all the time and actually went there to work on something many years ago. Not sure if i ever went in the Quonset bldg but certainly bldgs. at the rear.

That would be me Bud!! Never thought I'd see a photo of the park along with Mission Stadium. Don't recall the additional baseball diamond across Mission Rd. Great photos Bud!! Thanks a lot!!

I went to a couple of baseball games at that stadium. I think it was owned by the same guy that eventually built the Astrodome. I believe the story goes that he had this one torn down so as not to compete with the Houston Astros.