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

[gy2020]

I lived in Houston from 1968 to 1976. Part of that time I lived in the Montrose area. I use to work at U-Tote-M on Montrose. There was an apartment next door. Two sisters (real) from New York lived there. They were professional girls in the real since of the word. They acquired their avocation from their mother who was also a working mom. Over the the two years I lived in the area, I was friends with transvestites, gay, drug addicts and a number of other questionable origin. While I worked the convenience trade I was robbed four times, shop lifted untold times.

I remember the Silver Dollar on Westheimer. I lived over on Pacific Street. Right across the street I had a white witch into herbs and spices and a few other items. I had a wild two years, but would never trade it for anything. I loved those years. It was like the hippie years a few years earlier.

I never did drugs, but I got a wiff of my neighbors. Didn't need to. Question, what is the old neighborhood like today?

[houstoner]

I've heard and read a lot of good things about those times. A lot of old-timers like to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days. It seems in this case they actually were! Montrose and also the area around Telephone Road. Places long gone like Liberty Hall. Houston was a much smaller, very different place back then...

[gy2020]

I worked the midnite shift at U-Tote_M. The store was on Montrose about two blocks from Westheimer. Right in the heart of the district. Working my shift I became a kinda of father confessor. It seems I got all kind of stories. I started in February of 1974, the month earlier, I was at a U-Tote-M on Dallas street for one month. I raised the prices on all my can goods and had a good inventory and was promoted to the 24 hour store.

One of my first customers was an ex-bank robber. He was a holdover from my Dallas Store. I let him sleep in his car next to the store. He needed money so he was going to sell his handgun to me. He was letting me borrow the pistol for one shift. I had an empty cigar box on the counter and I had the pistol in the box with the bore pointing out. It was in plain site. This big burly black man came into the store. He wandered around and I was suspicious. He came up to the counter and saw the box with my hand right over it. He asked directions and left the store. He went around the corner, and with his bare hands, forced the window down on my friends car. Reached in with a knife and robbed my friend of his clothes.
I purchased the handgun that night. More later...

[Mom2Feebs]

It's the same, basically, a little more glossy but still grungy in parts.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by gy2020

I never did drugs, but I got a wiff of my neighbors. Didn't need to. Question, what is the old neighborhood like today?

HAHAHA, ''doing drugs''? You were definitely alive in the Nixon era. You can catch a wiff of public enemy #1, walking around out there today from time to time.

Nothing like San Francisco, though.

[desertsun41]

I love the stories. Tell more.

While my first ever visit to Montrose was 2005, my wife who was born and raised in the Houston area told me some fasinating stories of old Montrose. On my frequent visits to Houston I always include a weekend walking the antique shops and having a great lunch at one of the many Montrose side walk cafes. I kind of like it there but would never live there.

While the lifestyle of the majority of those who live there is not my thing, I was never bothered by them. I say that because walking the more sleezy areas of Vancouver, BC the gay men would hit on me even when I had a woman in my arms. I love all the old Montrose Victorian style homes and how they have been brought back to life.

So early summer when we move to the Houston area for good you can bet you will find me eating at one of the sidewalk cafes kinda often.

How about some more stories?

[gy2020]

You twisted my arm.

I was only at the store for about two weeks and this pretty prostitute walks in and starts telling me these experiences she had. It appeared she worked for a ring and saw too much. She feared for her life. I never saw her after that night. The next day, I was having breakfast and reading the Houston Post. An article caught my attention. There was a prostitute ring working the Warrick Hotel. The women would seduce the rich guys in the hallways of the hotel and then lure them to a sleeze ball hotel across the street. It appeared this rich guy was seduced and when cameras were used to take pictures of him in compromising position, this particular guy refused to pay. More later. I contacted the newspaper and told the reporter about the girl I saw the night before. He got me into contact with the vice squad. I met this officer and he repeated the story. It appears that this rich guy was the President of Penn Central Railroad. Some of you old timers might remember how influencial Penn Central was back in 50's and 60's. Anyway, he refused to be blackmailed. The guys tied him up, gagged him and took him to the sticks. The set gasoline on him and made him into a torch. I saw the photo of the poor guy afterwards. Anyway, vice set up camp around our store and I was suppose to id the girl when I saw her. I saw a girl who I thought was her, but it was one of the two sisters from NY that I ID.

I spent weeks apologizing to the NY girl and we in time became good friends. We looked back and laughed it off. Apparently the girl I had seen had been wisked off to either Dallas, San Antonio or Austin, the circuit. Either that or they got rid of her for knowing too much.

Thats enough, more later. I hope this story was toooo heavy.

[gy2020]

I'm going to debunk one story before you do. I was researching railroad history and the Pres and also the chairman both died in the 80's. I haven't been able to find when David C. Bevan died. He was the Chief Financial Officer and the one who played with the books. I did see the pic and it could be that the poor bloke just told the people he was the pres and it got carried on down to vice. Or the vice could have been putting me on.

[gy2020]

I'm going to lighten this conversation.
This happened about a month prior to the last incident and it occurred at the previous store on Dallas Street. There was a bar across the street. And I had a customer that would come in and sweep my floors for a couple of bucks that he could use to go across the street and drink.
One day I got to the store on empty. I had no gas pumps at my store. This was during gas rationing. And we were allowed to buy gas every other day depending on odd/even last digit in license plate. Anyone remember those days. I thought I could trust this customer and so I asked him to go to nearest gas station get me some gas and come back. I probably gave him $5.00 for gas. I never saw him again. About 10 that night a friend came over to give me a ride home. We looked in neighborhood and couldn't find my car. The next day I contacted police and found that the man had been arrested and my car was impounded. It had been in a wreck and it was totalled. The story goes that the guy took my car and went for a fling. He was going up an entrance ramp to the freeway and hit the car in front of him. When the other driver got out of his car this guy that had my car pulled out a pistol and waved it at the other driver. Needless to say he got arrested. And I was taking the bus for a few weeks until I was able to buy another car.

[gy2020]

how about some stories from other people who live in Montrose?