Who remembers these places in the evolution of Houston's nightlife? (Dallas: movers, townhomes)

[westres1]

C'mon...lots of these places are still around. Marfrellas,Gallant Knight,Club no minor, Numbers and Kays are still thriving.

Cooters,Roxy,Ups are just faded memories of really good times!

[inwood dreams]

Gallant Knight (last I heard, closed)
Club Sum
Shark Dance
J Larkins (clear lake)
Crush Bar
Club No Minor
Lizard Lounge
Emos
8-0s
Cars (Galveston)
Ocean Club
Volcano
Europa
Black Swan
Numbers
Prague
Orchid Lounge
The Turtle Club
JRs
South Beach
Ale House (still sad about that one)
Griffs
Ginger Man
Red Door
Bloncos
Tantra (giggle)

and of course,
La Strada Brunch

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Blue Rihno. Cabos too, when it was on Greenbriar. Wasn't there a Poison Room, or some cigar place too?

[inwood dreams]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Blue Rihno. Cabos too, when it was on Greenbriar. Wasn't there a Poison Room, or some cigar place too?

Downing Street?

[Timnwendy]

What was the name of the club (70s-80s style dance) that was open in the mid-90s and sat right next to Dave & Buster's on Richmond? It sat just west of it on Richmond.

I think it was probaby named above, but I can't think through the 15-year fog and pull the name out.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by inwood dreams

Downing Street?

This was before Downing Street. There was also some sort of Biker Bar there too with this chick with one arm... Clockarm we called her. Good looking Blonde. She was the Door Greeter. Flames on Clockarm.

There was also the 8Ball, or Carwash, or something like that... I'll think of them eventually. Whenever I go into Freebirds, I can't help but think of the club that was in there prior to that.

[JL]

Originally Posted by Timnwendy

What was the name of the club (70s-80s style dance) that was open in the mid-90s and sat right next to Dave & Buster's on Richmond? It sat just west of it on Richmond.

I think it was probaby named above, but I can't think through the 15-year fog and pull the name out.

Peter's Wild Life?

[TXDungeonMaster]

Here is my recollection of the "evolution" of the last twenty years or so in H-town from a dance club/bar point-of-view:

In the early 90's, the 'Richmond Strip" was pretty popular when Sam's Boat, Yucatan Liquor Stand, and then City Streets were in their heyday. Bayou Mama's was also popular out by Gessner/Westheimer. Though not in the same area, places like Lizard Lounge, Power Tools, DV8, 6400, and D2R were crossing over from the 80's for the dance set.

Around the mid 90's, with the opening of Cabo on Greenbriar, the nexus of Cabo/Live Bait/8.0 awakened the Greenbriar/Shepherd area as the "it" upscale spot. Other spots sprung up including The Ballroom (beautiful pool club), Q Cafe (the latin crowd lived here), and 2826 (which became Revere and then Peccavi). You also had the Mucky Duck and Mc Elroy's around the corner, and then Davenport and Guava Lamp opened up. These places appear to be the only survivors of this period. While not in that area, Crystal (at Hillcroft/59) made a name for itself during this time with disco and ethnic nights. For those interested in the checking out the shadows of yesterday in a different city, in Fort Worth, 8.0 still exists and Cabo spawned Cabo Grande. Both of these places are in the Sundance Square area. Also, the original 2826 (from Dallas) re-opens on and off again in Deep Ellum. Interestingly, I've been inside the place and it's modeled quite closely to the one in Houston (which is now sadly a car service shop). During this time the Richmond Strip remained quite active, and you had places like Blue Planet, Pete's Wild Life, and Tantra open. Also, random hot spots opened like Roxy and Sempers near Westheimer and Velvet Elvis on Richmond. This time period was especially cool for nightlife since the Houston Rockets won the finals in 1994-1995 and that made for some great times!

In the late 90's, downtown got a jumpstart when Jones Bar, Solero (tapas bar), and Spy launched alongside the larger version of Cabo. And then you had Prague (later M Bar), Tonic, The Mercury Room, State Bar, and Dean's near Main/Prairie/Travis. A bunch of bigger "corporate" money places opened: Sambuca, the bar at the Hotel Icon, Flying Saucer, etc.. You also had a slew of places like Hyperia, Club 808, etc. that catered to the electronica club crowd.

At the turn of the century, due mostly to street construction, downtown was effectively shut down. The landscaped shifted to Midtown. Midtown benefited from having been designated a TIRZ (basically, a tax shelter for redevelopment) and was sprouting residences (townhomes and apartments) at warp speed so you had a high density of singles. The spots here include(d) Bond Lounge, Escobar, Pub Fiction, Rich's (been there before Midtown was cool), Reef, etc.

Since then, there was a changing of the guard from Midtown to the now "it" Washington Avenue. Of some note, the new Uptown area has also progressed as a secondary destination with Belverde and The Tasting Room. Hopefully, for downtown and Midtown, given their strategic locations, they will never truly "die" but rather find a way to reinvent themselves.

Throughout all of this were some places that have been around forever. "Institutions" include the Black Lab, Blanco's, Ginger Man, Gallant Knight, Kay's, Marfreless, Marquis, Numbers, Rich's, Roxy, Sam's Boat, and Volcano. Too bad Emo's/Some closed and was converted to residences - that's the way it goes...

Of the eras above, I probably enjoyed the Greenbriar/Shepherd one the best followed by the early downtown scene. I liked these the most since they were the most walkable to go from one spot to the next and that made it really easy to go club/bar hopping!

Last, not necessarily "nightlife" related, but House of Pies, Katz's, Mai's (she's rebuilding), Tan Tan, and others have been staples of late-night dining. Oh, yeah, and we can't forget La Strada for brunch!!

[texas7]

So what bars are downtown and currently open?

[TXDungeonMaster]

Speaking of downtown bars, I would be remiss if I didn't mention La Carafe, the oldest bar in H-town! I'd definitely put it into the institution category, and I'm pretty sure it's still open...