Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Houston: dog, American)

[940]

Originally Posted by bandit1143

I remember the mansion located just past the South Texas Blood Center. My friend and I worked the Campus Life Haunted House in the mansion in October 1980 or 1981. People had to park by the credit union and walk up the road I believe. Before that they would set up the haunted house in a large tent in the back parking lot of Wonderland Mall , just south of the Wonder Theater. That is also that location of the giant slide.

Those haunted houses scared the crap out of me..and I remember walking through the large tent near the Wonder Theater in the 70s...it was definitely very elaborate and very creepy even if it was just a huge tent.

[Primo]

Hopefully my new discovery will stir up a lively discussion of CPM.
After looking at....it got me wondering.
I believe Mr. Dunderbak was located where the Frontier or Hardy's was? (Which later became PetLand). Also..wasn't the Gap located in that same area? What was Beef Baron...I don't recall that for some reason?

[Primo]

It is amazing how Jim's/Frontier Burger was in all the malls and other locations and failed. But yet they mananged to hang on to the Tower and a corner at almost every major intersection. While Jim's has decent food, the environment reminds me of being at my grandmothers house., I hate the fact that they basically prevent any true diner from being in the city. I wish had a choice of something like an East coast box car diner in SA instead of a Jim's on every corner (Tip Top being the closest thing).
But I guess Taco Cabana is also to blame for being our subsitute for a late night eatting place instead of a diner.

[OzzyRules]

I think Whataburger is the true replacement of the diner.

[1313]

Originally Posted by bandit1143

I remember the mansion located just past the South Texas Blood Center. My friend and I worked the Campus Life Haunted House in the mansion in October 1980 or 1981. People had to park by the credit union and walk up the road I believe. Before that they would set up the haunted house in a large tent in the back parking lot of Wonderland Mall , just south of the Wonder Theater. That is also that location of the giant slide.

When I was a freshman in high school around 1980 I worked at the Wonderland Haunted "Tent" one year as the crazy guy with the chainsaw. I wore a white coverall with a real gas chainsaw that had the actual chain removed. I was positioned in the last "room" of the tent and I think it was my job to keep the people moving towards the exit. I really remember the chainsaw exhaust fumes!!

[1313]

Originally Posted by Golden Bear

Does anyone remember going to Bee-Zee Corner Ice House, when we were young my mom would buy milk there and when I got older we use to buy beer there. We were also in high school at the time. It sat on west ave about a 6 blocks from ih-10 near or across from the whataburger thats there now, caddy corner(el monte st.), and across what use to be , but wasnt there at the time a circle K. Very nostalgic beer joint, also it was curb service,this old lady would come out and serve u by loading your car with case of Lone Star, no id required. It lasted up until that circle k came in and they had a bad shooting. Then moved down west ave by the post office.

I think I remember the BeeZee. I do remember the "Texan" ice house which was on West Ave right near Arroya Vista and the railroad tracks. I would go there with my grandfather and sit at the bar while he drank a beer (or probably several). Come to think of it I went to lots of icehouses with my grandfather. There was a Fina on Blanco south of Basse which was a regular gas station but had a bar in the rear. Also there was another icehouse on Blanco just north of Basse on the east side of the street. I remember it was a kind of an open bar with no walls between the parking lot and the building. I think it was painted a bright green color. Wow.. I can't believe the stuff I spontaneously remember just from reading these posts.

[Macgrad89]

Primo gets a rep point for the Find of the Day! The map is from the grand opening of CPM in March of 1968.

Dunderbak's was at North Star in the bend where Lids, Great American Cookie, etc. are now (next to Mervyn's). The Frontier was at CPM until the mid or late 80s as I remember my folks taking us there for burgers and I was in middle school. Dad started going to the old Frontier Meat and Supply house on Austin Hwy for steaks about that time. Pity that's gone now... (Frontier Meat and Supply was on Austin Hwy where the short connector from Harry Wurzbach ends, across from Astro Bowl. It was an old Frontier Drive-In with a warehouse out back. The Frontier went bye-bye about 4-5 years ago when Lowe's, et. al built there.)

I also remember going into G.C. Murphy a bunch as a kid. They left the mall around 1979-1980 and Beall's took the space. G.C. Murphy was a five-and-dime like Winn's.

It doesn't seem possible it's been 5+ years already since the mall closed (July 2002). It was torn down in 2003 with Dillard's and the GPM Towers coming down earlier this year. Sears was rumored to be building a new store on site at Park North with the old store seeing the wrecking ball, thus leaving nothing left of the original mall. I took some photos of the mall being demolished; just gotta figure out where in the world I put them.

Macgrad89

[Bluebonnet Mom]

Originally Posted by Primo

Ask and you shall receive. Sorry it took a while to find. This is from March 1968

I can't thank you enough, Primo! This is exactly what I've been looking for (short of pics of the entire mall) and what lead me to this thread in the first place. A truly great find!

A question: Why is information on Central Park so difficult to find? Northstar, Windsor and Wonderland have so much info available but I can't seem to find anything for CP.

[smuboy86]

Northstar, and Wonderland (crossroads) are still around. Windsor was a major mall for San Antonio, the biggest in town when it opened, was operated by a big mall operator. It also lasted long enough to just make it in to the internet age. Central Park was old, operated locally and pretty small. information on it will just be hard to find.

[gy2020]

I am going to date myself. I grew up in San Antonio all my life with a few years in Austin, Houston and St. Louis. I started out on the southside off S. Presa and my favorite theatre has always been the Hi-Ho Theatre on S. Presa. It opened in 1947 and closed in 1955. I remember going to the theatre on Saturday mornings at 10 am and staying until 6 pm. I saw serials, newsreels, a double feature and lots of cartoons. A day well spent.
At night we would listen to a radio show called "So You Wanta Be a Cop!" It was a fore runner to a lot of reality cop shows. A newsman road with a cop on Friday nights and reported on beer joints, picking up prostitutes, etc. Fun Night. and of course there was Amos and Andy on the radio and later on television. Life of Riley, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye. My first job I worked as abag boy for Handy Andy at 35 cents an hour.
Later I went to Woodlawn theatre on Northside, saw a lot of good flicks, learned to bowl at Woodlawn Bowling Alley, next to the Woodlawn Theatre. used take a date to Coolcrest, went to drive-in (food) on Bandera Rd and met a carhop named Cherokee.

Don Strange ( Strange party house) was a friend and graduated two years ahead of me from Jefferson H.S. We both went to Grace Presbyterian Church a couple of blocks away.

I met Big John Hamilton in the late 70's. A mutual friend introduced us. I worked to bring a Playboy Playmate to SA for Western Day for MDA. She was Hope Olsen, Miss October of 1976. A couple of years after that a friend of mine helped me the Centennial of the Shooting of Jack Harris. He used to run SA back in the 1870s and 1880s. Ben Thompson killed Jack the evening of July 11, 1882. so we had to celebrate at the Melodrama Theatre at Hemisfair Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and July 11, 1982. It's been over 26 years, good memories.

A lot more, save till later.