blue92

Found it on the 1944 google aerial, here ya go. Epson Downs You can't find and evidence of it today because Hwy. 59 runs right threw where it was.

I've spent some of my off time researching the 1944, 1953, and the 1978 google historic aerials and noticed that at some point southwest Houston was the place to go for all kinds of racing. In the 1953 google and the 1957 historicaerials.com aerials of S.Main and OST you can see 2 racetracks and the remanence of 1 more track. Playland Park Speedway, Arrowhead race track and the remanence of a large race track right where the Reliant Stadium stands today. You can also see the remanence of that same track on the 1944 aerial. My link On both the 1944 and 1953 google aerials there was at some time a large race track at the intersection of S.Main and Holmes Rd. on the northwest corner of the intersection. My link In the 1953 google aerial the remanence of a Meyer Speedway sized track on the northeast corner of S.Post Oak and S.Main. It can also be seen on 1957 historicaerials.com. My link 1944 aerial the remanence of a large track off OST north of the street Griggs Rd. and northwest of MLK. My link In 1944, 1953, and 1978 aerials either a race track or a stadium on the south side of S.Main/90 as you come into Sugarland from Houston. Also seen on historicaerials.com 1957, 1964, 1973, 1981. My link Would be nice to know the histories of these tracks.

When they reconfigured Sam Houston Airport between 1944 and 1953 did they rename the airport? 1944 1953

Does any one know/remember the name of the private club that used to be on Buffalo Speedway north of S.Main on the east side on the street between Durhill St. and Elmridge St.? It's building were there from the early 50s to sometime around 1976. I think at one point it became someones private property. It had either a large swimming pool or a huge pond on the property. Here's a pic of the location off Google Earth 1953. http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/dlfswi/Picture12.png In fact if you go to Google Earth you can still see where the property was. Edit: The present-day 2023 address would be 3511 Linkwood Drive where the Bethany United Methodist Church is located. When viewing the historical images on Google Earth or Historic Aerials, 69 years ago, the address could have been different. Can confirm there is a swimming pool, pond, or a body of water next to the house.

I think the pic of the track from 1944 just proved Mr. Anderson incorrect. You can clearly see it's there. If you look at the pic of the track I posted you will see it's from Google Earth. If you have Google Earth you can go see it for yourself. Cool maps you got there. Looks like that area of town I grew up in was called Stella in that 1st map.

The neighborhood I grew up in was built in the 50s and was built off Buffalo Speedway, Buffalo Speedway being the 1st street of the neighborhood. Our house being in the neighborhood behind Gateway swimming pool. I remember the street Buffalo Speedway (name wise) didn't start till it was south of Belliaire Blvd. to S.Main St. North of Belliaire it was called University St. that ran north to Bissonnet St. In those days Kirby Dr. ended on Holcombe, the only way my mom could get to The Village to shop was up Buffalo Speedway by the big Catholic Church up to University Blvd. and over to the shopping centers there. Sometime in the late 60s they renamed it Buffalo Speedway all the way threw. So I'm thinking this must have been the race track that the street got it's name from.

I spent sometime today between Google Earth and Historic Aerials comparing the size of this track to the old Meyer's Speedway out on S.Main & Hillcroft, what I discovered is that the inside oval on this track and Meyer's Speedway are roughly the same size. I'm wondering if it was a track that pre-WW2 IndyCar type cars raced on or was it a test track for a tire company. I did see that Sella Link was there but it doesn't look like a paved road, kind of like West Belt during the mid 70s was there but was a white shell gravel road. Between 76-78 I used to drive West Belt twice a week from Westheimer to Ailef. it was rough but cut off 45 minutes getting to Southwest Houston for me. As far as it being a stock car track I don't really think there was any stock car racing with pre-WW2 automobiles. Nascar racing didn't get started until 1949.

There has been some discussions in the Chronicle Archives on where the name of the street Buffalo Speedway came from Chron Well I think I may have found a clue. While on google earth 2 nights ago I found a 1944 map of Houston with this on it. It's right where Pershing Middle school is today. If you turn off the road layers you will see this track was before the streets Buffalo Speedway and Stella Link existed. Would be nice to find the history of this track. Was it a horse racing track or a auto racing track? It looks kind of large to be a horse racing track tho.

I think I just found Tracy Ferguson's answer and many others. I was on google earth tonight looking at a 1944 map of Houston and came across this. Seems there used to be a huge racetrack between Stella Link and Buffalo Speedway, right where Pershing Jr. High is now.

How about United Jewelers, owned by Gordon's Jewelers that used to have their home office there in Houston, they started out as a card holder buying club like Service Merchandise/Wilson's was too. I remember Sage being a card holding buying club as well. Anyone remember Globe?

Thanks, I came across it while searching for a Southland Corp. sub-office. In 1968 I worked for 7-11. The store I was working at was a 24 hour store and we sold a lot of sodas, but we only had one iced drink box that we had to reload like 8 times a day. My store manager noticed one day that that West University office had a bunch of the boxes just standing at he side of the building. So after weeks of no response for our request me and the manager just drove his pickup over there and loaded 6 boxes up. We kept 2 of the boxes and gave the rest to 2 other stores in our district. I found this pool but didn't find the office. It was a pretty big pool about 2 3rds the size of Gateway.

Does anyone know anything about this swimming pool that's North off Bellarie Blvd. It looks like it's now an indoor tennis courts.

I lived in Houston after getting married from 72-78. During that time we had a friend that got recruited from a Wendy's district manager job to Litton somewhere around 76. He took me out to his office at Litton, he worked for the electronics division. I still have one of the very 1st pocket sized calculators ever made that Litton made. My friend gave it me. I remember them having a nice sized maybe 6 story black building with a nice long driveway off Westheimer. I owned my own watch repair service/business in those days and did a lot of antique watch repair for a guy that was in Westchase shopping center from 74-78. So I drove by the Litton complex twice a week. I used to drive down West Belt off Westheimer back then, it was a white gravel road that ran down to Alief. Also on the edge of Westchase was a multi story Sheraton Hotel that on Friday nights had an all you could eat seafood buffet, yum yum.

Does anyone on here remember where the Litton Industries complex in west Houston was? I seem to remember it being south of Westheimer somewhere between Gessner and Westbelt. Not to far from the old West Chase shopping center.

OK here goes maybe long. 60's Alfred's on Rice. Prince's Drive in Stuart's drive in Lee's Den S. Main Wynn's Grocery & Bar-B-que S.Main Vailian's S. Main for the pizza Don's Seafood Giado's S.Main & Galveston Jimmy Walkers Kemah we used to drive my dad's cabin cruiser from Seabrook Shipyard down and tie it off at the pier outside. We would get a table to look out at the bay and keep an eye on the boat at the same time. Chuck Wagon on Post Oak close to Willowbend. I never ate onion rings but theirs looked & smelled so good I had to try them never have had any as good since. Building was shaped like a chuck wagon. Christie's Seafood S.Main in a old Boat The PolyAsian on S. Main all tho I never ate there. It was between Buffalo Speedway and Murworth Dr.. They had a very long driveway that was lined with tiki lamps. By the time I was old enough to take myself there it was gone. Spainish Village on OST/S.Main. My best friend's dad owned the place and he and I would help make palines in the back of the restaurant. His dad was the 1st in Houston to have a puffed taco machine, it puffed them then cooked them. My friend told ne his dad invented and had it built, but then again that may have been a bunch of bull. One's a meal on Main close to the old Sears store. Summer of 67 me and my best friend practically lived there, well after midnight anyways. Howard Johnson's Ice Cream on Belliare Blvd. was across the street from the YMCA. There was a huge building on the back of the property where they made and packaged ice cream to ship all over the US. I believe it was their head quarters for a while. The Cellar Door Price's Hamburgers .19 cents (the secret sauce?) on Belliare Blvd. & Stella Link. Someburger in The Village 70's Los Troncos Natural Child off Montrose a vegetarian restaurant lots of hippies ate there. Me and my roommate at the time both worked there he a chef me the dish washer/bus boy. The Happy Budda on Westheimer The Family Hand a huge bicker hangout in the late 60s. I almost got shot there one night when 2 bikers drew down on each other and started shootin. Taco Bell on S.Shepherd when it 1st opened they were great I wouldn't eat there today their (so called) beef sucks compared to when they 1st started. Submachine on S. Shepherd across the street from Battlestien's. Who ever started Subway ate there 1st because everything Subway did in the beginning was something Submachine did. Cook their own breads, the counter you walked up to pick out your sandwich ingredients, how they used to cut the tops out of the loafs of bread to put the ingredients into, the interior design. Only thing different in the 2 was Submachine was way better than any Subway I've been to. This place made Antone's look minor league. Cheh Orleans on Westhiemer at Drexel a long time up shale steak place. Great date place. Antone's S.Main and the one on Voss Yamin's on Hillcroft south of Westiemer they made an awesome muffaletta sandwich, one sandwich could feed 8 people. Alfred's on Stella Link on Tuesday nights they had a all you could eat smorgasbord, I remember one night my wife now my ex came out and once outside she had to unbuckle here pants she looked 5 months pregnant. She said to me "I'm so full but I still want to eat some more my stomach is full but my mouth is still hungry I didn't even get out of the salad section". Steak & Ale on Memorial east of Westscott. My ex-wife stole an entire place setting from there one night everything on the table ended up in her purse. She was quite intoxicated. also the Steak & Ale on the Shephard/Farnham curve. The donut place that was in an old Der Wienerschnitzel on Gessner south of Long Point owned by an Asian lady that made the most awesome Vietnamese egg rolls, you couldn't eat just 6. I believe it was Tommie's Chinese (probably not) on the south side of Memorial between Dairy Ashford & Winter Oak Dr. The Bar-b-que joint in the strip center at the corner of Memorial and Kirkwood northwest corner. They made the best links I ever have eaten The Pie house or factory on the north side of Westheimer I think not to far from Fonderen. St. Michel Ches Orleans on the north side Westhiemer & between Drexel Dr. & the railroad track. Great steaks and great date place. La Hacienda de los Morales The Mason Jar (may still be open). 80s Bay Street - Seafood restaurant chain owned by the Steak & Ale corp. Tony Romo's Ribs the chain has great ribs all kind of ribs. 90s The Greek restaurant that used to be on the corner of Westiemer & Gessner where they sang/danced/&broke plates. 2000's I lived in Houston from April 1999 to Oct. 2001 this list is of my favorite restaurants when I lived there, many of these I'm sure are still opened. We lived off 290 and 6. The Japanese all you can eat Shusi restaurant on 1960 in front of Willow Brook Mall the name started with a K in 2000 it was 21 bucks a person and worth every penny. Chinese buffet at the southwest corner of 6 and Clay Rd. Burger King at 6 & Longenbaugh All you can eat Itialian buffet that was on 6 across the street form Sears hardware/garden. Capt. something that was a Seafood joint that the building was a boat they had one on 1960 and on I-10. They served cajun seafood as well as fried fish and raw oysters.

Thx. 2 down 1 to go. I think it will be a stretch for anyone to remember the pie lady.

Thx. That was a awesome restaurant. Anyone have any pics of the place? 1 down 3 to go.

Yes David Tinsley was the owner but Huntsville wasn't his 1st location, the 1st location was in Lufkin on Hy 59. He owned a chicken farm there or near there. My ex-wife and I would take regular trips to Shreveport from Houston through out the 70s and we watched the 1st Tinsley's rise out of the ground on those frequent trips. We met David he would come sit with us and talk with us while we ate. What made Tinsley's chicken different was the size of chicken. His chickens had a huge breast and thigh. He told us that he was opening a new in in Huntsville one day. Then we saw them popping up all aver Texas.

1)Back in the late 50s my mom would drive to a 2-story house on old Mac Gregor east of Almeda Rd. now 288 and the woman who owned the house made pies that she sold. On certain days of the week she would be open to sell the pies, cars would fill the driveway and the street with people buying her pies. We would buy 4 pies at a time 2 cherry, 1 lemon meringue, 1 coconut cream. Sometimes mom would just buy 3 cherry pies. Never had a cherry pie as good since. 2)In 1978 they built a new street running north off Westheimer it was either West Belt, Kirkwood or City W. Blvd. the road had a big bend in it that turned right and at the end of that bend someone built a huge up scale Tex-mex Mexican restaurant my ex-wife and I ate there several times before we left to move to Louisiana, the food was great. It kind of reminded it being sort of like Don Pablo's in style but I know it wasn't. Anyone remember that place and the name? 3)Down in Seabrook just west of the 1st boat shed of Seabrook Ship Yard was/is a small seafood restaurant I see on google earth the building is still there. I can't remember the name of that restaurant. From 63-67 my dad had a 36 ft. Owens cabin cruiser docked there in the 1st shed and many a Sat. night we would walk from the boat to that restaurant. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the place. 4)A Italian restaurant on 518 west of 146 out of Kemah. I think it was called Papa something but maybe completely wrong about that. That's where I 1st ate clam spaghetti, I've never eaten any better than that guys. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Any help in jogging my brain is appreciated. TIA

After reading all the way threw this thread I found out it was Christie's not Kaphan's that had the shrimp with the 6 shooters (my bad) but Christie's was just down a little south on S.Main from Gaido's so maybe your drunk friend started at Gaido's and wondered down to Christie's.

So from the many posts in this thread I am gathering that Kroger's have decided to remove the self serves, I say yea to that. Wish they would take them out in the DFW area. I've always hated them, seems that the store always has to have someone there to fix something that won't ring up. Albertson's have taken all of them out up here. Talked to one of the managers and she said she was happy they were gone too, they were always a pain in butt, something always going wrong. I hate the idea of checking myself out for 2 reasons. 1) it puts checkers out of a job, 2) if I'm going to check myself out I want a discount for doing the work myself. These checkers today have it easy when I was a teenager and worked for 7-11 the cash registers had a handle on the side like a slot machine you had to pull to open it and you had to actually ring up the idem, no bar codes.

I don't live in Houston anymore if I did I would go down to the Chronicle and try to find more on Gateway Swim. I would bet money they have articles on Gateway's grand opening that would give more details on the pool. The more I think about it I do seem to remember them water skying at Gateway.

Maybe the pool that was out on Long Point was Crystal Pool.

The Shamrock opened in 1949 Gateway opened in 1958. There would have been no problem with putting a boat in Gateway and watersking in it. At some point they may have.

Gateway was 15ft. deep don't know how deep Shamrock was. I went over the 1964 aerials Gateway was longer than Shamrock but Shamrock was wider in the shallow end. Here's a pic I capped off the net that shows Gateway and the go-cart track that the owners of Gateway also owned. You can also see Stadium Bowl where the Target is now.