What a wonderful project for a school of building trades! The auto companies and building unions used to sponsor such types of training, but with cost-cutting measures, they no longer do. A school would be a revenue-generating venture for the area, something sorely needed.
While I’m happy about the resurgence of the downtown area, especially the Westin Book Cadillac, I’m concerned for the neighborhoods, such as this one. My mother grew up here in the 1930s & 1940s when it was predominately Belgian, German, Dutch and Italian. She says (she’s now 80) she remembers smelling the peonies that intertwined the cyclone fences between the houses while walking to school. How lovely!
Part of the problem is there are no jobs in this area, few stores, and a lot of drugs and apathy because people have no hope. This was a middle class area of fine homes and businesses that, like much of Detroit, hit upon hard times when America decided to create a huge trade deficit instead of making things themselves. Detroiter, after all, make things. Just look at the level of craftsmanship in the buildings and homes, even in the worst areas of town, (which this is not) and it will be quite evident.
Every resurgence must start somewhere, and the Eastown would be perfect for the Harper-Van Dyke neighborhood, and the East Side in general. The Eastown is at the intersection of Harper and Van Dyke and just2 blocks from I-94…very accessible. I hope some one with vision, dedication, and, oh yeah, money (or backing) comes along before it is too late.
What a wonderful project for a school of building trades! The auto companies and building unions used to sponsor such types of training, but with cost-cutting measures, they no longer do. A school would be a revenue-generating venture for the area, something sorely needed.
While I’m happy about the resurgence of the downtown area, especially the Westin Book Cadillac, I’m concerned for the neighborhoods, such as this one. My mother grew up here in the 1930s & 1940s when it was predominately Belgian, German, Dutch and Italian. She says (she’s now 80) she remembers smelling the peonies that intertwined the cyclone fences walking to school. How lovely!
Part of the problem is there are no jobs in this area, few stores, and a lot of drugs and apathy because people have no hope. This was a middle class area of fine homes and businesses that, like much of Detroit, hit upon hard times when America decided to create a huge trade deficit instead of making things themselves. Detroiter, after all, make things. Just look at the level of craftsmanship in the buildings and homes, even in the worst areas of town, (which this is not) and it will be quite evident.
Every resurgence must start somewhere, and the Eastown would be perfect for the Harper-Van Dyke neighborhood, and the East Side in general. The Eastown is at the intersection of Harper and Van Dyke and just2 blocks from I-94…very accessible. I hope some one with vision, dedication, and, oh yeah, money (or backing) comes along before it is too late.
Yes, particularly since it is in a town en route from Houston to the beach (Freeport). What a neat place that could become! It was open from 1935-1975.
This site makes some references to the Queen Theater in Wharton, Texas in a story on playwright Horton Foote (The Trip to Bountiful), who grew up there. It was his neighborhood movie house and old enough to show silent films. They review his biography by Charles S. Watson, which states it contains a photo of the Queen Theater.
This theater is not the same as either the Rio on Main Street or the Plaza on South Houston Street (the other two theaters in town). Newsman Dan Rather is from Wharton, also.
Oops! Forgot to mention that the images for the Santa Rosa under construction are dated April 2, 1947.
Check out this image View link
It looks like it was built in the middle of nowhere!
The Palace, later the Agora (or was it the other way around?) was a nightclub that featured national acts. It was located at the other end of the shopping center from the Windsor Theater, toward 610, rather than Sage, where the Windsor was. I worked for Warner Brothers Records in the early 80s and acts such as the Pretenders and Dire Straits played the Palace at the time.
There is a great site with photos of old Houston theaters at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin in the Bailey (Bob) Studios Photographic Archive, ca. 1932-1998. He was a prominent Houston photorgapher who shot wonderful photos of events and buildings of all sorts, including old theaters, some even as they were being built. I don’t know if there are any of the Windsor under the “Cultural Facilities” link (there are 367 photos), but it might be worth looking. The Photos are dated year first, then month and day. View link
I really hope that’s not true. Richard Nickel said it best: “Architecture has two natural enemies: water and stupid men”.
Here is a link to a photo of the Santa Rosa (probably as it looked new): View link and as it looked under construction: View link
These photos are from a great site featuring the Bob Bailey Photographic Studios archives 1932-1998. Also in his archives are photos of great theaters from Houston’s past not listed on this site, such as the Queen and the Rainbow.
This may or may not help you with the Globe Theater, but this website is an excellent resource for old photos of Houston, including exterior and interior shots of theaters: View link
It’s the Bob Bailey Studios Photographic Archive, ca. 1932-1998, a locally famous photographer of the time. If you write to them requesting permission to post, they are usually very accommodating once they understand it’s an educational site. A paralegal friend told me once that in Texas, permissions are not needed if it’s for educational purposes, but I haven’t looked up the law to confirm that.
There is an interview article on WL “Bill” Butler in the January 2006 issue of the Fort Bend (County) Business Journal. Evidently, the Cole Theater is the last of 25 properties that he has purchased in downtown Rosenberg with the aim of revitalizing the area.
In it, he mentions that he is rather a slow-poke when it comes to renovation to minimize whatever problems he may encounter (whatever that means). Apparently he doesn’t know/hasn’t decided what to do with the Cole (formerly the Cozy, then the Liberty) just yet. And he has other structures on his plate as well. In short, don’t hold your breath on this one. It may take a good long time.
I read that the Trail Drive In opened in 1955 and closed in 1975. I got this information from www.cinematour.com
Also, www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.06.96/drive-in-9623.html, reports that “photographer John Margolies called his 1981 photo-essay on drive-ins The End of the Trail. One of his subjects was The Trail, a Texas drive-in theater pictured in an advanced state of decay.” I don’t know if this is the same drive-in on Old Spanish Trail, but it might be worth checking into. Hope this helps.
I’m sure I have some photos of this structure from the early 80s somewhere in my parents' attic. I’ll try to find them someday. It had the most beautiful concession counter….all stainless steel. I tried to lease the Palms in the early 90s to produce jazz concerts, but the owners (Imperial Sugar)insisted it was “structurally unsound” (which I later discovered was untrue). It was torn down a short time later and the lot is still up for sale/lease today. What a waste! Even today, Imperial Sugar is the object of much scorn for its short-sightedness. Very few orignial buildings are left since the “McDevelopers” came to town. The Palms was on the corner of Ulrich and Highway 90A to the right of the old Sugarland Department Store, which is now Imperial’s corporate headquarters.
You all seem so knowledgable…here’s a tough one: Does anyone know the story about the yellow building on Morton between Second and Third in Richmond? From the architecture, I just know it was a theater once upon a time.
A “long shot” of the vintage theater is here: View link
A modern shot of another theater of the same name on a different street. (Go a bit down the page…Does anyone know what this is all about?): http://hamtramckstar.com/index.php?cat=28
The White Star was/is actually in the city of Hamtramck, a city within the city limits of Detroit. Here is a link to a photo of the White Star Theater from the Historic Hamtramck Website: http://www.hamtramckhistory.org/images/theater.jpg
An excellent article with background information can be found on this link from Architecture Week: View link
What a wonderful project for a school of building trades! The auto companies and building unions used to sponsor such types of training, but with cost-cutting measures, they no longer do. A school would be a revenue-generating venture for the area, something sorely needed.
While I’m happy about the resurgence of the downtown area, especially the Westin Book Cadillac, I’m concerned for the neighborhoods, such as this one. My mother grew up here in the 1930s & 1940s when it was predominately Belgian, German, Dutch and Italian. She says (she’s now 80) she remembers smelling the peonies that intertwined the cyclone fences between the houses while walking to school. How lovely!
Part of the problem is there are no jobs in this area, few stores, and a lot of drugs and apathy because people have no hope. This was a middle class area of fine homes and businesses that, like much of Detroit, hit upon hard times when America decided to create a huge trade deficit instead of making things themselves. Detroiter, after all, make things. Just look at the level of craftsmanship in the buildings and homes, even in the worst areas of town, (which this is not) and it will be quite evident.
Every resurgence must start somewhere, and the Eastown would be perfect for the Harper-Van Dyke neighborhood, and the East Side in general. The Eastown is at the intersection of Harper and Van Dyke and just2 blocks from I-94…very accessible. I hope some one with vision, dedication, and, oh yeah, money (or backing) comes along before it is too late.
What a wonderful project for a school of building trades! The auto companies and building unions used to sponsor such types of training, but with cost-cutting measures, they no longer do. A school would be a revenue-generating venture for the area, something sorely needed.
While I’m happy about the resurgence of the downtown area, especially the Westin Book Cadillac, I’m concerned for the neighborhoods, such as this one. My mother grew up here in the 1930s & 1940s when it was predominately Belgian, German, Dutch and Italian. She says (she’s now 80) she remembers smelling the peonies that intertwined the cyclone fences walking to school. How lovely!
Part of the problem is there are no jobs in this area, few stores, and a lot of drugs and apathy because people have no hope. This was a middle class area of fine homes and businesses that, like much of Detroit, hit upon hard times when America decided to create a huge trade deficit instead of making things themselves. Detroiter, after all, make things. Just look at the level of craftsmanship in the buildings and homes, even in the worst areas of town, (which this is not) and it will be quite evident.
Every resurgence must start somewhere, and the Eastown would be perfect for the Harper-Van Dyke neighborhood, and the East Side in general. The Eastown is at the intersection of Harper and Van Dyke and just2 blocks from I-94…very accessible. I hope some one with vision, dedication, and, oh yeah, money (or backing) comes along before it is too late.
Yes, particularly since it is in a town en route from Houston to the beach (Freeport). What a neat place that could become! It was open from 1935-1975.
This site makes some references to the Queen Theater in Wharton, Texas in a story on playwright Horton Foote (The Trip to Bountiful), who grew up there. It was his neighborhood movie house and old enough to show silent films. They review his biography by Charles S. Watson, which states it contains a photo of the Queen Theater.
View link
This theater is not the same as either the Rio on Main Street or the Plaza on South Houston Street (the other two theaters in town). Newsman Dan Rather is from Wharton, also.
More Photos of the Capitol can be found here: http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/25373.html
Oops! Forgot to mention that the images for the Santa Rosa under construction are dated April 2, 1947.
Check out this image View link
It looks like it was built in the middle of nowhere!
The Palace, later the Agora (or was it the other way around?) was a nightclub that featured national acts. It was located at the other end of the shopping center from the Windsor Theater, toward 610, rather than Sage, where the Windsor was. I worked for Warner Brothers Records in the early 80s and acts such as the Pretenders and Dire Straits played the Palace at the time.
There is a great site with photos of old Houston theaters at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin in the Bailey (Bob) Studios Photographic Archive, ca. 1932-1998. He was a prominent Houston photorgapher who shot wonderful photos of events and buildings of all sorts, including old theaters, some even as they were being built. I don’t know if there are any of the Windsor under the “Cultural Facilities” link (there are 367 photos), but it might be worth looking. The Photos are dated year first, then month and day. View link
I really hope that’s not true. Richard Nickel said it best: “Architecture has two natural enemies: water and stupid men”.
Here is a link to a photo of the Santa Rosa (probably as it looked new): View link and as it looked under construction: View link
These photos are from a great site featuring the Bob Bailey Photographic Studios archives 1932-1998. Also in his archives are photos of great theaters from Houston’s past not listed on this site, such as the Queen and the Rainbow.
This may or may not help you with the Globe Theater, but this website is an excellent resource for old photos of Houston, including exterior and interior shots of theaters: View link
It’s the Bob Bailey Studios Photographic Archive, ca. 1932-1998, a locally famous photographer of the time. If you write to them requesting permission to post, they are usually very accommodating once they understand it’s an educational site. A paralegal friend told me once that in Texas, permissions are not needed if it’s for educational purposes, but I haven’t looked up the law to confirm that.
There is an interview article on WL “Bill” Butler in the January 2006 issue of the Fort Bend (County) Business Journal. Evidently, the Cole Theater is the last of 25 properties that he has purchased in downtown Rosenberg with the aim of revitalizing the area.
In it, he mentions that he is rather a slow-poke when it comes to renovation to minimize whatever problems he may encounter (whatever that means). Apparently he doesn’t know/hasn’t decided what to do with the Cole (formerly the Cozy, then the Liberty) just yet. And he has other structures on his plate as well. In short, don’t hold your breath on this one. It may take a good long time.
I read that the Trail Drive In opened in 1955 and closed in 1975. I got this information from www.cinematour.com
Also, www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.06.96/drive-in-9623.html, reports that “photographer John Margolies called his 1981 photo-essay on drive-ins The End of the Trail. One of his subjects was The Trail, a Texas drive-in theater pictured in an advanced state of decay.” I don’t know if this is the same drive-in on Old Spanish Trail, but it might be worth checking into. Hope this helps.
I’m sure I have some photos of this structure from the early 80s somewhere in my parents' attic. I’ll try to find them someday. It had the most beautiful concession counter….all stainless steel. I tried to lease the Palms in the early 90s to produce jazz concerts, but the owners (Imperial Sugar)insisted it was “structurally unsound” (which I later discovered was untrue). It was torn down a short time later and the lot is still up for sale/lease today. What a waste! Even today, Imperial Sugar is the object of much scorn for its short-sightedness. Very few orignial buildings are left since the “McDevelopers” came to town. The Palms was on the corner of Ulrich and Highway 90A to the right of the old Sugarland Department Store, which is now Imperial’s corporate headquarters.
You all seem so knowledgable…here’s a tough one: Does anyone know the story about the yellow building on Morton between Second and Third in Richmond? From the architecture, I just know it was a theater once upon a time.
Two additional photos can be found here:
A “long shot” of the vintage theater is here: View link
A modern shot of another theater of the same name on a different street. (Go a bit down the page…Does anyone know what this is all about?): http://hamtramckstar.com/index.php?cat=28
More sumptuous exterior brickwork from Detroit! The craftsmanship in the old buildings there is unbelievable.
The White Star was/is actually in the city of Hamtramck, a city within the city limits of Detroit. Here is a link to a photo of the White Star Theater from the Historic Hamtramck Website:
http://www.hamtramckhistory.org/images/theater.jpg