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

[Primo]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

Primo,

I have to say, the shot of Colonies North Mall brings a tear to my eye. This is how I will always remember it. That Eckerd's, before it used to be a Sommer's Drug Store and my mom worked there when she got pregnant with me!!!

You aren't the only one crying.....most of this city misses the "Double Coupons" at Handy Andy!

[940]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

I know where exactly where it was located. It was located on the property where a Hooter's, a two story office building, and a tube-n-Lub are located on the north side of Wurzbach just before it meets Fredricksburg, before Wurzbach runs into the medical center. I was there as a kid when it still existed, in it's last days, and it made an obviously lasting impression on me. The small ruins of the gate are still visible at the intersection of Fredricksburg and Wurzback across from Aldo's. If you are driving west up Wurzbach from I-10, it was directly across from Dry-Dock.

It's much further north than what I thought...I'll have to drive by next time I'm home because I can't picture it for the life of me (and I spent a lot of time in this area when I lived in SA)...for now, I'll have to settle for a 'birdseye' view from Microsoft Live Maps!!

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

Well, now it is St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church. I don't know what it was 30 years ago. Our Parish bought it in the 80's. Before that some strange holocaust religion owned it. The boarded up all the windows and did all kinds of crazy stuff to the building. The original owners and builders were presbyterian, though, their church is still around. The corner stone of the building still has their name and date. I'll get it for you on Sunday. The building was built in 1917. We have restored and preserved it, it's now a historical building. The architect, Alfred Giles, was a famous Texas architect. The only other religious structure he ever designed was a chapel at UT.

If you want a piece of completely useless trivia, if you have ever been to the original Long Horn Cafe on Blanco, the red bricks in the courtyard are the very bricks from Alfred Giles' home and the same type of brick used in the construction of our church. When we started the the first renovation of the building, someone went and asked if we could use some of their bricks. In the end, though, there was little damage to the outside brick work, so we never needed to use them. All the damage was internal, and it was pretty bad.

I used to be a photographer and I had to document the internal damage to the structure. If I can find some old pictures, I'll scan them here and let you see the then and now shots of the interior. It will blow your mind.

Thanks, GWhopper, I know exactly which building you are talking about. There were 3 churches in that vicinity at one time: 1) Central, where I attended, 2) A Pentecostal church that closed sometime in the early 70s, and 3) the Presbyterian church. I don't remember when it closed, but it was certainly gone by the early 70s. I don't remember it ever being very large.

I'm glad to hear that a church is occupying the area again. Would love to see some pictures if you can locate them.

[Primo]

Does anyone have access to the software that the CIA & FBI (and Blade Runners)always use in movies to read small blurry stuff in photos?
From what I can make out the Top line appears to end in "WN"...given the short word in front of it...could it be Red Dawn?
2 lines below it...the longest line....end in "....V in 3D" THe 3d movies I remember were Jaws3 in 3D and Friday the 13th in 3D....so Iam not sure what it says. It would be cool to figure out at least one movie...so we can determine the date of the photo. I can tell the sign in the back says "Balloon Expressions"

There would have been a pizza place and Arby's to the right in the photos. And an arcade to the left (I think Aladin's Castle or Gold Mine?). We never ate at the corn dog place.

[jk_inSATX]

I miss Palettas Deli so much! They will NEVER be forgotten in our family- I am deperately trying to mimic the sauce from the beloved Mama Mia sandwich , I am tearing up just thinking about that sandwich. Extra sauce and mixed olives please

[jk_inSATX]

I remember the slide at Wonderland, I would double up with my mom as i was only abou 3 or 4, they'd give you a green army blanket to use on the slide and from my child's eye memories it seemed like it was 2 stories tall -I bet it wasn't nearly that big

[jk_inSATX]

Who else remembers The Joske's Santa

I remember when I was little, going to Joske's riding up all the escalators(all the way to the fourth floor!), through the winter village to visit Santa-It's something like the scene in A Christmas story- I also remember the Ladies Lounge- there was a long row of wooden phone booths and a smoking area! I'd never seen anything like it, then my mom would take me down to the candy shop where it was full sevice like a deli-candy for miles it seemed

[940]

Originally Posted by Primo

Does anyone have access to the software that the CIA & FBI (and Blade Runners)always use in movies to read small blurry stuff in photos?
From what I can make out the Top line appears to end in "WN"...given the short word in front of it...could it be Red Dawn?
2 lines below it...the longest line....end in "....V in 3D" THe 3d movies I remember were Jaws3 in 3D and Friday the 13th in 3D....so Iam not sure what it says. It would be cool to figure out at least one movie...so we can determine the date of the photo.

Primo..you're right about the top movie being 'Red Dawn'...I did a google search on when that movie was released and how long it stayed at the different movie theaters then. It was released August 10 of 1984...I checked on other movies that would have been out at that time and there were no 3-D movies released then. But I did find out that the longest line on the marquee is the movie 'The Evil That Men Do'...the D-O looks like a 3-D but I checked it closely with a magnifying glass and that's what I saw. It was also out in September of 1984 (Sept 21) during the same time but it wasn't as popular or made as much money as 'Red Dawn' which is why it didn't have top billing even though it was released after. 'Red Dawn' was around until about Nov 9th while 'Evil' was gone by Oct 19th. We just need to try to decipher the letters that are left on the marquee and see what else was released in September and the first part of October of 1984. In any case, this pic was taken sometime between Sept 21 and Oct 19, 1984.

Here's a link to what was out at that time in 1984.
http://the-numbers.com/movies/index1984.php

[Primo]

Originally Posted by 940

Primo..you're right about the top movie being 'Red Dawn'...I did a google search on when that movie was released and how long it stayed at the different movie theaters then. It was released August 10 of 1984...I checked on other movies that would have been out at that time and there were no 3-D movies released then. But I did find out that the longest line on the marquee is the movie 'The Evil That Men Do'...the D-O looks like a 3-D but I checked it closely with a magnifying glass and that's what I saw. It was also out in September of 1984 (Sept 21) during the same time but it wasn't as popular or made as much money as 'Red Dawn' which is why it didn't have top billing even though it was released after. 'Red Dawn' was around until about Nov 9th while 'Evil' was gone by Oct 19th. We just need to try to decipher the letters that are left on the marquee and see what else was released in September and the first part of October of 1984. In any case, this pic was taken sometime between Sept 21 and Oct 19, 1984.

Here's a link to what was out at that time in 1984.
http://the-numbers.com/movies/index1984.php

We are in the presence of greatness......Thanks for doing the extra research. The FBI and CIA could use a guy like you!

[Primo]

Here are some more pics:

[SIZE=2]Capitan Drive-In Theatre , Old Highway 90 at 36th St., opened in 1949 and closed in 1979. [/SIZE]



[SIZE=2]The original name for this theatre was the Bluebonnet Drive-In Theatre and it carried this name from 1949-1951. It was the Capitan from 1951-1979.
[/SIZE]




Inside of Fred Road Drive in (I always remember those super high walls of corregated tin...I dont know how they ever made it through wind storms.)



Starlite drive-in was in operation from 1978 until 1980. In the nineties it was a used car lot. It was on the McQueeny Hiway just east of Universal City


[SIZE=2]
[SIZE=2]The Trail Drive-In Theatre, 1030 S. E. Military Drive, was opened in 1946. It was owned by Louis and John Santikos and was the second drive-in in San Antonio. It was located on Loop 13, near the Mission Drive-In Theatre. It was razed in November, 1984. One distinction I remember is a monkey exhibit out in front of the theatre in the 1950's.[/SIZE]

[/SIZE]


Varsity Drive-In Theatre opened July 11, 1949 and closed 1980. It was built by Mul Den Theatres. It was later purchased by John Santikos. It was located at Culebra Av. and Bandera Road. An H.E.B. sits on the site.