Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Houston: transfer to, reputation)

[BudB]

Thanks to wCat for posting the tweaked version of the historic JFK foto. I always assumed that Air Force 1 flew in and out of Kelly for a quick drive around Loop 13 to Brooks AFB home of the then new School of Aerospace Medicine. That was where President Kennedy made his last public appearance and major speech. But thanx to wCat's help in locating the site for the neat foto as 8124 Broadway, I learned that they flew into SA International. That's why the motorcade passed down Broadway to downtown then on to Brooks. If anyone has time and access to the Express/News archives they can quickly find the official route of the presidential motorcade in San Antonio. After the event at Brooks AFB, the motorcade traveled west out Loop 13 to Kelly AFB for the president's flight to Houston for a political dinner that evening, afterward flying to Fort Worth to spend the night. The next morning after a political breakfast in Fort W. they flew the short hop to Love Field in Dallas and his last few hours. Thanks again to SAnativegirl for the fine family foto. BudB

[Graybeard]

Originally Posted by centaur1

The Crystal Pistol is now a massage parlor or accupunture center. I spent many a teenage night there and some afternoons. If I remember correctly, at lunch, a mug of beer was 50 cents as were the hamburgers. Then, I would stagger home down the street. The Pistol was one of the greatest places around. Preppies, bikers, and everyone else got along and listened to loud music (At night) and had a great time.


Mud, You should remember this.

I know this is an old post but I used to close the Pistol down every night from 75 to 80. The original Taco Cabana opened across the street in an old Dairy Queen.

[Dwangle]

I lived on Elsmere from 1975 to 1980. I would always walk down to the Crystal Pistol for a Hamburger and a beer. Free beer on tuesday nights..right? I was there. Popcorn was good and pool tables were cheap. It got really busy on weekends. My friends would all get together there and usually go watch a weird movie at the Olmos theater. Then we would go back to the Crystal Pistol and then usually head out to Cooder Browns. We would end up at some restaurant somewhere..It was fun times.. I remember when Dairy Queen turned into Taco Cabana. They had something called Taco's Al Carbon..what ever happened to that? I had a friend that worked there when it was Dairy Queen. We would drive by after it closed and get free french fries.

[gy2020]

Remember when Whopper Burger was king in SA. A friend of mine made the air field balloons that stood on top of the burger joint. It was an inflated chef. The owners got caught in a law suit with Burger King for using the Whopper name. However, since Whopper Burger predated Burger King, that was an easy decision. Whopper gave Burger King 1st rights on a buyout when Whopper Burger decided to sell. The court apearance was in the 80's and Burger King took over in the 90's. I think I have most of my facts straight.

[Nix54]

When Burger King expanded into the San Antonio area, it was prevented from utilizing the name of its signature product, the Whopper, in its local advertising and stores due to a prior state registered service mark owned by a local chain known as Whopper Burger.
The chain, owned by Frank and Barbara Bates, prevented Burger King from using the name in Bexar County for several years until Mrs. Bates, the CEO of Whopper Burger after the death of her husband in 1983, retired and sold the chain with its related trademarks to then-corporate parent Pillsbury in the mid-1980s.
The Whopper Burger in the 60's was the biggest & tastiest burger in SA. We lived by the Whopper Burger on East Houston street. We'd buy one, take it home and share it amongst the 3 of us.
Does anyone remember Mr. T's Hamburger Stand on New Braunfels street by Ft. Sam Houston? On Tuesdays, Mr. T's had hamburgers for fifteen cents. It was a small burger with a spreckle of fresh onion & special sauce poured from a stainless steel push button pitcher, while the patties were still on the grill.
We'd load up on those burgers, once home, Mom would garnish them with lettuce & tomatoes. We'd even take cold burgers to school the next day.

[Primo]

Many old school San Antonioians don't know you can still enjoy Whopper Burger to this day. Go to your Local Murf's Better Burger or Burger Boy on N. St Mary's street. They still have the crinkle cut fries, orange freezies and the original Whopper burger logo of the fat chef guy walking. Burger Boy's combo is called "The Bates Special".

[Nix54]

All these post are getting me hungy. Wish I could get in a time machine and be dropped off downtown on St. Mary's street in front of the Coney Island. Dateline 1968. I'd order 2 steaming Coney Island hotdogs and a cold 12 ounce glass bottle of Dr. Pepper. Walk to the 45 jukebox and insert a Quarter to listen "Walk Away Renee," by the Left Banke, "I'm a Believer," by the Monkees, & "Love is Blue," by Paul Mauriat. I'd then proceed to the table right next to the window facing the sidwalk and watch the world go by & enjoy my feast. And, I still have change left from my dollar bill.

[BudB]

Mention of the old Coney Island hot dogs is definitely a tasty blast from the past. It was little places like it that gave downtown a lot more character than it has now. I'm glad all the folks employed along the Riverwalk have jobs and the many hotels are full almost but selling the city's soul for the almighty tourist dollar did not make SA a better city in my opinion. A few doors down from Coney Island was Perchernik's Sporting Goods store near the bridge then the Aztec Theater across the street. Next to it thru a connecting door was that incredible candy store on the corner of St. Mary's and Commerce where you could buy a huge variety of sweets by the 1/4 or 1/2 pound or more from jelly beans and licorice to peanut brittle and saltwater taffy. Downtown was full of specialty stores selling anything you needed like shoes and boots, or watches and jewelry to clothes, toys, books, gold fish & canaries or whatever instead of everything being under one roof. And somehow even the so called five and dime stores like Woolworths, Kress, Neisners, etc. had a funky, soulful kind of atmosphere that the SuperWalmart or whatever simply does not have. The old stores had lunch counters that made simple but good stuff like hamburgers, BLTs, etc. and milkshakes and sodas or sundaes & banana splits. I'm not saying that it was some kind of bright and shiny happy go lucky area but at least it was full of real San Antonians coming and going. The many hours I spent waiting on various street corners waiting for a Denver Heights or Rigsby, or Highlands or whatever bus taught me more about human nature than a year in psychology class in college later on. People watching was fun, educational, sometimes sad or even scary but it was real in a way that you just can't have when downtown is all hotels and parking garages and nearly empty buildings. Maybe it's all better now and you can certainly people watch at the mall or down on the river but I still miss those old places and am sure glad to be reminded of Coney Island again. Sorry to be so sentimental but I can nearly taste those steaming chili dogs & frosty DP.

[Nix54]

Potchernick's was right next to St. Mary's School. Afterschool we'd go to Potchernick's to see the latest sporting stuff in their display windows... leather footballs, basketballs, bows & arrows, shiny golf clubs and mannequins dressed in hunting attire. Before you walked into Potchernick's you were surrounded by all the display windows, in the center was a square brass railing that was polished every week. This railing would protect the customers when the floor would open up and they would unload merchandise into the basement.
Queen Candy Company under the Aztec theatre facade had the freshest variety of Mexican candies. Every Christmas my Dad would order boxes of candies for relatives. Dad would even negotiate a lower price.
Downtown in the 60's had quite an ambiance. TAKE ME BACK TO DOWNTOWN SA!

[wCat]

Originally Posted by Primo

Many old school San Antonioians don't know you can still enjoy Whopper Burger to this day. Go to your Local Murf's Better Burger or Burger Boy on N. St Mary's street. They still have the crinkle cut fries, orange freezies and the original Whopper burger logo of the fat chef guy walking. Burger Boy's combo is called "The Bates Special".

Burger Boy is among my top three fav old fashioned burger places! Awesome everything. Crinkle cuts ......yum!