Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Houston: arena, parlor)

[GWhopper]

I am reposting a reply I made on the thread regarding as to whether or not San Antonio has "culture" or not. I recently found I have a lot of free time on my hands and have been hunting down old pieces of San Antonio history. I just found two incredible out of print books with tons of photographs of old San Antonio, many of them over a 100 years old, not to mention a great deal of historic information. I'm going start posting it here, once I rig up a scanner to scan the photos in a way that doesn't damage the books themselves.

"I would have to disagree with both the statement that we are not "multi-cultural" and that we are "set on our ways", at least from a strictly historic perspective. It is important to note that prior to the oil boom San Antonio was considered to be the largest and most metropolitan city in Texas. It was only with the rise of Dallas and Houston in the early 20th century that San Antonio entered a slow decline which we, arguably, are still trying to climb out of now. I mentioned earlier that San Antonio has difficulty supporting supposed "institutions of cultural" nowadays, like our symphony or an opera house. You might be surprised to learn that was not always the case. Back in the late 1880's, we actually did have a Grand Opera House in San Antonio, it was located in what is now Alamo Plaza. In fact in 1894, San Antonio was widely known as the wealthiest city in Texas and boasted 25 different schools, which was a record for the state in that day. It also known for featuring the best Haute Cusine in Texas. The city itself featured more European architecture, most of it since torn down, and was idealized as a rich Cattlemen's Utopia. The Menger, Hord, and Maverick Hotels were as famous for their luxury as the Ritz-Carlton is today. I think one of the biggest problems this city has right now, in terms of cultural deficiency, is that the actual history is so poorly made known. It's not taught in schools, it's not adequately preserved and displayed in any museums. Even books written about San Antonio in the last 20-30 years barely mention or communicate the historic grandeur this city once held. You have to hunt down out of print books from the early to mid 20th century to learn anything about it. It's shameful, really."

[outafocus]

In the 1968 phone book, there were three Shakeys locations. 7074 San Pedro, 4315 Fredericksburg Road, and 1419 Austin Highway.

Looking at the Yellow Pages under Automobile Dealers, it is VERY evident the Japanese had not made much of a splash yet. There were only two Datsun (Nissan ) dealers: Bryson Auto Center on Pat Booker, and Calmbach Co. on Fredericksburg Road. Calmbach also sold Renaults. Toyota also had two dealerships. Broadway Toyota Center, 1602 Broadway, and Dreyer Foreign Car Center on Fredericksburg Road. No other Japanese makes were sold in 1968.

[Dwangle]

From 1966 to 1968 I was a model car fan. I raced slot cars and read all the model car magazines. I remember one of the first radio controlled cars available was a model of a Toyota. I had never heard of it. It was a boxy little sedan. I had never seen a real one. The radio control system was one push button. Pushing the button in different combinations made it go forward, backward, left , right, and stop

[outafocus]

That model car was probably a Toyota Corona.

The first Japanese vehicle I ever saw was in 1965 or so. It was a Datsun pickup.

One of my favorite old car dealers was Broughton Motors on Austin Highway. I bought a Renault from them. They were originally a Hudson dealer, then sold Renault, Peugeot, and a couple of lesser short lived imports like the Goliath. They ended up as a Suzuki dealer.

[Primo]

I found an interesting tibit in Nside magazine. There is an article about the owner of Aldos (old house corner of Wurzbach & Fredericksburg).
The article mentions the place was previously called "Oyster Bake". It goes on to say that Aldos opened in 1985.
Anyone remember that?
(I know the area well, and I know Dry Dock Oyster Bar is Catty Corner)

[TexasRedneck]

Yeah - remember it, but have never been to either of 'em. Friends that went panned it, but then again, they've been around a long time now - obviously they're doin' something right!

[GWhopper]

I was trying to find something on "Oyster Bake" in the newspaper archives when I stumbled on this place called Magnolia Sugar Plantation. This was from 1975, but I don't remember anything about this place. Anybody know anything about it?

[RGJ]

Very interesting. According to the maps, it was located where the San Antonio Credit Union is now on IH 10 just north of Vance Jackson

[Willsatx]

Here is something for all the GBNF posters who may have the showtime movie channel, they have been showing Viva Max which was filmed mostly in SA. It has great views of Houston St, Alamo Plaza, and other parts of SA. Not sure the showing but saw it a few days ago and great to see SA in the past.

[outafocus]

"Viva Max" had it's world premiere here in 1969. It was the first movie shown at the new Central Park Fox Theater. It also played at Century South on the southside, and at the Texas downtown.