Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Austin: temperature, towns)

[scassford]

Question:
there used to be 2 bars next door to each other off of Wurzbach and Gardendale.
One was Gasoline Alleys and the other ??? I totally forgot the name.
This was 1979.
thanks for any help!!

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by scassford

Question:
there used to be 2 bars next door to each other off of Wurzbach and Gardendale.
One was Gasoline Alleys and the other ??? I totally forgot the name.
This was 1979.
thanks for any help!!

Might have been the Horse Feathers Saloon.

[TrapperL]

Might have been Texas Exs? That was a little far north for me in the late 70's. I never made it past Lyndys.

[Basse Bud]

Anyone here ever visit the Tiffany Lounge on Houston St. in the 1950-1960's?

Johnny Olenn, 1950's and Doug Sahm, early 1960's, among many others were requlars during
the Tiffany's prime years (1950-1960's).

Anyone?...

[huckster]

I remember seeing the Tiffany Lounge alright Bud, however I was not even old enough to imbibe
firewater back in the sixties, legally anyway. Into the seventies even.

Originally Posted by Basse Bud

Anyone here ever visit the Tiffany Lounge on Houston St. in the 1950-1960's?

Johnny Olenn, 1950's and Doug Sahm, early 1960's, among many others were requlars during
the Tiffany's prime years (1950-1960's).

Anyone?...

[Basse Bud]

Ah, yes, the temptation of underage drinking! Were you able to get in and listen to the music?

In the 50's, I was also too young to get in, so we had to be satisfied listening from the sidewalk.
Fortunately, the bands were loud enough to be well heard from the sidewalk, except for the
occasional bouncer/doorman who would tell us to beat it. There was one, however, more sympathetic
who said "stand over there" (off to the west side of the entrance).

By the time I was old enough to enter in the 60's, the music and the bands had changed and the "magic" of
live music in bars had dwindled, although the volume increased to the pain threshold!

Pre-Sir Douglas Doug Sahm had a pretty hot band, and was outstanding in covering earlier R & B classics.
The one thing San Antonio had that many other cities didn't, was most local S A bands had horn sections, usually
basic, but good ones.

Occasionally, I still hear "Got You On My Mind" and "Matilda" (Cookie and the Cupcakes, NOT the calypso version)
running around in my head. (Never on any broadcast medium, however, )

".....got you on my mind, felling sad and low......" Ah, the Tiffany Lounge!

[huckster]

Never made it inside the Tiffany Lounge.
As Kids however - Used to get our overpriced and prized few illegal beers at a Fina Gas Station inside Loop 410 there on Culebra Rd. near Callaghan Rd.That was the outer edges of the city back then. We'd pull up, remain in the car- He would bring a six-pack out , money and beer would exchange hands and away we'd go.
Similar to a relay race in track, it was, a quick hand off and drive.
Now, drinking and driving is recognized for what it is, dangerous. Back then it was seen as harmless
fun by us kids.
This guy that sold we teenagers Lone Star Beer always, always, wore sunglasses, even at night-. We never knew his true name- so we nicknamed our friend and benefactor -- "Foster Grant" in honor of his ever present shades.
We, used to take our illegal liquid booty to the Drive -In theater to watch old movies---Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, Bullitt, 2001 A Space Oddysey or Blazing Saddles.

Mel Brooks and Woody Allen used to make some really hilarious , highly satirical, sophisticated comedy films back then. That kind of writing - comic talent , is gone now. Will Farrel and his likes is the replacement.

Originally Posted by Basse Bud

Ah, yes, the temptation of underage drinking! Were you able to get in and listen to the music?

In the 50's, I was also too young to get in, so we had to be satisfied listening from the sidewalk.
Fortunately, the bands were loud enough to be well heard from the sidewalk, except for the
occasional bouncer/doorman who would tell us to beat it. There was one, however, more sympathetic
who said "stand over there" (off to the west side of the entrance).

By the time I was old enough to enter in the 60's, the music and the bands had changed and the "magic" of
live music in bars had dwindled, although the volume increased to the pain threshold!

Pre-Sir Douglas Doug Sahm had a pretty hot band, and was outstanding in covering earlier R & B classics.
The one thing San Antonio had that many other cities didn't, was most local S A bands had horn sections, usually
basic, but good ones.

Occasionally, I still hear "Got You On My Mind" and "Matilda" (Cookie and the Cupcakes, NOT the calypso version)
running around in my head. (Never on any broadcast medium, however, )

".....got you on my mind, felling sad and low......" Ah, the Tiffany Lounge!

[Basse Bud]

Huck,

Yep, we all had a "connection" of some sort. The one you describe sounds like the most common; i.e. charging double the price (thereby insuring he gets his own essentially free!) The other avenue to acquire under-age prohibited drinks was the "out the back door in the trash bin". Dunno' how many were involved in this caper, but seems the guys who worked for the major grocery stores were able to obtain beer with little or no problem. (many cases of an older sibling/uncle/neighbor or greedy guy everyone seemed to know).

My limited personal experience, Ahem... was a buddy ALWAYS had access to Pabst Blue Ribbon, (to this day, I can't stand the taste of it!) Seems his Dad, in the hardware business, was always receiving "gifts" from salesmen calling on his mom & pop independent store. Pabst, as it turned out, was readily available to the salesmen at cut-rate prices, consequently, most salesmen arrived with a sixpak or two with each sales call. My buddies dad gave the stuff away to the lowest paid staff in the store as a "benefit" for working so cheap. However, dad, never bothered to inventory the inbound beer and as a result, my bud would always manage to"liberate" a sixpak or two. This worked well until the summer hear produced a multiple beer can explosion in the trunk of his car, effectively ending the cars use for many months, as no matter what was attempted, it always smelled like a brewery, and any cop downwind of the car immediately alerted to the smell. I suspect the car finished it's days as a steel bale.....that smelled like a beer can!

[Willsatx]

Just curious anyone have a listing of the handy dan stores in SA? Trying to figure a few locations out.

[TexasRedneck]

There was one at Marbach & 410, another over behind the old Wonderland Mall.......