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Featured Replies

how were the SkyBoxes?

 

I never went up there

3 minutes ago, huge said:

how were the SkyBoxes?

 

I never went up there

You mean the original ones way up at the top?  I never went up there either.

they're bringing back Magic Island:

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Magic-Island-one-of-Houston-s-most-peculiar-12885584.php?ipid=hpctp#photo-15498182

I went once, when i was like 11 or 12 years old with a family friend - i remember the magic show and eating fettucine alfredo with shrimp for the first time there. we (minors) had to be out by a certain time as it turned into an adult venue but thought it was pretty cool to see. wonder how this will turn out once it's all done

I went in 1995 for a holiday party, interesting place. Last time I was in Houston I saw it was still there and wondering what the hell was ever gonna happen with it.

^^^

Pretty sure it's been empty for nearly 15 years now.  Katrina damage?

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP

Yeah, it has looked abandoned for long time... which is why I was wondering wtf is ever gonna happen with it.

I had a buddy who knew a manager at Magic Island.   Used to go all the time to watch the close-up, sleight-of-hand stuff.  Some of the best illusions I ever saw. 

And lots of women in those stretch tube dresses. And coke. Had a real vibe to it. 

I had a buddy who knew a manager at Magic Island.   Used to go all the time to watch the close-up, sleight-of-hand stuff.  Some of the best illusions I ever saw. 
And lots of women in those stretch tube dresses. And coke. Had a real vibe to it. 


Old coke was the best.
10 hours ago, Texas_Rocks said:

 


Old coke was the best.

We like to call it "Coke Classic".

 

12 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I vote for Magic Titties.

Topless magicians? Men and nursing infants approve!

On 5/1/2018 at 2:04 PM, huge said:

how were the SkyBoxes?

 

I never went up there

In the 80s, they were typical luxury boxes for the time. Nothing crazy. I don't remember them being much different than the boxes at the Summit.

21 hours ago, David Dennison said:

In the 80s, they were typical luxury boxes for the time. Nothing crazy. I don't remember them being much different than the boxes at the Summit.

You talking about the ones at the very top or the Star-Columbia Suites that were right below the Loge

The sky boxes were at the very top. Those were what I remember going to most. Especially for rodeo.

The Columbia suites cake after the remodel.

  • 3 years later...
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I think this might still be down there on S. Main with a different name and rotting away. It's one of the last old motels down there. Rolling down S. Main in the '70s and early '80s was a trip -- hos galore.

 

 

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For decades every photographer who came to Houston from the coasts took some version of this shot...with a caption like "In the very shadow of Houston's glittering skyline, brutal poverty etc etc etc...."

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Grew up in Willowbend and all those bring memories. Nicely done.

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Pennzoil Place, back when you could see it. Always one of my favorite things to see when I was back in Houston to stay with my grandparents. 

 

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One of the "Celestial Suites" in what used to be Roy Hofheinz's Astrodome Hotel, across from both the Dome and Astroworld. There was a whole floor of themed suites and one of them for a time was the world's most expensive hotel room. I guess this is the circus one, but they also ancient Rome, Wild West, London Palace, etc. The hotel is now a boring Crowne Plaza; these suites are all locked up with most of those furnishings still inside. It's been like that for a while -- some reporter got to see them a couple of years ago and there are still phone books and matchbooks and ashtrays in all the rooms.

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On 5/1/2018 at 1:05 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

At one time I had season tickets to the Astros, Oilers, and Gamblers at the same time.  I felt like I lived in the Dome.

Now that was a fun team to watch.  

On 5/1/2018 at 2:04 PM, huge said:

how were the SkyBoxes?

 

I never went up there

I remember wolfing down giant bags of popcorn in the SkyBoxes with my little league team. I thought Bagwell was going to hit a homer every time he came up to bat. 

They were extremely affordable towards the end. Group party at Chuckie Cheese cheap. You couldn't see shit, but it was fun being in a "luxury box". 

One of the "Celestial Suites" in what used to be Roy Hofheinz's Astrodome Hotel, across from both the Dome and Astroworld. There was a whole floor of themed suites and one of them for a time was the world's most expensive hotel room. I guess this is the circus one, but they also ancient Rome, Wild West, London Palace, etc. The hotel is now a boring Crowne Plaza; these suites are all locked up with most of those furnishings still inside. It's been like that for a while -- some reporter got to see them a couple of years ago and there are still phone books and matchbooks and ashtrays in all the rooms.
image.thumb.png.0f4e28f5b1b0ec7b89d28067239b61f5.png 

Hofheinz was big on themed stuff. The dome had a bunch of themed skyboxes as well. Must’ve been some top notch debauchery going on up there back in the day.

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On 4/4/2018 at 5:44 PM, Wally Fairway said:

Holy shit, this thread is a trip down memory lane.

I'll never forget the day I looked out my Greenway Plaza office and saw this beauty fly by (well not that shuttle)

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and downtown kinda looked like this when I moved there

 

[IMG]

My family moved to Houston in 1970, and my dad worked in the then brand-new One Shell.  We were all very proud of the fact that dad worked in "the tallest building west of the Mississippi".

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37 minutes ago, Player said:


Hofheinz was big on themed stuff. The dome had a bunch of themed skyboxes as well. Must’ve been some top notch debauchery going on up there back in the day.

423915b41093a4e01a8a3cdc03551b59.jpg
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Those things -- the suites and the sky boxes -- were like Willy Wonka Land to me. I could sort of see them but never could go in w/o that dang ol' golden ticket.

Great thread that hits me hard right now thinking about my childhood inside the loop (79-yr-old mom fighting lung cancer), it's a bummer that so many of the pics from the first two pages aren't showing up for me.

So many places/things I miss from 70's/80's Houston. Leo's, Felix, San Jac Inn, Zorba the Greek, Cap'n Benny's, Uncle Tai's, Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf, the original Butera's grocery store in the Village, the Village Five and Dime, the early years of the Moonlight Bicycle Ramble, sneaking in to Rice Stadium and playing pickup football games on the field, roller skating Friday nights at the Bellaire skating rink in my Jr high years,  my summer bowling pass at Palace Lanes, AstroWorld, the Oilers and Stros in the Dome, working at the Summit in 1986 and seeing damn near every Rockets home game. 

 

Anyone remember this place?

 

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On 4/3/2018 at 6:00 PM, Born Burnt said:

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Was that 1977? I remember it. 

26 minutes ago, Born Burnt said:

1976. Here's a recent article with a video of news coverage of the event when it happened. Pretty intense coverage, not really like you see today. Lulz at the doctor holding a pipe while being interviewed at the 8:06 mark.

https://abc13.com/ammonia-truck-disaster-houston/1332062/

For a long time I always thought about that accident and the Jeff Alm incident every time I drove past that freeway interchange. Y'all remember Jeff Alm?

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5 hours ago, Gourmand said:

Great thread that hits me hard right now thinking about my childhood inside the loop (79-yr-old mom fighting lung cancer), it's a bummer that so many of the pics from the first two pages aren't showing up for me.

So many places/things I miss from 70's/80's Houston. Leo's, Felix, San Jac Inn, Zorba the Greek, Cap'n Benny's, Uncle Tai's, Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf, the original Butera's grocery store in the Village, the Village Five and Dime, the early years of the Moonlight Bicycle Ramble, sneaking in to Rice Stadium and playing pickup football games on the field, roller skating Friday nights at the Bellaire skating rink in my Jr high years,  my summer bowling pass at Palace Lanes, AstroWorld, the Oilers and Stros in the Dome, working at the Summit in 1986 and seeing damn near every Rockets home game. 

 

Anyone remember this place?

 

spacer.png

Are you my secret brother? To your list I would add the dangerous playground equipment at Hermann, going to see kids movies like the Red Balloon at the MAFH, watching the sculpture garden go in -- they had a nude gymnast that was extremely anatomically correct, including gaping labia. Sometime in the early '80s we started eating adventurous Chinese food like wontons, hot and sour soup and mu shu pork at places like Lucky Inn in Old Chinatown. World Toy & Gift Shop was the best toy store I ever knew but my grandmother hated having to take me there because she couldn't stand the cranky old sisters who owned it....Getting sophisticated ice cream at places like Neal's and Dolce e Freddo. 

That's Westbury Square, right? Some of the ruins are still there, infested with squatters. There was a colony of hippie Jesus Freaks in there about 20 years ago...Now it's just druggies. My daughter and her mom live in the adjacent condos. 

1 hour ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

World Toy & Gift Shop was the best toy store I ever knew but my grandmother hated having to take me there because she couldn't stand the cranky old sisters who owned it....Getting sophisticated ice cream at places like Neal's and Dolce e Freddo. 

Man I forgot about World Toy and Gift, that place was awesome. And Neal's blew my mind when they first came along and shook up the ice cream shop scene from the simplicity of Baskin-Robbins...Weren't they before Marble Slab?

 

1 hour ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

That's Westbury Square, right? Some of the ruins are still there, infested with squatters. There was a colony of hippie Jesus Freaks in there about 20 years ago...Now it's just druggies. My daughter and her mom live in the adjacent condos. 

.Yep, that pic is of Westbury Square outside of Rumpleheimer's. 

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15 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

And Neal's blew my mind when they first came along and shook up the ice cream shop scene from the simplicity of Baskin-Robbins...Weren't they before Marble Slab?

Yeah they were local and I think Dolce e Freddo was too. I had a Neal's sweatshirt I thought was so cool. 

Was world toy in Westbury Square? I remember that being a fancy Christmas shopping destination back in the day.

And in the 80s, we discovered several of the real-deal Chinese restaurants up and down Gessner. My parents were regulars at East Ocean till the owner, Paul, packed up and moved back to Hong Kong. They had some favorite dishes, but often just let Paul bring them food. A couple of times, they got there late and just sat at a big round table and ate dinner with the employees.

It was really cool seeing that scene explode in Houston….then I went to Austin for school, and we had a few American Chinese joints with kung pao chicken and such. Missed the Houston variety.

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World Toy was in the Village -- the ladies who owned it were Holocaust survivors. Which is why they were cranky...they also owned the Village Theater and when sales flagged they had no qualms into turning it into a porno house. Neighborhood outcry? Fierce. Fucks given -- zero. 

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 Dancing the Cotton Eyed Joe and getting to yell "Bullshit!" was a highlight of heading over to the Texas Tumbleweed for dinner.

The only time we could cuss, lol

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