And More Familiar Places . . .
It's never too late . . .
At the age of 66, Colonel Sanders began to sell franchises based on his famous chicken recipe. This location was on W. Gray Ave. in Houston just across from Captain John's Seafood [see picture further down in "Reminisce"]. By the late 1950's more than 200 franchises had been sold. After 1950, Col. Sanders began to look the part growing his trademark mustache and goatee and donning his white suit and string tie. By the early 1960s, Kentucky Fried Chicken was sold in over 600 franchised outlets in both the United States and Canada. And, of course, they are still around today.
From: http://www.corbinkentucky.us/sanderscafe.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC
From: http://www.corbinkentucky.us/sanderscafe.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC
The Felix Mexican Restaurant location at 5829 Kirby, November 1962. (Those cars cannot look that old!) Anyone of our generation who knows anything about Tex-Mex restaurants in Houston likely dined at a Felix Mexican Restaurant.
From: blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/04/felix_mexican_restaurant.html [All Felix locations are pictured and a sample menu is at this site.]
From: blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/04/felix_mexican_restaurant.html [All Felix locations are pictured and a sample menu is at this site.]
_Felix Mexican Restaurant shut down in 2008 after 60 years in business. The restaurant was named for Felix Tijerina, a Mexican immigrant, who
worked at The Original Mexican Restaurant on Fannin before opening his
first Tex-Mex restaurant for mainstream Anglos in 1929.
When Felix's flagship restaurant at 904 Westheimer opened in 1948, a
regular dinner cost 50 cents. In the heyday of the chain, there were six
Felix Mexican restaurants in Houston and Beaumont. Beloved by four generations of Houstonians, the loss of Felix was devastating to many families. Longtime patrons left notes on the front door of the shuttered Tex-Mex institution demanding an explanation. "We need some closure," one note read.
Some Downtown Shopping
Before it became Dillard's in 1987, Joske's originated in San Antonio and soon had stores in Dallas and Houston. It is apparently a common misconception that the first Houston Joske's Store opened at Gulfgate Mall in 1956. I was, in fact, at the opening of Gulfgate with my mother and grandmother. But a visitor to this site by the name of Shirley Gage has given me added information, part of which is confirmed at
http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com/2010/05/foley-brothers-dry-goods-co-houston.html. Apparently, the very first Houston Joske's was at the north end of Main Street and was the first store downtown to be air conditioned and to have an escalator. Shirley and her sister both shopped often at this Joske's. The best source that I can find states that this Joske's opened in a former Foley's building in 1948.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joske%27s
http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com/2010/05/foley-brothers-dry-goods-co-houston.html. Apparently, the very first Houston Joske's was at the north end of Main Street and was the first store downtown to be air conditioned and to have an escalator. Shirley and her sister both shopped often at this Joske's. The best source that I can find states that this Joske's opened in a former Foley's building in 1948.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joske%27s
Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, this is a photo of the very modest beginning of the Foley's Department Store which began in 1900. It was located at 507 Main Street in Houston and this picture was taken in 1906. The first store was 1400 square feet and was stocked with calico, linen, lace, pins, needles, and men’s furnishings. In 1905 with business booming, Pat and James Foley purchased the building next door and added ready-to-wear clothing for women and children as well as millinery. The store that we all knew at 1110 Main Street opened in 1947. [See next picture.] Before I could drive, we used to get on the bus at Prince's Drive-In on South Main Street and ride to "downtown Foley's" and spend all day on Saturday. "The president of Foley's was somebody and had great civic responsibility," said Ray Miller, a longtime newsman who has chronicled Houston's history. "Foley's wasn't just a business, it was a way of doing business. It had character." Decades ago, during the holiday season, he recalled, "nobody else decorated their windows like Foley's." Sixty-nine Foley's became Macy's Department Stores in 2006.
From digital.lib.uh.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley%27s and www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/005887.html
On the fifth floor of Foley's was a restaurant by the name of Azalea Terrace. At lunchtime, models walked among the tables showing the most modern and stylish clothes that Foley's had to offer. It was a real treat to go shopping with my mother and younger sister and to have lunch at the Azalea Terrace where matchbooks like this would be offered:
From: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150326310630552&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=9758509&id=542550551
The first credit card that I remember seeing was my mother's Foley's "Charga-Plate."
Her case was green leather, however. We made excellent use of that card! The saleslady would write a ticket and take the customer's plate and place both in a drive-in-bank-like air tube which would transport the items to the Business Office. As a child, I watched our receptacle make a portion of the trip in the air tubes that were up near the ceiling. Then, the receipt and the charge plate were returned to the saleslady who then gave them with the merchandise to the customer. Because of the lag time, I can remember my mother's visiting with the saleslady while we waited.
_This picture is from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150165695465552&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=8564872&id=542550551
Just across the street from Foley's was Sakowitz which opened in 1951 and remained open until the mid-1980s.
From www.familyoldphotos.com/tx/2s/sakowitz_houston_texas.htm
From www.familyoldphotos.com/tx/2s/sakowitz_houston_texas.htm
And, yet another popular downtown store was Battlelstein's. The Battelstein's building was very plain and almost utilitarian, as shown in the circus parade picture at the beginning of Reminisce, because "maximizing revenue was something that Battelstein's founder, Philip Battelstein, knew a lot about. He arrived in the United States in 1897 with just a few dollars in his pocket. Within twenty years, he was in command of one of the largest department stores in Houston."
From http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2330/Battelsteins-Building.php
From http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2330/Battelsteins-Building.php
The front doors to Battelstein's in later years about the time that the store was closing in mid-twentieth century. This photo is from http://www.arch-ive.org/battelsteins/battelsteins_0203.jpg
An early newspaper ad for a man's lined coat
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c393/speedy61/Battelsteins.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/671-was-sakowitz-a-famous-store-from-houston/page__st__39&h=495&w=532&sz=33&tbnid=A5-JMfEdYDgaiM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=89&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbattelstein%27s%2Bhouston%2Bphotos%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=battelstein%27s+houston+photos&docid=ArLMLspswMbFNM&sa=X&ei=MRdRTv_lEsatsQLgr53lBg&ved=0CCoQ9QEwBQ&dur=6749
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c393/speedy61/Battelsteins.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/671-was-sakowitz-a-famous-store-from-houston/page__st__39&h=495&w=532&sz=33&tbnid=A5-JMfEdYDgaiM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=89&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbattelstein%27s%2Bhouston%2Bphotos%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=battelstein%27s+houston+photos&docid=ArLMLspswMbFNM&sa=X&ei=MRdRTv_lEsatsQLgr53lBg&ved=0CCoQ9QEwBQ&dur=6749
A well-respected label in its day an on through the 1980's.
This picture is from: This picture is from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/4586519638_1dd9b535f8_s.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yasni.com/battelstein/check%2Bpeople&h=75&w=75&sz=4&tbnid=FSGkWByi0pZ-TM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=71&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbattelstein%27s%2Bhouston%2Bphotos%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=battelstein%27s+houston+photos&docid=YxGQQVlNWkfxWM&sa=X&ei=MRdRTv_lEsatsQLgr53lBg&ved=0CD0Q9QEwCw&dur=6341
This photo of a post card of downtown Houston's Woolworth's store is from: TIME Magazine, “Eight-Million-Dollar Baby”, Dec. 5, 1949
http://losthouston.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/lost-woolworth-building-1949/
http://losthouston.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/lost-woolworth-building-1949/
The inside of Woolworth's Downtown looked like this at Christmastime in 1964. This photo is from:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1986916641501&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=2186058&id=1500842745
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1986916641501&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=2186058&id=1500842745
In 1971, those who worked downtown or those who shopped there, had the option of going to this large Walgreen's. This photo is from:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150238107355552&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=8952543&id=542550551
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150238107355552&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=8952543&id=542550551
This 1950 postcard of Main Street looking north from Dallas Avenue shows some familiar places, not the least of which is Foleys, the Metropolitan Theatre, and the Lowe's Theatre. This photo is from:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?op=1&view=global&subj=107646629279272&pid=31202962&id=1060813582&oid=107646629279272&fbid=1400790054035
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?op=1&view=global&subj=107646629279272&pid=31202962&id=1060813582&oid=107646629279272&fbid=1400790054035
Our Civic Building Beginnings
Mary Bavouset
Photo from: http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/03/more-photos-show-houston-circa-late-1920s/
This wooden building which was erected for the 1928 Democratic Convention was known as Sam Houston Hall. This was a convention of many firsts including the first national convention by either party in the South since the Civil War and the first convention to nominate a Catholic for President, Al Smith. Smith in turn became the first Democratic nominee to lose more than one southern state in the general election since Reconstruction when he lost to Herbert Hoover due mainly to his "wet" stance, opposition to the Ku Klux Klan and his religion. The vote wasn't close with Hoover winning 444 electoral votes to 87, 40 states to 8 and 58.2% of the popular vote to 40.8%.
Text from: http://moodyspostcards.blogspot.com/search/label/Antique%20Postcard%20Democratic%20Convention%201928
An aerial view of Sam Houston Hall from the George Fuermann collection (See Texas National Bank Builing on the next page for details about Fuermann). This excellent photo is from:
Fuermann, George. Houston: The Feast Years, An Illustrated Essay, Premier Printing Company, 1962.
Fuermann, George. Houston: The Feast Years, An Illustrated Essay, Premier Printing Company, 1962.
The building was demolished in 1937 and the Sam Houston Coliseum was ready on this site for the 1938 Houston Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. The 1936 Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus in the parade above might have been held in or near this wooden building.
This is a photo of a 1940's postcard. The Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall were demolished in 1998-99.
From: www.familyoldphotos.com/tx/2s/sam_houston_coliseum_and_music_h.htm
The Coliseum had a seating capacity of 9,200 and in 1946 floor ice chillers were added so that hockey could be played. On October 14, 1956, Elvis Presley's concert at the Coliseum ended abruptly, as he and his band were taken away by police escort, just before the end of the show, as a mob of about 1,000 teenagers rushed the stage, the band's instruments being destroyed as a result.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_Coliseum
From: www.familyoldphotos.com/tx/2s/sam_houston_coliseum_and_music_h.htm
The Coliseum had a seating capacity of 9,200 and in 1946 floor ice chillers were added so that hockey could be played. On October 14, 1956, Elvis Presley's concert at the Coliseum ended abruptly, as he and his band were taken away by police escort, just before the end of the show, as a mob of about 1,000 teenagers rushed the stage, the band's instruments being destroyed as a result.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_Coliseum
Familiar Performers at the Coliseum
Many visitors to this site will remember running down to the rail at the Houston Coliseum during the Fat Stock Show and Rodeo to shake hands with Roy Rogers who would be performing with his wife Dale Evans and his horse Trigger.
This is a 1952 publicity photo which can be found with others at http://royrogers.com/lane-index.html.
For many years Roy's museum was open in Branson, Missouri, but is now closed. These two people helped to model strong values to our generation. They had their own half-hour television show from 1951 to 1957 on NBC. "Evans herself composed the words and music of the program theme song, Happy Trails. The song quickly became the composition most associated with the pair."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roy_Rogers_and_Dale_Evans_Show
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roy_Rogers_and_Dale_Evans_Show
Roy's Golden Palomino Trigger. From: http://royrogers.com/lane-index.html
Various sidekicks worked with Roy Rogers, including Pat Brady in his jeep Nellybelle. Others were Gabby Hayes, Andy Devine, and Cliff Arquette as Charlie Weaver. The Sons of the Pioneers appeared on the later 1960's one-season television show. "Rogers's nickname was 'King of the Cowboys'. Evans's nickname was 'Queen of the West'." From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers
Progress
The story of the Southwest Freeway is closely intertwined with the story of Sharpstown because the developer of Sharpstown, Frank Sharp, donated a 300-foot wide right-of-way strip through his land. The feeder lanes through Sharpstown were opened around 1960, and the freeway main lanes were opened in 1965. Sharpstown was actually designed around the southwest freeway, in contrast to other neighborhoods where freeways were uninvited. Other sections of the freeway followed soon afterwards in the 1960's.
From: www.texasfreeway.com/houston/photos/59sw/59sw.shtml
From: www.texasfreeway.com/houston/photos/59sw/59sw.shtml
They are probably still working on this.
Engineering began on the Gulf Freeway in 1947 and it became Texas' first freeway. To my knowledge it has never been completely open, without construction, from downtown to Galveston, although one source that I read seemed to indicate that there have been a few years without construction. [I don't believe that, however.] From: http://www.texasbest.com/houston/history.html
Much of the Gulf Freeway was constructed on the right-of-way of the old Houston-Galveston Interurban streetcar line, which shut down in 1939. [Please see last picture in "Reminisce."]
From: ww.texasfreeway.com/houston/photos/45s/i45s.shtml
Engineering began on the Gulf Freeway in 1947 and it became Texas' first freeway. To my knowledge it has never been completely open, without construction, from downtown to Galveston, although one source that I read seemed to indicate that there have been a few years without construction. [I don't believe that, however.] From: http://www.texasbest.com/houston/history.html
Much of the Gulf Freeway was constructed on the right-of-way of the old Houston-Galveston Interurban streetcar line, which shut down in 1939. [Please see last picture in "Reminisce."]
From: ww.texasfreeway.com/houston/photos/45s/i45s.shtml
Another interesting Gulf Freeway picture, this one of a Traffic Study Tower. I do NOT remember seeing one of these.
From: www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/image/i45_houston_traffic_study_tower_undated.jpg
From: www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/image/i45_houston_traffic_study_tower_undated.jpg
Service wth a Smile
A 1950 Shell Service Station. Note the Shell employee who is filling the car with gasoline while the driver visits with him. Too bad this kind of service doesn't exist anymore.
From: http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/aboutshell/who_we_are/history/
From: http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/aboutshell/who_we_are/history/
Older Shell Logos
The two Shell logos that our generation would recognize are these.
From:
http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/who_we_are/our_history/history_of_pecten/
From:
http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/who_we_are/our_history/history_of_pecten/
A 1955 Texaco Service Station. Note the 19-cent gasoline price. From: http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco_service_station
When I was a child, my granddaddy had a Texaco Service Station that looked somewhat like this one. His was not quite this modern as it was attached to my grandparents' drug store, dry goods store, post office and ice cream and candy shop in a very small town. His station did not have bays for auto work and oil changes, just pumps for gasoline and "coal oil."
This picture is from: http://readreidread.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/6692/
This picture is from: http://readreidread.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/6692/
This Minute Man Service Station is another representative gas station from the 1950s. Men who were willing and able to service our cars would be a welcome sight to us again.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ServiceStation.jpeg
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ServiceStation.jpeg
One of the perks of shopping for gasoline and other items as well, of course, was the S & H Green Stamp. Retail establishments gave out a certain number of stamps based on the amount of purchase. The stamps were collected and placed in collection books. Then, the housewife (usually) could take full collection books and redeem them for items at an S & H Green Stamp Redemption Center.
S & H Green Stamps were popular in the United States from the 1930s until the late 1980s. Another popular trading stamp in our area was the Gold Bond Stamp. The heyday of trading stamps was the 1960s.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps
Two 1950's Memories . . .
In elementary school, I loved the Weekly Readers and could hardly wait for a new one to come. Once a week teachers distributed copies of My Weekly Reader to millions of students in two-thirds of the nation's schools. Students read the 4-8 page educational paper in class or for homework. The articles provided teachers with a springboard for discussion about current events. The oversized weekly printed on newspaper stock included grade-appropriate stories, photographs, illustrations, puzzles, cartoons—even advertisements for books. Some children who loved reading about the space race, examining animal pictures, and laughing at the comics also looked forward to the next issue. While many students found My Weekly Reader to be more like fun than work, others remained uninspired by the flat prose and corny humor. From: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/330
When I was a child in the Houston Heights, we had access to the Library's Bookmobile. Even though we lived in a city, I believe that the service was provided because many households did not have a second car that the mother could use to take the children to the library. It was also used in neighborhoods where there were no satellite libraries.
In fact, my neighborhood looked very much like the one in this photo from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1889605449086&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=31975575&id=1509972945.
Three More Restaurants
This postcard says on the back:
Houston's Fabulous Restaurant
7900 So. Main Phone MA 3-0491
Famous for seafoods, steaks and chicken throughout the USA. First in French-fried shrimp. Private dining rooms. Pay us a visit.
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42353480@N02/4450645267/
Houston's Fabulous Restaurant
7900 So. Main Phone MA 3-0491
Famous for seafoods, steaks and chicken throughout the USA. First in French-fried shrimp. Private dining rooms. Pay us a visit.
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42353480@N02/4450645267/
The interior of Kaphan's is described as the "Aristocrat of Seafoods" - a favorite with gourmets, noted for its fine foods and elegant surroundings. This distinguished restaurant is famous for its seafoods and other festive holiday specialties. Air- conditioned. Charcoal garden acclaimed as one of the most attractive and unique dining areas along the Texas Gulf Coast.
From: http://www.cardcow.com/291711/kaphans-restaurant-houston-texas/
From: http://www.cardcow.com/291711/kaphans-restaurant-houston-texas/
Owners Mary and Sonny Look were Houston restaurant legends. Sonny died back in 2003 and was responsible for now-gone landmark restaurants like Sir Loin, The Depot and the eponymous Sonny Look's.
From: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2011/03/vintage_houston_restaurant_pos.php
From: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2011/03/vintage_houston_restaurant_pos.php
Located near Rice University and the Medical Center on Main, this photo is from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1483815700520&set=o.107646629279272&type=1&theater&pid=1305898&id=1387697510
1953 -- The Banner Year for Local Television
Channel 2
This was the scene in early 1953 when KPRC opened their new facilities. The bottom photo shows the scene on opening day when thousands of Houstonians turned up for a tour and open house. According to one book, operations began from the new facility on March 20, 1953, but other sources give the date as March 29. The new, state-of-the-art facility used a converted quonset hut to house the studios, as had been the case at the original KLEE-TV site, just a half mile south on Post Oak Road.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/kprc-tv-gallery.html
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/kprc-tv-gallery.html
Andrew Brown sent this lovely photo of the KPRC station to: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/kprc-tv-gallery.html
This was the building that housed KPRC from 1953 until 1972. It was located about where the Williams Tower (formerly Transco Tower) now stands.
At the following link is a wonderful photo from March 1953 of Alfred Hitchcock, Anne Baxter and Dick Gottlieb in the studio for a program that is about a new Hitchcock movie:
http://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/image_lg.php?variable=e_bb_4775
At the following link is a wonderful photo from March 1953 of Alfred Hitchcock, Anne Baxter and Dick Gottlieb in the studio for a program that is about a new Hitchcock movie:
http://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/image_lg.php?variable=e_bb_4775
KPRC's first color television broadcast was on May 3, 1954. It was The Voice of Firestone from the NBC network. Of course, there was only a handful of color televisions in the whole city at the time.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
I don't know how many of you will remember Curly Fox and Miss Texas Ruby, but I do because my mamaw loved their early tv program. Live country music programming was actually quite common in early TV; long running Grand Ol’ Opry stars Curly Fox and Miss Texas Ruby had a program on KPRC-TV that lasted for 7 years.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/kgul-tv-channel-11-galveston.html
Album Cover from: http://allensarchiveofearlyoldcountrymusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/curly-fox-texas-ruby-fantastic-fiddlin.html
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/kgul-tv-channel-11-galveston.html
Album Cover from: http://allensarchiveofearlyoldcountrymusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/curly-fox-texas-ruby-fantastic-fiddlin.html
Channel 11
Also in 1953, KGUL-TV signed on in Galveston on Channel 11 on March 22 and for the first time KPRC-TV had competition for viewers. The studios were at 11 Video Lane in Galveston.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/kprc-tv-gallery.html
and from: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
According to Wikipedia, they remained KGUL until June of 1959 when they became KHOU - TV.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/kprc-tv-gallery.html
and from: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
According to Wikipedia, they remained KGUL until June of 1959 when they became KHOU - TV.
This first day program that was listed in the newspaper is from: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
Channel 8
And finally also in 1953, the world's first educational television station was started at the University of Houston. This early Channel ID and the following building photo are both from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUHT
According to plan, Channel 8 signed on the air at 5 p.m. on May 25, 1953, with a program called "It's Five." Producer/director George Arms' variety format featured a half dozen attractive college coeds who offered "down-to-earth" advice for women, including tips on make-up techniques, party-giving, flower-arranging, blouse-making, and preparing a child for a tonsillectomy. Mayor Roy Hofheinz had proclaimed the week of April 20 as "Educational Television Week," urging Houstonians to "take appropriate interest in this new wonder of the educational world" and to visit the television facility on the campus.
From: http://www.houstonpbs.org/aboutus/history/
By 1964, the station was housed in expanded quarters, and its spirit was rejuvenated. KUHT film operations began producing features like H.L. Hunt: The Richest and The Rightest for distribution nationally through NET, the educational television network whose New York facilities would later become home to public television station WNET. These features showcased the Houston perspective on topics such as the "new morality," prayer in public schools, and drugs on college campuses. And the rest, as they say, is history.
From: http://www.houstonpbs.org/aboutus/history/
From: http://www.houstonpbs.org/aboutus/history/
The artist Jim Koehn who has been showcased on this site several times did this wonderful painting of the Channel 8 Houston PBS studio. It is a commissioned painting in acrylic on canvas. This and other works by Mr. Koehn and more artists can be viewed at: http://www.hollywoodframegallery.com/index.html
A wonderful early picture of the broadcast of KUHT from: http://uhdigitallibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-kuht-collection-in-uh-digital.html
Another Interesting Interaction
_
A really interesting thing happened recently when I was contacted by a visitor to the website named Cathy Collins Brechtelsbauer, graduate of Jesse Jones HS '62. Against all odds I have now "met" a fellow resident of the University of Houston campus who lived there when my family and I did. Cathy and her family lived in the barracks on campus while we were living in our tiny green veterans' trailer. Cathy's dad George Collins began his career at U of H teaching in the Drama Department and then he moved to television when KUHT came about. He was Operations Manager and taught Staging and Lighting for the new medium of television.
The internet truly is making our world smaller and smaller. I daresay that Cathy, who lives in another state, and I would have never met without it. By the time I started school, my family had moved into an apartment across Elgin Street from the campus and we think that she and I missed going to the same elementary school because of this. But we share many common memories of that time including Frontier Fiesta, the horrible smell of the meat packing plant across the street from campus, the Little Red Schoolhouse – a children's theatre on campus, and the campus swimming pool.
A really interesting thing happened recently when I was contacted by a visitor to the website named Cathy Collins Brechtelsbauer, graduate of Jesse Jones HS '62. Against all odds I have now "met" a fellow resident of the University of Houston campus who lived there when my family and I did. Cathy and her family lived in the barracks on campus while we were living in our tiny green veterans' trailer. Cathy's dad George Collins began his career at U of H teaching in the Drama Department and then he moved to television when KUHT came about. He was Operations Manager and taught Staging and Lighting for the new medium of television.
The internet truly is making our world smaller and smaller. I daresay that Cathy, who lives in another state, and I would have never met without it. By the time I started school, my family had moved into an apartment across Elgin Street from the campus and we think that she and I missed going to the same elementary school because of this. But we share many common memories of that time including Frontier Fiesta, the horrible smell of the meat packing plant across the street from campus, the Little Red Schoolhouse – a children's theatre on campus, and the campus swimming pool.
Early 1954
And who can forget Kitirik? When KTRK-TV channel 13 was just starting out in Houston, Texas, and needing a mascot, they came up with a black cat since they were the unlucky 13. Bunny Orsak answered an ad for the fledgling station in 1954. A contest won by a viewer gave her the name by putting "i's" between the station's call letters, KTRK.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitirik
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitirik
On January 8, 1954, Jesse Jones announced that after intense negotiations which started in November, 1953, the rival applicants for Channel 13 merged to form Houston Consolidated Television which would become the only applicant for Channel 13. The station signed on November 20 of that year.
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
The original studio facilities were located at 4513 Cullen Blvd (at the defunct Texas Television Center district on the University of Houston campus); this studio later housed KHTV and PBS member station KUHT (channel 8). Soon afterward, in 1955, the station moved to its current Bissonnet Street location. The studio was the first domed structure in town, preceding the better-known Astrodome by ten years. Both projects were built by the same architect, Hermon Lloyd. Like many stations located on "unlucky" channel 13, it used a black cat as its mascot. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTRK-TV
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html
The original studio facilities were located at 4513 Cullen Blvd (at the defunct Texas Television Center district on the University of Houston campus); this studio later housed KHTV and PBS member station KUHT (channel 8). Soon afterward, in 1955, the station moved to its current Bissonnet Street location. The studio was the first domed structure in town, preceding the better-known Astrodome by ten years. Both projects were built by the same architect, Hermon Lloyd. Like many stations located on "unlucky" channel 13, it used a black cat as its mascot. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTRK-TV
Continuing with the trend of having Country and Western Music Shows on the air, KTRK had the Gulf Coast Jamboree Band featuring Utah Carl.
From: http://www.myspace.com/georgechampion/photos/2462026
From: http://www.myspace.com/georgechampion/photos/2462026
Also on Channel 13 in the 1950's was a local version of American Bandstand on Saturdays. It was The Larry Kane Show and was tremendously popular. A 1961 Billboard article about Larry Kane and his show can be found at:
http://books.google.com/books?id=IyEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40&dq=larry+kane&as_pt=MAGAZINES&cd=1#v=onepage&q=larry%20kane&f=false
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/04/larry-kane-show-ktrk-tv.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=IyEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40&dq=larry+kane&as_pt=MAGAZINES&cd=1#v=onepage&q=larry%20kane&f=false
From: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2010/04/larry-kane-show-ktrk-tv.html
Of course, this familiar face is Dave Ward who joined KTRK Channel 13 in 1966. He is still there some forty-five years later.
From: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/bio?section=resources/inside_station/newsteam&id=5771979
From: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/bio?section=resources/inside_station/newsteam&id=5771979
And, before it was bad for us, it was good for us . . .
1950 Print Ad
From: http://www.jumbojoke.com/tv_is_good_for_kids.html
From: http://www.jumbojoke.com/tv_is_good_for_kids.html
Typical Televisions Available in the 50s and 60s
A 1969 General Electric COLOR television ad from: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/electronics-ads-1960s/2
1965 COLOR, STEREO, and REMOTE. From: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/electronics-ads-1960s
On this television set one would see the following:
On this television set one would see the following:
You will recognize the boys from Bonanza in color! RCA 1965 ad.
From: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/electronics-ads-1960s/4
From: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/electronics-ads-1960s/4