Gone but not forgotten- Old Corpus Christi (Ranger, Lexington: plumbing, realty)

[3rdIQ]

Yes on the ICEE's & baseball cards. Buccaneer Bowl also had the old school nachos, individual chips with melted cheese and one jalapeno slice...I think they served them on pizza pans? Never went to the pool at the Naval Base, but we did fish the concrete docking piers... great for reds, drum and croaker. We lost power for quite a while after Celia, but had a generator to keep the freezers going and to have some lights in the house. I remember big neighborhood cook-outs and the fish and shrimp were the first to be eaten.

[midair]

Also these:

Buccaneer days - ride the matterhorn to blasting music (the locomotion), the zipper
Deux Cine - saw Jaws on the first day, sat in front row.
Charlie St. John - KIII weatherman "and that dear hearts, is the weather"
Dr. Belazarbo - hosted late night horror movies on TV
Feudo's - you could read magazines at the rack all day and groceries at a fair price
There was a Mexican food place called Josie's at Gaslight Square. Ate there a lot cause my parents loved it.
Bus trips to see the Astros at the dome, or Astroworld.

I also remember roaming the city at all hours and perfectly safe. Ride your bike, walk, didn't matter.

[Kirk Kinnett]

I think the Pick's is where the U&I restaurant is. Snapka's on Leopard was down close to Navigation Blvd. Don't remember a put-put anywhere around Parkdale but how about Koko Palms surf shop at Parkdale and Down South down the street from King HS. How about the fruit stand at SPID and Ennis Joslin. Or the big ditch in the median from the area where Roy's Bait and Tackle was all the way to the Oso bridge. And the 10 cents it cost to get on the Causeway to get to the beach.

[carsbybigd]

Kirk,there was a Putt-Putt at Parkdale ,it was on the back side opposite of the Library.

[Hopeful for Life]

Originally Posted by carsbybigd

Kirk,there was a Putt-Putt at Parkdale ,it was on the back side opposite of the Library.

I thought that I remember a putt-putt in the front bordering Staples, kind of like where the Wendy's is now?

[fourj]

The putt putt was in front of Parkdale on the staples side. Went to many a youth birthday party there. Anyone remember when they had the plastic dinosaurs out there with the machines that let you make your own dino?

[fzqp22]

Originally Posted by awecelot

Yeah, I think you are right about the driving range.

I've got one for you guys...the Chevrolet dealership off of Leopard just outside of downtown.

Lew Williams’ Chevrolet is the Chevrolet dealership of which you speak. Across Leopard was an H*E*B.

[KennethP]

Originally Posted by Kibby

The Staples Picks was at Staples & Everhart and was similar to a Sonic with pull in parking. The Downtown Pick's was totally different. Cars would line up and park in rows - when someone needed to leave, you would move your car and let them out. Imagine a large square with rows of cars - the Snapka's (other drive in on Weber) worked the same way. The downtown Picks was at the very end of downtown (near the church) probably at about Park - it later became an eat in place and then was probably torn down. It was back against the bluff. Downtown was solid traffic at night with kids cruising.

The first chain cheapie hamburger place in town was the Burger Chef on Staples across from Del Mar. Hamburgers were 18 cents.

Angelos Pizza on Staples has been there since the 1950's - I used to ride my bike up there to pick up a pizza when I was about 10. First Pizza in Corpus. Shakey's on Everhart and Panjo's on Airline opened in the 60's and were very popular. Whataburger was just really getting started in the 50's - all the locations had only walk in service. You gave your order when you entered (stood in line) and by the time you got to the register, it was ready. All burgers and buns were done on a grill. Great hamburgers - they ruined them with automation, grilled buns are the secret to a great hamburger. The Port Ave location and Staples (across from Del Mar) were the first places which actually became popular. I think that maybe Mr Dobson started the very first Whataburger (which failed) at the Angelos location but I'm not positive about that. I know he was killed while flying his plane right about the time his son Tommy (I went to school with him and knew him well) was graduating from High School at Ray. My Dad stopped every single Saturday (he worked Sat mornings) on his way home and picked up cheeseburgers, chips (no fries in that time period) and milkshakes for lunch. Saturday lunch was a special treat at our house and an absolute tradition to have Whataburgers.

Another one of those "hidden gem" places to eat in Corpus is the Hamlin Drug Store Grill - the Belaire Drug grill used to be a great place to eat also with a real soda fountain. I ate lunch there a lot when I was going to Del Mar.

Is the Put-Put golf still behine the old Parkdale Plaza? Parkdale was the beginning of the end for downtown - then the malls out on SPID did the same thing to PD. It's wierd that urbans areas continue to sprawl outward and leave empty buildings behind.

First "discount" stores in Corpus were the Gibson store at Weber and Staples (I worked there during college) and the Woolco store (really large) next to Parkdale Plaza. Hurricane Celia did in the Woolco - the roof fell in and they never rebuilt it. It also washed away a couple of places on North Beach (LaHallah, never rebuilt) and the Beach Club on Ocean which was never rebuilt. The Torch still uses the "LaHallah" dressing.

K

Back in the 60's there was a Putt Putt mini golf and a super slide between Staples and what was then Parkdale Dr. When it was torn down a little shopping center was built there. I remember it had a music store and a Roy Rogers restraunt. Later that was torn down and Whataburger built their headquarters on the property and Parkdale Dr. was renamed Whataburger Way. Since Whataburger moved out of the building there is now an emergency medical room and Soup and Salad restraunt there.

[EDDIE JOE]

Does anyone remember Burger Chalet near Everhart, Burger Chief, Trips Chicken, Ship Ahoy, Texas BBQ near freeway, Red Barn? I was a fat kid who needed to weight in before youth football games on Price St.?

[nicthstic]

Originally Posted by tpfelt

Does anyone remember the name of singer who played the guitar sometimes at The Cantina or Coopers Alley in 1977/78? Thanks. Pam

Stuart Willis Snow