Austin Nostalgia Picture Thread

[Biff Tannen 44917]

10 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

There was also a horse race track in Hyde Park.  Take a close look at E. 39th Street - it is curved because that is where the south end of the race track was located. The street just followed the curve after the track was done away with and the land plotted or more new homes.

. I bet most residents in that area aren't aware of it at all.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hyde+Park,+Austin,+TX/@30.300728,-97.7312494,322m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8644ca710dd9e5b5:0x526d78512aa5b73c!8m2!3d30.305177!4d-97.731512

Awesome.  I was not aware of that and I walk my dogs around there all the time.

[Armybrat 40464]

The race track grandstands:

Edit: picture fail

Edited March 30, 2018 by Armybrat

[TtomTerrific 200]

4 hours ago, TXLNGHRN10 said:

I might be a little slow, but I didn't realize that Rock The Casba video was filmed in Austin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ

This was filmed out at Bergstrom when it was an airforce base in the early eighties. 

[Hank Scorpio 17691]

Can't believe it has already been 10 years since this went up, Austin has totally changed. 

 

[TtomTerrific 200]

 

The State Lunatic Asylum opened in March, 1861, with about a dozen inmates. Dr. D.B. Wallace, the superintendent during the 1870s, supervised the beautification of the grounds by the creation of 600 yards of drives and a chain of "artistic lakes and lily ponds."

[NIUHuskies 487]

Photograph of the city of Austin looking northeast from the Calcasieu Lumber Company. The Walter Tips Co. Hardware store can be seen on the north side of the street.

 

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123906/

 

[Armybrat 40464]

I remember when Calcasieu Lumber company burned down - sometime in the '60s or early '70s. It made quite a conflagration.

[PatrickMcHorn 376]

21 hours ago, TPCJ007 said:

I used to shop at a Gibson's on Burnet road. It was just North of where the old Dallas nightclub used to be. 

I'm guessing that was the one.  Thanks!

[smokebomb 347]

On 3/29/2018 at 2:39 PM, Armybrat said:

There was also a horse race track in Hyde Park.  Take a close look at E. 39th Street - it is curved because that is where the south end of the race track was located. The street just followed the curve after the track was done away with and the land plotted or more new homes.

. I bet most residents in that area aren't aware of it at all.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hyde+Park,+Austin,+TX/@30.300728,-97.7312494,322m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8644ca710dd9e5b5:0x526d78512aa5b73c!8m2!3d30.305177!4d-97.731512

Later on they ha auto races on the track:

Hence the road named “Speedway” as it was how one got to the racetrack  

 

On 3/29/2018 at 1:51 PM, bolverk said:

All the really old B&W photos show a pretty fucking barren landscape. Was that because of the prevalence of (over) grazing at the time?

That and the clear cutting of any trees. Interesting fact: Some say the lack of grass plus the ability to better manage wild fires lead to the explosion of cedar/juniper trees in central Texas. My understanding is that although cedar/juniper is native, it wasn’t nearly as prevalent around Austin until after the area was settled. 

[DaggerHorns 3028]

On 3/29/2018 at 9:30 PM, Armybrat said:

I remember when Calcasieu Lumber company burned down - sometime in the '60s or early '70s. It made quite a conflagration.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph you are old as fuck.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3826]

On 3/29/2018 at 10:30 PM, Armybrat said:

I remember when Calcasieu Lumber company burned down - sometime in the '60s or early '70s. It made quite a conflagration.

How did it compare with Rome?

[Armybrat 40464]

Willie didn't play the fiddle.

[AUinHsv 566]

On 3/29/2018 at 5:18 PM, TtomTerrific said:

This was filmed out at Bergstrom when it was an airforce base in the early eighties. 

Well darn.. Was about to post that video

[Gardner Barnes 1559]

That and the clear cutting of any trees. Interesting fact: Some say the lack of grass plus the ability to better manage wild fires lead to the explosion of cedar/juniper trees in central Texas. My understanding is that although cedar/juniper is native, it wasn’t nearly as prevalent around Austin until after the area was settled. 

This is generally correct. Juniper is/was a perfect bush for a shallow soil hill. It grabs the soil and prevents runoff. It grows well where other woody plants struggle.

 

It is a shitty bush for flatland where hardwoods thrive because it is a water hog. Wildfire typically took care of juniper on the plains and in environments with less runoff.

[Chuychanga 133]

On 3/29/2018 at 8:54 AM, PatrickMcHorn said:

Need help from the olds. My mom's side came to Austin in the mid sixties for my grandpa to manage a Gibson's. I think it was somewhere in the Crestview/ Allendale area. Anyone know what it is now, or where it was if the building no longer exists?

I believe it was the next parking lot north of where Dallas nightclub was.  Gibson’s was set back a bit due to its parking lot and the store faced Burnet while Dallas was sideways and faced north (the old one anyway... I think).  Today the spot I’m thinking it was in is a Tuesday Morning and several other shops in a newer building. They sit behind Tumble22 Hot Chicken today.  If Gibson’s wasn’t where that  Tuesday Morning is then it may have been the next block up, but it was definitely no further south than that.

I grew up around there. We used to shop at the Safeway that’s now a car dealership just south of all that at Justin Ln.

[PatrickMcHorn 376]

I believe it was the next parking lot north of where Dallas nightclub was.  Gibson’s was set back a bit due to its parking lot and the store faced Burnet while Dallas was sideways and faced north (the old one anyway... I think).  Today the spot I’m thinking it was in is a Tuesday Morning and several other shops in a newer building. They sit behind Tumble22 Hot Chicken today.  If Gibson’s wasn’t where that  Tuesday Morning is then it may have been the next block up, but it was definitely no further south than that.
I grew up around there. We used to shop at the Safeway that’s now a car dealership just south of all that at Justin Ln.

Ah, gotcha. I know where that Tuesday mornings is. Rad, something I've always wanted to know. My grandpa moved on before my mom was old enoughtoo know where it was.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11728]

On 3/29/2018 at 9:30 PM, Armybrat said:

I remember when Calcasieu Lumber company burned down - sometime in the '60s or early '70s. It made quite a conflagration.

Remember when Stripling Blake on Steck burnt up in the early 90s?  

[Armybrat 40464]

32 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Remember when Stripling Blake on Steck burnt up in the early 90s?  

Not that one.

This old picture was taken at the downtown Calcasieu location that I believe burned down in the '60s or '70s. I think it was the second fire they had at that location - the first one was a hundred years ago or so - not sure.

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123906/m1/1/

Edited April 1, 2018 by Armybrat

[Deej 76080]

12 hours ago, Chuychanga said:

I believe it was the next parking lot north of where Dallas nightclub was.  Gibson’s was set back a bit due to its parking lot and the store faced Burnet while Dallas was sideways and faced north (the old one anyway... I think).  Today the spot I’m thinking it was in is a Tuesday Morning and several other shops in a newer building. They sit behind Tumble22 Hot Chicken today.  If Gibson’s wasn’t where that  Tuesday Morning is then it may have been the next block up, but it was definitely no further south than that.

I grew up around there. We used to shop at the Safeway that’s now a car dealership just south of all that at Justin Ln.

Correct. Gibson's was on the lot that now houses Tuesday Morning and Taco Deli. Loved going there as a kid.

Anyone remember Winn's stores? They were everywhere. Bought my first Star Wars action figures at the one on Hancock the day they were released. 

[Armybrat 40464]

Yes, I remember that Gibson's on Burnet - and another out north on 183. I bought a nice Colt Single Action Army revolver there when they were going out of business in the early 1980s (the one on 183).

Remember it was a big deal when they built the Gulf Mart at Anderson & Burnet. 

I don't recall the name of the big discount store when Highland Mall was built later on. Those places put Woolworth's on Congress out of business.

Anyone remember Ellis's Café at the SE corner of Airport & Lamar?

Edited April 1, 2018 by Armybrat

[Godzillatron 292]

On 3/27/2018 at 2:54 PM, bolverk said:

At a conference on a mobile, but I saw some old videos posted a couple years ago from 50s and 60s. If I had to guess, I think they were posted on the Texas State Historical Association website. If I'm right, they have a treasure trove of old videos and photos.

Believe you are right about the website.  If somebody can find it there's a video from the mid1950s, right after I-35 opened, talking about traffic safety.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3826]

10 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Yes, I remember that Gibson's on Burnet - and another out north on 183. I bought a nice Colt Single Action Army revolver there when they were going out of business in the early 1980s (the one on 183).

Remember it was a big deal when they built the Gulf Mart at Anderson & Burnet. 

I don't recall the name of the big discount store when Highland Mall was built later on. Those places put Woolworth's on Congress out of business.

Anyone remember Ellis's Café at the SE corner of Airport & Lamar?

Service Merchandise was across the street and Best Products was .5 mile down 290E.

[Eldodroptop 35]

 

Swearingen Brothers Edsel, 841 W. 6th.

[Armybrat 40464]

lol - Edsel didn't last long. FoMoCo's big mistake.

[Armybrat 40464]

View from the Tower observation deck - 1969.

In 1966 there was a parking lot on the east side of the block where the Dobie Tower is being constructed in this pic. That's where I watched Whitman do his evil work from. A utility worker, Roy Schmidt, was killed across the street from Littlefield fountain while returning to his truck.

[1978horn 864]

On 3/31/2018 at 7:49 PM, Chuychanga said:

I believe it was the next parking lot north of where Dallas nightclub was.  Gibson’s was set back a bit due to its parking lot and the store faced Burnet while Dallas was sideways and faced north (the old one anyway... I think).  Today the spot I’m thinking it was in is a Tuesday Morning and several other shops in a newer building. They sit behind Tumble22 Hot Chicken today.  If Gibson’s wasn’t where that  Tuesday Morning is then it may have been the next block up, but it was definitely no further south than that.

I grew up around there. We used to shop at the Safeway that’s now a car dealership just south of all that at Justin Ln.

Drug Emporium was in that strip center as well.

[smokebomb 347]

Not really old but some pics I took downtown during the early to mid 2000s:

[Gourmand 7761]

On 3/28/2018 at 5:40 PM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

On 3/28/2018 at 5:41 PM, Bernard said:

Tower Records didn't appear before 1989(ish). So it has to be after that.

Bernard

^^^

Looking at the cars that is mid 90s.

not to mention that downtown post office wasn't built until the mid-nineties

[Steamboat1874 4008]

On 3/27/2018 at 1:08 PM, Kavinsky said:

 

Highly approve of the 2:39 mark.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3826]

28 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

not to mention that downtown post office wasn't built until the mid-nineties

I was trying to remember when it moved from 9th and San Jac when I saw that. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Steamboat1874 4008]

On 4/1/2018 at 8:51 AM, Armybrat said:

Yes, I remember that Gibson's on Burnet - and another out north on 183. I bought a nice Colt Single Action Army revolver there when they were going out of business in the early 1980s (the one on 183).

Remember it was a big deal when they built the Gulf Mart at Anderson & Burnet. 

I don't recall the name of the big discount store when Highland Mall was built later on. Those places put Woolworth's on Congress out of business.

Anyone remember Ellis's Café at the SE corner of Airport & Lamar?

The discount store just north of where Highland Mall was built was called Sage.

[Armybrat 40464]

1 hour ago, Steamboat1874 said:

The discount store just north of where Highland Mall was built was called Sage.

Yep, that was it.

Oldest strip center in South Austin was Twin Oaks at Oltorf & S. Congress. In North Austin I think the oldest was the Violet Crown on Lamar near Airport - where Stiles Switch BBQ is now.

Capital Plaza was a late-comer, not built until the early 1960s. I remember when an aggy was farming that plot of land, the same at the NE corner of I-35 & 290.

Edited April 5, 2018 by Armybrat

[VinyVango 667]

19 hours ago, Armybrat said:

View from the Tower observation deck - 1969.

In 1966 there was a parking lot on the east side of the block where the Dobie Tower is being constructed in this pic. That's where I watched Whitman do his evil work from. A utility worker, Roy Schmidt, was killed across the street from Littlefield fountain while returning to his truck.

I recall being in an English class in Parlin when the Challenger broke apart... many moons ago.

[Wally Pryor 5198]

Man, someone needs to help me remember the name of the cafe in that little strip center at the SE corner of Oltorf and South 1st.  Early 80's. 

My dad used to take me in there pretty often and I just remember the burgers but not the name. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Wally Pryor

[Red Five 40108]

I️ sure could go for a Holiday House burger right about now.

[Armybrat 40464]

1 hour ago, Red Five said:

I️ sure could go for a Holiday House burger right about now.

#5 Flameburger ftw.

[Armybrat 40464]

2 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

Man, someone needs to help me remember the name of the cafe in that little strip center at the SE corner of Oltorf and South 1st.  Early 80's. 

My dad used to take me in there pretty often and I just remember the burgers but not the name. 

Must've been after my time in South Austin (moved out in 1967).

Spent my high school weekend nights cruising the Pig Stand at Live Oak & Congress and the Holiday House on Barton Springs Road in the late '50s &early '60s.

[Red Five 40108]

Did the Holiday House on Barton Springs have some kind of exotic aquarium? Like, with an alligator? That sounds too weird to have been true.

[Austinvines 309]

Did the Holiday House on Barton Springs have some kind of exotic aquarium? Like, with an alligator? That sounds too weird to have been true.

Charlie was the gator and he was in a glass enclosure at one end of the restaurant. He had a pond with water running into it and it was somewhat open to the outside since I remember grackles being in there with him.

[Paco 1905]

Must've been after my time in South Austin (moved out in 1967).
Spent my high school weekend nights cruising the Pig Stand at Live Oak & Congress and the Holiday House on Barton Springs Road in the late '50s &early '60s.

Brat I'm sure you ran into my Dad at some point. Seems like 90% of his stories start at the Pig Stand. He was Travis class of '62.

[wood 10786]

On 3/28/2018 at 5:12 AM, DaggerHorns said:

The 90s Austin was the one I fell in love with. Life was so simple back then and such a bad ass city. Old country, quiet hippies, and a mass amount of enjoyable sluts. I’d pay billions for a repeat or a time machine.

Este.

[wood 10786]

On 3/29/2018 at 12:18 PM, TXLNGHRN10 said:

I might be a little slow, but I didn't realize that Rock The Casba video was filmed in Austin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ

Quote

This was filmed out at Bergstrom when it was an airforce base in the early eighties. 

 

Man, those F4s in that video ... those fuckers were so fucking loud. In about '85 me & a couple UT buddies got an apartment at Candlewick over there on East Riverside. We were right in the fucking landing pattern. When we'd hear one of 'em coming, we'd just stop talking, 'cause we knew we weren't gonna be able to hear a got damn thing for about the next 20 seconds.

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood

[wood 10786]

On 3/29/2018 at 1:51 PM, bolverk said:

All the really old B&W photos show a pretty fucking barren landscape. Was that because of the prevalence of (over) grazing at the time?

Maybe. And the lack of fucking shitty cedar (yeah, I know. Mountain Juniper) trees. And from what I can gather talking to olds older than me, most of the big oaks, etc, were planted by residents as Austin grew.

[wood 10786]

16 hours ago, VinyVango said:

I recall being in an English class in Parlin when the Challenger broke apart... many moons ago.

Yeah I was at DKR getting my squad ready for NROTC drill. One of my guys, real doofus, was late and came in saying it was because the shuttle 'blew up''. Nobody believed him until others started talking about it.

 

Got some pics here that I & others posted in the other thread & really liked. Enjoy. Also been trying pretty hard for some reason to find pics of the old Cardi's way out north, but can't find any. If anyone sees something like that, thanks in advance for posting it.

courtesy PHD... Every time I walked by that Lone Star sign I always hit it to hear the weird sounds it made.

Courtesy Longest Horn...

Spinmonkey. Research near Balcones Woods. That might be me in that red Chevy.

Ben White across from Southwood, 1977, the year we moved to Austin.

Matt Martinez in front of the original El Rancho (he sold the spot to the Four Seasons and built the place on S. Lamar. Remember the old Red Wing store down near there ... Raymond's Work Boots, I think? Raymond used to tell me about how he and Matt used to go hunting up north of what is now Oltorf.

The 'new' El Rancho.

Willie's Picnic at Southpark Meadows in 1984, between my freshman and soph years at UT. Saw the Police there. Back then that was "way out in the boonies" lol.

6th & I35, 1960.

Snowstorm in the 40s.

Research between 35 & Lamar, 1977.

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood

[wood 10786]

On 3/26/2018 at 10:27 PM, Chet Steadman said:

Mopac & 35th n 1910 (?):

Courtesy of skipperj. Below is the building as it stands now, with part of it removed to make way for the Mopac feeder. It's just a few feet from the road. I always loved that shot. Looks like it could be way out in the middle of west Texas or NM.

Quote

Fifth and Lamar (year unknown):

Looking South.

Looking North.

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood

[wood 10786]

South Congress on First Thursday back in 1914...looks like the two old buildings at Nellie St, right next to the School for the Deaf.

Austin skyline & 290 west from Convict Hill in 1981. Note the sign for Mr. Gatti's on the right. That was the first Gatti's, I believe.Two stories, with the coveted "private" booths. Oh man. Good times. I remember my mom would drop me & my friends off there after Bedichek football games. There was an old cemetery out back, connected to the current funeral home on W. Cannon. We used to go out there with girls and hope they got spooked. Been looking for a pic of that Gatti's, but I can't find one. I live just a couple of miles from there but it doesn't look anything at all like it looked then. Sad.

1922.

Clark Field.

Home venues for UT hoops over the years...

Clark Field.

The Ben Hur Temple.

UT Men's Gym.

6th & Congress, unk date.

Tight rope walker across Congress Av. 1867. You can see AB there on the right. Old Capitol building in the background.

\

 

 

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood

[wood 10786]

From a link AB posted... http://car-club.proboards.com/thread/1723/old-austin-grew. It's still there.

Some video I found...

AquaFest had all kinds of racing...

'

 

 

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood

[Chad Fuck 17259]

On 3/31/2018 at 10:34 AM, Armybrat said:

Willie didn't play the fiddle.

[Eldodroptop 35]

6 hours ago, wood said:

From a link AB posted... http://car-club.proboards.com/thread/1723/old-austin-grew. It's still there.

Some video I found...

AquaFest had all kinds of racing...

'

 

 

Thank you for posting these. My earliest memories are of the Drag Boat racing on Town Lake. And I just about grew up at Longhorn Speedway, or as I have always known it ‘Austin Speed-O-Rama’.

[BabaYaga 15116]

7 hours ago, wood said:

"way out in the boonies"

I still remember when Mt Bonnell was so far out we thought we'd get lost.  We'd sneak up there to drink beer as kids when we first learned to drive