Tag: demolition

Demolition Watch: McDonald’s on Main Street, could we be getting an automated location?

Howdy, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re covering a topic that has had social media in a frenzy. The infamous Main Street McDonald’s is coming down. If you’ve never humbled yourself with a visit to the lowliest burger joint this side of the Pecos, well, you may be out of luck! For those unaware, the McDonald’s at 2017 Main Street has quite a reputation. Situated just between the Greyhound Bus Station and …

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Random Retail: 9 Years Ago, Downtown Foley’s was demolished & Inside Battelstein’s!

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. We’ve got a light post today, as I’m working on a much bigger upcoming project that I hope you’ll all enjoy! As part of this post, I’ve had to do some research into downtown department stores. Let’s start off with Battelstein’s, if you’re like me, this is a store you’ve heard about but not one you ever visited. Battelstein’s started off, like most other department stores in Houston, …

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This Week in Demolition: Retroactive Permits? No Timewise better than the present for Zuma Fun Center!

Howdy Folks, and welcome back to another edition of This Week in Demolition! If you showed up last week wondering where the demo post was, I do apologize, but such are the perils of what is mostly a one-man operation. You can always check Houston Historic Retail’s Facebook page for more information on missing posts. Interesting demolitions this week include the shell station at Chimney Rock, and 59. Originally a Mobil Owned and Operated Station, …

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Image Source: Google Streetview

This Week in Demolition: Barn Only

Today’s demolition has something special in it. Barn Only, this is a tag that is obviously somewhat special, as I’ve never seen before. The house it applies to is somewhat special as well. 1903 Wycliffe, doesn’t fit in with the rest of the early 60s homes on the block. It’s a beam and pier farmhouse, with a barn to boot! Taking Google Streetview back just a few years, you can even find a matching shed. …

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This Week in Demolition: If this is all you get, it’s all you get!

Howdy Folks, this week in Demolition we see some interesting demolitions, mixed in with a litany of technical issues! Hopefully everyone is seeing this post, as I’ve been encountering some technical issues lately. These are related to a consistent rise in traffic, which causes my server to often hit its limits. I’m trying to upgrade to a better server within a week or so, but of course I do have outside responsibilities to attend to. …

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This Week in Demolition: Demolishing the House that saved Buffalo Bayou

This Week in Demolition, we take a look at a very important house located at a very special spot on Buffalo Bayou. You’ve likely heard of Jacob and Terry Hershey, or at the very least have heard of the 500 Acre Terry Hershey Park, which spans the length of Buffalo Bayou from The Beltway to the George Bush Reservoir. If you’re around my age, you know probably don’t know much more about the Hershey’s than …

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The blue background really kind of pops out in the photos, but is not as intrusive in real life.

The not so great, Foodarama Shrinkorama!

Cox’s Foodarama is an independent grocery chain operating out of Houston, Texas, with 8 locations in operation as of this post. The chain simply goes by the name Foodarama in all local matters, but uses their founder’s (Carol Cox) last name to differentiate from the many other grocery stores in the U.S. using Foodarama. During the early days of the net, the confusion mostly came from New Jersey based Foodarama Supermarkets, which has since stopped …

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This Week in Demolition: While Disco Kroger boogies out of Montrose could an apartment tower be making its way in?

This Week in Demolition, we take a moment to ponder what it means when losing Taco Bell and Kroger sever your emotional ties to an area. Earlier this week there was a big buzz in local social media over a photo of the Taco Bell on South Shepherd being demolished, followed shortly after by a photo of an excavator sitting in front of the former “Disco Kroger“. The comments on the social media site I …

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This Week in Demolition: It’s all about location

It’s 2018, you’re a property investor with a dream, of getting in on that sweet Second Ward redevelopment. At this point, some new building has occurred in the area, especially with new bars popping up. Although the area lacks a distinctive style, so you hedge your bets by building what could easily pass as, and may have been an early 20th century home on piers. So why tear it down in 2021? It’s all about …

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