Go to http://www.houstonpress.com/ and hit the archives tab( Small ) in the header and look up an article printed on September 18, 2003 by Pableaux Johnson. Using the advanced search is easy ..use September, 2003 and hit the dining box..this article is the third one down.
I apologize for the crummy photo, it was the best that I could find.
They are re-opening the Spindletop !!!!
Smelling salts anyone ?
Yes boys and girls, that Swankenda of our youth ( misspent or otherwise ~wink.) is about to reopen.
You have to realize that in the 1970's even when Houston was a boom town full of wanna be Ewings and T Boone's..downtown proper was nothing for nightlife.
ZIP !
NADA !
Roll up the streets and bring in the streetlamps.
It wasn't safe to park and really not safe to walk about .
If you wanted to go out after work, you either took Metro home or drove and you changed and went to R and R or Rockefellers ...or you went to dinner in the Gallaria area.
Unless like the majority of us who went home to our apartments outside the loop and waited until the weekend to go out because the logistics were a bitch. If you lived inside the loop, it was easier because you were automatically cooler, could afford the rent and had less of a commute . And Menfreas is a whole other topic and ..sorry SU..the Cellar and what ever you and the Crazy Cajun did socially during this period does not apply...this is not about you and the strippers and your misspent youth.
The final options were The Hyatt, The Sheraton Drummers Exchange or the Doubletree , but bear in mind this was just for happy hour drinks after work. The big thing about the Spindletop is that it rotated .
Stop laughing ....I can hear you !
Back before all of the skyscrapers were built , tho I think the Allen Center where I work , Penzoil Place, Tennaco and the Milam building were already here...the view was pretty unobstructed . It had to be about the same as being about on the 30'th floor of my building.
And it was cool.
It freakin rotated.
If a bunch of the ladies wanted to go for a beverage after work..this was the place to go .
It was safe and looked a hell of a lot better than the hotel bars..it was a restaurant and therefore looked better...because yes...back then you still heard your mothers voice in your head warning you about the importance of both appearances and your " reputation".
Of course our mothers probably knew that quite often that business man wasn't having a drink with his " wife" and more than one hotel key ( yes......an actual key) was found in the bottom of a handbag ...
For the young and naive, it was sophisticated...it was classy and it meant that we were one more rung up on the grownup ladder . It's like being Mary Richards..only Lou is thinner and younger, Murray has hair and Ted has a brain.
Now , we go home after stopping at Kroger...taking care of the kids/pets/dishes/laundry and the usual mundane things that housewives do....knowing that those days were never quite as posh as we remember them and glad that we survived it all and are where we are...and yet...
Some of us are going to go there when the Spindletop reopens for a drink after work...just to smile and compare war stories.....
Martini's anyone ?
Ciao,
Aunty Pol
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