Ask a Houstorian
Have a question regarding the history of a Houston-related place, person, or event? If so, add a comment below - the Houstorian may be able to help answer it in a future post.
About Houstorian
Topics
- Agriculture
- Amusement Parks
- Breweries
- Cemeteries
- Downtown
- Events
- Fifth Ward
- Fourth Ward
- Hotels
- Houses
- Houston Heights
- Lost Houston
- Market Square
- Military
- Music
- Other Buildings
- Other Businesses
- Other Places
- Other Things
- People
- Restaurants
- Sixth Ward
- Sports
- Third Ward
- Transportation
The Shady Tavern or Shady’s Tavern at 1206 W. 20th Street, 77008.
This is an old ice house in the Shady Acres neighborhood near the Heights. They have some artifacts inside that suggests it dates back to 1939. I know it has gone through a couple of periods where it has been closed for a few years. I’m just curious about it date of origin.
Your website is great by the way.
Brandon - Thanks for the note. I know the ice house you mean - it’s a great spot. I’ve been there a few times, though not in the past year or so. I’ll see what I can find out in the next couple of weeks about its history, and will post or link to the information on this page.
What was the name of the venue that used to be housed in an old bank building in the Heights area? In the mid to late ’80’s it featured the likes of BB King, The BoDeans, and Sandra Bernhardt.
I think all cities should have such a website….
Suzanne - The club was Rockefeller’s (3620 Washington), which opened in 1979 and closed in 1997. The building is still standing, and has been used as an events facility called Rockefeller Hall since 1999. There used to be a blues club across the street (3617 Washington) called Club Hey Hey, but it closed in 1990 (it reopened at 4216 Washington, as the Bon Ton Room). The property where Club Hey Hey was located is now part of an apartment complex.
Brandon - Sorry not to have gotten an answer for you yet - hope to have one soon.
Enjoy your website regularly! Who was C. C. Lieb?
Businessman? Photographer rings a bell? He was in business in 1904 in Houston. I have a lovely embossed Happy New Year postcard that his company sent out. Greetings written in German. Thanks. Susan
Susan - There are numerous references to C.C. Lieb in the Galveston Daily News between 1896 and 1907. It appears that Lieb was the director of the Houston Saengerbund (German singing society) during some or all of that period, though I don’t know if that was his only position. (The Houston Saengerbund’s historical records are maintained by the Univesity of Houston, but are likely in German during that time.) One 1896 article mentions that he lived at 103 Rice. I don’t see an ad for any store owned by Lieb in my few copies of the Houston Chronicle from the time period, and I didn’t find any references to him in my Houston history books. But I will see what more I can find on my next trip to the library. I need to do some research for Brandon and some other folks, too.
Brandon - I recently saw something dating Shady Tavern to the 1930’s, so it will be interesting to see what the city directory shows.
What can you tell me about Camp Logan. It was the scene of Houston’s worse race riot, and I think it is where Memorial Park is now? Do you have any more information?
Patrick - Camp Logan and the 1917 riot are fascinating subjects, and there is a lot of information available on the internet about both (which is the primary reason that this site has only very summary write-ups regarding Camp Logan and the 1917 riot). The land that was used for Camp Logan was indeed later turned into Memorial Park. The riot involved soldiers from Camp Logan, but did not actually occur at Camp Logan. I’ll update the Camp Logan and 1917 riot entries with more links you can follow to learn more.