68 replies to this topic

[gaspergou]

Used to be a zuider zee (sp?) restaurant on the n.w. corner. it was a special treat. Upon enter intering the 7th grade, I bought my school clothes at a mall... Seminary South instead of Meyers or Cox's. I was a little overwhelmed and intimidated as I recall..........The large pecan trees on the side facing seminary drive seem old, but ck. out Historicaerials.com 1956 map for a good pic. of the lake.

[Birdland in Handley]

This was once such a well-conceived Mid Cent outdoor place. Really enjoying these recollections and pix. Have mixed feelings at Christsmastime. Seminary South was fun at Christmastime, but malls did kill the wonderland of downtown department stores.
Thanx, John, for the clarification re: the walks and outdoor water features. There were even fancy indoor water features, was it Striplings that had a wall of water/wishing coin fountain along their escalators?
And Carla Walker--Ft. Worth's biggest, oldest mystery; had not actually forgotten this but had not thought of it much until occaissionally visiting this thread.

[John T Roberts]

Stripling's had the indoor fountain at the escalators where you could throw in pennies and make a wish.

[Ghost Writer in Disguise]

And Carla Walker--Ft. Worth's biggest, oldest mystery; had not actually forgotten this but had not thought of it much until occaissionally visiting this thread.

Ah, not Carla Walker. Same year, different side of town. Still a mystery, however.
http://www.justicefo....com/main.shtml

[cincyvid]

@waywr: I can remember the radio station (KCUL) being a country station in the 60s. I remember we bought some advertising for our store. Although now, after decades of working in broadcasting, I know it was totally the wrong audience. LOL
John: What a great memory you have for some of the stores. I knew that corner around by the carmel corn store and bowling alley pretty well. I know there was a Merle Norman and a Cook's Paints between our store and Murphys. Down closer to Sears was Men, inc. (OMG I still have a wooden coat hanger with their logo sticker!) TSO was next to or close to the staircase that went down to the Community Room.

[Saginaw]

@waywr: I can remember the radio station (KCUL) being a country station in the 60s. I remember we bought some advertising for our store. Although now, after decades of working in broadcasting, I know it was totally the wrong audience. LOL
John: What a great memory you have for some of the stores. I knew that corner around by the carmel corn store and bowling alley pretty well. I know there was a Merle Norman and a Cook's Paints between our store and Murphys. Down closer to Sears was Men, inc. (OMG I still have a wooden coat hanger with their logo sticker!) TSO was next to or close to the staircase that went down to the Community Room.

Hey, I think you just evoked a long, lost memory, cincyvid! If it still existed in the Seventies, I seem to remember the thick aroma of hot caramel and fresh popcorn in the air in a certain part of Seminary South. I had the sweet tooth back then, and the smell of it would whet my appetite for a bag of candy. Good thing I had a wizard of a dentist back then!


--Saginaw

[Birdland in Handley]

Sweet tooth! The Russell Stover shop--carmels for my brother, raspberry parfaits for me, divinity for Mom.

[cincyvid]

Sweet tooth! The Russell Stover shop--carmels for my brother, raspberry parfaits for me, divinity for Mom.

Arrrg. Russell Stover was our competition. ;-)

@Saginaw. You're right about the scent. The roasted nut smell inside GC Murphy is my strongest memory.

[PattieLN]

I spent quite a lot of time in this mall as a small child. My father, Bob Noah, owned the bowling alley. If I recall, it was called "Seminary South Lanes". It was sort of in the basement. I remember the very long stone staircase to get down there. I even tripped and rolled all the way from top to bottom once. The alley had a children's playroom, a snack bar, pro shop and a cocktail lounge. At one time, the girlfriend of Jack Ruby worked there as either a barmaid or bartender. Not sure which. I do know my mom told me years later that he used to call there all the time and my dad took messages to her from Ruby, including the day before he shot Oswald. True story! My mom told me that my dad had gotten questioned by the authorities, the FBI, I think. My brother worked at the alley part-time as well when he was a teenager and remembers it distinctly. I was only about 4 at the time.

We ate at Wyatt's quite a bit (I always got the chopped meat, mashed potatoes and pie) and El Chicos as well as the Zuider Zee. I think that place had a neon windmill outside that looked like it was turning. We got our first colour TV at Sears, which we had for a very long time.

I remember Oscar the fish (at Murphy's?) and there was also a mynah bird that would say "How did you like the show?" I think the owners taught it to say that because of the theater located right there.

I also remember the "super slide", but I was too young to go on it. Oh, and I remember trying to climb in the main fountain to get the coins people had thrown in. I got into a lot of trouble for that!

I was honestly too young to remember the area of town it was in, but I know we lived in an area called "Hallmark". We left Texas a couple of years later and I've never been back, but reading this thread brought back so many memories!

[John T Roberts]

I was interviewed for this article, but they didn't use any of my quotes.  Time Magazine has a photo essay on La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth and a story on José de Jesús Legaspi, the owner of the mall.  You have to have an online subscription to read the article.

 

Photo Essay

 

Time Magazine Article

[johnfwd]

An historical observation, not a political statement:  A contributing factor (aside from the market economy affecting malls) in the evolution of this shopping center is the changing social-cultural demographics of Fort Worth from the post-WWII period to the present. 

[Cranky Greg]

I remember the "Here Comes the Sun" Seminary South song!

 

A friend of mine told me he saw Buck Owens at Seminary South in the 1970's. Sorry I missed that!

 

I love the photos.

[RD Milhollin]

There was a club in the basement level on the east side for awhile in the late 70's. I showed up there with some friends just to check it out one time and ended up staying; Cheap Trick was playing and we got a second row table.  

[Mark S]

Here are three of my Seminary South postcards.  I have another, a Christmas view taken at night, but I can't find it at the moment. There's another postcard that I know of (and I don't recall what is depicted) that has the name misspelled on the reverse as "Siminar South". I want one of those!

 

 

 

[John T Roberts]

Thanks for actually posting these.  I had posted links previously, but they are no longer working.  The first one is looking east toward the main fountain and Sears.  The second is at the main fountain, looking north, where both legs of the mall intersect.  Sears is to the right.  The third photo is a few yards to the north of that looking toward Stripling's.  If it was allowed, it would be interesting to stand in approximately the same locations and take a picture from today.  However, malls do not allow photographs, these days.

[Mark S]

Thanks for actually posting these.  I had posted links previously, but they are no longer working.  The first one is looking east toward the main fountain and Sears.  The second is at the main fountain, looking north, where both legs of the mall intersect.  Sears is to the right.  The third photo is a few yards to the north of that looking toward Stripling's.  If it was allowed, it would be interesting to stand in approximately the same locations and take a picture from today.  However, malls do not allow photographs, these days.

Malls don't allow photographs?  Since everyone has a camera in their pockets these days that has to be pretty hard to enforce! 

[John T Roberts]

If you were taking shots with your cell phone of your loved one, they would probably allow it.  However, taking a DSLR in there, you would probably be asked to delete the photos and leave.  All malls are private property, so they can make the rules. 

[Stadtplan]

Nice to see some new activity at La Gran Plaza.  I'm not familiar with this company, but big store!  I see five other locations across Arlington, GP, South and East Dallas  https://www.shopwss.com/

 

https://www.tdlr.tex.../TABS2022019421

 

PROJECT

Project Name: WSS Shoes

Project Number: TABS2022019421

Facility Name: WSS Shoes

Location Address: 4200 South Freeway Unit 1952

Fort Worth, TX 76115

Location County: Tarrant

Start Date: 7/1/2022

Completion Date: 10/1/2022

Estimated Cost: $1,500,000

Type of Work: Renovation/Alteration

Type of Funds: This project is privately funded, on private land for private use.

Scope of Work: Tenant finish of existing space for a new WSS Shoes retail.

Square Footage: 8,959 ft 2

 

OWNER

Owner Name:

Boxer Property

Owner Address:

4200 South Freeway Unit 2500

Fort Worth, Texas 76115

 

TENANT

Tenant Name:

Mark Wallace

Tenant Address:

4200 South Freeway Unit 1952

Fort Worth, TX 76115

 

DESIGN FIRM

Design Firm Name: The Dimension Group

Design Firm Address: 10755 SANDHILL ROAD

DALLAS, Texas 75238

[John T Roberts]

Unit 1952 is the center section of the old Sears Store on the main level.  The suite has an entrance to the parking lot on the south side of the building.