Spencer's Palace
#1
Posted 17 June 2008 - 07:06 PM
#2
Posted 17 June 2008 - 07:33 PM
#3
Posted 18 June 2008 - 11:50 AM
Anybody remember the "SPEAKEASY" ? I think it was on Camp Bowie south of I-20.
gbs
#4
Posted 18 June 2008 - 09:44 PM
As a kid in the '70s, I probably would have looked pretty conspicuous trying to get into one of the local clubs with my elementary school library card.
Back on the subject, I seem to remember radio ads for the Speakeasy running on KXOL and KFJZ, which were my all-time favorite stations to listen to back then. I can also remember my (much) older brother talking about a place he used to haunt in the early '70s called the Electric Circus, which I believe was in a strip mall on the corner of E. Berry St. and S. Riverside Dr. Anyone remember that one?
--Saginaw
#5
Posted 18 June 2008 - 09:55 PM
#6
Posted 18 June 2008 - 10:12 PM
Spencer's Palace was north of the 1849 Village, in the building that once housed the Farmer's Daughter on the west side of University Drive slightly to the north of where Old University cuts off to go under the I-30 and RR bridges and into Trinity Park. Just to the north of the Palace was the entrance marquee for the Parkaire drive-in theater, it lasted long after the theater screens were torn down. All that property was developed into the shopping strip-center that now houses the Blue Mesa Grill.
The Palace was OK, but the Daily Double in the Village rocked! What a happy hour!
#7
Posted 18 June 2008 - 11:41 PM
#8
Posted 19 June 2008 - 09:46 AM
--Saginaw
From fortworthpd.com:
"E. M. Belcher - October 28, 1971
Officer E. M. Belcher was slain by a sniper's bullet on October 18, 1971. The shooting took place outside the Electric Circus night club at 3140 S. Riverside Drive and was one of a long string of incidents at the club. The shooting occurred during the aftermath of an earlier incident in which a 23 year old man was shot. Belcher was among some 24 police who responded to the call after the first shooting. The bullet which killed Belcher was believed to have been fired from the top of a restaurant about 200 yards away."
#9
Posted 19 June 2008 - 04:44 PM
Relating to the Electric Circus again, wasn't it's exterior vertically-striped red and white? The reason why I remember this is because the old Montgomery Ward used to be located on the northeast corner of Berry and Riverside, and my family used to shop there sometimes back then.
--Saginaw
#10
Posted 19 June 2008 - 06:40 PM
#11
Posted 19 June 2008 - 09:12 PM
#12
Posted 20 June 2008 - 12:23 AM
I never went to the upscale t++y bar that was in the former Farmer's Daughter steakhouse building and maybe used signage from both the steakhouse and the old Parkaire Drive-in. Great Lite Brite signage.
I did go to the disco that was across University on the river. They had such a strict dress code that a friend and I were not admitted under "no Tee shirts" even though the T-shirt in question was a fancy long-sleeved version. And since it was the best dance place in town we returned, humbled, a couple of times. in different shirts.
I remember KFJZ advertising the Electric Circus and a club called The Box when I was Jr. Hi age, late 60's.
#13
Posted 20 June 2008 - 06:43 AM
Merrimac was across University Drive from Spencer's Palace, and sited back right up against the hike/bike trail along the river. A nice restaurant was downstairs and the disco was upstairs, suspended above the dining room. It was managed by the same family who owned the Carriage House and Mac's House.
#14
Posted 24 June 2008 - 09:17 PM
#15
Posted 01 July 2008 - 10:25 PM
In the teenage years, us small-town folks would temporarily put aside the jeans and ball caps, and put on the fancy shoes, pant and "silk" (polyester?) shirts, then head into the Big City (Fort Worth) for some disco action at Spencers. It's a shame nobody had video cameras back then because it would be hilarious to see some of those moves again
After an evening of being shot down by the gorgeous disco ladies, we would retire to a drinking establishment and lubricate the wheels of progress. In the later 70's a favorite spot for this was the Chelsea Street Pub at Ridgmar Mall, where you could get an enormous platter of nachos and some pretty tasty Hurricanes to wash 'em down. Hmmm in grown up life that doesn't sound so appetizing but at the time we thought it was pretty tasty. Of course the Hurricanes could have had something to do with that.
Looking back, I kind of miss my "silk" shirts. I had a couple that would induce epileptic seizures in small children, one being memorably printed with a quasi-abstract Broadway night scene. Looked like Andy Warhol had barfed all over it
#16
Posted 15 October 2008 - 09:44 PM
#17
Posted 16 October 2008 - 05:21 AM
Now there's a blast from the past...hadn't thought about that place in years. Best root beer float I've ever had...
#18
Posted 16 October 2008 - 11:23 AM
Now there's a blast from the past...hadn't thought about that place in years. Best root beer float I've ever had...
Spencer Taylor was quite the bar owner and operator. He was the first one that I remembered that kept inventory control of the liquor. Every bottle was weighed at the beginning of a shift and and at the end to compute the liquor poured tht night, and then compared against the revenues for that register. Yes, Mike and Pat Lewis ran the clubs for him. I believe that Spencer's Corner at TCU was first, then the Daily Double in the 1849 Village, and then Spencer's Palace in the old Farmer's Daughter restaurant building.
Spencer then hooked up with Billy Bob Barnett to start Billy Bob's Texas in 1981. It opened the same day that the Americana Hotel (Worthington) did in Sundance Square on April 1, 1981.
Does anybody here remember shopping at Clark's, then Cooks Department store that was the prior location of Billy Bob's Texas ?
#19
Posted 16 October 2008 - 09:47 PM
And Seminary South had Murphey's untill the early 80's.
#20
Posted 08 January 2009 - 01:56 PM
#21
Posted 08 January 2009 - 02:24 PM
#22
Posted 08 January 2009 - 06:00 PM
In 1966 when we moved to Fort Worth, I sold Christmas trees one winter at the Spartan Atlantic parking lot on East Lancaster. We were told to charge $1 per foot. I don't remember how much the guy paid us , but it was not enough to stand out in the cold.
Some of the other places along the 5300 block of East Lancaster were:
Robert Hall mens clothing ( bought a few leisure suits there)
Kenny's shoes
Pappa's Pizza which then changed to several other names
McDonald's
Ted's Bar-B-Q which was next door to McDonald's (west) and had sawdust floors. A few years later it was a new Taco Bell
A&P Supermarket at the top of the hill in the strip center
Savvy's night club in the later 70's and the band Savvy...did some disco dancing there !
Local florist Jerry Westfall on the corner of East Lancaster & 820
#23
Posted 04 February 2009 - 11:03 AM
#24
Posted 04 February 2009 - 11:42 AM
Looking back, when the legal drinking age was 18 we had no problem getting it a year or so younger and it seems we also learned responsible drinking - along with other responsibilities - at a younger age. We were not taught "not to drink", but how to drink responsibly. We had fewer alcohol related deaths and injuries and this was before padded dashes, seat belts and air bags.
It seems like our governing bodies are doing an injustice by trying to protect everyone by laws and support groups. When a kid screwed up and did something tragically stupid like commit suicide in a school bathroom they would let the other kids see the mess instead of lighting candles and calling in counselors. I think this is one of the larger problems of today - peoples lives have become too protected and forgiven and many grow up to have little or no responsibility or independence.
#25
Posted 31 December 2012 - 11:12 PM
Chelsea Street Pub, in Ridgmar Mall, was a great place. It was the mid 70's and FW encouraged drinking. My friends and I would start at the 2 story Mexican Restaurant for 3 fers and continue at the Pub. They had the best french dips and live music at night. The mall would close at 9 pm buy Chelsea Street Pub was open till 2 am. Of course we parked at the opposite end of the mall and had to battle the locusts as we ran back to our cars. I can remember one night when a guy, you guessed in a pick up truck, was chasing us and we had to run towards the light where all the locusts were. We weren't feeling any pain but back then there were no security guards at night or cell phones so we just ran. I guess we are lucky to be alive but the crazies then were not as crazy as the crazies are now, thank goodness
#26
Posted 19 April 2020 - 07:15 AM
In 1984, Spencer's Palace changed its name to Spencer's Beverly Hills where women drank free from 4pm - 10pm and men only drank 3-1s mixed drinks from 4pm - 10pm. They featured live bands, as well.
#27
Posted 19 April 2020 - 11:53 AM
The crazies then were just as crazy. You just weren't bombarded with news 24/7 like we are now.
Chelsea Street Pub, in Ridgmar Mall, was a great place. It was the mid 70's and FW encouraged drinking. My friends and I would start at the 2 story Mexican Restaurant for 3 fers and continue at the Pub. They had the best french dips and live music at night. The mall would close at 9 pm buy Chelsea Street Pub was open till 2 am. Of course we parked at the opposite end of the mall and had to battle the locusts as we ran back to our cars. I can remember one night when a guy, you guessed in a pick up truck, was chasing us and we had to run towards the light where all the locusts were. We weren't feeling any pain but back then there were no security guards at night or cell phones so we just ran. I guess we are lucky to be alive but the crazies then were not as crazy as the crazies are now, thank goodness
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