I’m confident that I’m the only one who remembers that I’ve previously used this photo of a track man, probably Richard Stone ’56. It’s notable for the nice view of Main Street establishments it gives us:
When I first used it someone in the comments who is much older than I am informed me that that’s a Gulf filling station on the corner. Although on reflection I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, I was in fact surprised when I discovered that Rice once owned it.
Bonus:
When and why did we sell that?
I have absolutely no idea! I suspect the answer will emerge in the fullness of time.
“1939” and “Richard Stone ’56” do not compute. I can tell you that the service station (they really were service stations back then) was a Sinclair station in 1956, which I used frequently. It was eventually replaced by The Tidelands, owned, I believe, by Dickie Maegle.
Dickie Maegle managed the Tidelands but I don’t think he owned it.
And I think I might have inverted the “6” in 1956. It might have been 1959.
The online directory does show Richard Stone as ’59. That really does not compute with “1939”.
So, Rice sold the property and then later bought it back. I would love to know the numbers.
I’m not sure that we ever sold it. All I can say with certainty is that we owned it in 1939 and there was then a Gulf Station on it. It may well be that we still owned the land when the Tidelands was on it. In fact, that would be my operating assumption.
I suspect the answer is that there was an old gas station on the property that became derelict. In 1939, Rice hired that contractor to fix it up so it could be open again (this was, as I recall, a time of relatively dire financial straits for the university). I believe Rice has always owned that corner. That’s why they were able to take over the Tidelands for grad housing.
So it’s off to the aerials again!
One of the things I stumbled upon in the room full of Rice architectural drawings were the drawings for the construction of the Tidelands.
This does not appear to be the Tidelands property…….it is on the East side of Main, opposite athletic fields, and adjacen to the College Inn property to the north…..so it appears to be at the northeast corner of Main and University
1950: George J. Linenkugel Sinclair Service Station, 6540 Main. (6511 was Bill Williams’ and later Medical Towers.). Other mentions were in 1945 and in 1938. By 1956 the Peter Pan Dude Ranch was using that address.
Was the Peter Pan Dude Ranch like Kiddie Wonderland farther down South Main?
Essentially.
And, in 1948, there is a mention of a gentleman who rode a bicycle from St. Louis to Houston in 18 days, looking for work. He becomes a caretaker at Peter Pan Dude Ranch, so apparently the service station and the pony ranch coexisted for a time. And the addresses are annoyingly fluid.
And here’s a nice aerial from 1946. http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/images/id/2617/rec/5
In this, Kyle Frazier’s identification of a different service station on the northeast corner of Main and University seems to be borne out.
Also this. http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/images/id/2763/rec/15
In this 1946 aerial, “Sinclair” is visible on the service station on the west side of Main St., and “Gulf” is visible on the service station on the east side of Main St.
Oooh, good point. And 6511 would have been across the street anyway. Can’t believe I missed that. I’ll bet that was the Gulf station and Rice owned it.
Looking at that 1946 pic it almost appears that the extension of University to Fannin would have taken some of the land. Perhaps we lost it to that.
I love you guys.
There’s lots of excellent Tidelands info in this 2013 RHC post 9and comments): https://ricehistorycorner.com/2013/08/15/tidelands-part-i/