I was in Waco this weekend and was driving on Valley Mills ..Came upon the intersection with Waco Drive and remembered the once proud Cox's Dept Store that took up over half of the Westview Mall.....Many a present OWA purchased from that store.....Along with goodness knows how many suits , ties , etc.
Back in the good old days, they had another anchor store in downtown Waco ..One in Marlin, and one in Fort Worth...
For those of you old enough to remember, the REAL Santa was always at Cox's during the holidays....
It wasn't Christmaas without Cox's

My folks were close friends with the Cox family..V.M has passed away along with his son Forest....

A moment of silence please for the late great Cox's Dept Store...

I remember going there many times as a kid. As a little boy from West, I was FASCINATED by the escalator at Cox's. Since we've moved back, I still think about it each time I pass by there or see the lit up Westview Village sign at night. Good memories.

ABSOLUTELY! THe best PERSONAL customer service in the world!!!

All of the kids' coming home from the hospital outfits came from Cox's and we took son there when he was 2 days old to trade in all the cute pink outfits for some manly baby blues.

If they didn't have an item but any single employee knew what you were looking for, the whole staff would work until they found it and called you that it arrived.

While we are at it...you kids remember the JCPenney's downtown? Two story and had a huge staircase smack in the middle of the store!

Cinderella.

Actually would drive to go there from just about anywhere in the state.

Cox's and other local high end department stores are a loss. Now everyone has the same coordinated outfits from the same chain stores.

Dress shops are also a lost treasure.

remember it well, now it is a damn pizza store

Me and a friend each applied at the same time. They looked at him and said "you're on the register". They looked at me and said, "you're a manager". I was 19 with zero experience. Maybe that's the reason they went under.

Was this before or after you stole the hobby horse.

I remember going to the Sears on Waco Drive and 18th Street too, by the way.

Cinderella, gosh I forgot about their downtown store...Lewis Shoes fitted my kids FOREVER and Paul's for their corrective shoes.

What about Molitor's Toy Store in Fairgate? Their prices weren't too good but man, the selections they had were top notch. Madame Alexander Dolls and Breyer Horses...all the Schwinn bikes and scooters or Radio Flyer wagons a kid could dream of!!! That reminds me of my son's guns and holster we bought there...now I gotta dig around and find them.

Okay, just thought of this. In 1978 my dad and I sat in a snack bar of the old Raleigh Hotel downtown. He looked down Austin Avenue and said as a kid they took a vacation, the only "real" one he remembers and came to Waco. They camped in the wagon yard on the edge of the Brazos River and saw the Amicable Life Building(ALICO) because it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. The Suspension Bridge was famous too and the Regis Hotel, the first of Hilton's majestic hotels. The State of Texas bought the Raleigh Hotel about 12 years ago and my daughter's office is where my dad and I sat and revisted his childhood!

[This message has been edited by Mom Class of '03,'05 and '09 (edited 12/16/2008 11:49a).]

Mom, great memories....However the toy store was "TOY WONDERLAND"........Many was the hour....

Another classic was the A&W Root Beer Drive-In on Valley Mills where the Wendy's now stands

Hand over the heart please for the Sam Coates Restaurant in Waco. He had several differnet locations but the food was always the best in Waco......Remember his Lemon Icebox pie or drum roll please the BLACK BOTTOM PIE......

The old Hotel Raliegh was the Ritz of its day back in the 20's ...The REGIS was acutally the ROOSEVELT Hotel , it was acutally dedicated by T.R. himself . It was a Hilton Hotel but not in name for years later.
Hilton actually got his start in Ranger and Mineral Wells.

One of the best " lunch counters " was the old Otis Stahl's on ,I want to say, 25th and Washington

As for the ladies fashions, forgive me but since I don't cross dress, I can't help you with ladies fashions. Perhaps 1984 Consol can help there

I used to go to Paul's to get shoes when I was a kid and remember Molitor's well!

Wait a minute buster, the A&W Root Beer was at the intersection of Bosque and Valley Mills when we moved here in 1978. It was the wedge shaped lot later owned by Frank Weaver for their used cars. At some point in recent years it became Backyard Burgers then sold to Taco Hell and it remains the same today. The Taco Hell down by Steakley CHevrolet>>Allen Samuels closed when the new spiffy place opened.

quote:

As for the ladies fashions, forgive me but since I don't cross dress, I can't help you with ladies fashions. Perhaps 1984 Consol can help there


say WHAT??? LOL!

Cox's was there when I lived in Waco- it had its going out of business sale while I was still living in Waco. I remember the news anchors saying it was really sad because Cox's had been in business for 75 years. They even sold the fixtures. It was sad to see the store go, because for Waco it was a VERY nice store..

Down the street from the old Cox's, I was still glad to discover when I moved back the giant old school Arby's sign out front of the Arby's that's been there as long as I remember.



[This message has been edited by BohunkAg (edited 12/17/2008 9:27a).]

Cox's, Goldstein's, Mr. Jacks for the wedding dress. We made many trips to Waco shopping for the latest

Don't forget Harlik's AND Holts on the Lake Air Mall as well....

Mom, the A/W WAS owned by Bernard Smith, his daughter Sarah FTA '1986 went to Richfield with me as well. THE A/W WAS where the Wendy's is now located on Valley Mills acroos from the old KRZI radio station .......Lets bet a ROOT Beer float

My favorite Waco eats was CRESTWOOD BBQ at the corner of Lake Air and Hillcrest .....May it RIP

[This message has been edited by txdawg80 (edited 12/17/2008 8:54p).]

I miss the Waterworks and Brazos Club....

Thanks for the Arby's sign picture! That was just down the road and around the corner from the apartments I lived at in Waco- Towne Park Apartments.

[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 12/17/2008 9:57p).]

What was the name of a BBQ place on Lake Air and another location on Waco Dr and 17th, in the late 70's. They served chopped beef and cole slaw on the buns. Something like Cattle Company is ringing a bell but not loud enough.

Hickory Stick, WaterWorks, Surf and Sirloin all were booming places when we moved here! There was an old house behind the KC hall on Hewitt Drive and after they tore down the hall the house became Billelo's Italian.

Little Caesar's Pizza in Hewitt used to be a 7-11!

Mom was it Leggot's ...I know they had a place on Sanger right by Target ..They also had a fantastic CFS...

I remember the one you are talking about the name slips me now but I will remember it and edit this post.

Mom the BBQ place was CENTRAL TEXAS CATTLE COMPANY.....

I remember Molitor's toy store. Used to love going in that place. The clerks at Cox's hated us, but it was a great place to play hide-n-go-seek, and the escalators made for tons of fun!

No one's said it yet, so I will: Brazos Queen (the original one). Actually remember going on a cruise up the river on that thing.

We moved to East Texas in the mid 70's, and I loved shopping at Cox's. People actually cared if you found what you wanted. Salespeople were actual adults who understood the products they were selling. Plus, shopping there at Christmas just put you in a holiday mood, something even the most elaborately decorated malls just can't duplicate.

I went to several cruises on the Original and rejuvenated Brazos Queen.

Central Texas Cattle Company, yep that is it.

You remember Kenny Roger's Roaster on VM...wasn't there too long back in about 1996?

Poppa Rollo's being on the opposite end of VM?

The old Sonic drive-in near Sanger and Valley Mills Dr. It was the Friday and Saturday night turnaround for the valley cruisers long ago. I was but a lad then, but I remember it because you couldn't get into Sonic or get out!

Weather-related: there was a big tornado, maybe around 1984. Came down Bosque Blvd and took out that church at Cobbs and Bosque, damaged Skaggs, and I can't remember what else.

Here's one I want to know more about because I'm too young: the old Green Gables bar. I think it was on Highway 6 south of Riesel. Billy Joe Shaver mentions it in "Honky-Tonk Heroes".

I remember THE tornado. Was a small child in Temple, but it was still one of the scariest events of my young childhood.

TJ, "that" tornado was Oct 1981...the week before my daughter was christened. I had the grocery list in hand ready to head to Skaggs...she had a dirty diaper....you figure out the rest.

It also did a lot of damage to the roof of the Assmebly of God church on Bosque and Cobbs.

and it took out the wall of the theatre in Diamond Point

However , he could be referencing THE tornado of May 11,1953 that killed 114 people in downtown Waco...The storm that killed the square as well....My grandfather rode out the storm from his office in the old Central Christian Church bldg at 11th and Washington

that is the one I remember--one of my earliest. I was five years old and playing in my back yard in Temple--before the day of public school kinder.

Mom got me and then went to the high school to get my brother and my cousin.

Dad had an aunt who lived and taught in Waco and I remember HER stories of that day. I remember how different and scared downtown waco was when we went there to shop from then on--almost like the pictures of WWII rubble.

Diamond Point Theater! I was trying to think of that the other day. My mom took me to see E.T. there when it came out! What's in that building now? It was near the end of Valley Mills, correct?

I saw many movies at the Diamond Point, also the one over by Baylor at I-35/University Parks.

The old Diamond Point is offices now. Also, Mr Gatti's was in that shopping center.

I had lunch today at Uncle Dan's. It still has most of the original ceiliing. I remember going there when it was the Continental Club which was the club to go to back in the day. Before that it was the Executive Club which was a private club. You have to be REALLY old Waco to remember it though.

The one by Baylor was the Ivy Twin Theater.

You people need to STOP! You are making me tear up. Cox's, Molitor's, Cinderella, Lewis...so many memories of me growing up. When I got married in '94, I had a registry at Cox's. Seems like forever ago. I can still remember the dleiveries to my parents home of wedding gifts with the Cox's wrapping. I remember getting shoes at Lewis's Shoes like it was yesterday. And I have a great memory of gettin gmy first pair of 'fancy' grown up shoes at Cinderella with my mom. She always shopped there and I remember being a teenager and she took me to buy a pair of heels for a special occasion.