Can anyone name the stores in Walnut Hill Village shopping center in the 1950s and 60s? It was located at Northwest Hwy. and Webbs Chapel. I am trying to remember them. I remember the Skillern's drugstore, two(?) dime stores, a toy store which came in about 1959 or so, a grocery store which I think was Tom Thumb that came in the early 50s, a stationery store in the 60s, and Grants dept. store which sat off by itself below the main center. There was also a Greenstamps store and a shoe store. Later on, there was either a Minyards or a Safeway that sat off from the center itself, on the northwest side. Am not particularly interested in it after the 60s, because we no longer lived there and its original character also changed drastically.

[b]dallas gal there was a tom thumb store in the midle area of the center closer to marsh lane. minyards was never in the center but, faced nothwest highway at marsh the other grocery store on the west side was a safeway, i think it actually was on el centro there was an A&P on the north side and dont forget northwest natl bank,and rockyfellers, also a great deli close to grants. grants house brand of electronics was bradford, in the eighties i saw an old bradford stereo in a goodwill wish now i had bought it also a good western wear store close to tom thumb.the store number for the tom thumb was #12[/b] i almost forgot walnut hil jewelers i dont know how i could have forgotten gaston cafeteria i ate there often it was owned by cullum companies/tom thumb, also, forgot the el fenix enchilda dinner $1.20



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2014 08:44AM by rojinks.

When the shopping center opened in 1951 the tenants included Skillern Drug Store, Tom Thumb Grocery, A&P Super Market, Turner's Man Shop, Worthington's 5 cents to $1.00 Store, and Ray Beene Shoe Store. House of Lamps opened in 1952. Gaston Cafeteria opened in 1955. Another store was Walnut Hill Radio and TV. W. T. Grant sold a large variey of merchandise, including clothes. I remember a small fabric store near the stationery store, as well as some other stores, but don't remember the specfic names. Among the stores in the 1960s were Longhorn Ranch Wear, Shelton's Factory Outlet, Merle Norman Cosmetics, and Murray's Man Shop. No history of the shopping center would be complete without mentioning the Walnut Hill Branch of the Dallas Public Library which opened in 1961.

What I will always remember about the Walnut HIll Shopping Center in the 1950s and 1960s is the closeness of the airplanes flying overhead. It was very common to be getting out of your car or walking on the sidewalk and have an airplane suddenly overhead. Whether the planes from Love Field were landing or taking off or both is a technicality I don't remember. I just remember the airplanes seemed very close to the ground.

Marilyn,
Thank you for the list of stores!

Airplanes coming and going overhead were part of living by the airport. If engaged in conversation, one would stop talking while a plane was overhead and resume again when it was gone. One hardly noticed.

I remember when a toy store went in... about 1959 or so... because they had a whole wall full of dolls. It was like a magic kingdom to me! Don't know though how long the toy store remained there.

I remember the stationery shop but don't recall it being there that early. Perhaps it was though.

As for the Tom Thumb, I have a vague memory of going in there with my grandmother one day when Julie Banelle was in there. She was a local cooking celebrity. Also, a young woman my grandmother knew worked at that Tom Thumb in about 1955.

Used to go to Grants with my grandmother all the time. We'd walk up there along Shorecrest by the lake, then across the little white bridge on Webbs Chapel, and then across NW Hwy. She could drive but didn't like to.

Does anyone remember the Key Note Dance club just north of Love Field? I think it was on Webb's Chapel Jim

(I put this in another thread, so this is duplicated here where it shoulda' been in the first place)...

Also in WHV - Ray's ice cream. Beef 'n bun. Levine's. Later Texoma (or Texhoma?). There was a big barber shop. I think a gift shop too.

There was a hobby shop and a barber shop there in the 1960s. Also a Jack in the Box.

the jack in the box was across the street facing webb chapel, the first one i ever saw i liked the cheeseburger deluxe, fries and a jack cola it reallly looked like box just a small square building]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2014 06:57PM by rojinks.

I remember there being a barber shop there by 1960 - on the north side of the same row of stores as Grant's and Gaston's Cafeteria. It seems like I remember it being large -like with two rows of barbers - does that sound right? My mom would let me run over there by myself and get my hair cut (it cost like .75 then I think).

Walnut Hill Village was always changing. The core center by the mid 50's contained Skillerns at one end. Along that side were the hobby shop and a deli among others. At various points in time Bearden Furniture and Levines. I do not remember what was originally at the other end but by the late 60's it was a M.E. Moses. Opposite Skillerns was originally nothing. Grants was built there around 1956. Free goldfish and dog yummies for the grand opening. I remember trying to eat them because I thought they were candy. On the Grants side at the other end was Rays Ice Cream Parlor, 5 cents per scoop. In between among others were Walnut Hill Barbers and Walnut Hill Jewelry Sore (and watch repair). Backing on to the Skillerns side a new section was built around 1961. This contained among others A&P, Worthington, Copeland Shoes and a Montgomery Ward order center.

Walnut Hill Village, 1959

Skillern and Sons Drug Store #32
Ray Beene Shoes
Walnut Hill Paint Store
Glo Cleaning Sys. #17
Levine's Inc dept. Store
Walnut Hill Man's Shop
Erickson's Apparel And Gifts
Walnut Hill Hardware Co.
Junior Miss Shop
Luna's Furniture Co.
Tom Thumb Supermarket #12
Sportswear Center
House of Music Records
Triple-Town Office Supply
Bobbitt Marland Beauty Salon
Walnut Hill Village Barber Shop
Walnut Hill Jewelers
Montgomery's Washette
Louie's Repair Shop
Walnut Hill Cleaners
Walnut Hill Delicatessen
Merle Norman Cosmetics
Ray's Ice Cream
A and A Liquor Store
Pilot Lounge
White Plaza Laundry and Cleaning
Walnut Hill Hobby and Cycle Shop
Robert M. Curry Real Estate
Fiesta Pools
Ebby Halliday Realtors
Naomi Wright Beauty Salon
Gene Tunney TV and Appliance Co.
Beef N' Bun Restaurant #2
W.T. Grant Co.
Gaston Cafeterias Inc.
Modern Sewing Shop
Itasca Weavers Shops
Toy Town
Western Auto Store No. 7
NW National Bank of Dallas
Montgomery Ward Catalog Office
Copeland's Shoes
Roland H. Ellis Men's Clothes
The Children's Carousel Clothes
Worthington's 5 cent to a Dollar Store
Normalee Shops
A&P Food Store
Ashton's Gifts and Cards
Presley Bakery


And there was a professional building with several doctors, dentists and eye doctors.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2014 10:53AM by Buzz Murdock.

Was that Lomo Alto Clinic? Quoting from rusty memory, so could be wrong.

WH Professionals, 1959;

Dentists;
Fred H. Lowe
Mark H. Walters
Rodney G. Mitchell
David J. Lloyd
Richard E. Jenkins

Doctors;

Daniel L. Rader
Jacob S. Krakusin
Robert M. Segal
Grover C. Nabors
Glenn V. Leland
Donald F. Fangman

Optometrists;

John W. Davis

I don't see anything named Lomo Alto in 1959. I think there is a Lomo Alto St. in Highland Park with several businesses by that name.

Correction: think it was Launey Clinic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2014 11:24AM by 50'sDallasGal.

Launey Altick Medical and Surgical Clinic 9528 Webb Chapel Rd.

I didn't know Don Fangman had an office there. The Launey-Altick clinic was famous in the 50s and 70s. They admitted mostly to to the then St Paul once it re-located to Harry Hines. Frank Altick was a surgeon and had admit privileges almost everywhere. He also had a clinic out on Forest Lane.….he tended to be a crusty, angry man, but an "OK" surgeon. Jim

50dallas gal the clinic was the launey altick clinic, north of the village facing webb chapel dr launey had about quit practicing by the late fifties, lomo alto ran into lemmon ave at about whre the toll road entrance is/was lomo alto at lemmon north side the tabu room,wyatts/kroger grocery. on the south side wyatts cafeteria some smaller businesses and a tom thumb store.

I think my dad (also occasionally me, my mom, and my mother) went to Dr. Jack Lanier at the Launey Clinic in the late 50s.

Dr. Lanier was a friend of my dad's, and I remember one Saturday or Sunday we went in there, and he brought his kids - my dad or maybe my brother had some sort of accident and needed stitches - his kids were playing with the old switchboard - plugging and unplugging stuff (hate to think what that did) and we were generally running all over the place.

I went in there once in a minor emergency where I managed to split my head open at the temple - going down hill in a wagon on a sloped driveway. Dr. Lanier stitched me up and I had to go back in and get the stitches out later. I remember the room they took me into had a long name that looked to me like "Sugary"... but I think it must have been "Surgery"... They had several people helping out (and holding me down). I was mostly scared, I don't remember anything they did hurting, so they undoubtedly had me properly numbed. I was probably in 2nd grade. Still have a small scar.

The name Bobbitt in the Beauty Salon brings back a memory that my mom said that "Mr. Bobbitt" was going to fix her hair. I thought it was funny that my mom had a man do her hair - heck since I had a man do mine, it seemed like a woman should do hers.

Am I remembering right that Beef 'n Bun had concrete floors painted red and sawdust?

Was Beef 'n Bun a chain? There was a BBQ place on the north side of Lovers Lane east of the RR tracks and before you reached the current HPHS baseball field and so on and I believe I'm thinking of the days when Park Cities Baptist Church was where Scotland yard is today. I think it wasa Beef 'n Bun but perhaps someone will have a correction for that emory.

What ever the name it had sawdust on the floor and that was pretty common for BBQ places once. It is my understanding that changes in the public health regulations put an end to that.