End of the line for Gilley's
The Chronicle's Thayer Evans reports that the last vestiges of a Houston-area landmark of sorts are being destroyed this week:
Long before Gilley's Rodeo Arena was glamorized by the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, Terry Rinehart worked at the legendary Pasadena club planning the road shows of country-music star Mickey Gilley, for whom the club was named.
On Tuesday morning, Rinehart, sitting in a white 2001 Chevrolet Suburban, watched as dueling yellow hydraulic excavators tore into the white metal exterior of the once famous honky-tonk.
The one-time Saturday night rodeo hotspot is being torn down this week by Kingwood-based Inland Environment Inc. at the behest of the Pasadena school district, which acquired the property through a tax default.
A fire claimed the club portion of Gilley's in 1990. The 60,000-square-foot arena was spared but has since been deserted.
The 13 1/2 -acre site is being cleared to make way for a middle school, school district spokesman Mark Kramer said.
Rinehart said "personal curiosity," not memories of Gilley's, fueled his visit.
"This is an era that the city would rather forget, I think," said Rinehart, 65, who worked at the club for nearly 20 years. "They don't like to be known as the honky-tonk, redneck capital."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/09/05 08:40 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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