Hey KnockOff...ever heard of this venue?

[rrrr]

I found the pic for sale on eBay...a water raceway? I've never heard of this "track"

[carl s]

I posted this over at Texas OW History Forum:
http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showforum=19

[KnockOff]

Now, how cool is that??

never heard of it before

[rrrr]

I posted this over at Texas OW History Forum:
http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showforum=19

I wasn't aware there was such a thing as the Texas OW forum. .

Thanks for the link, Carl.

[Cri Cri]

I went to the ARCA race at the Duquoin State Fairgrounds and noticed they have a water oval, too, inside the mile dirt.

Anyone know about this as well?

[carl s]

Hey, I'm always willing to help the elderly.

Speaking of the elderly and infirm, check out post #4:
Inspiring-
http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showtopic=721

I wasn't aware there was such a thing as the Texas OW forum. .

Thanks for the link, Carl.

[KnockOff]

Hey, I'm always willing to help the elderly.

Speaking of the elderly and infirm, check out post #4:
Inspiring-
http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showtopic=721

Now, that's some Texas racing history!

[rrrr]

KO, based on the photo I'm guessing the place was on Highway 3. Attendance was good the day the photo was taken, there are cars all around the track.

[carl s]

Will give it a try over at 'Lone Star Speedzone-Racing History Forum'
http://www.lonestarspeedzone.com/for...p?showforum=30

[roach]

Evidently, it was a regular track (Houston Motor Speedway) that was flooded because of the rains in the area so the promoter (Cecil G. Bigby) made lemonade out of lemons. If you look closely at the original picture, you can make out the name of the track on the roof of the grandstand.

The year was 1931.

Newspaper picture and caption at the bottom of this page.

[Indy-hp]

Highway 3 is a good guess. With the railroad next to the highway the picture would be looking West if it were 3, but the property lines are at the wrong angle to the road to be consistent with 3 running NNW up from Galveston.

[rrrr]

Highway 3 is a good guess. With the railroad next to the highway the picture would be looking West if it were 3, but the property lines are at the wrong angle to the road to be consistent with 3 running NNW up from Galveston.

This link says West of Main St. and south of Bellaire Blvd (Holcombe).

http://www.sloanegallery.com/houston_speedway.htm

Makes sense considering the compass orientation of Main St.

[Indy-hp]

Wow. That is my backyard! I didn't know Main Street had train tracks next to it back then, but the angle of the property lines is right.

That area would not become the Texas Medical Center until 1945, so it could have been as remote as it looks in 1931, even though it is only 2 or 3 miles from downtown Houston.

If it really was just South of Bellaire (Holcombe) Blvd, that is an older, upscale neighborhood now popular with doctors.

One thing that doesn't make sense about that location is that Brays Bayou should be visible in the background of the picture, but it may be just out of range to the left.

[Taxpayer]

It just occured to me that eighteen years later this would have become a photograph of Glenn McCarthy's Shamrock Hotel.

[rrrr]

It just occured to me that eighteen years later this would have become a photogtaph of Glenn McCarthy's Shamrock Hotel.

I was working at the Medical Center when the Shamrock was torn down. No implosion could have done the job, it was apparently built to withstand a major hurricane.