See how Shepherd at the North Freeway looked in the early 1950s

Shepherd interchange with North Freeway, circa 1950. Shepherd interchange with North Freeway, circa 1950. Photo: Houston Chronicle File Photo: Houston Chronicle File Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close See how Shepherd at the North Freeway looked in the early 1950s 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

Here’s one more recently discovered Chronicle photo showing an early section of the North Freeway under construction. This time, we’re looking south toward Houston from where Shepherd runs into the freeway. When was the photo taken? Sometime in the early 1950s is my guess.

A couple of things worth pointing out here: The road coming in from the bottom center is Stuebner Airline (Veterans Memorial today). You can see where it continues past Shepherd and then veers right out of the frame. You can also see the short stretch of Stuebner Airline on the east side of the freeway that ends at Canino.

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Speaking of Canino, you can see it as the road that approaches-but-not-quite-reaches the freeway from the upper left corner. You can also see Little York in the close-up photos in the photo gallery above.

Before this stretch of the North Freeway came in in the early 1950s, Shepherd met Airline at Aldine-Bender, where, as U.S. 75, it took motorists up to Conroe and points north. The small cluster of buildings at the center of this photo have yet to be identified.

See close-ups, a current image and more photos from the North Freeway under construction in the photos above.

J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com.