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Sorry to bring out the waterworks from some people, but what are some of the places you loved going to long ago (or possibly it shut down recently) and miss dearly today?

I miss busy arcades full of hot new games.  Nowadays they're either interactive music/dance games or skill/ticket redemption games.  Phooey.
I liked the old skating rink next to Beaverton Mall.  Good times that will never be revisited. (sob)

Around here, I miss the MacDade Mall.  It was the smallest mall in the area, a one level mall, but for the space it did have, it had a nice little movie theater in it with maybe 3-4 screens.  Also there was a nice little arcade, with pinball and the various arcade games I loved to play, like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game and various others.  Had a nice music store, a great pretzel stand, and I spent many days there as a youth, up to the early '00s. 

Then, they got rid of the movie theater and arcade, the FYE became Halloween Adventure, the mall raised the rent and every store except K-Mart left.  Granted it was the 'dirt mall' of the area, where the 'poorer' people would shop, but I didn't care.  I liked it.  It was small. 

Right now, the mall itself is closed.  They have an ACME Supermarket attached to one end that is open, and the K-Mart on the other that's open, and the middle section is more or less just a dark hallway nobody is allowed in.  Last time the mall was used for anything was about 2 years ago when Peter Jackson used it to film scenes of his movie "The Lovely Bones" starring Mark Wahlberg. 

The Mr Steer steakhouse that we used to go to that had really tasty, yet really cheap steak that gave me diarrhea within an hour.  That place closed about 5 years ago.. we went there one day and there was a sign that said “Closed due to Illness” and then it never opened again.  Strange.  I think they finally removed the big sign just a few weeks ago.

Then there’s Santa’s Village and Kiddieland, they were amusement parks geared toward younger kids, but they did have a lot of fun attractions that older kids could enjoy, like an arcade, carnival games, bumper cars, etc.  These make me particularly upset because they closed just before I had my own kid and, therefore, an excuse to go.  Before I had to “borrow” someone else’s kid to get in and really I just wanted to go myself.  Also Ceaserland, which was a Chuck-E-Cheese type place recently closed.  Last time I was there, they made a lot of changes so it wasn’t nearly as cool as it was when I was a kid, but I was shocked to see 2 of the rides that I remembered still around, one was a rocket ship that just moved up and down, but it was in bad condition when I was a little and still looked like a mobile chunk off a crack house when I saw it last.

What really made me sad was losing this place called Holiday Park which was a beach and park area where people would go for family gatherings, and where my uncle used to have his company picnic.  That place was the best, there was a giant waterslide, an arcade, little food huts, vending machines, a couple playgrounds, and I think a DJ area because the place was rigged with speakers and there was an announcer guy playing requests, which at the time I was there they played a bunch of cheesy metal ballads and arena rock all day.  That was the most magical place on earth, everyone was all wet running around in bathing suits and all my tubby uncles with their walrus mustaches were drinking beer, grilling stuff and rocking out…  It’s a town-home community now.  We can’t seem to find another place quite like it, but we’re still looking!  If I ever find myself rich enough, I'd open a place just like it again!

I got pretty lucky that most of the other places I liked to go are either still in business, or have a close runner-up that’s still around.  There’s a drive-in we can get to, it’s 40 min away, but still close enough, a couple roller-rinks, Haunted Trails mini-golf/arcade/rides still has its two locations open, and there’s a place called Novelty Golf that I’m pretty sure is still around and they play the same commercial that I swear is from the 70s every summer.

Drive-in movies. Yes, I was on the very tail end, but I still miss going out with the family to watch this magical device that had movies bigger than the indoor theatres, and getting to watch it from our car. There were always two movies showing, so if someone in the car didn't like one they could plug in a portable radio and tune in to the other.

You just can't get the nice ambiance of crickets chirping and frogs singing in a theatre, although it is nice to not get eaten alive by mosquitoes every time you get up to get refill your drink or use the washroom.

I just plain miss my hometown and the little it had to offer when I was a kid but that little was enough.  :bluesad:

News Stands. Their are no more little stores where you can buy magazines or comic books around here no mo. Right here in Lawton the Halftime Liquer store had a HUGE newstand where as a kid I could by FAMOUS MONSTERS, MAD,CREEPY,SGT FURY,TRUE WEST,paperbacks about UFO's and Bigfoot,REAL DETECTIVE....they had everything! Took up a whole wall!!!! They discontinued the newstand section in the 90's. Even the Grapevine News Agency doesnt even sell magazines anymore! A few newspapers....mostly its just a diner now. I would have to go all the way to Kalamazoo to find mags...like a comic book store or trading card shop. Fooey. A whole genreration of small town kids are living without comic books.  :bluesad:

I miss Chi Chi's.  That was our favorite restaurant - they had the best appetizers in the entire world.  No way you could eat dinner after one of those things, they were huge!  And we'd have their equally huge daiquiri's when we were there too.  Left feeling full and slightly wobbly  :teddyr:  They were a nationwide chain and I guess somebody somewhere got food poisoning and they shut them all down  :bluesad:

I miss the W. O. Darby Fuerth - Nuermberg Military Community, a former United States Army installation here in Germany. They closed in 1994.
Even though we didn't live on base but we did most of our shopping there, basically every weekend, and once or twice during the week. They had American products shipped regularly from the States, and at least up to ten U.S. video rental places during the heydays. Burger King opened their first restaurant there, first ever in Germany, followed by KFC and Pizza Hut - which made this Community special because those weren't available anywhere else.

On base they had a pretty cool Snack Bar/Canteen/Diner hybrid with Arcade video games section, jukebox, Sundae bar. You could order hot breakfast, lunch or dinner as you stood in line holding your tray. Or you could pick your choice of food buffet style. They also offered themed nights like Monday was BBQ, Wednesday was Mexican, Friday was Asian. I ate my very first Taco Salad there  :teddyr:

The main BX/Shopping Center was located inside a big three-floors building from WW2. The outline was like a E and the place was so big it took 7-8 minutes to walk from one end to the other. In 1987/88 they build a Mall-like Shopping Center attached to the old building. And three years before they closed down they build a brand new Commissary across the street, for several million dollars. That was U.S. tax money well spend  :wink:

Other conveniences strewn in nearby surroundings in and outside of base: several launderettes, community theater, movie theater, schools, bowling alley, hospital, book & Magazine stores, outdoors pool, roller rink, a giant library, gift shops, barber shops, many 7-Eleven type of places and much more.
The one thing I miss the most however was a place called California Cookies. They made the best fresh chocolate chip cookies ever.

I was so sad when the Government decided to shut down W.O. Darby. It was such a great Community with 50,000 Americans stationed, not counting spouses and kids. It was like Little America located in the borough of some German town.
The place is hardly recognizable now. Most of the buildings have been torn down and some replaced with new ones since local authorities took over.

Already mentioned but I really miss arcades too.  The noise, the fun, the competition.  Some of my fondest memories were during it's 90's peak with games like Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Virtua Fighter, etc.  Also the racing games like Daytona USA.  Of course lets not forget it's major golden age during the 80s with games like Karate Champ, Punch Out, Pacman, etc.  Then the major saving up of tickets for a goofy prize or two.  Still those prizes were sacred.

RC mentioned newstands, I have to agree with that as well.  The selection in big name stores is fair but nothing compared to the mom n pop stores that used to be in business.  Of course the porn sections too were much bigger and dirtier.  Granted we have the internet for porn now but I kind of miss feeling like a pervert in public looking a porno mag.   :bouncegiggle:

Video stores.  Particularly the 80s days of big VHS boxes and spending time browsing for what you want to watch on a Friday night.  Oh and the porn section too.   :teddyr:

I'm definitely on board with missing the Drive In.  I'm actually kinda lucky in that I do still have a drive in nearby (about a half hour) - only $5 for two movies.  BUT, as hard as they try (and they do), it's just not the same.  They show new release movies, with none of the fun, old segues and awesome trailers.  As much as we love to go (and we do), it's just not quite the same when the double feature these days is Yogi Bear and Narnia.  So, I guess I mean to say that I miss drive ins the way the USED to be...

In La Mirada, California, there was the strangest mall I've ever seen that has long since been torn down. It was a popular mall in the 70's and into the early 80's. I even worked at the 6-screen multiplex there in high school. It was a very 70's mall. The weird thing about it was the layout. It was far from a standard mall layout. It was almost like a maze. You would walk around and sometimes you'd find you'd gone in a circle. It was a probably a disaster of a design for finding stuff, and I'm sure many a shop went out of business that were in the remote places that were harder to find, but I used to love the place as a kid because it was like going on an adventure seeing if you could get to every area of the mall.

As the 80's progressed the mall got less and less frequented as people started heading for more up-to-date malls. That last year when there was any significant traffic was the year Star Trek 4: The Return Home was released. We had lines around the building for big movies but that was about the only thing bringing in people, parts of the mall were slowly becoming deserted and in the last few years it was like one of those old mining towns when the gold runs out and people just start leaving and it gets real quiet. Once the food court businesses started leaving that was it. The multiplex I worked at held on for a while and was one of the last things to go.

Sniff sniff.

The old Somerville Drive-In in Somerville, New Jersey. I started going there with my parents when I was in 1969, and my last 2 movies there were in 1985: Day Of The Dead and F-13 4-The Final Chapter.

My fondest memories were the old train ride they took around the drive-in and the wooded area around it. You would go around twice and then the train would stop, and the guy would round up the next group. 

About 20 years ago the drive-in became a sports complex. I went there with a friend of mine to play mini-golf, and I couldn't believe my eyes....they had the old train integrated into the mini golf area with a "do not touch" sign and the history of the train on it as well.

And, way in back, they still had the old yellow hut they kept in it, with the faded pictures of the clowns and the bouncie-balls and the moons and stars. I started crying, and my friends were like "what's wrong"? 

At that time, another girl about my age came up to me and put her arm around me and said, "it's OK, I used to ride it too when I was little."  It was then that I found out that she worked there, and had consoled others who were hit with the same wave of nostalgia.

It meant so much to so many of us.

Drive-ins, for sure.  They still exist around here (although, there aren't many) and I try to get to one every few years, but they aren't as fun as they used to be for some reason.  I'd love to see someone open a drive-in that showed only "classic" drive-in movies like DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but unfortunately I don't think they would make much money.  (I would go there quite frequently, however).

I also miss Gino's restaurants.  They used to be a competitor of McDonald's and I remember going there a lot when I was a kid.  They had burgers named "The Gino Giant" and "The Jumbo Gino."  There was one a couple miles from my house, but it closed when I was probably 10 years old, maybe younger. 

(http://www.eatingphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/gino-giant.jpg)

There was a chain called Rax, that did roast been sandwiches and shakes. I had my first chocolate chip shake there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rax_(restaurant)

Also there IS a place called Runza in Nebraska.  They did Amazing things with cabbage.  But we don't have them here, and I miss it.

-Ed

They still have drive in movie's here-one in 3 rivers, another in Hartford. But-like jayJay sed-they don't play drive in movies....cheapo,sleazy double bills with psychos,monsters and boobies....
I miss matinee double features! As a kid I could take 50 cents and see awesome double features at the tiny Strand in Paw Paw and see THE HOMBODIES and PSYCHIC KILLER, RACE WITH THE DEVIL and SHADOW of the HAWK,DR.PHIBES RISES AGAIN and DRACULA AD 1972...heavy sigh.... :bluesad:
Already mentioned-Mom and Pop video stores-not many new releases-but where else could you find big clamshell boxes of DR.GORE, BODYSHOP, or the ASYLUM OF SATAN?

Also-Late night monster movie programs...I know they have them someplaces and on cable....but not here where I am no more... :bluesad:


(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/B833fnQmkKGrHqIOKioEzUlUcmh8BM4LPGDz80_12.jpg)

Anybody from out east (I was born in New York) remember Carrol's Drive In Resturants?-they had Hot Dogs! :thumbup:

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/carrols.gif)

I miss old time "candy stores". In the late 50's and early 60's, they were little "mom and pop" luncheonette stores that also sold tons of penny candy to choose from and pretzel sticks from a barrel. There were 2 in our neighborhood ... LaRoccias and Nick&Andy's.

 I remember as a kid I would walk down the avenue to LaRoccias to pick up cigarettes for my Mom for about 35 cents a pack. And to think they would sell them to a child back then ...  :buggedout:

I loved all the noise in the place. The sound of a whirring malted milk machine, the sizzle on the grill, clanking dishes and coffee cups. I remember the store had a long counter with a line of stools filled with people eating, laughing, and talking. It was the first place I had ever heard people speaking Italian.

Nick&Andy's had the better deal on the peny candy though. They sold theirs 2 for a penny. I remember picking up Mary Jane's, red hots, wax bottles and wax lips, red string licorice, pixie sticks, and button candy among other things and stuffing it all into a little paper bag. All for about 25 cents. No wonder my teeth were terrible as a kid!

It was a great time to be a kid.  Sigh ...

In my town we had one of the last drugstores that had an ice cream fountain.  It was great to sit there and have a sundae with my big sister.
-Ed

I miss ACORN. They were a great group of people trying to help the poor and disenfranchised make their lives a little better by helping them learn about their rights and protections under the law so they could try to get themselves out of poverty.

Naturally corporate america and it's propaganda outfit, fox, had to murder it thru staging a false news story and misreporting it until they managed to kill it because they get off hurting poor people and anyone who tries to help them.

Did ACORN give out drive in movie tickets? If I was rich-I'd give out drive in movie tickets. And hot dogs.

Drive-ins, for sure.  They still exist around here (although, there aren't many) and I try to get to one every few years, but they aren't as fun as they used to be for some reason.  I'd love to see someone open a drive-in that showed only "classic" drive-in movies like DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but unfortunately I don't think they would make much money.  (I would go there quite frequently, however).



Oh yeah! I remember the jingle for them when I was little: "Everybody goes to Gino's".

We had a few of them in New Jersey, but not many. But I remember the Gino Giant quite well. One time my uncle took me along wiht him and his running buddy, Mario, and I watched in fascination as Mario ate 6 (yes, count them) Gino Giants.

Also, in Flemington NJ we had the Weiner King restaurant. They went under in 1980 or so but until that time they had some great food. Many people fondly recall having somethng to eat at the old Flemington Raceway, and then hitting the Weiner King on the way back home.  We did it all the time.

As well, the old Flemington mall had the greatest arcade noone ever knew about, The Supercade.  From around 1975 to 1994, the Supercade was the place for anyone with a Fistful Of Quarters. I should know, I probably bought a house for some Japanese exec with the money I used to plunk down on old faves like Dragon's Lair and Wizard Of Wor, to name a few.  :smile:    Yeah, old Flemington used to be the place.

I'm pretty much in agreement with the rest of you. I really miss Arcades (I spent many hours in them as a teenager - they actually had one a very short distance from where I lived but it got shut down because it was being used a front for drug dealings - of course I had no part of that and when I heard of it, I went out of my way to avoid the place), Newstands (although you can still find some newstand selections in pharmacies around here --I can actually buy comic books there if I wanted albeit a very limited variety), Drive-Ins (we had one about 40 minutes driving distance and I do recall watching  and enjoying No Holds Barred there as a kid having Drive-In style snacks with a friend), and definitely Video Stores (there was something fun about just the experience of going out and renting movies, browsing the selections --then you could actually find a variety of films from every decade and not just modern releases---I recall one time picking up two Godzilla movies, a classic Doctor Who story, The Right Stuff and 2001: A Space Odyssey...I had a blast watching these although they seemed to put everyone else to sleep?!)--(Also you could rent pro wrestling videos...hell, we had to book these weeks ahead of time when new ones came out they were so popular back then, nowadays they still have special WWE releases but it all tends to be the same thing over and over).

When it comes to physical places, I really miss Woolworth believe it or not. Woolworth here was bought out by Wal-Mart but I will always prefer Woolworth. They were a big store chain yet there was something a bit more down home about them IMO. I liked that they had video games set up that you could walk in and use and no one bugged you or hassled you about it. I spent many hours playing Nintendo games in there in that fashion. They also a little bit of everything and sometimes you might discover an oddity or two of interest.

Speaking of newstands, I also miss the comic book spin rack. Back in the day at my local pharmacy (actually the pharmacy still tends to be the best place to buy magazines and comics) had a huge spin rack filled up with comic books. Of course back then when I was a kid, you could actually buy half a dozen or more comics without costing you an arm and a leg like it probably would nowadays.

There's been several restaurants over the years I enjoyed visiting but they're no longer around and I cannot even recall the names anymore but one place had the best fries I've ever tasted in my life, another used to sell bottles of pop that I loved as a kid, and you could take the bottles back and have them refilled...I remember loving the Orange and Grape soda.

In the movies and on TV and Archie comics, I've always wondered if the 50s Malt Shop ever really existed as it does seem a place in these stories I'd love to have experienced.

Same thing that ruined the Supercade in Flemington, NJ. All the drugs and the employees who were in on it. It went from a great place to a sh*thole.  Back around 1985 or '6 One employee robbed the safe and went around giving free quarters to everyone.  He had a huge bag of quarters and none of us thought anything of it, and didn't realize we were spending the evidence! We just thought he was being cool.



Werd. The old Schuyler's newststand in old Clinton, NJ had my comics like Weird,
Tales From The Tomb and Gent Natural D Cups and Oriental Women. The horror comics I mentioned were a stable of my upbringing, and the adult mags, well...y'know. One a' those things you wind up appreciating when you're old enough to pick one up yourself :bouncegiggle:



Woolworths! Almost every Saturday my mom, grams and I would pile in the car when I was around 5 or 6 and we'd cruise on down to Somerville NJ to have lunch at the Woolworths lunch counter.  I remember my mom always getting the Turkey Club sandwich, something she still does to this day when she can.  I used to browse the model section and occasionally wind up going home with an Aurora Dracula (or some other Aurora kit.)



The old Spinning Wheel diner in Lebanon, NJ. I loved going there. There was also a plce called the VC Diner, and then there was the King of hangouts, the Daz-O-Del in old Clinton, NJ. Back in the 80's me and a few mates would have a bite there, and then walk over the the Clinton Point Theatre about 150 feet away. It was the ultimate marriage in convenience. 

Hunterdon county was the place to grow up in back then..there was so much to do. From Old Lebanon to Flemighton and points bewteen (Clinton and Hampton) there was always something to do. Not so much these days.

Oh and before I close, the old Major's dept. store in Flemington was a great place too!

In my hometown, there was a restaurant that had videogames and the people used to loosen a panel on the cabinet's front, giving them access to the wiring. There were two wires that if you pressed them together, would give you extra credits if you were lucky*.  :teddyr:

* Or one hell of an electric shock if you weren't.  :buggedout: :buggedout:

That's like when I was little...in this one old bowling alley I used to go to, the old style pinball machines used to give you free games if you picked them up and slammed then back end of them down on the ground hard enough.

Of course that was a dead giveaway and usually someone would come and throw you out.

Another thing you used to be able to do-we used to hide underneath the pinball machines and shut them off when people were playing, and when they would walk away after giving up. we would duck out and finish their games. Old style electronics we so fallable.  :bouncegiggle: