the quest for a pic of my childhood arcade continues :(

[nesjess]

Didn't realize I had chimed into this thread when you started it. I had a similar ambition as documented in this thread: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=166508

I gave up after that as Moraga is a small town community and I'm not sure what other way I would be able to get photos of the place. I think most people that visited really went in and out in a short time and never bothered to take detailed pictures.

Still bummed. I work a few minutes a way from there now and wish I had gotten this job before it got gutted out.

 

[racer_x]

I've been searching in vain for pics of the Aladdin's Castle at Lakehurst Mall in Waukegan, Illinois. The whole mall is gone now and I have nothing to show for the place where I spent so much time.

 

[jehuie]

Have you ever thought about just calling the mall office and asking if they have a headquarters or something that might have some photos of the mall opening back in the day?

 

[vintagegamer]

Have you ever thought about just calling the mall office and asking if they have a headquarters or something that might have some photos of the mall opening back in the day?

Yep called them a while back and they said they don't keep any archives like that.

 

[Robotron Jon]

I would try to find out when it opened and then go to your local library and look at their microfilmed copies of the local newspaper from that time period. Or see if the newspaper is achived on line. That was how someone found a picture of my old arcade when it opened in 1976.

I looked around on line for your arcade and could find no pictures either.

 

[vintagegamer]

From what I found online it opened in 1978

 

[Itsgameoverdude]

+1 with your comments nessjess!!!!

man, would i love to hop into a delorean, go back to the early 90s and give a sports almanac...err...camera to my younger self to take at least a roll of pictures per arcade location that i hung out at.

There were three main ones for me. Local bowling alley (demolished), local diner/candy shop (now a mediterranean restaurant) and aladdin's castle (now some food place) at the mall. Sad.

good luck in your search!

I'm trying to find any pics of one of my first arcades I first ventured into and I have mentioned on this website before: The arcade in the L.C.Smith Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport (circa 1979-1982 or 83).

 

[FrizzleFried]

Perhaps the local newspaper would have archives... or the library?

 

[jkoolpe]

This footage unearthed by atariscott was taken from inside my favorite arcade at the time...boy does it bring back some killer memories whenever I view it, particularly since I had all but forgotten how the place looked on the inside...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBi6Tu9Gq4

I swear that it could be me walking by in some of the footage ...

Jon

 

[Itsgameoverdude]

This footage unearthed by atariscott was taken from inside my favorite arcade at the time...boy does it bring back some killer memories whenever I view it, particularly since I had all but forgotten how the place looked on the inside...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBi6Tu9Gq4

I swear that it could be me walking by in some of the footage ...

Jon

That is some cool footage...compliements to AtariScott for unearthing it.


Does anyone have any footage or pics when Boblo Island had some of their arcade games on either of their two steamer boats that took from Downtown Detroit to the island?

 

[Logical Highs]

This footage unearthed by atariscott was taken from inside my favorite arcade at the time...boy does it bring back some killer memories whenever I view it, particularly since I had all but forgotten how the place looked on the inside...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBi6Tu9Gq4

I swear that it could be me walking by in some of the footage ...

Jon

That footage is awesome! The videographer wasn't he best, but t's awesome to have video in an arcade from BITD. I wish I had video of a few of the arcades I hung out in.

 

[Mr. Hot Dog]

Have you tried tracking down the name of the owner? I'll bet he (or his family) would have old pictures of it.

I feel your pain. It became my pet project years ago to track down pictures of a western-themed amusement park called "Wild West City" from the '50s that once existed in the woods near my childhood house in Toms River, NJ. We used to play in the ruins of the theme park as a kid, not knowing why there were structures back there in the middle of nowhere. It took me years to find anything, but I finally found about 50 photos of Wild West City stored in the Library of Congress. Also helpful are old newspaper archives. I found a few ads in old classified ads from the '60s that revealed the name of the owner.

Good luck, and don't give up!

 

[Les Manley]

This footage unearthed by atariscott was taken from inside my favorite arcade at the time...boy does it bring back some killer memories whenever I view it, particularly since I had all but forgotten how the place looked on the inside...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBi6Tu9Gq4

I swear that it could be me walking by in some of the footage ...

Jon

The video quality is outstanding especially considering it was the early 80's.

 

[FrizzleFried]

Looks like they were filming for a commercial or news story.

 

[That80sGuy]

Hmm.. I googled the Aladdin's Castle at the Mall I hung out at and found this...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonctaylor/3932154107/