Where I used to play

sonnyburnett

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One of the places I used to play games as a youngster.
I first walked in there in 85 and it was huge, really huge.
I can still see myself walking down that door, sometimes they kicked me out but most often they just let me be :) especialy if you were quick enough to coin a game and they allowed you to finish it and then kick you out, yess people stil had a heart those days.
I kept going there untill the end of videogames in the mid 90's :(

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Nowadays it's filled with gambling machines.
 
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See if you can get it working. This is a good idea for a thread!
 
Was just remenissing and taking my old route via google street vieuw and the old place is there and love to see it again.
Now a days I'm home all the time but as a youngster I was never home.

I'll try to fix it and find a pic :)

You are right it could be a good thread, THANKS!!!
 
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Hit the "Print Screen" button and save it as a pic in Windows Paint.
That should work.
 
Well, I would, but around me, they're pretty much gone. One was in a plaza that's since been torn down and rebuilt into bigger stores, another was in a mall that had that area remodeled and is now Joanne Fabrics, and the place that housed Showbiz Pizza Place was split up into smaller stores (I think part of it is Fashion Bug Plus)
 
I'm in the same boat... If I could, I would... :(

Although, Golf n' Stuff is still there. (Called Castles and Coasters today)

It drives me crazy I can't remember the name of my favorite arcade BITD... It was named something close to "Battlestar Galactica" on the SW corner of 35th and Northern, but the name escapes me. That's where I spent my quarters the most as a youth. I should remember it! Ack.
 
I'm in the same boat... If I could, I would... :(

Although, Golf n' Stuff is still there. (Called Castles and Coasters today)

It drives me crazy I can't remember the name of my favorite arcade BITD... It was named something close to "Battlestar Galactica" on the SW corner of 35th and Northern, but the name escapes me. That's where I spent my quarters the most as a youth. I should remember it! Ack.

Someone on this board might know it, starting a thread about it might help, you never know maybe someone out there still remebers the name.
 
The News Depot

The place I spent all of my quarters as a youth was called The News Depot and was located on the "main drag" of a small town in Northern Illinois called Harvard. The News Depot was actually more of a soda shop/news stand where all of the old folks in town would drink coffee and read newspapers (kind of like a modern day Starbucks, I guess).

But the magic happened in the back of the store, where about 10 well-maintained, clean working video games were kept. They switched them out regularly and there was never much of a crowd waiting to play the games. It was small, but glorious!

I was recently back there for a funeral and took a drive down Main Street (if I remember, the "main drag" was called Ayer St. ) and ...

Not only has The News Depot been closed forever, but almost everything on that street had closed down. It used to have everything - sporting goods, restaurants, drug stores - now everything is gone.

So, alas, no photo ... sorry!

But hope was not totally dashed as I rounded the corner onto East Brainard Street. Much to my surprise, the Swiss Maid Bakery was still standing and pumping out the most delicious smells you could ever imagine. I swear to you, I felt 10 years old again as I opened the door and walked up to the counter to grab a "free sample" of their famous "Swedish Flop" from the dish on the counter.

WOW

http://www.swissmaidbakery.net/

Too cool ... great thread!

Steve
MM
 
There are of course many from my youth, in many locations. I never went to just one. The only place I have a current photo of is the old Cinema 1-2-3 Theatre near the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud. They had several games in the lobby, I remember Ms. Pac and Tempest, possibly a TRON. This theatre is where I saw Karate Kid, TRON, Fox and the Hound, ET and many other early 80's classics. Here it is today:

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The actual arcade, which was across the parking lot in the mall, was called Outer Limits and was filled with games. It quietly disappeared sometime early this decade and I know of no photos of the place. It was a classic arcade though, long, narrow and dark, with games lined up down both sides and in the middle. The change guy sat at the very end, behind a partial steel grate/ teller bars.
 
Does it still have classic games from back in the day?

My childhood arcade is also still open but it's only gambling machines now.
Barely...every year the heard thins out more and more...what made this place great is they used to have their original skeeball machines from eons ago...but the store next door caught fire 2 years ago and Marty's lost everything to that side of the arcade. They have rebuilt and replaced everything as best they knew how...but that part of history went up in flames..literally....
 
Here is a picture from Google Maps of one of the places I used to go play games. It has the sign in the back that says "PMF". We called it "Billiards" since it was a pool hall, but they had an arcade right up front some pins in between and pool tables in the back. The building up close on the right used to be the skating rink.

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That is where I played Space Duel, Star Castle, Pac-man, Zaxxon, Space Zap and handfuls of other classics. :D
 

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Aurora,IL

I would play at Alladins Castle at Fox Valley Mall in Aurora,IL.It is now a Painted Penguin and I took my son there when he was little to paint a dinosaur maybe 6 years ago.I couldnt stop staring at the walls and remembering where each of my favorite games were.My favorites were the Rampart,Street Fighter2,Hoop Shot,and the Galaga.Other spots that Id go to were the corner grocery store down the street from my house (Jalisco) they would have SF2 and Golden Axe I believe Death of ADDER, man I remember me and a buddy would get pretty far 1/2 hour on 2 quarters every day before school.I was an excellent little elf that used that pitchfork constantly stabbing and jump kicking.Bobby's Gas station had Double Dragon and a Smash TV played many times when younger.Garios pizza had a RBI baseball that got my attention.Parkside Bowling Alley had I think a 6-8 lane Skee Ball and a Pit-Fighter yes much maligned on here but man that in its day was visually pretty impressive.Remember most of us were still playing the NES 8 bit games like Castlevania,Zelda,and Mario Brothers and those were the good ones.Throw in some duds like Ikari Warriors 3,Zelda2,Star Voyager,POW and you got yourself some perspective.Oh and as far as Pit-Fighter goes one word "Forklift"
 
I don't have any pics from BITD although some of the places I frequented are still there. Unfortunately that would be 140 miles from where I now live so I can't take a quick drive and snap some pics. Next time I visit my parents I'll take a quick tour and snap pics of the spots I used to frequent and what they are today, arcade or not.
 
Below are pics of 2 of the arcades I hung around in the 80's. Superfun @ Paradise Valley Mall and Golf 'n' Stuff @ Metrocenter.
 

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Wow IvanTT that place looks dope.

I mostly placed at the local skating rink, it only ever had maybe 8 games at a time. it was tore down maybe10-15 years ago now
 
Yeah, GnS was the bomb! THe only thing that sucked, was that there were always tons of other kids, so the cool games were usually booked up with plenty of tokens on them. :D

I forgot about Superfun! That place was pretty cool. But I lived like, 2 miles from GnS so I ended up there a LOT.

Ivan, you don't remember a gameroom in a stripmall at SW corner of Northern and 35th, do ya? :confused:
 
Yeah, GnS was the bomb! THe only thing that sucked, was that there were always tons of other kids, so the cool games were usually booked up with plenty of tokens on them. :D

I forgot about Superfun! That place was pretty cool. But I lived like, 2 miles from GnS so I ended up there a LOT.

Ivan, you don't remember a gameroom in a stripmall at SW corner of Northern and 35th, do ya? :confused:

Yeah Golf 'n' Stuff used to be so crowded you could hardly move. I don't think there is anything that could compair to it today with perhaps the exception of a movie theatre that packs in that many teenagers. Looking back it is really kinda unbelievable and to think of all the money the guy who owned it must have made at the time. The pics are from 1984 and 1986 from what I understand. Below is a crumby pic of it from the freeway with the old sign
and from old I17.

Superfun was near my house so that was the arcade I would frequent most and since I was a D'n'D Geek and played in the back room of Hobby Bench on Saturdays you could find me there quite often on a Saturday. I recall seeing Dragon's lair there for the first time. That pic is from 1979.

I was a N Phoenix kid (Shadow Mt. High) so I don't recall much of what was on that side of town sorry. Two other places I do recall were on 32nd st and Shea, Astro's Arcade next to the La Playa Bar behind Uncle Sams ( the later two are still there) and another one in the old Arby's that was out in front of the Fair Lanes Bowling Alley whos name I don't recall.

There was also a place called Starship Fantasy somewhere that was suposed to be a big deal.
 

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