Alan173
Well-known member
Somebody recently put up a thread on...."Your Old Arcade Hangout And What Is It Now?" and it was an interesting read about all of the long lost arcades where we spent our youth and what happened to them. Great memories for sure.
If you could jump in a time machine...how hilarious/interesting would it be to see the exact same arcade and see how close your memory was to what you actually remembered? Did you really remember the machines and how the walls were painted.....what kind of change machine was there....how were the games lined up....on and on.
While at lunch this past Tuesday I happened to be driving past an old hang-out where my many baseball teams used to hit the batting cages (now long gone).....where my golf coach would line up the practice balls to be struck on the range......where there were go-carts....a disco.....a putt-putt.....etc.....and of course...a GIANT arcade! In the 70's and early 80's much of my youth was spent there and a few other local arcades. For you locals....Butterfly Suite (The Butterfly is what I always called it).....VanDyke Sports Center....Golf & Games.....were all the same place as it evolved over the years. The entire complex (if you can call it that) has seen some better days and now almost looks a little rough around the edges...but back in the day...this one one of the places to be during the day for us youngsters. There was always a line up of the top EM pinballs and the latest video games as they came out. A drive-in was located next door....well....you get the idea....cool stuff for any kid growing up.
O.k....blah blah blah....I could tell 10 pages of stories but here is the most important part for you folks. Nearly 30 years later.....many of the exact games I played.....the exact change machines I fed dollars into....the exact stools I sat on.....the same paint on the walls....geeeeeesh.......it even smelled the same....IT WAS ALL STILL THERE! I have not walked into this arcade in over 25 years and it is hard to explain the feeling. I WAS FLOORED at what I saw! Anyways....'pics or it didn't happen'.....so here they are. I only had my crappy cell phone handy...and the blurry/low lighting is exactly how this 'well worn' arcade looks in person. The disco now has 'newer' games in it...the old arcade has a few newer ones as well....but WOW....what a strange site it was....
If you could jump in a time machine...how hilarious/interesting would it be to see the exact same arcade and see how close your memory was to what you actually remembered? Did you really remember the machines and how the walls were painted.....what kind of change machine was there....how were the games lined up....on and on.
While at lunch this past Tuesday I happened to be driving past an old hang-out where my many baseball teams used to hit the batting cages (now long gone).....where my golf coach would line up the practice balls to be struck on the range......where there were go-carts....a disco.....a putt-putt.....etc.....and of course...a GIANT arcade! In the 70's and early 80's much of my youth was spent there and a few other local arcades. For you locals....Butterfly Suite (The Butterfly is what I always called it).....VanDyke Sports Center....Golf & Games.....were all the same place as it evolved over the years. The entire complex (if you can call it that) has seen some better days and now almost looks a little rough around the edges...but back in the day...this one one of the places to be during the day for us youngsters. There was always a line up of the top EM pinballs and the latest video games as they came out. A drive-in was located next door....well....you get the idea....cool stuff for any kid growing up.
O.k....blah blah blah....I could tell 10 pages of stories but here is the most important part for you folks. Nearly 30 years later.....many of the exact games I played.....the exact change machines I fed dollars into....the exact stools I sat on.....the same paint on the walls....geeeeeesh.......it even smelled the same....IT WAS ALL STILL THERE! I have not walked into this arcade in over 25 years and it is hard to explain the feeling. I WAS FLOORED at what I saw! Anyways....'pics or it didn't happen'.....so here they are. I only had my crappy cell phone handy...and the blurry/low lighting is exactly how this 'well worn' arcade looks in person. The disco now has 'newer' games in it...the old arcade has a few newer ones as well....but WOW....what a strange site it was....
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