[Denim]

I've seen a lot of changes to the landscape over the last few decades. Open land has turned into malls and subdivisions. Whole sections of cities getting swept away for new developments. Change will always occur, but sometimes you lose things that you wish didn't have to go.

For me, I miss two bars (of all things!). The first was a beach bar called Skips on Maderia Beach. Not a huge place, but lots of fun. Pinball machines, pool tables, live bands (saw the Outlaws there), and the back had an open patio that overlooked the Gulf of Mexico. It was replaced with a high rise condo.

The other bar was a biker bar in Clearwater, FL that became the original Hooters. It had a few pool tables, and always a good crowd. I could walk around the parking lot with a beer in my hand and admire the bikes. I had a Honda at the time, but never wanted to show up riding it with all of the Harleys around. Besides, my car was much more impressive, and louder. I was so upset when it became Hooters and viewed it as a family resturant. It was a couple years before I'd step inside a Hooters.

So I'm curious if there are any places you miss that have been swallowed up do to growth or whatever. Feeling a bit nostalgic today.

 

[Illah]

The house I grew up in. It's still there, but my parents sold it years ago.

--Illah

 

[YamiTenshi]

Home. It's still there and hasn't changed much since I was a kid. But no matter where I go, what I do, or who I meet, my "home" will always be the same place.

 

[plainsong]

I miss the old music building at my old HS. According to google earth it's really changed, and the old parking lot and football field we used to practice is no longer there. Must suck to be in the band or choir now. It used to be that alumni were welcome at anytime, just bring your instrument and join in, seriously. Not anymore, it's not the same music program. In fact, there's nothing really musical about it, it's just a crap high school program. Everything takes a backseat to the greatness of the football program.

Going home after not being there for about 8 years, the entire town has just exploded. They still try this small town feel, but it's fake. It's not a small town anymore, lots of yankees moving in (no offense

), people are more rude. We used to live in the country, but now there are no less than 3 subdivisions starting in the area. Big houses, but tiny lots, complete crap that no smart person should buy, built barely to code.


A lot of the road and highway expansion has been for the better, but it's still not enough. And the local town expansion is like a tale of two cities. It is unbelievably awesome for the upper middle class, and as run down and as bad as can possibly be for the poor.

 

[Audiofiler]

the big house.

Michigan stadium did not used to have all the seats as crammed so close, and the planes (pre 9-11) used to fly banners overhead during the game..which added to the nuance. Also, the stadium did not used to have that ugly yellow halo around the rim either...

The whole area of Ann Arbor I still love, but has changed considerably.

Another location I miss is my old HS.

It now features cameras and all kinds of security measures..which make it feel like a prison on the inside. When I went there, it was more innocent and a typical HS..not a security 3 lockdown situation..

 

[Spareribs]

I miss New Jersey. The greatest place in the world.

 

[FalconP]

My own high school -- it was small, shabby, ill-equiped. I thought I deserved better: during the five years that I was in it, I hated it with all my soul. But now that it is no more, I have the feeling that part of my soul is no more...

 

[Mr.PD]

After reading your post about the bars, I can only think of a bar at this time.
I miss the Buff and Brew near Hermiston Oregon. It was a large bar that served buffalo burgers. It had great food and a fun crowd. I used to stop in there at 8 AM after work and drink beer with the folks that worked the night shift for JR Simplot. We all had a great time. It was out by the freeway, about 4 miles out of town. Now that land is home to a Space Age fueling station/quickmart and a Motel is just being completed.

I'll think of more things later.

 

[bundee1]

I miss the old Colony movie theater in Jackson Heights, Queens. Q-bert in the basement next to the bathrooms. It had a weapons/firework/iron on t-shirt store next to it. Its now a payless shoe store I think.

I miss the old arcade under the 74th street Roosevelt Avenue subway station. Red light bulb, delinquent kids smoking cigarettes and surly owner/change maker. Its been shut down along with all of the other arcades in the city.

I miss Winston's Bagel Shop on the corner of my block in Jackson Heights. I used to go there almost daily for fresh bagels. Winston was from Thailand and he made bagels by hand everyday. My brother and I got to know him very well and he taught us how to make bagels. The place was covered in old fight posters because Winston loved boxing. We used to play The Addams Family pinball, Marble Madness, Afterburner, APB, Street Fighter II, and all the best video games there.

He eventually let his family takeover the business and it went to hell and then closed.

Damn I miss the way my neighborhood used to be.

 

[kramer5150]

I miss college life.... going to class, picking my own schedule... Rush off every odd afternoon to my part time co-op ($11 / Hour) as an autocad draftsman.

I had a REALLY cute GF at the time too.

We would study and fry our brains in labs and stuff all day, and break into the Gym late at night and play volleyball till 11:30 in the SJSU sporting complex.

I would complain about random stuff and my mom would tell me to just enjoy it, College was the best time of her life. Of course I was like PFFFT!!

 

[PinkFloyd]

I miss my old house in London and I miss my friends. Went back a few years ago and the place was unrecognisable with no "local" people left, a mosque over the road and the entire place resembled a shytehole. Very sad to see what was a beautiful, friendly, peaceful neighbourhood transformed into a pig sty with grafitti and drug dealers roaming around the place..... very sad indeed but that's "progress" as they say

 

[ken36]

Maywood, New Jersey. My hometown. I miss it, everyday.

 

[Senn20]

Up until recently there was an original A&W restaurant still open in Shawano, WI WITH curbside service! If you're not familiar with curbside service, you park your car and an actual human being comes out and takes your order. Then when they bring the food out they hang a tray from your window and serve you there at your vehicle.

The food there was excellent, unlike the fast-food crap the modern A&W's are serving, and you could buy original A&W root beer by the gallon.

Two weeks ago or so I was coming home with friends from a military show with war re-enactments and such. We had to go through Shawano so I thought we should stop at the old A&W there. It was right next to the boat store on the main drag. Very easy to spot.

We drove down the main drag and didn't see it, so we turned around and looked again. No luck. I then came to the sickening realization that it wasn't there anymore...



Turns out, they tore it down and put up a ****ing Quiznos.



As far as stuff in my town goes, there are too many cool places that went out of business to even remember. All of the shopping moved out of the downtown area to a big suburban shopping area, and all of the clubs went out of business.

An entire mall went belly up. I always liked going to that mall as a kid because they had big water fountains that shot water half way up the second level. Someone bought that mall with financier's money to turn into a cool concert venue/coffee hangout type place. That bombed too.

The West Picture show was a cool old movie theatre. When I was a kid (sensing a pattern?) they would show MTV music videos before the movies started. I still remember seeing Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video for the first time and totally tripping on it. The theatre had a bar in the back where they served pizza and burgers as well as the usual movie theatre stuff. When the huge Marcus cinema, which has something like 30 theatres now, went up in the downtown shopping area they went out of business. It was turned into a night club for a while but that too went out of business. I miss driving by there and seeing the old style marquee and old movie posters hanging in the windows.

Another great movie theatre, the Bay 3, was converted from a very old theatre with ornate plaster moldings. That one I don't miss too much because it was restored to it's original condition some time in the early 2000's. I haven't been there since the restoration but from the photographs it looks amazing now. Before it was dingy and painted all black, but still a cool place to go see a movie.

The Younkers building with the restaurant at the top level is an office building now, I think.

Umm, that's all I can think of right now.

 

[Mr.PD]

I miss the Hinkle Hotel.
When I started working as a trainman, this was where we stayed. It was brand new at that time. It was two stories of rooms with a tv room up stairs and another downstairs. The place had a workout room and of course the room we all reported for work in. The best feature was the restaurant right there in the hotel.
It went through many changes in the 20 years we used it, but I always liked staying there.

We moved to a new motel in town 4 years ago. No restaurant, we have to go out to the rail yard to report for work, and only one tv room/lounge. It sucks.
They tore down the old hotel this year. I had a hard time getting over the move in general, and the tear down was the final straw. I finally achieved closure this summer. [size=xx-small]thank you Eddie Rabbit[/size]

 

[Denim]

Wow, this turned into a very depressing thread. I expected stories of happy memories, but so many conclude with sadness.