There were a few good arcades along Stephen Avenue back in the early 80's when I spent a couple of summers here. Loved going there on my days off from my summer job, and also the local 7-11 to play whatever game they happened to have. Dig Dug was my favorite, Defender was a close second.
Illusions blew everything else in the city out of the water when it opened. The number of machines. The two-level layout. The high-tech atmosphere. No longer were arcades just places where dudes with no shirt played Joust and sold hash.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
Ok, was able to dig this old episode of That's Incredible featuring Calgary's own Darren Olson in an arcade competition. This guy was a legend around town. Had all the high scores, and I think he worked at Wizard's Castle in Market Mall. This was a big deal in our household as Darren had gone to high school with my brother. I won't spoil the ending, but watching it again after 30 years brought back tons of nostalgia. I still remember the excitement I felt at seeing these new arcade games for the first time, and how great the contestants all were at playing them. Also, That's Incredible was a great show.
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Man...I miss old school car meets at Willy's by 39th and BS corner.
They have a pretty good meet going at the Glendeer A&W on most nice Friday evenings these days. Classics, street rods, muscle cars, you name it. Usually starts around 5-ish, they take over most of the lot.
Southern Fun was awesome
I'd take the number 3 downtown from beddington and spend the afternoon there
That place had a crazy atmosphere but had the most pin machines in town
Illusions blew everything else in the city out of the water when it opened. The number of machines. The two-level layout. The high-tech atmosphere. No longer were arcades just places where dudes with no shirt played Joust and sold hash.
Sigh. And they called this progress.
Where was Illusions?
I was just going to say that they had an arcade like that in the "new part" of Southcentre, but the new part was built 30 years ago and I need a nap.
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Illusions was on 8th ave across the street from Three Ring Circus. Where the McDonald's is now.
8th Ave Mall was a lot cooler when it was full of arcades, head shops, and other places appealing to wayward teens. Three Ring Circus. Catch the Winds. Funky Punkers. Illusions. Charisma. Boodlum. The comic store at the West end of the mall.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
I used to love going to The Attic on 8th Ave., back when it was across from The Bay. This was way before A&B Sound set up shop in the old Bank of Montreal building so I'm talking mid- to late-80s. I didn't have much money back then but I would scrape whatever money I had from my paper route or my job as a busboy and would buy something there (a cassette tape or a 12" or a t-shirt) at least a couple times a month. Now one can find whatever one wants online but back then, hunting for cool music or music paraphernalia (for a reasonable price) was so much fun.
There was also a Music World at the corner of 8th Ave. and 1st Street SW that had a really great collection of 12" and laser discs.
There was also a really cool record store on MacLeod Trail in the late-80s. It was located in the building where Blind Beggar Pub is located now. I only went there a few times as it was quite the trek for me from Castleridge on public transit but it had a wonderful selection of punk and indie (or college radio, as indie was called back then) music. I keep thinking it was called A&M Records but that can't be right and it must be my foggy memory conflating the name of the store with the record label but somehow, that's the only name I can come up with for that store.
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Mikes Billiards and Arcade. Near McKnight and Edmonton Trail. The Arcade across from the Palace. The Palace theater itself, saw so many movies there like Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the Wrath of Khan. The Corral 4 and the Sunset Drive-In's. Bullwinkles, Chuck E Cheese, Pondarosa where the A&W is now on McKnight and 4th. Pisces when it was a tiny shop. (you can now guess what area I lived in back in the 80's) The GUN shop that was changed to a UNG Video. Power Players on Center Street...so many memories...
I used to love going to The Attic on 8th Ave., back when it was across from The Bay. This was way before A&B Sound set up shop in the old Bank of Montreal building so I'm talking mid- to late-80s. I didn't have much money back then but I would scrape whatever money I had from my paper route or my job as a busboy and would buy something there (a cassette tape or a 12" or a t-shirt) at least a couple times a month. Now one can find whatever one wants online but back then, hunting for cool music or music paraphernalia (for a reasonable price) was so much fun.
There was also a Music World at the corner of 8th Ave. and 1st Street SW that had a really great collection of 12" and laser discs.
There was also a really cool record store on MacLeod Trail in the late-80s. It was located in the building where Blind Beggar Pub is located now. I only went there a few times as it was quite the trek for me from Castleridge on public transit but it had a wonderful selection of punk and indie (or college radio, as indie was called back then) music. I keep thinking it was called A&M Records but that can't be right and it must be my foggy memory conflating the name of the store with the record label but somehow, that's the only name I can come up with for that store.
Yeah, 8th Avenue was a great place to search for music. There was another cool shop east of 1st Street, around where the Winners is now. There was also another dirt arcade on that block, a little further east where Original Joe's and/or Kismet is now. It was easy to spend an afternoon down there, drifting from arcade to arcade, grabbing a bite to eat, flipping through record bins looking for that certain record. Fond memories.
I remember a when I was younger we had a family friend that worked at the Bulwinkles in what had to be the mid 80s. It was like winning the lottery as he dumped the tokens from a bucket into your hands.
I used to love going to The Attic on 8th Ave., back when it was across from The Bay. This was way before A&B Sound set up shop in the old Bank of Montreal building so I'm talking mid- to late-80s. I didn't have much money back then but I would scrape whatever money I had from my paper route or my job as a busboy and would buy something there (a cassette tape or a 12" or a t-shirt) at least a couple times a month. Now one can find whatever one wants online but back then, hunting for cool music or music paraphernalia (for a reasonable price) was so much fun.
There was also a Music World at the corner of 8th Ave. and 1st Street SW that had a really great collection of 12" and laser discs.
There was also a really cool record store on MacLeod Trail in the late-80s. It was located in the building where Blind Beggar Pub is located now. I only went there a few times as it was quite the trek for me from Castleridge on public transit but it had a wonderful selection of punk and indie (or college radio, as indie was called back then) music. I keep thinking it was called A&M Records but that can't be right and it must be my foggy memory conflating the name of the store with the record label but somehow, that's the only name I can come up with for that store.
That is interesting - I'd like to hear more from you in the music threads. Come on in.
Wow that brings back memories, I remember in the late 80's when there were peeler bars all up and down Macleod trail. I remember spending I think my 17th birthday at the one just off of 38th and Macleod and they had a live music bar next door (Franky and Johnny's I think).
While Mitzee was before my time, we had the legendary Candy Shaw and there was a stripper that bought a live tiger on the stage.
I also remember that one of the female managers from Stampede Wrestling was one of the talents.
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