Old Calgary stuff you miss...(The Nostalgia thread)

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Yup there was. I went there when I was young in the 90s and your location is bang on too.

Like where Point Sushi (old Sakana Grill) is?

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

We got close-ish to that in 2020. Oh to have an empty swimming pool....

It was only for 7-10 days though. I filled up once for 51.9.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Like where Point Sushi (old Sakana Grill) is?

It was on the 3rd floor above it.

Back then where Point Sushi is, was Zen a HK cafe restaurant. Hung out there for most of my years in university as our friend's mom owned it.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

I must have seen 50 movies there. North Hill, Northland, and Market Mall made up the foundation upon which my friends and I built our cinematheque - but North Hill was about two blocks away from my house.

Some of the notable movies I remember seeing there were Jurassic Park with a lineup going around the building, Home Alone, 89 Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had a birthday party there where we saw him Back to the Future III followed by five pin bowling. There were a lot of those birthday parties.

Oddly one of the things I miss the most was seeing the 'What's Playing' sign as you drove down 16th Ave. It was like your weekend plans were made for you.

I was still very young so I barely remember - in fact all I remember was the seats and curtain - but was it part of the bowling complex?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

It was on the 3rd floor above it.

Back then where Point Sushi is, was Zen a HK cafe restaurant. Hung out there for most of my years in university as our friend's mom owned it.

From what I remembered, the 3rd floor (with the glass windows) was a dim sim place you had to go up to elevator to get to? Maybe that was after the theatre closed?

[zukes]

Originally Posted by rayne008

I can't remember the last time a saw a grasshopper. My kids have never seen one.

Oh man, the fields were infested with them back in the day, same with gophers!

[zukes]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I wouldn't be surprised if I have already mentioned this in this thread over the years (too lazy to check), but I still miss video game arcades in malls. I used to know all the arcades in each of the major malls in Calgary. Laser Illusions in Marlborough, Wizard's Castle in Sunridge & Market Mall, Easy Street in Chinook. I used to love going to malls with my parents on the weekend just to spend all my time at the arcade with my brother. Man, those were some fun times.

I lived at the one in the Beddington Mall from about 1989 - 1992.

[zukes]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

My family was a staple at the NE Food For Less.

Free cookies and the TMNT video game at the front.

I also met Mike Vernon there!

Haha, I met Mike Vernon at the Safeway in the Beddington Mall several times as a kid. He must have moved, or he liked to spread his grocery shopping around, LOL.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yeah that one in Southcentre had almost a disorienting vibe to it. Wasn't the floor lit up red or something kind of like you were on the Starship Enterprise? Or in that ####ty cantina in Star Wars. Sort of felt like you may get shanked, but also made you feel like a 12-year-old bad ass for holding your own in there.

The arcade at Southcentre was as safe as can be. Just a bunch of suburban kids playing vids. It was Southern Fun on 7th Ave where you had to be on your toes. Lots of uncertainty around who was there to play Galaga and who was there to buy/sell acid.

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I was still very young so I barely remember - in fact all I remember was the seats and curtain - but was it part of the bowling complex?

Yes, same building. On the north-northeast side of the theatre, in this grade-level parkade-sorta thing was a super sketchy entrance to the bowling alley. I think it was below the theatre?

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

From what I remembered, the 3rd floor (with the glass windows) was a dim sim place you had to go up to elevator to get to? Maybe that was after the theatre closed?

OH crap! you are right. 3rd floor was dimsum
It was on the 4th floor!

There were some great movies and great nights spent there. Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, John Woo, and Tsui Hark in their prime!

Instead of pop and popcorn, they had Vitasoy and shrimp chips.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

We got close-ish to that in 2020. Oh to have an empty swimming pool....

For 2 days it was a little lower actually, I filled up at Costco for 37.9

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

From what I remembered, the 3rd floor (with the glass windows) was a dim sim place you had to go up to elevator to get to? Maybe that was after the theatre closed?

I'm from Medicine Hat, and didn't move out to Calgary until 1991, but I remember in the 80's, my parents would come to Calgary a few times a year to stock up on Chinese goods, and we went to that theatre a few times to watch HK movies. I was only like 7 or 8 at the time, so memory's a little hazy, but I remember you get to watch back to back movies there.

[BlindMilwaukee]

Okay so the arcade in Marlborough was called Laser Illusions?

My whole life I’ve thought of it as Wizard’s Castle. It’s the only real arcade I went to as a kid.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by BlindMilwaukee

Okay so the arcade in Marlborough was called Laser Illusions?

My whole life I’ve thought of it as Wizard’s Castle. It’s the only real arcade I went to as a kid.

I thought Wizards Castle was Northland Mall or Market Mall?

All I know is that I was never allowed in because my conservative Christian parents believed to be hives of scum and villany.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The arcade at Southcentre was as safe as can be. Just a bunch of suburban kids playing vids. It was Southern Fun on 7th Ave where you had to be on your toes. Lots of uncertainty around who was there to play Galaga and who was there to buy/sell acid.

Sometimes a couple of us would go to the SC arcade, and we'd find that some of our other friends were there, and then suddenly we'd have a giant cadre of 20 eating in the food court, after playing all the 4 player games because then we'd have enough people. Good times.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by BlindMilwaukee

Okay so the arcade in Marlborough was called Laser Illusions?

My whole life I’ve thought of it as Wizard’s Castle. It’s the only real arcade I went to as a kid.

Wizard's Castle was a chain of arcades in town. They were around before Laser Illusions. I think LI took over most of the WCs, but there were still a few stragglers. Complicating matter is that many malls had a WC in one part of the mall, and then it closed down, and then a LI popped up in a different part of the mall.

[BlindMilwaukee]

Oh okay well that is confusing. I remember my mom calling it Wizard's Castle so I'm sticking with that lol.

Childhood restored.

[Royle9]

Oh man Wizards Castle in North Hill mall was amazing.
I remember as a kid, hair cut @ the old school barber shop across from the arcade. Over for a few games @ 25 cents a game and then bowling or a movie...

Man I'm old.

[BlindMilwaukee]

Can we have a poll for the age range of CP users? Would anyone else find that interesting?