First there was North Oaks Mall. Then the Aladdin's Castle at Willowbrook. Also...the infamous Games People Play on 1960.
For me it was Sharpstown Mall in the late 80's. I worked at the ice cream store there so I spent my breaks at the arcade. There was a super creepy guy there named Greg that would hang out with the kids and smoke weed with them. Now that I think of it there were quite a few creeps hanging around there.
i think its still open, I was there about 3 years ago, and someone got a pic with Shawn Kemp at that place plus I see restaurant.com certificates being sold there my hangout with Time-Out/Power Play arcade at San Jacinto Mall and the one in Deerbrook, good times there i posted a thread a few months back about arcades being dead now http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=158078
I went their once a field trip with my day care, Walden Oaks, when I was extremely young in the early-to-mid '80s. Does this place still exist?
I also grew up in Baytown and went to the Vault. I still recall Donkey Kong being placed in the center of that place up on a pedestal. They typically did that with the newest "hit" game. I also recall a pinball game there that had its own room because it had "digital" sound effects. But that was for birthday parties. Typically I was stuck biking it up to Hathaways and playing a couple of older games there.
I forget the name of the place, but it was across the side street from Westbury High School....enemy territory for a Bellaire grad like me. This was in the late 1970s.
If anyone is from the South Florida area, then you knew about GRAND PRIX RACE-O-RAMA. F***in' awesome. It was probably the size of a Home Depot, split into 2 separate buildings, w/ arcade machines as far as the eye could see. There was also a go-kart track, miniature golf, one of those bungee things that fling you 200 ft into the air, batting cages, etc. I basically spent all my tokens on NBA Jams and every fighting game known to man. I think it's called Boomers now, I have no idea if it's nicer or worse.
I used to spend entire summer days at Games People Play. Get a hole in 1, and you got free tokens. It's still sad to see that place abandoned and covered in weeds.
One of my best friends parents, last name (Pollak) owned the Vault, some of my fondest memories are going to Astros games, and then coming back late, and he and I would go to the Vault after it closed and played for free. Good times !! DD
Last time I drove down FM 1960 (it has been a while) I could have sworn that they had cleared that land and built something else. It was late at night. Was I mistaken in my old age?
My parents still live in the 1960 area, and I'll drive by it every now and then when I'm in town. They closed it down because of a death on the waterslides. It hasn't been cleared, but it's pretty much gone to seed. Trees grow in the middle of the old golf course, and it's completely covered in weeds. You can still make out some of the layouts of the putt-putt holes. Because of the foliage it's hard to see what happened to the rest of it. I think the waterslide buildings are still up as well as the main arcade area, but it's rundown. I think they've been looking for someone to buy it for years, but it kind of screams out condemned property. It would probably take too much money to raze it, and I don't see that area seeing that much investment any time in the near future.
I didnt think anyone else on this board would mention Tilt...but that was my "arcade hangout" as well.
My friend used to work there and he told me it is haunted... they caught it on video once. he told me it loves to mess with the radio ... i never knew it got burned down though
