I remember when... (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond: appointed, amusement park, motels)

[bigmikeyvegas]

does anyone remember a 1920s themed ice cream parlor on Virginia Beach Boulevard about 8 miles from the oceanfront?

[Lindsey1151]

Originally Posted by 2up2dwn

^^^Yes! The only thing down there was that 7-11 on Princess Anne and General Booth. It felt soooo far away and isolated back then. Va Beach has definitely changed! I also remember having my 4th birthday party at The Discovery Zone (a real cool place to be a kid!) and another birthday party at Funscape in Greenbrier. Anybody know why these places closed? They were so fun! Kids don't have anything like that anymore.

First it was the indoor playgrounds with ball pits, slides and tubes. Then it was those inflatable bounce house places. Now it's trampoline parks!

[Lindsey1151]

Originally Posted by 2up2dwn

^^^Yes! The only thing down there was that 7-11 on Princess Anne and General Booth. It felt soooo far away and isolated back then. Va Beach has definitely changed! I also remember having my 4th birthday party at The Discovery Zone (a real cool place to be a kid!) and another birthday party at Funscape in Greenbrier. Anybody know why these places closed? They were so fun! Kids don't have anything like that anymore.

I know that Discovery zone went bankrupt. I'm not sure why Funscape closed!

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by Randomdude

I think the thing that sticks out the most though, is that I remember Hilltop.. Now its a massive shopping center.
All those strip joints from the bridge to First Colonial/Oceana (looks like theyre all gone now)..Everything else is different

Great recollections.. Do you remember back in the 80s, there used to be a small theater in that Hilltop shopping complex. It's now the free-standing pet store in the Kmart parking lot. Went there a lot as a kid. I think the last movie I caught was Career Opportunities (around 1991).. The theater must've folded up not too long after that. Also remember the redneck bar Steppin' Out in the same parking lot, circa early 90s..(?) Steppin' Out was around for years.

I also remember the strip clubs around the corner from there well into the late 90s. And there was that hot dog stand (Ben Franklin's, I think) tucked in between 'em.. good times ~

[Serenity2019]

I only remember the 80's/90's when I grew up there, so forgive me - I was not around in the 60's.
Like my man Babe Ruth, I remember the Old AMC theatre at Lynnhaven that I loved going to. This was more recent, but I am very sad The Great Steak closed in Norfolk. I used to go to the Atlantic Beach club on 25th st at the beach to see bands in the 80's and that's now a haunted house I think. It was awesome!

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by coastalbum

.. I used to go to the Atlantic Beach club on 25th st at the beach to see bands in the 80's and that's now a haunted house I think..awesome!

Yeah CB, that haunted house (corner of 25th & Atlantic) is gone..


Do you remember, before the haunted house, around 1983, it was a second-run movie theater. You could catch movies there, for a buck I think, a few months after they left the regular theaters.. It was a cool little spot. I found an old shot online..


The building was converted into a re-modeled tourist trap (Sunsations).. not sure when that happened, I was out of VB.. The club you mentioned in that building, I think was around '87 right (?) They had punk bands from time to time, no (?) I kinda remember punks down there @ 25th st around those years.. hard for me to remember tho..

[bored chick]

I remember Tower Mall. That place used to be packed. I would go there with my grandparents to eat at Morrison's.

Peter Piper Pizza- they had the best pizza. My family would eat there every Friday.

The Peanut Fest was called the Suffolk Harvest Fest.

I was little but I remember when we had to actually stop and throw coins into a machine to get through the Downtown tunnel. LOL.

The VA zoo was the Norfolk zoo.

The Green Stamps store. My aunt LIVED in those stores. LMAO.

I remember People's Drug and HQ.

High's Ice Cream.

I feel so old. <Leaves thread>

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by bored chick

High's Ice Cream. I feel so old.

High's.. nice.
Used to hit the one at Princess Anne Plaza every once in a while. There were a couple locations I actually remember being in.. One in Kempsville.. There was one at the end of the Great Neck Shopping Center (where YNot Pizza is now). And back in the '90s I ran into a couple WCW wrestlers at the High's in Waterside. They were in town wrestling @ Scope; guess they were killing down-time @ Waterside.

I miss High's banana flavored ice cream, that was a unique offering 25 years ago.

[Serenity2019]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Yeah CB, that haunted house (corner of 25th & Atlantic) is gone..


Do you remember, before the haunted house, around 1983, it was a second-run movie theater. You could catch movies there, for a buck I think, a few months after they left the regular theaters.. It was a cool little spot. I found an old shot online..


The building was converted into a re-modeled tourist trap (Sunsations).. not sure when that happened, I was out of VB.. The club you mentioned in that building, I think was around '87 right (?) They had punk bands from time to time, no (?) I kinda remember punks down there @ 25th st around those years.. hard for me to remember tho..

Yes bro, it was there in your picture - the doors on the left side, that's where the Atlantic Beach Club was!
I saw Grog (punk from VB), Reign of Terror, Bad Brains....to name a few.

Thanks for the pictures !

I saw Pennywise in the 90's the bar on 17th and Pacific! Remind me what the big bar on 17 & Pacific is.

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by coastalbum

Yes bro, it was there in your picture.. I saw Pennywise in the 90's the bar on 17th and Pacific! Remind me what the big bar on 17 & Pacific is.

CB, There's been a lot of turnover in the buildings near 17th & Pacific. My guess, maybe the defunct Peppermint Beach Club (?) Which was just a block over (on Atlantic).. They used to host a lot of metal and punk. Pennywise was probably thru there, in the last half of the 90s (?)
I think the only spot that's really lasted in that block is the Cave, seems like they've been there forever. But they've been hip-hop for a long time, right ?. I don't think they would book Pennywise.

There was a club on that same corner for a minute back around '99, Liquid Cafe'. I was in there a couple times. It seems like a lot of local rock clubs have gone under. Which is a shame for young rock fans.
Kings Head Inn, Peppermint Beach Club, Half Shell, The Boathouse.. < damn, those were good memories.. peace.