Gone but not forgotten in Jacksonville! (University, Orange Park: credit, construction, shopping center)

[Sawtooth235]

It is great to see more people jumping into this forum. Since my last post almost everyone is new. I graduated from Sandalwood in 1975 and JU in 1979. Lived in Sandalwood from 1971 until I got a "real" job and moved to Michigan in 1983.

I still think that the best spot ever was AnnieTiques in the parking lot of Regency Square. Every Thursday night at mid-night that place was the best for meeting girls and partying. Met this really cool girl there once. She lived at the beach. She had the best name of any girl I ever met, Eden Brew.

Keep it going guys, this forum is terrifiic fun.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Parkerclassof72

I don't remember dunes farther south that you mention.

These were east of SS, between Beach and where JTB is now. There was a big stand of trees lining the road all along SS so they weren't visible, but boy did we know about them. The cops never bothered us there, don't even know if they knew about it.

This thread got me thinking about all the fun I had growing up in Jax.

As a chick, I used to go out every single night and drink practically free. Pappa's $1 longnecks on Mondays, CJ's Oyster bar on Tuesday for quarter beer, Crazy Horse Wednesday for quarter well drinks, Bananas on Thursday for $20 drink or drown.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by ggregchap

HUGE Sears and Roebuck store....

What Christmases we had there! My mom & dad would take my brother and I the day after Xmas to spend our Xmas money. They had a huge half-price sale every year on just that day and we really made out. We'd always get a bag of fresh popcorn as we walked in, there was no way you could ride up the escalator without doing it, the smell was so overwhelming.

Remember the old State Farm building on the corner of Glynlea and Artlantic? It stayed unsold for a long time and one day my friend and I decided the huge attached glassed-in room on the back would make a perfect skating rink. And boy, did it ever! We cleaned it up real good and went to town. Before you knew it, a bunch of our friends were regulars.

I raced BMX at the bike track over in Arlington, and used to go practice during the week. One night I took a fellow rider home and we had both bikes piled in the back of the Pinto. He lived off Monument Rd and there was a big church on the corner, on the right, when you drove up from Regency. Did I mention I had a Pinto? Well, I was showing off and as I turned onto his street I downshifted and gunned it to hear the exhaust go WAAAAAAAH and hit some sand. The back end of that Pinto swung around, and I swear we did a 360, because the next thing I knew we were headed into the trees in front of that church which had been on our right as we turned (and now I was in front of). I remember hitting the brakes at the same time we hit the tree. Totalled the car, broke his elbow, and I got scalped. Literally. My head hit the windshield and it cracked but didn't break, and I guess my hair got caught in the cracked glass, so when I fell back in the seat it stayed put. This was two days before my senior year started. Imagine all the punk hairdos I tried to hide that bald spot! Thank goodness it didn't scar. But boy did it itch when the hair was growing back in!!!!!

[convextech]

Our neighborhood backed up to a tributary of Pottsburg Creek and my brother and I had a fort in the woods back behind Holiday Hill Elementary. There was a little creek than ran between the woods and our house, and a streaker used to go through there so our parents didn't like us to go back there. One day we decided to hike down the creek to see if we could reach the main Pottsburg. We were up to our thighs in water because the mud was so deep on either side we couldn't walk in it. Well, a moccassin came up on us and you never saw two kids jump straight up out of the water so fast! We ran all the way home before we realized both of our shoes had been left behind! We still laugh about that.

[Parkerclassof72]

From recent convextex posts: "I, too was an underage drinker and hung out at Pappa's on Beach: ..... "I was out at the dunes on Southside Blvd where Butler Blvd crosses one night four-wheeling and I was past my curfew. We were all standing around a fire drinking beer: ..... "Four-wheeling out at Fort George Island" ..... "As a chick, I used to go out every single night and drink practically free" ..... "I raced BMX at the bike track over in Arlington" ..... "One day we decided to hike down the creek"

I'm a bit older than you, but if you and I had been 16-17 at the same time, you'd have been my kind of girl.

ggregchap, there are at least two of the old Skinner's Dairy drive-thru's still standing. The one on Merrill Rd in Arlington is now a cell phone store; before that it was a Rita's Italian Ice. There's also one on the corner of Bowden & Parental Rd. Last I saw it was a fruit/veggie stand.
You mentioned a couple of Krystals; the one I hung out at was at the corner of Arlington Rd & Univ. Blvd. Almost every Fri and/or Sat night, there would be a minor fist fight in the parking lot.

Sawtooth235, yes, AnnieTiques was a great place, chased quite a few girls there. And I agree, Eden Brew is a great name! ..... I asked this question before; does anyone remember the name of that huge nightclub that was on the Arlington Expressway? It was on the south side of the road, just east of the Steak & Ale. Someone mentioned Nichol's Alley; could that have been it? Or was Nichol's Alley somewhere else?

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Parkerclassof72

I'm a bit older than you, but if you and I had been 16-17 at the same time, you'd have been my kind of girl.

And I haven't changed a bit! I have a 2005 Chevy Z71 and a 1985 Jeep CJ7 that is beat to hell and back but it's great for mudding.

And I'm very happily married to a guy that lets me do what I want and usually comes along for the ride. That usually involves beer, darts, beer, four-wheelers, beer, NASCAR racing, beer, ARCA racing, beer... did I mention beer? LOL

Hell, I even wore cowboy boots under my wedding dress!

[convextech]

Parkerclassof72, I think that was Nichol's Alley. I remember the advertisements for it.. "come to {{{{{{Nichooooools Aaaaalllleeeeyyy}}}}}" (that's supposed to be reverb) ;-)

[hansbronson]

Originally Posted by Parkerclassof72

From recent convextex posts: "I, too was an underage drinker and hung out at Pappa's on Beach: ..... "I was out at the dunes on Southside Blvd where Butler Blvd crosses one night four-wheeling and I was past my curfew. We were all standing around a fire drinking beer: ..... "Four-wheeling out at Fort George Island" ..... "As a chick, I used to go out every single night and drink practically free" ..... "I raced BMX at the bike track over in Arlington" ..... "One day we decided to hike down the creek"

I'm a bit older than you, but if you and I had been 16-17 at the same time, you'd have been my kind of girl.

ggregchap, there are at least two of the old Skinner's Dairy drive-thru's still standing. The one on Merrill Rd in Arlington is now a cell phone store; before that it was a Rita's Italian Ice. There's also one on the corner of Bowden & Parental Rd. Last I saw it was a fruit/veggie stand.
You mentioned a couple of Krystals; the one I hung out at was at the corner of Arlington Rd & Univ. Blvd. Almost every Fri and/or Sat night, there would be a minor fist fight in the parking lot.

Sawtooth235, yes, AnnieTiques was a great place, chased quite a few girls there. And I agree, Eden Brew is a great name! ..... I asked this question before; does anyone remember the name of that huge nightclub that was on the Arlington Expressway? It was on the south side of the road, just east of the Steak & Ale. Someone mentioned Nichol's Alley; could that have been it? Or was Nichol's Alley somewhere else?

Could the name of that nightclub be Big Daddy's which latter became Coffetti's which latter became Banana's which latter became Mountasia which latter was demolished which became a Rooms to Go showroom

[convextech]

Confetti's/Bananas is in the parking lot of the Sports Authority. This place was down Arlington Expressway, kind of across from where CJ's oyster bar is (was?). Didn't thye bldg burn down after it got turned into a concert venue?

[Parkerclassof72]

Wasn't CJ's in the Expressway Mall parking lot? If that was it, the bldg was originally a Ranch House restaurant. The shopping ctr had a Publix, Eckerd's, and other smaller stores, and a small mall at the east end with a theater. The entire property now is cleared off. A few years ago a church group was supposedly going to build there; church, apts, and stores. But for now it's an empty lot.

I don't remember the ad song for Nichol's Alley, but I remember going in a few times. It was always huge, loud & crowded. Me & my gang of friends preferred a little dive on Univ. Blvd called the Chatterbox.