I moved here at the age of 5 and grew up in the suburbs off Northwest 183, but going downtown was such a treat. This is the 80s, so I'm a little behind... but I bet at least some of you worked at The Magic Time Machine. I know it's a chain and that there's one in San Antonio, but I have a feeling the Austin version was, of course, the best.

That place made me want to grow up to be a waitress. It looked incredibly fun-- you got to dress up in costumes and entertain your tables-- to a kid it was extremely magical. We went only a few times, when people came to visit or for a friend's birthday party... but what a great place.

I remember one time coming out of the bathroom stall and finding Wonder Woman and Tinkerbell standing there bitching about someone while primping. I think it was the first time I'd ever heard the f word.

Others:
Mad Dog and Beans - a bus trip to the drag with my friends at thirteen and a quest for this place in a summer downpour, then freezing while finally downing our millkshakes while soaking wet...

Steve's Ice Cream - I still have a sweatshirt, stained with chocolate ice cream which I had won by playing Madonna's "Cherish" on the piano.

Showplace Pizza Parlor? (Not Showbiz) I need help with this one-- don't remember where it was or even what it was called but man that place was incredible-- 1920's era silent movie theater with an actual organ player, nickelodeons and a creepy mummy behind yellowed glass-- and I remember the taxidermy cappuchin monkey with the little cymbals... it was so great and I barely remember it now...

And that big boat my bus always went by on the way to school- right at 183 and Mopac now I think-- the Showboat for a little while? Hazy memories... I always wanted to go there and then it shut down. Maybe that pizza place was near there.

I don't suppose anyone else ever lived North enough to frequent the Mr. Gatti's on 183 near Anderson Mill Road? This was our post swim meet party room and those old wooden booths were so caked with graffiti and carvings I can still see them. How many little swim team kids can you cram into a booth at Gatti's? Something like 60 I think. I might be exaggerating...

Ken Featherston was from my neighborhood near Oso Park in Corpus Christi. I knew his sister from school and the neighborhood, but just saw him around, cause he was older. We were all proud of him though. He was off in Austin working a staff artist (here's a cover he did for the Marshall Tucker band) and as a bouncer for the Armadillo. That lead to his death. In 1975 he was working security for a Pointer Sisters show at the Armadillo. Someone had been escorted out by another fellow, and unfortunately that person thought that they should come back and shoot and kill somebody. So we lost him. I just want him to be remembered. So, here's a link to some of his posters done for the Armadillo and for sale by wolfgangs vault. If you hunt around you can find more of the cover art he did for albums. Who knows how famous he would have gotten if he'd not been killed so young, but he was famous with me.

Here's a treasure trove for all of you with fuzzy memories of Austin in the 70's. A full scan of the Texas Sun newspaper from 1977. I'm sure that there's more to be found but wow... check out those club listings!

The old memory is fading fast, but remember living in Austin in the mid 70's and having to drive to this little C-store (I believe somewhere out by Lake Travis) to purchase what was then a new, must have, beer - Coors. Remember pulling up the Store and there were car loads on folks walking out with cases of the stuff. Not sure why or how the situation - but that one little store had the market for a short period.

I loved this place. It was on the east side of Congress around the 300 or 400 block. Loved the smell and looking at all the unique things there. My dad bought me my first rifle there from Smokey. He ran the gun department and everybody went to see Smokey. I still have that rifle. Haven't shot it in 30 years.

I practically grew up in the bars out in Oak Hill. It was very rural then and pretty tough area of town.

Highway Cafe, run by Grouchy was my parents favorite.

The Western Inn, the last incarnation was Serrano's before it was torn down. Spent lots of time there too. Had a track that us kids played on. Dug crawfish out of the banks of the creek behind the place. The owner went to jail for cattle rustling. Steaks were cheap.

The Spot. Very small place close to what is now Oak Hill Liquor. Had a little red dot that spun around outside. My sister's father in law's favorite place.

Sportsman Inn... tough place, lots of gambling went on there. Many pool tables. Coleman's garage is now located on that spot.

Circleville Inn. corner of Circle Drive and Thomas Springs Road. Great story with that place. Shooting took place there and the fight was on again at Brackenridge in the emergency room. It was one of the toughest places around. Lots of cedar choppers went there.

The Little Wheel.. now the location of the 290 Bar and Grill. Good little beer joint with a small dance floor.

Cottonwood Inn.. Across the street from the Circleville Inn. If you felt like getting into a fight go to either place.

Later on...The Silver Dollar. Our 10 year reunion (Crockett High School) in 1980 involved a visit to this dancehall.

This little green building on the corner of Barton Springs and Riverside Drive was next to my dad's shop. He went there most every afternoon to knock down a couple. Threadgill's is there now.

I just remember the longnecks and the small glasses that they poured the beer into.

Who was here that fateful day, Dec. 8, 1980? It was actually the day after that I remember. I was awakened, as always back then, to KLBJ-FM. Note, that was when KLBJ was good; before it changed into their current "Hey man, let's party!" blazing guitars and hair mode. Anyway, the DJ was very somber and announced that Lennon had been killed the night before. They played only Beatles and Lennon that day non-stop, no commercial breaks. I had to go to work but I was completely shocked into an altered sense of being. The Beatles meant so much to us all. Around 5:00pm or so, I was at my girlfriend's apartment and she told me of a gathering at Zilker under the Zilker Christmas tree... we had to go.

What we found there was a very large but quiet crowd of Austin under the tree. Some had brought candles to pass around and soon there was a large circle of folks, all holding candles, around the base of the tree, all facing in. We cried, we sang, we thought of the damage that Mark David Chapman had done. We all knew that things had fundamentally changed that night. Austin certainly never felt the same again. It seemed like from that day forward, the pace of change in Austin has done nothing but get faster, accelerating away from us.

Can anyone enlighten me about the name of the Mexican restaurant where it was all you can eat - and when you wanted more - you just raised the flag on your table - and here came the seconds, and thirds, and on and on! Of course, being on a student's budget, the "all you can eat" feature was great - and boy, could we put it away back then! I just remember Ron Franklin's creative advice that if you start with the sopapillas, you'd have no problem -- (like a plug for the drain!) Classy...

Well, I knew U.T. would be a fun place when I visited my sister, Ann Sidor (Baird), during my junior year in highschool (1968), and she was already a freshmen in Longhorn country. I arrived at her apartment while she was still in class, and ran into some other hometown (older - well, at least 18) friends who invited me to join them on a jaunt down to New Braunsfels for WurstFest (or was it "BeerFest"?!) Of course, I couldn't resist and headed out with them not even thinking of my "under age" issue. When she arrived home, no Andrea, and all she saw was a note on her bed -- "I'm off to New Braunfels with Jan" (Nichols - our neighbor from back home). So much for her following our mother's admonition - "Now, take care of Andrea while she's there!" Needless to say - I was cut free from our small town where we had grown up, and I was ready to take in the action! And after I arrived at U.T. 2 years later (1970), I kept the action going for the next 4 years, and loved every minute of it. (By the way, the cops at WurstFest bought my story of really being 18, and I had just left my driver's license at home!!). Oh, the good ole' days.