[goatman65]

Ok i was bored today so i had an idea.I got this idea from our local PBS station that does some for us people that like to look back at the 'good old days'.Shows about local landmarks,buildings,roads,diners,etc.The best is 'Things that aren't there anymore'.Let's do a thread about 'Things or Places that used to be'.Here are some ideas to get you thinking.
1 Local landmarks near you.
2 Buildings that are something other than they were built to be.
3 Signs that are still standing even thought the 'place' is gone.
4 Old,closed amusement parks
5 Places that are still in operation after 'all these years'
6 Any type of 'Americana'
7 Roadside type stuff,motels,reststops,mom/pop shops
Anything from 'back in the day' before malls,highways and the economy changed the American ladscape.Even scans of old vacation pics would be cool.
Grab your camera and get some interesting pics.Could be a cool thread.
I know the weather will make it harder to do but do what you can and maybe a description as to what/why you took the pic.I'll start.

[goatman65]

description for above pics.This drive-in known as 'Buddy's' or 'Buddy Morgans' was built in 1954 one year after the highway in front of it.Pa.21.This highway was finished in 1953 to by-pass all the 'patchtowns'.The 'old' road is up on the hill behind the Twin-Kiss.Anyway,this was a VERY popular street racing venue in the '60s.The owner 'Buddy' had a Fiat altered that ran low 10's in the mid-sixties at Pittsburgh International Dragway with a 327.He also had,still has a '36 Ford coupe that he built strictly for streetracing.My dad hung-out here on a regular basis and i got to tag-a-long a lot.Sat.nites the lot would start filling up,by closing time at 11 pm the lot would be over-flowing with 'street racers'.My dad raced his 66 GTO a LOT back then.The place is boarded up just for winter months,it reopens every May.Some guys that raced back then still hang-out here bench-racing at night.Buddy is now in his '70s.My dad passed away in 1999.In the second pic i'm sitting about where the 'starting line'was.They even had a line painted across the road at the end of the 1/4 mile i was told.The fastest cars then were a '64 GTO with a 421 and a '67 Impala with a 427.My dads' GTO 2009.

[goatman65]

Here's a 'used to be'.The chicken is what is left of a what was a popular eatery.About 7-8 years ago it closed down.The building was torn down and a carwash was built in its place.They 'restored' the chicken and left it in its original spot.It was named Russe's Roost' hence the chicken.

[goatman65]

How about a nice Mail Pouch barn in the snow.

[Steve Barcak]

Here is a great thread related to what you are asking. It already has 83 pages of great stuff. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.
Hope this link works...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...+shots+of+days

Steve

Hosting-
12th annual Pontiac Heaven April 8-11 www.pontiacheaven.org
8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! April 11 www.nostalgicshowandgo.org
Make plans to attend now.

[Rocky Racoon]

Yep, the link still works. Has some great pictures.

[goatman65]

That's a great link.

[goatman65]

This is about 15 miles from my house and about 1/4 mile from the chicken.Back in the teen's this area was a oval race track built entirely of wood,i believe it was elevated also.Henry Ford,Louis Chevrolet,Barney Olfield among other famous racers ran on this track.It is now a golfing/batting range.

[limejudge69]

Here is a picture of Furniture City Gulf, around 1993. It was located at I-85 and Hwy 311 in High Point NC. It opened in 1957 and closed last September when the owner passed away. My father pumped gas here in the 60's and I worked there for 10 years pumping gas, doing minor repairs and state inspections. We quit selling gas when BP bought out Gulf.
That is my 69 Firebird out front. I still miss the car and the station, but I especially miss the owner Randall. He was one of a kind.

[Bjorn]

I should scan a picture from 1968, going out I10 west of 610 loop in Houston at 5.15....
5 cars on the road! now there are NEVER 5 cars on that road , at anot point of a 24 hour period.

[SRR]

This place is now gone along with all that cool stuff.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by goatman65

This is about 15 miles from my house and about 1/4 mile from the chicken.Back in the teen's this area was a oval race track built entirely of wood,i believe it was elevated also.Henry Ford,Louis Chevrolet,Barney Olfield among other famous racers ran on this track.It is now a golfing/batting range.

Those tracks were called " Board Tracks" and were popular in the 20s-30s made entirely of wood and smooth and were forerunners before paving materials were prevalent on race tracks. One major drawback was the cars would dislodge splinters of wood which would stick in the faces of those drivers trailing them. I lived in Erie Pa. most of my life and never knew there was a board track at one time in the Pittsburgh area. Good to know these things.

[Ken K]

Originally Posted by SRR

This place is now gone along with all that cool stuff.

The buildings are not even there anymore. That 67 was sitting on top of the hill down the road.

[Ken K]

All the rat rodders in SD knew about that place. You should have seen that place before it was picked over. There was a 57 Bel Air 2 door out there in original condition.

[SRR]

I bought that 67 and sold it to someone in Texas. Some friends and I got to know "CJ" really well right before he died. He was a really cool old guy who was sharp as a tack when it came to where everything was and the bolt sizes! I bought 4 of the "A" body cars he had and a couple of really cool old shop tools.

[AROWHED]

Springfield, IL...original home of the "cozydog" on Route 66. Started off as it's own stand in the late 40's, then a Dairy Queen was built next door, then they joined together for a common dining area (the way I always remember it). In 1996 the entire place was torn down for another damn Walgreens...but Cozydog Drive-In put up a new building on the next lot over. More here:
http://www.cozydogdrivein.com/photos/

[Bet Winner]

Originally Posted by limejudge69

Here is a picture of Furniture City Gulf, around 1993. It was located at I-85 and Hwy 311 in High Point NC. It opened in 1957 and closed last September when the owner passed away. My father pumped gas here in the 60's and I worked there for 10 years

That's a great story. I drove my Judge by there a few times in 1979 to 1981 while I was a day student at H.P. College. I lived in Jamestown and my parents still do.

I have a few old pictures that I need to dig up of my Judge and my friend's 1971 Trans Am parked in front of the old Pilot Life Insurance building on High Point Road in 1979. We drove them out on the grass and starting taking pictures--nobody seemed to care. I was 19, and he was 18.

[Ken K]

Originally Posted by SRR

I bought that 67 and sold it to someone in Texas. Some friends and I got to know "CJ" really well right before he died. He was a really cool old guy who was sharp as a tack when it came to where everything was and the bolt sizes! I bought 4 of the "A" body cars he had and a couple of really cool old shop tools.

Before that place was picked over you could find stuff like top loader 4 speeds in there. They had a 57 GMC truck that was loaded, it had a Pontiac engine and hydramatic trans. They also had a 65 Catalina 2 door post, I think it might have been a police car. That use to be the old highway. I think a lot of the cars ended up in there when they broke down....The next town over is a bunch of good stuff. The guy is a collector and the Highway Patrol in that area. He had his own dragstrip. I have not been out there in a while.

[Brian Baker]

The Ritchie Drive-In in my hometown of Glen Burnie, MD...it was torn down in 1983 and today in its spot sits a strip mall, with a Pizza Hut sitting right about where the screen used to be.

http://gallery.pictopia.com/baltimor...o/8743900/?o=2

[71 T/A]

Hollywood (FL) Motorsports Park, a drag strip. But not any drag strip. This is where in 1969, Pontiac brought down a 69 GTO with a Ram Air V, that a friend older than me, confirms that it ran low 12's capped up on street tires and mid 11's with slicks and open exhaust. In the 1980s, I'd run my 73 Formula with 455 to a best of 12.98.

It closed in 1992 and where it was is now a shopping center. Had it remained, I would have been within 5 miles of the track!