Old Austin Malls and Shopping Centers

[PartyLine]

Anyone ever eat at the Tumbleweed Steakhouse/Restaurant on Tumbleweed hill off 2222? I also used to like eating at the the Filling Station down on Barton Springs Rd.

[eridanus]

This is off topic, but I have to say, I preferred it when Austin was an anonymous city. There was a joke in The Mosquito Coast (1986, Harrison Ford) about how no one knew what the capital of Texas was. There didn't used to be such a thing as rush hour traffic in Austin, but there is now.

[resansom]

Originally Posted by eridanus

This is off topic, but I have to say, I preferred it when Austin was an anonymous city. There was a joke in The Mosquito Coast (1986, Harrison Ford) about how no one knew what the capital of Texas was. There didn't used to be such a thing as rush hour traffic in Austin, but there is now.

Hate to disagree, but traffic was bad in Austin as far back as I remember. Bad for different reasons, perhaps, but bad, nevertheless. I do admit that I miss the slower-paced, simpler days before Austin was so widely known and "popular" - note that I didn't say 'before Austin was "cool"' - Austin always was cool, just not too many outsiders knew about it, back in the day... even so, I was one of those Austinites who wanted more: more freeways, more skyscrapers, more notoriety/recognition. I guess it's true, what they say about having your cake and eating it, too...

[eridanus]

The traffic on NW 183 is getting bizarre.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by eridanus

The traffic on NW 183 is getting bizarre.

Then support mass transit. There are other options to get around. There should be even more options but until the general population starts making a change instead of complaining about the traffic then the traffic will continue to get worse.

As a native born Austinite, I love what Austin has become. It's what I wish Austin was back in the 80s as a kid. I never thought we would be the city we are today and I have no problem saying it to other native Austinites. Interestinly enough, I'm not a minority in my thinking especially with those in my age group.

Every fast growing city deals with the same problems at some point. How we solve them is what we should focus on not complaining about it and wishing that Austin was the way it was back in the 60s, 70s or 80s. Just thought I'd chime in.

Going back on topic, the pics of that library remind me of the Blazer Lazer tag here on the southside. Does anyone know if both former theaters were built around the same time?

I used to go to the dollar movies all the time. One of my fondest memories was watching Gremlins.

[eridanus]

There will also be more crime. You never used to see police cars in my neighborhood, but you're starting to see them occasionally.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by PartyLine

Anyone ever eat at the Tumbleweed Steakhouse/Restaurant on Tumbleweed hill off 2222? I also used to like eating at the the Filling Station down on Barton Springs Rd.

I used to go to both of those places. We drove out to the Tumbleweed for dinner one night to find it burned down. Didn't hear the news.

[eridanus]

I hadn't been on I-35 in a while. It's really bad now.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by eridanus

I hadn't been on I-35 in a while. It's really bad now.

Its really not so bad between 1 and 4:30 in the morning. Its just a matter of adjusting your travel times.

[pgutierrez8]

HEB was located in the PharMor location and opened at that location in June 1994 or thereabouts. Prior to being a PharMor, I believe it was a Woolco.
Also, that HEB has legs. It opened originally where the 24 hour Fitness is now, at the northwest end of the shopping center. Then it moved down to 183/620 by Lakeline Mall. Then it moved back to Lake Creek and is now on Lakeline.

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by pgutierrez8

HEB was located in the PharMor location and opened at that location in June 1994 or thereabouts. Prior to being a PharMor, I believe it was a Woolco.
Also, that HEB has legs. It opened originally where the 24 hour Fitness is now, at the northwest end of the shopping center. Then it moved down to 183/620 by Lakeline Mall. Then it moved back to Lake Creek and is now on Lakeline.

My family patronized all 4 HEBs. I always liked the Travis Square location, at 183 and 620. It was located roughly where Applebees and Bed Bath and Beyond are now situated (Lakeline Plaza). On the opposite end of that shopping center was a K-mart.

Regarding the Woolco, it was briefly a warehouse club called Valu(e) Club in the mid-80s. Didn't last but maybe 2 or 3 years. Phar Mor followed that around 1989 I believe.

[Armybrat]

I remember when 183 & 620 was a 4 way stop sign intersection, and Jollyville was way out in the sticks.

[Balcones 1980s]

I just moved back and lived next to Balcones Country Club and went to Spicewood Elementary. We left in 1980 and it is so hard to recognize anything on 183 since back then it was not quite the highway of today. I remember the Half Price Books from then. But Lone Star Cafe was awesome and is no more. Bulbs likes it! But what is driving me nuts is that there was a movie theater I used to ride my bike to that I saw some of the all time greats of my life. I even credit this theater with my time working in Hollywood and a life long love of Movies. I Know I used to cross past the school at the corner of the elementary school and that the current convenience store was a 7-11 back then. They had 2 arcade games and I spent a ton of time there. Until the Piggly Wiggly that was mentioned opened and they had a big arcade room. It was the best. But I can not figure out where the theater was. I believe the street I rode towards 183 was Olson dr? But I don’t remember if I rode down Anderson Mill and it’s so different. But I know I did not cross the highway. Does anyone remember and can they jog my memory? I’m dying to go over and try to place it. It meant a lot to me. And this whole thread brought back so many places I had completely forgotten. I wanted to move into the old house. We sold it in 1987 for $46,000. It recently sold for $750,000. So that’s a big nope. But the trees dad and I planted as saplings in the front yard are now so big that the entire yard is shaded. But my best friends house across the street is still owned by his parents. Some things never change!

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Balcones 1980s

I just moved back and lived next to Balcones Country Club and went to Spicewood Elementary. We left in 1980 and it is so hard to recognize anything on 183 since back then it was not quite the highway of today. I remember the Half Price Books from then. But Lone Star Cafe was awesome and is no more. Bulbs likes it! But what is driving me nuts is that there was a movie theater I used to ride my bike to that I saw some of the all time greats of my life. I even credit this theater with my time working in Hollywood and a life long love of Movies. I Know I used to cross past the school at the corner of the elementary school and that the current convenience store was a 7-11 back then. They had 2 arcade games and I spent a ton of time there. Until the Piggly Wiggly that was mentioned opened and they had a big arcade room. It was the best. But I can not figure out where the theater was. I believe the street I rode towards 183 was Olson dr? But I don’t remember if I rode down Anderson Mill and it’s so different. But I know I did not cross the highway. Does anyone remember and can they jog my memory? I’m dying to go over and try to place it. It meant a lot to me. And this whole thread brought back so many places I had completely forgotten. I wanted to move into the old house. We sold it in 1987 for $46,000. It recently sold for $750,000. So that’s a big nope. But the trees dad and I planted as saplings in the front yard are now so big that the entire yard is shaded. But my best friends house across the street is still owned by his parents. Some things never change!

Welcome to the forum. I moved to Brushy Creek off of 620 in 1984 when 620 was still mostly an undeveloped rural two lane road. It was unincorporated Wilco at the time. But development around 183/620 began to explode around that time.

[jg6544]

Didn't Frost Bros. (San Antonio's answer to Neiman-Marcus) have a branch in Austin for a while?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by jg6544

Didn't Frost Bros. (San Antonio's answer to Neiman-Marcus) have a branch in Austin for a while?

They anchored one end of North Cross Mall until sometime into the 90s I believe. I last visited that mall in '97 when I took my daughter ice skating there, and I believe it was still open. But I'm not 100% sure.

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Welcome to the forum. I moved to Brushy Creek off of 620 in 1984 when 620 was still mostly an undeveloped rural two lane road. It was unincorporated Wilco at the time. But development around 183/620 began to explode around that time.

When my SIL started teaching at Round Rock high school in 1967, the 620/183 intersection was a 4 way stop. She & my brother built a house in the Balcones Country Club neighborhood in 1971 where they raised 4 kids.she taught at RRHS for 44 years.

I & my wife moved to Brushy Creek in 1995 from the Four Season neighborhood off East Braker Lane a few years after we became empty nesters. We had lived there since 1976, and for five years in Windsor Hills before that.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

When my SIL started teaching at Round Rock high school in 1967, the 620/183 intersection was a 4 way stop. She & my brother built a house in the Balcones Country Club neighborhood in 1971 where they raised 4 kids.she taught at RRHS for 44 years.

I & my wife moved to Brushy Creek in 1995 from the Four Season neighborhood off East Braker Lane a few years after we became empty nesters. We had lived there since 1976, and for five years in Windsor Hills before that.

When I moved out that way in 1984 there was a traffic light at the 183/620 intersection. But the NE corner was undeveloped, and there were usually a couple vehicles parked in the grass on weekends selling Mexican pottery and blankets. The NW corner had a 7-11 and shortly thereafter a small strip shopping center with the first video store I ever rented from. It had a nice betamax selection up front and a small VHS section in back. The SE corner was just somebody's yard. The SW corner was a new strip shopping center anchored by WoolCo and HEB. Everything I just mentioned has long since been demo'ed.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Its really not so bad between 1 and 4:30 in the morning. Its just a matter of adjusting your travel times.

I'm just now appreciating that comment.

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by The ATX

They anchored one end of North Cross Mall until sometime into the 90s I believe. I last visited that mall in '97 when I took my daughter ice skating there, and I believe it was still open. But I'm not 100% sure.

If my timeline is correct, the Frost Bros was replaced shortly thereafter by an Oshman's SuperSports in the very early 90s. For its time it was an enormous sporting goods store, complete with a (tiny) indoor ski slope, archery range, putting greens, racquetball and basketball courts. It later became a Sports Authority before closing in the late 2000s. The store was located roughly where the Walmart is situated now.

Edit: About 2/3'ds of the mall was demo'd just after the SportsAuthority closed. The Chaparral ice rink was relocated inside the building that housed the old Beall's dept store and adjacent mall concourse. The Guitar Center was added in the later years of the mall and still remains in the same spot.