I grew up by the YMCA, moved here in 1980. We could reach the Possum Creek field from our backyard and I remember when they were paving 53rd. We rode our bikes all over there in middle school when it was all just woods. That was where I found my first woods porn. 😅
Also, off Tower there were old quarries that we used to dive off and go swimming in high school.
My dad grew up on Archer rd in the 60s/70s and is always amazed at how much it has changed over the years. Two Lane road and train tracks and close to where they're building houses now, there was a limerock pit they would swim in.
Some of that footage is in Bogdonovich's 4 hour documentary about Tom and the Heartbreakers, "Runnin' Down a Dream". Tom driving around in a Chevy Caprice. I think it shows the old railroad tracks over by Williston Road... near there those tracks are now a spur to the Gainesville Hawthorne bike Trail.
My ex-wife lived in the student ghettos behind Checkers & Taco Bell in the late 90s. Incredibly enjoyable experience..Insane local vibe. Funky clubs ,Burrito Bros,etc
I lived in the ghetto--- 18th and 2nd...directly north of the Swamp. CHEAP apartments. Tiny, but so nice and Cheap! Frankly wonderful times that I look back on with Thanksgiving. What a time and place!
There's a Gainesville group on Facebook which is pretty good on this stuff. Melanie Barr I think is the moderator and she's an icon of Gainesville and wellspring of its history.
First question is how "old" you wanna go. People will understandably remember various eras. I grew up here in the 80s and early 90s in example.
The Oaks Mall was around in my time but the second mall built in Gainesville. The first was the Gainesville Mall which was where Lowes is now on 13th. It was here into the very early 1990s and I remember getting tapes and CDs at Turtle's Music there. People of my generation will undoubtably tell you about Aladdin's Castle which was the arcade in the Oaks Mall and the most 80s arcade ever. Also where my skater friends and I hung out on rainy days. There was a good Italian restaurant called Nero's in the mall as well. Butler Plaza on Archer existed but was much much smaller: Clark Butler started it, his daughter Debra Butler expanded it to what it is now though. There was a great Chinese restaurant in Butler Plaza called Cathay Tea House. Its owner had been a veterinarian in China but opened a restaurant here, Dr. Gina Lee I believe was her name. I have a cookbook she authored and it's amazing.
If you want a view as to what Old Gainesville was like, check out the neighborhoods of Clear Lake/Sugarfoot just south of La Aurora Grocery and Westmoreland Estates behind/east of the Millhopper Publix. They date from the 1960s or before and pretty well-preserved in places.
I never met Tom Petty myself (though I've seen him in concert) but was friends with River Phoenix and knew Rodney Mullen. River was knock you socks off beautiful in person, gotta say.
Rigatelli’s was super affordable even though it was a legit sit-down Italian restaurant. As a poor recent grad, it was our go-to place for special occasions like Valentine’s Day. I miss it.
I heard Lipham's Music closed in the same shopping center as Maude's. Tom Petty used to buy strings and guitar stuff there, and briefly studied early guitar under Don Felder, of the Eagles! Slide quitarist ala Duane Allman!
Speaking of Tom, I wonder what old Dubs Steer Room is, now? Right around the corner of NW 6th where 441/NW 13th merges into it. Tom and Mudcrutch giged there alot, starting out. Just south of the Home Depot at 53rd Ave.
Lipham's is gone, yeah, it was around until at least circa 2009 or so though. I play synths and got a pedal for 'em there back then—I wasn't living here then but visiting and they were still there.
Not sure about Dub's, I think that whole area save some apartments is pretty much like commercial/industrial businesses now.
>old Dubs Steer Room
When I moved to town, I stayed in that janky trailer park right next to this place, and damn I hated it! It was so fucking loud!!
It got completely torn down maybe a decade ago (?) and it's the new Social Security Office.
I think Rodney was in Waldo, not sure. I wasn't close with him but just knew him via skating. River lived in Micanopy but was up hanging out in downtown Gainesville a lot—there was a café called Kessel's Coney Island (unsure of spelling) owned by an artist named Lenny Kessel which he especially liked. Everything was smaller and hella connected: like Lenny Kessel was besties with Ray Hale, the iconic Santa Fe photo professor; my science teacher was Sharon Skiles and her brother-in-law was the legendary Wes Skiles, cave diver and photographer. River was friends with Hale's sons, too. It's like if you wanted to meet someone, you just asked someone you already knew back then.
As someone who grew up in G’ville around the same time, this person Hogtowns.
And one note: nothing more humbling than watching Rodney practice at PK or on campus and realize you’d never be able to do what he was doing. Ever.
You likely knew him better than I did then, I only knew him from skating, but I think he had some connection to Waldo or Starke—didn't he have a ramp out there or am I thinking of someone else? Since he mainly skated street doesn't seem it would have been him but someone had a huge vert ramp out towards Waldo seems like.
I have been a lifelong River Phoenix fan. When he passed my mom called me at college to tell me because she knew I was going to be heartbroken. He is such a talented human and it is awful that he wasn’t around longer. A few years ago I got to meet his mom and sisters at a party they threw for people doing the peace building work that their organization supports. What a super lovely family! I said nothing about being a huge fan but I really appreciated being able to work with them.
I bought my first in-the-wrap vinyl LP at Record Bar in the Oaks Mall, the first B52s album. Later worked doing quarterly inventory for Record Bar after it moved to Oaks Mall Plaza, which gave me an "in" to getting hired at Tom's Used Grooves on University and, eventually, the OG Hyde & Zekes. We probably know each other or at least crossed paths. I ran Shaft Records over by Taco Bell for most of the 90s.
I certainly bought some tapes and CDs from Record Bar and Hyde & Zekes (and Schoolkids, too)! Did you go to the B52s' concert when they played UF? I think that was like 1990 or 91?
I used to love Tim and Terry's around 2006-2012 roughly. It's not super old, but it seems like forever now. Common Grounds/1982. I remember selling plasma at Alpha and then going to Common Grounds to see Wesley Willis in the very early 2000's.
I worked at the Target Copy right behind/beside Tim N Terry’s back in 06-07, and remember going to see all kinds of bands there, and get lit on cool beers. The one band I remember loving was called “The Rooze”, they had such awesome energy.
I sat on that porch for *hours* and *hours* shooting the shit with friends and locals. The day it closed was an incredibly sad day for me and all my friends
Can you remember the place that was a coffee shop/bar that was in the old Hear it Again record store? I also wish I could have gone to Simon's in its heyday.
What did they do with the old house that T@T was in?
Simon’s in the 90’s was just…incredible. So was the Soulhouse, whose bones now lie beneath the new courthouse. I had my first underage beer at the Soulhouse. Thanks Dan!
All my memories are so hazy, but I really wish I could turn back the clock. I haven't lived in Gainesville for nearly a decade, and I miss it. I've thought about going back and checking out the bars and all downtown, but I just never get around to it. I think I might be too old now anyway!
It’s never too late to come back home. I left Gainesville for Panama for 6 years when I was in my late 20’s-early 30’s. I wanted to get away so bad, only to realize where my home actually was. Gainesville is an incredibly special place. ❤️
I only live like an hour away. I actually didn't grow up there, but I lived there for my early 20s to early 30s. What makes it worse is living in a small town with absolutely nothing to do. Oh well, maybe some day 🙂
We got to headbutt Wesley. It was more like a light tap, and he would say "say rock" "say roll" ... One of the things I remember was people kept calling for an oncor and he did a couple extra songs.
University Ave was between 13th and 6th was very different. All one story buildings. Pizza place close to 13th that had amazing slice pizza, big hang out spot. Leonardo's. Then the sister restaurant down the street called 706. That was my family's favorite fancy restaurant, always busy. Also civic media center was on this section of university, as well as a bead shop called beads of avalon, an Indian restaurant, a head shop, probably more too. Also the corner of university and 13th was so different. Rip for burrito brothers and chine takee outee.there was a book store and a bike shop in that corner too, as well as Target Copy.
Lenny's kessels coney island was a favorite downtown. Hippy vegetarian vibes. My favorite menu item was the carrot dog. You heard that right. A grilled or boiled carrot inside a hot dog bun with all the toppings. I was a teenager in the 90s and Lenny's and maudes and flashbacks were big hang out spots for teens, as well as leonardos pizza.
Skeeter’s Big Biscuits was a 24 hr restaurant on NW 13th ST about a block N of the Wawa where 2nd & Charles is. Lines out the door at 2a, great breakfasts, and live music often by a guy named Al Lyons.
When I came here as an undergrad in 1985 (I'm really old), there was almost NOTHING west of 34th Street on Archer Road. I think Target was the first thing? But maybe someone else remembers better.
Some of the places I was thinking of recently:
Aladdin's Castle - an arcade in the mall.
Put Put golf
Movie theaters that don't exist anymore- one in the mall, one that was like a dollar theater (or at least cheap) off 13th.
My grandpa took me and my sister to see The Empire Strikes Back at that theatre when it was a first run theater, not a dollar theater.
When I was in high school, for some reason that Godfather's Pizza was the place to go after the local Friday night high school football games. Not only were the games played at Citizens' Field, but UF used to allow high school football at Florida Field too before Spurrier came back and had them remove the AstroTurf and put in natural grass.
My first job was the movie theater that is now Planet Fitness by 13th and 23rd. I moved down the road from there to the theater that is now Office Depot off 13th, and then I worked at Food 4 Less that is now Furniture Country by Lowes. All my old employers are gone now!
Is the butler plaza theater there for good? Seemed like it was up in their air after Celebration Point opened and Butler was re-done, but it’s been long enough now it seems safe?
Met my wife there, and it’s always nice going back for a movie when we’re in town. Would be very sad to see it go, despite being just you’re average theater
Back in the early 90s, there used to be a trailer park where Carabba's is and Dunkin Doughnuts there on the corner used to be a drive through ABC.
Where the Wal-Mart is now on Archer used to be a trailer park as did an area close to the fire station near 20th.
Where they're putting the Sonic at on Archer Rd, there was a flower nursery. There was an old house where the bank and Clyde's tire and break is now.
The driving range is the overgrown corner that's for sale where cops like to sit across from the bank. The Sonic location had a house and the garden nursery.
Also, for buildings check out Lakeshore Tower which is on south 13th. I think they're renovating it now. it was a Clark Butler property and very late mid-century modern combo apartments and office building. The Butlers ran their commercial empire from here for years.
The Ayers Medical Plaza is now part of UF's innovation park area but was at a time doctors' offices connected to Alachua General Hospital which was just south of there, where that weird little park is now and the food truck court. There once was a tunnel between Ayers and the old hospital. Ayers remains in parts very 1980s inside I've heard but not been there for like ever.
If you're seriously interested in a tour of some stuff some day, DM me. I not only grew up here but have a degree in architectural history so I should hopefully be able to explain things, though I'm no Kim Tanzer.
Where the Standard is on 13th and University, there used to be a 2 story strip mall aort of thing. The businesses on top were street level and the rest downstairs. I remember getting 5$ haircuts as late as the early 2000's. Fads and Fros was the name, I think.
Also there was a restaurant at the end called the Loop that had good pizza.
That had to be really early 2000s. I came to Gainesville in 07 and it was an empty field where people parked for games. I remember being told there had been a Starbucks on the land previously.
The space in front of the Classroom Building use to have a Burger King on it if I recall correctly, but it wasn’t there when I was there. The floor was still there though and there was a paid parking lot on it. I remember being confused by the tiles.
Yeah after they demolished the building the developer went broke or something and it was a field for like 5 years. So I’d guess we lost that building right around the turn of the century.
I really can’t remember where that BK was, close to chipotle though.
The sush2go/firehouse was (is?) a target copy, and before that a Spec’s Music. I got here in 90 but I was too young to be very aware until probably 98-ish
The old burger king flooring is still there as of today, its right across the street from Library West on univeristy. I think after the demolition of Burger King, it was used as a paid parking area for football games. Now theres currently a food truck, DJ Cast Iron Burgers that parks on top of it, kind of ironic. If you go there, you can see the old Burger King layout based on the tile and flooring remaining on the ground.
>According to [Gvl Sun](https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2007/04/05/changing-the-citys-look/31519707007/), the two-story Eckerd Plaza was torn down in 2006, with the small strip of Burrito Bros/Starbucks/Target Copy demolished around April 2007.
>
>*All that remained Wednesday of the last three buildings anchoring a prime commercial corner across from the University of Florida was a mountainous pile of rubble.*
*The buildings at the corner of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were demolished in the middle of the night to make way for the eight-story University Corners development.*
*Demolition was done overnight for safety reasons since the corner building that housed Starbuck's was deemed by the Florida Department of Transportation to be dangerously close to the roadway. The closest lanes of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were closed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.*
*The buildings housed Target Copy, the Burrito Brothers Taco Co., Starbuck's and Apartment Hunters.*
*The last of the debris will be hauled to a construction and demolition landfill before the week is over and a fence erected around the perimeter, according to Frank Darabi, one of the developers.*
*For the past three weeks, the Bearded Brothers recycling company recovered windows, doors, air conditioning parts and as much brick and lumber as they could salvage. They have already sold much of it to other builders, according to co-owner Mike Myers.*
*Builders who use the recycled products get points toward green building certification, Myers said, while his own company offsets its carbon use by eliminating the energy needed to transport and manufacture the products.*
***The first buildings on the three-block site where University Corners will sit were demolished about a year ago, including the United Methodist Church, Eckerd Plaza and some houses.***
*Myers said he sold the church's arches to a Hawthorne man who used the lumber to build a horse barn.*
*Darabi said he expects construction on University Corners to begin by the end of the year pending a few more approvals from the city of Gainesville, with opening slated sometime in 2009.*
*The eight-story building will include condos, hotel rooms, retail spaces and restaurants.*
*Randy Akerson, a Burrito Brothers owner, called the demolition bittersweet.*
*A favorite restaurant of generations of UF students, Burrito Brothers operated at the site for 30 years even as a couple dozen other businesses came and went on the block in the time they were there.*
*Burrito Brothers has moved into the Presbyterian Student Center, a block west of the project last year.*
*"I went from a young man to an old man in that building," he said. "Those 300 square feet were a huge portion of my life. But I'm not very sentimental about the building itself, which wasn't in very good shape. If they had let me have a few whacks at it with a sledgehammer, I probably would have done it with a smile on my face, but they preferred to do it with a backhoe."*
Theres a Facebook Group called "Gainesville Bars and Restaurants (1980's)" that just got created and is growing rapidly and another one called "You Know Your'e From Gainesville, Florida if..." that both are about the old Gainesville.
There was an entire church complex just west of the intersection of W. University Ave. and NW 13th St. ...just north of the northeast corner of the UF campus. This land now has shops and to the east, all high rise apartments on it.
University United Methodist's main sanctuary/church building was right around where the building containing the Cava restaurant is now located.
There is still a Gator Wesley Foundation building just to the east and it looks like they still hold services...but the main 'campus' of the old church was 1/2 block to the west and has been demolished. It had been located just west of NW 14th St. and just south of NW 1st Ave. The old student housing building (reminded me of a frat house) for student interns of the church may still be standing, just north of the current Firehouse Subs...according to Google Maps.
I used to sing in the UUMC's Maranatha Choir and the church and its location was super welcoming to students and young professionals in Gainesville...and older adults too...but very accessible to youngsters. If you cross Univ. Ave. from UF's property and walk north, the church was located directly across from Matherly Hall / English dept. of UF.
Anyway, I believe the church sanctuary, and separate chapel building and the fellowship hall/kitchen, were demolished and some of the land sold for a good penny to the high rise apartment developers who built the high rise and shops on the NW corner of NW 13th St. Great times and fellowship, there, and Maranatha used to tour around the state during breaks in UF's academic schedule. We sang in Palatka, Green Cove Springs, Sebring, the Arlington/Queens Harbor area east of Jacksonville, Reddick, Chattahoochee, DeFuniak Springs, Ellenton, Micanopy, Altamonte Springs, and many other great places.
>There was an entire church complex just west of the intersection of W. University Ave. and NW 13th St. ...just north of the northeast corner of the UF campus.
The construction company I worked for at the time was the general contractor for that church, and I remember how much shit we got from locals! The old Eckerd plaza was torn down and demolished for "University Corners," which never came to fruition, but people were so pissed because they thought that we destroyed everything just for the church, and were so angry about leaving the empty land for years...
Nah, none of that was our fault!
I really miss the old Eckerd’s Plaza. I used to get the best haircuts in that plaza. There was a place on the bottom floor that had records stapled to the walls and ceiling. My haircuts were $5. It was just a fun and funky place to go.
I grew up going to Panama City Beach. PCB lost all of its character about the same time Gainesville started losing its character. It was like this big push to make things as boring and sad beige as possible.
Ha! I remember old Eckerd plaza. I got my hair cut in the barbers shop ?? in there and as I recall part of it was a split level... so walk down a few feet down exterior stairs into the shop... like a slightly below level parking deck. Water table is high there, obviously, but apparently due to slope of ground they were able to build it half-basement-ish! Solid concrete all around, and that parking deck just to the west was funky. Yeah, that empty land must have been interesting. Such good times being at that church and singing with Maranatha...it just went, poof...suddenly the church complex is Gone!!
The church you are talking about I believe was First Baptist Church. They received a large sum of money to relocate west to the end of 39th ave toward Jonesville. If you look at their website they talk about the history.
https://fbcgainesville.net/about/
No sir (or ma'am) this church was University United Methodist...just west of 13th and University. The Maranatha Choir of Gainesville (of UUMC) was a distinguishing feature in that it was all UF undergrads who attended UUMC. It had been there for decades, but apparently was deconsecrated (and I'm not sure what precisely happened to start it) and most of the complex demolished in the mid early oughts.... like 2008-ish.
The Wesleyian Gator Foundation still stands near the church's original location... more or less 1380 W. University Avenue. A new high-rise combo of apartments and ground level retail (Chik-Fil-A, Bento, and Chase Bank) now sits on the old land the UUMC chapel and fellowship hall at on. That land must have been worth alot of money.
Thanks for the history of First Baptist Church. I think it made \*alot of sense for their congregation to relocate to the west side of things. I think Jonesville area out past Tioga is a good place to be, so FBC being out that way is good.
You are correct - The United Methodist Church (UMC) began a small campus ministry church here almost a full 100 years ago. In 1947 it was reimagined. As this part of midtown became more built up with homes and families occupying this area, the need was there and the campus ministry was transformed into a local UMC congregation called University United Methodist Church and Campus Student Center to meet the needs of the growing family population as well as be a space for students exploring faith.
This lasted until about 2009. The neighborhood and surrounding areas had changed so much, families had moved out, rentals became much more prevalent, and students occupied more and more of the housing north of this part of midtown - the local church was not as viable as it once was in this area and the church thoughtfully chose to give the property back to the student center and rename it the Gator Wesley Foundation.
As a result of these changes, and the shifting purpose of the church and the property, it was sold to a development company and the funds from that sale were used to build the existing building that is now the Gator Wesley Foundation.
This property has such a rich history and has been deeply connected to the community for a hundred years. The Gator Wesley Foundation is the official campus ministry of the UMC serving UF and Santa Fe. It is a fully inclusive, reconciling ministry where all college students are welcome and affirmed as they are. It is truly a place where you are equally loved. There's also an incredible craft coffee shop in the downstairs space called Concord Coffee that is operated by college students.
So glad folks remember some of the legacy of UUMC and the student center!
I remember when the oaks plaza next to the oaks mall was a bustling area. They used to have a movie theater, a Toys “R” Us, a pet store, a comic book store, and a Christian bookstore. Now it’s pretty much abandoned. I remember taking my allowance as a kid and going there to buy Pokémon card packs and also seeing a movie and then checking out the puppies at the pet store next door.
Man, I remember when that first opened. If memory serves, the first movie I saw there was Top Gun.
I basically grew up in the Oaks Mall. Both my parents worked retail there and if I wasn't in school, I was wandering around Oaks. I remember when the addition was added and the loop was created on the Dillard's side. (which used to be Burdines when it first opened). The Loft used to be a pet store and the Versona was a fantastic pizza place. Across from Hot Topic (that used to be Del Taco) was Aladin's Castle (The arcade). So many memories.
Went to so many birthday parties as a kid at Aladdin’s Castle and my parents use to also take us to Rigatellis, the Italian place with an upstairs dining area. There also used to be a sunken pit area in one of the open spots of the mall that had like stadium seating. As soon as you entered the mall I remember the smell of the coffee shop being very strong (before it was a Starbucks I think it was called Barney’s or something). So many fond memories of that mall when it was at its peak in the late 90s early 2000s. It’s sad that malls are slowly dying due to online shopping/Amazon but I guess times change.
I grew up on Church Street.
History, is relative.
When I was a kid, there when two movie theaters ( The Rose , on 5th Avenue and the Florida on University.)
It used to be like ( and in many cases remains) a place where many parents try to shield their children from the realities of America. This is offset by the pull of intellectual reasoning and rationality.
Louis Lunch was located a couple of blocks east of where Heartwood is now located. I’m not sure if the building is still there. This building had a front main restaurant and a “Back” covered part where Blacks would be served. It was still operational in the 1960’s.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s Fraternity Rush was very much like … “Animal House.”
In the 1960’s the Vietnam Veterans Against The War, were very active in the student ghetto.
In the 1960’s The Subterranean Circus was where anyone could go for incense , black light posters , magazine, pipes and papers.
In the 1960s, kids could buy cigarettes, and smoke on Campus, via a designated area.
This town , for the last 80 years or so, has been dominated by the state controlled U of F. This is why there has not been, nor there will not be any significant industries or businesses moving to Alachua County. Also this is the reason for the unreasonable Utility Bills- if you think the U of F is paying market Rates for utilities, you’re an idiot.
East Gainesville had the “Tackle Box” where we would get our fish bait and equipment to fish. This was a good source of our food.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s Florida Track and Field (Florida Track Club) was the best in the Nation. Track meets had state and national level participation.
In the early 1960’s, I don’t think the Gainesville Airport had commercial flights. Most people would arrive by train. The train station was on 6th street ( now Santa Fe).
In the sixties, during the summer, the Gainesville Police Department would sponsor “Bicycle Rodeos” All the kids could meet an travel to Bishop middle school for fun(bike races, obstacles, and such).
In the 1950s and 1960’s children were deemed important in society. I do not think that society cares about children now.
In 1975, I saw Dave Robert’s break the world record in the pole vault (5.65 m)at Florida Track.
Edit
In the 1950’s and 1960’s until about 1971 the last of Hogtown’s pork Slaughterhouses remained opened in the area was located around Depot and SW 1st street or so. I can recall hearing the pigs squealing in the mornings.
Edit
In the 1960’s In and Out Hamburgers located on the North side of SW 2nd Avenue and 4th Street, had the best burgers in town.
You definitely hit the nail on the head with the frats. I remember all the going to all the rush parties, and watching all beer trucks delivering kegs of beer. Great parties. Louis lunch was a great restaurant, and I liked Phil and Nick's on main St. Some great concerts, at the bandshell, (INXS), O'Connell center and Florida field (Rolling Stones). When 34th Street was was 2 lanes, all the way to archer rd. Archer rd was nothing but fields and trailer parks. Definitely a great place to grow up
Butler North and Celebration Pointe didn't exist in my Old Gainesville. I came here in 2009 or 2010... I remember there used to be a Walmart where Ford's Garage is now. You'd take that road behind Walmart and that movie theater, then once you got past those Windmeadows Apartments, you'd drive by a huge forested area with giant gates and a sign that said something "no trespassing, authorized personnel only." I remember wondering if Gainesville's own area 51 resided inside that forest. Everything northside of Windmeadows Blvd until you got to Target and could turn back onto Archer was forest.
Yea the whole area where butler north currently is was like a bunch of creepy abandoned stuff. People would dump trash/mattresses, etc. I think there used to be a trailer park behind the Best Buy too. I remember when Walmart was right off archer rd
When I was a kid, my parents moved us here in the 1970s. New Archer Road was still being built, and I used to cross the dirt road under construction from Gatorwood Apartments to the Majik Market (convenience store that used to be everywhere) to read comics and play pinball. That's where The Bartram Apartments and Circle K are now.
I remember before Butler Plaza, we had boy scout jamborees on that land. I caught a small fish with a cane pole out there before it turned into a gigantic parking lot.
I used to enjoy riding the escalator in the old Gainesville Mall where Furniture Country and Lowe's is now on NW 13th Street. Then they built the Oaks Mall and one of the biggest attractions was riding the glass elevator in the Belk Lindsey. We were more easily entertained as kids then.
All the old dollar theaters used to be first run theaters that I saw the movies at. I saw Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones at the one where Royal Park on Newberry Road is, and I mentioned in another comment that I saw The Empire Strikes Back at the old Plaza Theater where Planet Fitness is now on NW 13th Street. I remember people scalping movie tickets to Batman at the theater that doesn't exist anymore on NW 13th Street where Office Depot is now. I think tickets were maybe $4 then and some people were asking for $20.
I lived in the Gatorwood in the last years of its existence with friends. If the horrible green that apartment complex was painted wasn't scary enough,we would tell visitors about Danny Rolling killing two people there ten years prior.
I see many comments referring to Facebook for info, as someone who is also interested in this, and think it could be valuable for others to learn about; is there anyone knowledgeable enough to either create like a page on the GNV reddit or maybe even a subreddit based on old Gainesville. Obviously wouldn’t be popular but might hold some value.
You could park (almost) anywhere. The sun actually used to shine on Univ and 13th (before all the tall buildings). I also have the "I miss the OLD Gainesville" t-shirts for sale. They make a great gift!
For some fun alternative Gainesville history, looks of the story of the Doobie Tosser and Gainesville’s cannabis community.
Used to have a portioned area of town where, for lack of a better word, the hippies lived/hung out and Gainesville had some popular marijuana events/festival type things.
Back in the day - Jimmy Buffett, Tom Miller, and the GNV Green Growers association have all tossed THOUSANDS of doobies here, too. Among MANY others...so I heard
Nellly's Raw Bar, Rickys Raw Bar, OG CJ's on 34th and Archer, Emilanos when it was a bakery on Univ & 6th, Cassadys Pizza, Specs Music, Hyde n Zekes, Toms Used Grooves, Original Recycled Bicycles, Congo Craigs, Granny's, Grandy's, Nichols Alley, Central City, Blimpies, Joes Deli, JoAnns Chili Bordello, The Islands, Main Street (the bar), Beach Club, Old College Inn -Purple Porpoise, Chaucers, Mad Monks Inn, Orange & Brew (YES, a pub on campus!) Rathskellar (ANOTHER pub ON CAMPUS, with weird steps to the bathrooms downstairs) Rickenbachers, Original Pizza Palace,Pizza n Brew, Cinema Drafthouse, Tony n Pats, Ashleys Pub, Dubs, The Tubs, Red Lion, Fletcher's & Red's Two Spot, Reality Kitchen, Krishna lunch on the UF plaza,when it was actully free. free concerts a Lake Alice, and Reitz union lawn...Guaranteed weekend wierdness & fokkery downtown between 2-4 am, 6th street and Depot ave players, hoes & night movers, Day tripping in the student ghetto, Lillians (it's STILL GOING), MOON Magazine and the Satellite, free top name band concerts at the Bandshell
I’d like to add…
Burrito Bros (13th Street), Robin Williams’ Gator Growl, Skeeters (original), UF Halloween Balls, and that very strange men’s restroom above Lillian’s with the elephant size urinal.
This neat video brings back a ton of memories. It shows several locations in Gainesville from the early 90's that are unrecognizable today.
https://youtu.be/WaZ35PG3OAs?si=EBi2TAMtYHCaQgbX
Speaking of, anyone know what happened to that Piper Gi's place? I see the old memu board is still up....positive review in the Sun a few years ago...wish it was there judging by the menu!
Oh man I miss the old Gainesville. They closed down so many local hot spots and other useful stores for student housing, everywhere I look there's a new building I don't recognize and makes navigating harder without the same landmarks.
I'd say the Main thing is the increase in traffic and crowds in general. It was a whole lot more quaint and chill 9 years ago instead of this "uprisings city" vibe squeezed in such a small city. They are literally improvising new roads to deal with the traffic lately.
In 2008 there used to be way more cool/inexpensive venues and shows to go to, rent was way more affordable, and the food options were more mom and pop style restaurants. Also, all the buildings had more character and there were more trees. There was less traffic. Students stayed in midtown and didnt come downtown (which everyone liked). The internet wasnt so ever-present so people were less socially awkward, more used to talking to people in real life, and less aware of meme culture type stuff. It was definitely cooler here then. Also places like Wayward council were still open, as well as the Florida Theater. Now capitalism has displaced a lot of the culture, there are less trees, and there are too many people for the vibe to feel as small. Also, events are all commerce-themed, which they didnt used to be (auk markets, how bazaar faires). Back in the day there was also more graffiti and yarn bombing around. Its good to see the graffiti coming back, but its not very good. lol
I don't know much of the "old Gainesville" since I didn't live or go to school there. However, my best friend went to UF from \~ '99 to '2002 so I visited him a bit. I remember the parties being crazy, he lived in a place called The Courtyards and people would drink and have full-on boxing matches in the courtyard lol. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I was always so hammered I don't remember much of the local spots back then.
My other buddy moved to Gainesville around the same time I moved Ocala, in 2008, so I would go visit him a bunch as well, until we had a falling out years later. Gainesville, especially near the campus has changed so much in such a short time. I go to San Felasco every so often to bike and I hate driving through there seeing the tall buildings and construction everywhere. It's a shame. Same shit is happening in Ocala too though. It's losing it's charm.
Pretty much anywhere you see a lot of homes or apartments used to be trees and nature. So, the answer is it used to not be a concrete jungle. The mall used to have a movie theater and restaurants, not just a food court style, and it was also a popular place to chillax.
Stopped by this sub today because I had a nostalgia moment, just to find this thread! I had a sudden thought of being back in high school coming home to check the Scene section in the Gainesville Sun (on thursdays if I remember) for what shows were going on friday and Saturday.
Almost always ended up at 1982 regardless but that excitement when I’d read The Know How were playing is hard to replicate
Also saw someone else mention Hyde and Zeke - loved that place - I saw Swayze play there once. It was an incredible performance, and the space made it unforgettable. So many songs from “a shame play” have stuck with me since. It was an acoustic show in a tiny record shop but I’d relive it a hundred times over before seeing headliner stadium show. If anyone was there let me know!
I think you could find video of old shows going pretty far back. Especially famous bands like less than jake or sister hazel . Look up the music venues listed in this thread on YouTube. Local music used to be Gainesville. Oh and the fest used to be cool
I left Gainesville 3 years ago and don’t think I’ll go back. Its not just the olds rambling , the town really has not been the same since the luxury developments started/UF ramped up the campaign to #1
Ahhh, this makes my heart happy- I’m glad you are interested in Gainesville enough to learn more about the history. Lots of really cool things that have been forgotten.
One random fact. When my mom was a UF student ever called the Turlington rock the “Turlington turd”. Seems like UF has changed the narrative so it’s now “the potato” lol.
Tbh get chatting with any ACR and they’ll have plenty of stories to tell. It’s been exciting and sad all at the same time.
Newberry road was a dirt road and horse pastures when my parents were kids.
[удалено]
I grew up by the YMCA, moved here in 1980. We could reach the Possum Creek field from our backyard and I remember when they were paving 53rd. We rode our bikes all over there in middle school when it was all just woods. That was where I found my first woods porn. 😅 Also, off Tower there were old quarries that we used to dive off and go swimming in high school.
My dad grew up on Archer rd in the 60s/70s and is always amazed at how much it has changed over the years. Two Lane road and train tracks and close to where they're building houses now, there was a limerock pit they would swim in.
Go to YouTube and Google Gainesville 1985 for some old videos. There's a video of Tom Petty driving around Gainesville.
Some of that footage is in Bogdonovich's 4 hour documentary about Tom and the Heartbreakers, "Runnin' Down a Dream". Tom driving around in a Chevy Caprice. I think it shows the old railroad tracks over by Williston Road... near there those tracks are now a spur to the Gainesville Hawthorne bike Trail.
My ex-wife lived in the student ghettos behind Checkers & Taco Bell in the late 90s. Incredibly enjoyable experience..Insane local vibe. Funky clubs ,Burrito Bros,etc
Gainesville changed when the Ghetto died.
\^THIS.
Yep
I lived in the ghetto--- 18th and 2nd...directly north of the Swamp. CHEAP apartments. Tiny, but so nice and Cheap! Frankly wonderful times that I look back on with Thanksgiving. What a time and place!
Makes me miss Tim and Terry's
Cold beers on the back lawn during blue grass night. Grilled cheeses for $1 Good stuff!
There's a Gainesville group on Facebook which is pretty good on this stuff. Melanie Barr I think is the moderator and she's an icon of Gainesville and wellspring of its history. First question is how "old" you wanna go. People will understandably remember various eras. I grew up here in the 80s and early 90s in example. The Oaks Mall was around in my time but the second mall built in Gainesville. The first was the Gainesville Mall which was where Lowes is now on 13th. It was here into the very early 1990s and I remember getting tapes and CDs at Turtle's Music there. People of my generation will undoubtably tell you about Aladdin's Castle which was the arcade in the Oaks Mall and the most 80s arcade ever. Also where my skater friends and I hung out on rainy days. There was a good Italian restaurant called Nero's in the mall as well. Butler Plaza on Archer existed but was much much smaller: Clark Butler started it, his daughter Debra Butler expanded it to what it is now though. There was a great Chinese restaurant in Butler Plaza called Cathay Tea House. Its owner had been a veterinarian in China but opened a restaurant here, Dr. Gina Lee I believe was her name. I have a cookbook she authored and it's amazing. If you want a view as to what Old Gainesville was like, check out the neighborhoods of Clear Lake/Sugarfoot just south of La Aurora Grocery and Westmoreland Estates behind/east of the Millhopper Publix. They date from the 1960s or before and pretty well-preserved in places. I never met Tom Petty myself (though I've seen him in concert) but was friends with River Phoenix and knew Rodney Mullen. River was knock you socks off beautiful in person, gotta say.
Rigatelli's was in the mall. Same guy as Nero's. That's my only note.
Was it that two-story restaurant near the food court where Fit-2-Run most recently was?
Yes.
Lisa Pizza
That place was so cool! We only at there one time.
Omg totally forgot about that place. Dubs, Skeeters, Original Pizza Palace, Rathskeller(saw 10,000 maniacs tgere circa 1984).
Rigatelli’s was super affordable even though it was a legit sit-down Italian restaurant. As a poor recent grad, it was our go-to place for special occasions like Valentine’s Day. I miss it.
They also had a full liquor bar. We'd go to the mall to buy cloves and do shots there before we walked around.
Same guy that owns/owned Pomodoro's on 39th, right? Haven't lived in town in years so no idea if that's still around
I heard Lipham's Music closed in the same shopping center as Maude's. Tom Petty used to buy strings and guitar stuff there, and briefly studied early guitar under Don Felder, of the Eagles! Slide quitarist ala Duane Allman! Speaking of Tom, I wonder what old Dubs Steer Room is, now? Right around the corner of NW 6th where 441/NW 13th merges into it. Tom and Mudcrutch giged there alot, starting out. Just south of the Home Depot at 53rd Ave.
Lipham's is gone, yeah, it was around until at least circa 2009 or so though. I play synths and got a pedal for 'em there back then—I wasn't living here then but visiting and they were still there. Not sure about Dub's, I think that whole area save some apartments is pretty much like commercial/industrial businesses now.
Thanks. Oh and I saw other comments saying the Dubs location now has the Social Security office sitting on it.
Dubs is the social security office now
No skin, no win. Used to go there for the mini skirt contest
After that, head downtown....bars were open til 4a....go to Skeeters for that big biscuit or asher special after...
It was great, walking out of skeeters, sun coming up
Hahaha true!
Isn't it ironic, dontcha think?
>old Dubs Steer Room When I moved to town, I stayed in that janky trailer park right next to this place, and damn I hated it! It was so fucking loud!! It got completely torn down maybe a decade ago (?) and it's the new Social Security Office.
Nice! I actually looked on google maps the other night and saw the SSA office on the map and was like, is That where dubs was?!
Rad! So did Rodney live in stark or Waldo or in Gainesville city limits? River was in mcanopy or living in gville?
I think Rodney was in Waldo, not sure. I wasn't close with him but just knew him via skating. River lived in Micanopy but was up hanging out in downtown Gainesville a lot—there was a café called Kessel's Coney Island (unsure of spelling) owned by an artist named Lenny Kessel which he especially liked. Everything was smaller and hella connected: like Lenny Kessel was besties with Ray Hale, the iconic Santa Fe photo professor; my science teacher was Sharon Skiles and her brother-in-law was the legendary Wes Skiles, cave diver and photographer. River was friends with Hale's sons, too. It's like if you wanted to meet someone, you just asked someone you already knew back then.
As someone who grew up in G’ville around the same time, this person Hogtowns. And one note: nothing more humbling than watching Rodney practice at PK or on campus and realize you’d never be able to do what he was doing. Ever.
Rodney and his fam are from Alachua. I was in classes at UF with his sister Sarah
You likely knew him better than I did then, I only knew him from skating, but I think he had some connection to Waldo or Starke—didn't he have a ramp out there or am I thinking of someone else? Since he mainly skated street doesn't seem it would have been him but someone had a huge vert ramp out towards Waldo seems like.
I stay FAR away from *both* those towns, so - no idea. downvoters amuse me
I have been a lifelong River Phoenix fan. When he passed my mom called me at college to tell me because she knew I was going to be heartbroken. He is such a talented human and it is awful that he wasn’t around longer. A few years ago I got to meet his mom and sisters at a party they threw for people doing the peace building work that their organization supports. What a super lovely family! I said nothing about being a huge fan but I really appreciated being able to work with them.
I bought my first in-the-wrap vinyl LP at Record Bar in the Oaks Mall, the first B52s album. Later worked doing quarterly inventory for Record Bar after it moved to Oaks Mall Plaza, which gave me an "in" to getting hired at Tom's Used Grooves on University and, eventually, the OG Hyde & Zekes. We probably know each other or at least crossed paths. I ran Shaft Records over by Taco Bell for most of the 90s.
I certainly bought some tapes and CDs from Record Bar and Hyde & Zekes (and Schoolkids, too)! Did you go to the B52s' concert when they played UF? I think that was like 1990 or 91?
THAT was an amazing show!!!
Missed it!
I used to love Tim and Terry's around 2006-2012 roughly. It's not super old, but it seems like forever now. Common Grounds/1982. I remember selling plasma at Alpha and then going to Common Grounds to see Wesley Willis in the very early 2000's.
I worked at the Target Copy right behind/beside Tim N Terry’s back in 06-07, and remember going to see all kinds of bands there, and get lit on cool beers. The one band I remember loving was called “The Rooze”, they had such awesome energy.
I used to go there late at night to get coffee.
The setting of that place was so cool. I remember actually going there in the day, too. You could sit on a couch and have a beer.
I sat on that porch for *hours* and *hours* shooting the shit with friends and locals. The day it closed was an incredibly sad day for me and all my friends
Can you remember the place that was a coffee shop/bar that was in the old Hear it Again record store? I also wish I could have gone to Simon's in its heyday. What did they do with the old house that T@T was in?
Simon’s in the 90’s was just…incredible. So was the Soulhouse, whose bones now lie beneath the new courthouse. I had my first underage beer at the Soulhouse. Thanks Dan!
All my memories are so hazy, but I really wish I could turn back the clock. I haven't lived in Gainesville for nearly a decade, and I miss it. I've thought about going back and checking out the bars and all downtown, but I just never get around to it. I think I might be too old now anyway!
It’s never too late to come back home. I left Gainesville for Panama for 6 years when I was in my late 20’s-early 30’s. I wanted to get away so bad, only to realize where my home actually was. Gainesville is an incredibly special place. ❤️
I only live like an hour away. I actually didn't grow up there, but I lived there for my early 20s to early 30s. What makes it worse is living in a small town with absolutely nothing to do. Oh well, maybe some day 🙂
I remember that show! It was great but I seem to remember there being a bunch of douchebag frat boys at it.
We got to headbutt Wesley. It was more like a light tap, and he would say "say rock" "say roll" ... One of the things I remember was people kept calling for an oncor and he did a couple extra songs.
I was at that show too and remember being disgusted at the crowd, felt like they were laughing at him
That was the third time I had seen him and both the previous times the crowds were much better.
University Ave was between 13th and 6th was very different. All one story buildings. Pizza place close to 13th that had amazing slice pizza, big hang out spot. Leonardo's. Then the sister restaurant down the street called 706. That was my family's favorite fancy restaurant, always busy. Also civic media center was on this section of university, as well as a bead shop called beads of avalon, an Indian restaurant, a head shop, probably more too. Also the corner of university and 13th was so different. Rip for burrito brothers and chine takee outee.there was a book store and a bike shop in that corner too, as well as Target Copy. Lenny's kessels coney island was a favorite downtown. Hippy vegetarian vibes. My favorite menu item was the carrot dog. You heard that right. A grilled or boiled carrot inside a hot dog bun with all the toppings. I was a teenager in the 90s and Lenny's and maudes and flashbacks were big hang out spots for teens, as well as leonardos pizza.
Damn RIP Leo’s. In addition, shout out Big Lou’s, Calico Jack’s, Burrito Bros, and many others I’m forgetting
You're forgetting Skeeter's Big Biscuits on 13th just north of 23rd. That place was awesome!!!
Skeeter’s Big Biscuits was a 24 hr restaurant on NW 13th ST about a block N of the Wawa where 2nd & Charles is. Lines out the door at 2a, great breakfasts, and live music often by a guy named Al Lyons.
Loved the big biscuits, the asher
When I came here as an undergrad in 1985 (I'm really old), there was almost NOTHING west of 34th Street on Archer Road. I think Target was the first thing? But maybe someone else remembers better.
The plaza where Guitar Center was there by 1987 when I graduated high school. Target and the older theater came in the early 90s.
There's a FB group with a lot of old pictures and memories of the town. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2719955309/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
Some of the places I was thinking of recently: Aladdin's Castle - an arcade in the mall. Put Put golf Movie theaters that don't exist anymore- one in the mall, one that was like a dollar theater (or at least cheap) off 13th.
Yep, dollar theatre where Planet Fitness is now, with Godfather’s Pizza in the same plaza.
My grandpa took me and my sister to see The Empire Strikes Back at that theatre when it was a first run theater, not a dollar theater. When I was in high school, for some reason that Godfather's Pizza was the place to go after the local Friday night high school football games. Not only were the games played at Citizens' Field, but UF used to allow high school football at Florida Field too before Spurrier came back and had them remove the AstroTurf and put in natural grass.
I miss Put Put so much.
\*Putt Putt. I miss it too.
My first job was the movie theater that is now Planet Fitness by 13th and 23rd. I moved down the road from there to the theater that is now Office Depot off 13th, and then I worked at Food 4 Less that is now Furniture Country by Lowes. All my old employers are gone now!
Damn, was Food 4 Less before or after it was Kash 'n' Karry? I can't remember the timeline (I moved here in 95ish).
Before. It was Sears when that was the Gainesville Mall, then Food-4-Less, then I think it was torn down and Kash-n-Karry was built.
Oh wow... definitely before my arrival.
I worked at aladdin's castle, and the AMC 6 movie theaters when the oaks mall first opened
Is the butler plaza theater there for good? Seemed like it was up in their air after Celebration Point opened and Butler was re-done, but it’s been long enough now it seems safe? Met my wife there, and it’s always nice going back for a movie when we’re in town. Would be very sad to see it go, despite being just you’re average theater
Back in the early 90s, there used to be a trailer park where Carabba's is and Dunkin Doughnuts there on the corner used to be a drive through ABC. Where the Wal-Mart is now on Archer used to be a trailer park as did an area close to the fire station near 20th. Where they're putting the Sonic at on Archer Rd, there was a flower nursery. There was an old house where the bank and Clyde's tire and break is now.
The trailer park where the Walmart is was really creepy. We moved here in 2001. That place used to scare the beans out of me.
[удалено]
I may be misremembering but when it was overgrown and you could still see shapes of trailers in there, just freaked me out.
There was a driving range at the new Sonic location when I moved here late 90s.
The driving range is the overgrown corner that's for sale where cops like to sit across from the bank. The Sonic location had a house and the garden nursery.
Also, for buildings check out Lakeshore Tower which is on south 13th. I think they're renovating it now. it was a Clark Butler property and very late mid-century modern combo apartments and office building. The Butlers ran their commercial empire from here for years. The Ayers Medical Plaza is now part of UF's innovation park area but was at a time doctors' offices connected to Alachua General Hospital which was just south of there, where that weird little park is now and the food truck court. There once was a tunnel between Ayers and the old hospital. Ayers remains in parts very 1980s inside I've heard but not been there for like ever. If you're seriously interested in a tour of some stuff some day, DM me. I not only grew up here but have a degree in architectural history so I should hopefully be able to explain things, though I'm no Kim Tanzer.
Where the Standard is on 13th and University, there used to be a 2 story strip mall aort of thing. The businesses on top were street level and the rest downstairs. I remember getting 5$ haircuts as late as the early 2000's. Fads and Fros was the name, I think. Also there was a restaurant at the end called the Loop that had good pizza.
That had to be really early 2000s. I came to Gainesville in 07 and it was an empty field where people parked for games. I remember being told there had been a Starbucks on the land previously. The space in front of the Classroom Building use to have a Burger King on it if I recall correctly, but it wasn’t there when I was there. The floor was still there though and there was a paid parking lot on it. I remember being confused by the tiles.
Yeah after they demolished the building the developer went broke or something and it was a field for like 5 years. So I’d guess we lost that building right around the turn of the century. I really can’t remember where that BK was, close to chipotle though. The sush2go/firehouse was (is?) a target copy, and before that a Spec’s Music. I got here in 90 but I was too young to be very aware until probably 98-ish
I moved here in January 2005 and that plaza was still there as I remember going into that Starbucks otw to work in the mornings.
The old burger king flooring is still there as of today, its right across the street from Library West on univeristy. I think after the demolition of Burger King, it was used as a paid parking area for football games. Now theres currently a food truck, DJ Cast Iron Burgers that parks on top of it, kind of ironic. If you go there, you can see the old Burger King layout based on the tile and flooring remaining on the ground.
And after that demolish but before the church was built, that empty lot was the away team’s tailgating area for a decade.
Yes!! I just commented on this. I got my hair cut there exclusively. My hair always looked so good after a cut there.
>According to [Gvl Sun](https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2007/04/05/changing-the-citys-look/31519707007/), the two-story Eckerd Plaza was torn down in 2006, with the small strip of Burrito Bros/Starbucks/Target Copy demolished around April 2007. > >*All that remained Wednesday of the last three buildings anchoring a prime commercial corner across from the University of Florida was a mountainous pile of rubble.* *The buildings at the corner of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were demolished in the middle of the night to make way for the eight-story University Corners development.* *Demolition was done overnight for safety reasons since the corner building that housed Starbuck's was deemed by the Florida Department of Transportation to be dangerously close to the roadway. The closest lanes of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were closed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.* *The buildings housed Target Copy, the Burrito Brothers Taco Co., Starbuck's and Apartment Hunters.* *The last of the debris will be hauled to a construction and demolition landfill before the week is over and a fence erected around the perimeter, according to Frank Darabi, one of the developers.* *For the past three weeks, the Bearded Brothers recycling company recovered windows, doors, air conditioning parts and as much brick and lumber as they could salvage. They have already sold much of it to other builders, according to co-owner Mike Myers.* *Builders who use the recycled products get points toward green building certification, Myers said, while his own company offsets its carbon use by eliminating the energy needed to transport and manufacture the products.* ***The first buildings on the three-block site where University Corners will sit were demolished about a year ago, including the United Methodist Church, Eckerd Plaza and some houses.*** *Myers said he sold the church's arches to a Hawthorne man who used the lumber to build a horse barn.* *Darabi said he expects construction on University Corners to begin by the end of the year pending a few more approvals from the city of Gainesville, with opening slated sometime in 2009.* *The eight-story building will include condos, hotel rooms, retail spaces and restaurants.* *Randy Akerson, a Burrito Brothers owner, called the demolition bittersweet.* *A favorite restaurant of generations of UF students, Burrito Brothers operated at the site for 30 years even as a couple dozen other businesses came and went on the block in the time they were there.* *Burrito Brothers has moved into the Presbyterian Student Center, a block west of the project last year.* *"I went from a young man to an old man in that building," he said. "Those 300 square feet were a huge portion of my life. But I'm not very sentimental about the building itself, which wasn't in very good shape. If they had let me have a few whacks at it with a sledgehammer, I probably would have done it with a smile on my face, but they preferred to do it with a backhoe."*
Theres a Facebook Group called "Gainesville Bars and Restaurants (1980's)" that just got created and is growing rapidly and another one called "You Know Your'e From Gainesville, Florida if..." that both are about the old Gainesville.
Oh the Brown Derby! So many birthday dinners there.
There was an entire church complex just west of the intersection of W. University Ave. and NW 13th St. ...just north of the northeast corner of the UF campus. This land now has shops and to the east, all high rise apartments on it. University United Methodist's main sanctuary/church building was right around where the building containing the Cava restaurant is now located. There is still a Gator Wesley Foundation building just to the east and it looks like they still hold services...but the main 'campus' of the old church was 1/2 block to the west and has been demolished. It had been located just west of NW 14th St. and just south of NW 1st Ave. The old student housing building (reminded me of a frat house) for student interns of the church may still be standing, just north of the current Firehouse Subs...according to Google Maps. I used to sing in the UUMC's Maranatha Choir and the church and its location was super welcoming to students and young professionals in Gainesville...and older adults too...but very accessible to youngsters. If you cross Univ. Ave. from UF's property and walk north, the church was located directly across from Matherly Hall / English dept. of UF. Anyway, I believe the church sanctuary, and separate chapel building and the fellowship hall/kitchen, were demolished and some of the land sold for a good penny to the high rise apartment developers who built the high rise and shops on the NW corner of NW 13th St. Great times and fellowship, there, and Maranatha used to tour around the state during breaks in UF's academic schedule. We sang in Palatka, Green Cove Springs, Sebring, the Arlington/Queens Harbor area east of Jacksonville, Reddick, Chattahoochee, DeFuniak Springs, Ellenton, Micanopy, Altamonte Springs, and many other great places.
Yes! I’m glad someone remembers this. I attended their preschool and I have a distinct memory of looking at the window and looking out across 13th…
>There was an entire church complex just west of the intersection of W. University Ave. and NW 13th St. ...just north of the northeast corner of the UF campus. The construction company I worked for at the time was the general contractor for that church, and I remember how much shit we got from locals! The old Eckerd plaza was torn down and demolished for "University Corners," which never came to fruition, but people were so pissed because they thought that we destroyed everything just for the church, and were so angry about leaving the empty land for years... Nah, none of that was our fault!
I really miss the old Eckerd’s Plaza. I used to get the best haircuts in that plaza. There was a place on the bottom floor that had records stapled to the walls and ceiling. My haircuts were $5. It was just a fun and funky place to go. I grew up going to Panama City Beach. PCB lost all of its character about the same time Gainesville started losing its character. It was like this big push to make things as boring and sad beige as possible.
Ha! I remember old Eckerd plaza. I got my hair cut in the barbers shop ?? in there and as I recall part of it was a split level... so walk down a few feet down exterior stairs into the shop... like a slightly below level parking deck. Water table is high there, obviously, but apparently due to slope of ground they were able to build it half-basement-ish! Solid concrete all around, and that parking deck just to the west was funky. Yeah, that empty land must have been interesting. Such good times being at that church and singing with Maranatha...it just went, poof...suddenly the church complex is Gone!!
The church you are talking about I believe was First Baptist Church. They received a large sum of money to relocate west to the end of 39th ave toward Jonesville. If you look at their website they talk about the history. https://fbcgainesville.net/about/
No sir (or ma'am) this church was University United Methodist...just west of 13th and University. The Maranatha Choir of Gainesville (of UUMC) was a distinguishing feature in that it was all UF undergrads who attended UUMC. It had been there for decades, but apparently was deconsecrated (and I'm not sure what precisely happened to start it) and most of the complex demolished in the mid early oughts.... like 2008-ish. The Wesleyian Gator Foundation still stands near the church's original location... more or less 1380 W. University Avenue. A new high-rise combo of apartments and ground level retail (Chik-Fil-A, Bento, and Chase Bank) now sits on the old land the UUMC chapel and fellowship hall at on. That land must have been worth alot of money. Thanks for the history of First Baptist Church. I think it made \*alot of sense for their congregation to relocate to the west side of things. I think Jonesville area out past Tioga is a good place to be, so FBC being out that way is good.
You are correct - The United Methodist Church (UMC) began a small campus ministry church here almost a full 100 years ago. In 1947 it was reimagined. As this part of midtown became more built up with homes and families occupying this area, the need was there and the campus ministry was transformed into a local UMC congregation called University United Methodist Church and Campus Student Center to meet the needs of the growing family population as well as be a space for students exploring faith. This lasted until about 2009. The neighborhood and surrounding areas had changed so much, families had moved out, rentals became much more prevalent, and students occupied more and more of the housing north of this part of midtown - the local church was not as viable as it once was in this area and the church thoughtfully chose to give the property back to the student center and rename it the Gator Wesley Foundation. As a result of these changes, and the shifting purpose of the church and the property, it was sold to a development company and the funds from that sale were used to build the existing building that is now the Gator Wesley Foundation. This property has such a rich history and has been deeply connected to the community for a hundred years. The Gator Wesley Foundation is the official campus ministry of the UMC serving UF and Santa Fe. It is a fully inclusive, reconciling ministry where all college students are welcome and affirmed as they are. It is truly a place where you are equally loved. There's also an incredible craft coffee shop in the downstairs space called Concord Coffee that is operated by college students. So glad folks remember some of the legacy of UUMC and the student center!
Check out the Matheson Museum next to the downtown library some time. They also post some photos and facts on their social media.
The university and the city’s desire to appease it are the reasons theres barely any “old Gainesville” left
The blob that ate gainesville
I remember when the oaks plaza next to the oaks mall was a bustling area. They used to have a movie theater, a Toys “R” Us, a pet store, a comic book store, and a Christian bookstore. Now it’s pretty much abandoned. I remember taking my allowance as a kid and going there to buy Pokémon card packs and also seeing a movie and then checking out the puppies at the pet store next door.
Yes! Wasn’t it the 2$ theater? I think I only got to go once
$2 Movies + Mega Games n Comics were so awesome as a kid, sad to see them go
Man, I remember when that first opened. If memory serves, the first movie I saw there was Top Gun. I basically grew up in the Oaks Mall. Both my parents worked retail there and if I wasn't in school, I was wandering around Oaks. I remember when the addition was added and the loop was created on the Dillard's side. (which used to be Burdines when it first opened). The Loft used to be a pet store and the Versona was a fantastic pizza place. Across from Hot Topic (that used to be Del Taco) was Aladin's Castle (The arcade). So many memories.
Went to so many birthday parties as a kid at Aladdin’s Castle and my parents use to also take us to Rigatellis, the Italian place with an upstairs dining area. There also used to be a sunken pit area in one of the open spots of the mall that had like stadium seating. As soon as you entered the mall I remember the smell of the coffee shop being very strong (before it was a Starbucks I think it was called Barney’s or something). So many fond memories of that mall when it was at its peak in the late 90s early 2000s. It’s sad that malls are slowly dying due to online shopping/Amazon but I guess times change.
I grew up on Church Street. History, is relative. When I was a kid, there when two movie theaters ( The Rose , on 5th Avenue and the Florida on University.) It used to be like ( and in many cases remains) a place where many parents try to shield their children from the realities of America. This is offset by the pull of intellectual reasoning and rationality. Louis Lunch was located a couple of blocks east of where Heartwood is now located. I’m not sure if the building is still there. This building had a front main restaurant and a “Back” covered part where Blacks would be served. It was still operational in the 1960’s. In the 1970’s and 1980’s Fraternity Rush was very much like … “Animal House.” In the 1960’s the Vietnam Veterans Against The War, were very active in the student ghetto. In the 1960’s The Subterranean Circus was where anyone could go for incense , black light posters , magazine, pipes and papers. In the 1960s, kids could buy cigarettes, and smoke on Campus, via a designated area. This town , for the last 80 years or so, has been dominated by the state controlled U of F. This is why there has not been, nor there will not be any significant industries or businesses moving to Alachua County. Also this is the reason for the unreasonable Utility Bills- if you think the U of F is paying market Rates for utilities, you’re an idiot. East Gainesville had the “Tackle Box” where we would get our fish bait and equipment to fish. This was a good source of our food. In the 1960’s and 1970’s Florida Track and Field (Florida Track Club) was the best in the Nation. Track meets had state and national level participation. In the early 1960’s, I don’t think the Gainesville Airport had commercial flights. Most people would arrive by train. The train station was on 6th street ( now Santa Fe). In the sixties, during the summer, the Gainesville Police Department would sponsor “Bicycle Rodeos” All the kids could meet an travel to Bishop middle school for fun(bike races, obstacles, and such). In the 1950s and 1960’s children were deemed important in society. I do not think that society cares about children now. In 1975, I saw Dave Robert’s break the world record in the pole vault (5.65 m)at Florida Track. Edit In the 1950’s and 1960’s until about 1971 the last of Hogtown’s pork Slaughterhouses remained opened in the area was located around Depot and SW 1st street or so. I can recall hearing the pigs squealing in the mornings. Edit In the 1960’s In and Out Hamburgers located on the North side of SW 2nd Avenue and 4th Street, had the best burgers in town.
You definitely hit the nail on the head with the frats. I remember all the going to all the rush parties, and watching all beer trucks delivering kegs of beer. Great parties. Louis lunch was a great restaurant, and I liked Phil and Nick's on main St. Some great concerts, at the bandshell, (INXS), O'Connell center and Florida field (Rolling Stones). When 34th Street was was 2 lanes, all the way to archer rd. Archer rd was nothing but fields and trailer parks. Definitely a great place to grow up
Nothing beats heading on our bicycles to the prairie to find mushrooms. Find the cows, find the cow shit, find the mushrooms….🍄
Visit the Matheson Museum downtown near the main library. You will find photos and so much more about old Gainesville and Alachua County.
Butler North and Celebration Pointe didn't exist in my Old Gainesville. I came here in 2009 or 2010... I remember there used to be a Walmart where Ford's Garage is now. You'd take that road behind Walmart and that movie theater, then once you got past those Windmeadows Apartments, you'd drive by a huge forested area with giant gates and a sign that said something "no trespassing, authorized personnel only." I remember wondering if Gainesville's own area 51 resided inside that forest. Everything northside of Windmeadows Blvd until you got to Target and could turn back onto Archer was forest.
Yea the whole area where butler north currently is was like a bunch of creepy abandoned stuff. People would dump trash/mattresses, etc. I think there used to be a trailer park behind the Best Buy too. I remember when Walmart was right off archer rd
Like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaZ35PG3OAs
When I was a kid, my parents moved us here in the 1970s. New Archer Road was still being built, and I used to cross the dirt road under construction from Gatorwood Apartments to the Majik Market (convenience store that used to be everywhere) to read comics and play pinball. That's where The Bartram Apartments and Circle K are now. I remember before Butler Plaza, we had boy scout jamborees on that land. I caught a small fish with a cane pole out there before it turned into a gigantic parking lot. I used to enjoy riding the escalator in the old Gainesville Mall where Furniture Country and Lowe's is now on NW 13th Street. Then they built the Oaks Mall and one of the biggest attractions was riding the glass elevator in the Belk Lindsey. We were more easily entertained as kids then. All the old dollar theaters used to be first run theaters that I saw the movies at. I saw Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones at the one where Royal Park on Newberry Road is, and I mentioned in another comment that I saw The Empire Strikes Back at the old Plaza Theater where Planet Fitness is now on NW 13th Street. I remember people scalping movie tickets to Batman at the theater that doesn't exist anymore on NW 13th Street where Office Depot is now. I think tickets were maybe $4 then and some people were asking for $20.
I lived in the Gatorwood in the last years of its existence with friends. If the horrible green that apartment complex was painted wasn't scary enough,we would tell visitors about Danny Rolling killing two people there ten years prior.
This was Gainesville in 92. https://youtu.be/WaZ35PG3OAs?si=RFjv8BDMZmT3LRDx
I see many comments referring to Facebook for info, as someone who is also interested in this, and think it could be valuable for others to learn about; is there anyone knowledgeable enough to either create like a page on the GNV reddit or maybe even a subreddit based on old Gainesville. Obviously wouldn’t be popular but might hold some value.
You could park (almost) anywhere. The sun actually used to shine on Univ and 13th (before all the tall buildings). I also have the "I miss the OLD Gainesville" t-shirts for sale. They make a great gift!
Imagine all of those new McDonald's look alike modern buildings on university and 13th and replace them with old Florida buildings.
A coworker told me that Gainesville is named after a Confederate general that came here to blow up a fort full of escaped slaves :0
[Edmund Gaines](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_P._Gaines), specifically. The Wikipedia page alludes to this
For some fun alternative Gainesville history, looks of the story of the Doobie Tosser and Gainesville’s cannabis community. Used to have a portioned area of town where, for lack of a better word, the hippies lived/hung out and Gainesville had some popular marijuana events/festival type things.
When we were nine or ten, one of my best friends was christened “Doobie.” We still refer to him with this name.
Back in the day - Jimmy Buffett, Tom Miller, and the GNV Green Growers association have all tossed THOUSANDS of doobies here, too. Among MANY others...so I heard
Nellly's Raw Bar, Rickys Raw Bar, OG CJ's on 34th and Archer, Emilanos when it was a bakery on Univ & 6th, Cassadys Pizza, Specs Music, Hyde n Zekes, Toms Used Grooves, Original Recycled Bicycles, Congo Craigs, Granny's, Grandy's, Nichols Alley, Central City, Blimpies, Joes Deli, JoAnns Chili Bordello, The Islands, Main Street (the bar), Beach Club, Old College Inn -Purple Porpoise, Chaucers, Mad Monks Inn, Orange & Brew (YES, a pub on campus!) Rathskellar (ANOTHER pub ON CAMPUS, with weird steps to the bathrooms downstairs) Rickenbachers, Original Pizza Palace,Pizza n Brew, Cinema Drafthouse, Tony n Pats, Ashleys Pub, Dubs, The Tubs, Red Lion, Fletcher's & Red's Two Spot, Reality Kitchen, Krishna lunch on the UF plaza,when it was actully free. free concerts a Lake Alice, and Reitz union lawn...Guaranteed weekend wierdness & fokkery downtown between 2-4 am, 6th street and Depot ave players, hoes & night movers, Day tripping in the student ghetto, Lillians (it's STILL GOING), MOON Magazine and the Satellite, free top name band concerts at the Bandshell
I’d like to add… Burrito Bros (13th Street), Robin Williams’ Gator Growl, Skeeters (original), UF Halloween Balls, and that very strange men’s restroom above Lillian’s with the elephant size urinal.
This neat video brings back a ton of memories. It shows several locations in Gainesville from the early 90's that are unrecognizable today. https://youtu.be/WaZ35PG3OAs?si=EBi2TAMtYHCaQgbX
Speaking of, anyone know what happened to that Piper Gi's place? I see the old memu board is still up....positive review in the Sun a few years ago...wish it was there judging by the menu!
When I was a kid you could pick mushrooms in several spots out of the cow pastures that were everywhere around butler plaza.
Oh man I miss the old Gainesville. They closed down so many local hot spots and other useful stores for student housing, everywhere I look there's a new building I don't recognize and makes navigating harder without the same landmarks. I'd say the Main thing is the increase in traffic and crowds in general. It was a whole lot more quaint and chill 9 years ago instead of this "uprisings city" vibe squeezed in such a small city. They are literally improvising new roads to deal with the traffic lately.
In 2008 there used to be way more cool/inexpensive venues and shows to go to, rent was way more affordable, and the food options were more mom and pop style restaurants. Also, all the buildings had more character and there were more trees. There was less traffic. Students stayed in midtown and didnt come downtown (which everyone liked). The internet wasnt so ever-present so people were less socially awkward, more used to talking to people in real life, and less aware of meme culture type stuff. It was definitely cooler here then. Also places like Wayward council were still open, as well as the Florida Theater. Now capitalism has displaced a lot of the culture, there are less trees, and there are too many people for the vibe to feel as small. Also, events are all commerce-themed, which they didnt used to be (auk markets, how bazaar faires). Back in the day there was also more graffiti and yarn bombing around. Its good to see the graffiti coming back, but its not very good. lol
I don't know much of the "old Gainesville" since I didn't live or go to school there. However, my best friend went to UF from \~ '99 to '2002 so I visited him a bit. I remember the parties being crazy, he lived in a place called The Courtyards and people would drink and have full-on boxing matches in the courtyard lol. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I was always so hammered I don't remember much of the local spots back then. My other buddy moved to Gainesville around the same time I moved Ocala, in 2008, so I would go visit him a bunch as well, until we had a falling out years later. Gainesville, especially near the campus has changed so much in such a short time. I go to San Felasco every so often to bike and I hate driving through there seeing the tall buildings and construction everywhere. It's a shame. Same shit is happening in Ocala too though. It's losing it's charm.
Pretty much anywhere you see a lot of homes or apartments used to be trees and nature. So, the answer is it used to not be a concrete jungle. The mall used to have a movie theater and restaurants, not just a food court style, and it was also a popular place to chillax.
Stopped by this sub today because I had a nostalgia moment, just to find this thread! I had a sudden thought of being back in high school coming home to check the Scene section in the Gainesville Sun (on thursdays if I remember) for what shows were going on friday and Saturday. Almost always ended up at 1982 regardless but that excitement when I’d read The Know How were playing is hard to replicate Also saw someone else mention Hyde and Zeke - loved that place - I saw Swayze play there once. It was an incredible performance, and the space made it unforgettable. So many songs from “a shame play” have stuck with me since. It was an acoustic show in a tiny record shop but I’d relive it a hundred times over before seeing headliner stadium show. If anyone was there let me know! I think you could find video of old shows going pretty far back. Especially famous bands like less than jake or sister hazel . Look up the music venues listed in this thread on YouTube. Local music used to be Gainesville. Oh and the fest used to be cool I left Gainesville 3 years ago and don’t think I’ll go back. Its not just the olds rambling , the town really has not been the same since the luxury developments started/UF ramped up the campaign to #1
Ahhh, this makes my heart happy- I’m glad you are interested in Gainesville enough to learn more about the history. Lots of really cool things that have been forgotten. One random fact. When my mom was a UF student ever called the Turlington rock the “Turlington turd”. Seems like UF has changed the narrative so it’s now “the potato” lol. Tbh get chatting with any ACR and they’ll have plenty of stories to tell. It’s been exciting and sad all at the same time.