Gone but not forgotten: Knoxville area restaurants and retailers we miss.

#1,502
#1,502
Accidentally went to page 1 of this thread and Thunder had a list of goners, on which was the UT Student Center. I haven’t set foot in the building that’s there now but the old one was a daily stopping point for me in the late 80s and a bunch of the 90s.

My now wife and I used to meet at those old blue couches every day just to have a spot to sit and catch up before heading off to class again. Caught naps there many times as well. I guess that’s where commuters went lol.

But of all the time I spent in that building, 98% of it was on just two floors in the east half of the building. The hallway where those couches were and the one below it where you’d eat or buy snacks or pick up game tickets or head out the south end to the money wall.

Weird how places so central to a period of your life can just be erased from the world. But I guess that’s what this whole thread is about. Props to @mad4vols there.
 
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#1,503
#1,503
pismonque said:
Accidentally went to page 1 of this thread and Thunder had a list of goners, on which was the UT Student Center. I haven’t set foot in the building that’s there now but the old one was a daily stopping point for me in the late 80s and a bunch of the 90s.

My now wife and I used to meet at those old blue couches every day just to have a spot to sit and catch up before heading off to class again. Caught naps there many times as well. I guess that’s where commuters went lol.

But of all the time I spent in that building, 98% of it was on just two floors in the east half of the building. The hallway where those couches were and the one below it where you’d eat or buy snacks or pick up game tickets or head out the south end to the money wall.

Weird how places so central to a period of your life can just be erased from the world. But I guess that’s what this whole thread is about. Props to @mad4vols there.
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No telling how many times that I went up and down those stairs in the Student Center between 1st and 2nd floors. And as a commuter for a couple of years I spent many hours in the main floor lounges. Especially the music room where you requested they play LPs and I think they loaned you headphones while holding your ID. The video tape room was pretty entertaining also. Basketball games were sometimes on closed circuit TV in a center room. And they'd have concerts in the ballroom. Would also sell back textbooks in the ballroom for 25 cents on the dollar if they'd even take them. Saw a few movies in that place as well. I don't even know if the new one stays open on weekends.
 
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#1,504
#1,504
Thunder Good-Oil said:
The Aquarium Car. I had one for a day while my car was worked on by the dealer. Smoke started pouring out of the heater vents before even getting it off of the lot. A friend had one a few years after that. They ultimately ended up just abandoning it on the side of the road when it broke down.

Pacers had longer passenger side doors than driver's side.

My favorite car introduced in the 70s that advertised a wider interior was the Triumph TR-7. Wider than a Corvette inside. Unfortunately they apparently disintegrate. I haven't seen one for years (or a Triumph Spitfire or TR-6, MGBs or MG Midgets). Fiat X19s were similar to the TR-7s style. Rarely see Datsun 240, 260, or 280 Zs either. Mercury Capris were another fun ride from the 1970s. The Hurst Olds Cutlass Supreme was a sweet domestic, pre-unleaded fuel ride.

I really can't tell most $7,500 cars from $50,000 cars that are on the road nowadays.
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There was also a TR-8, much more sleek than the 6 or 7.
Did anyone play a game called kick the can? We played this a lot growing up.
 
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#1,505
#1,505
Thunder Good-Oil said:
The Pontiac Lemans was different. It might be the same car as the Buick Century. I think that the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Gran Prix, Buick Regal, and Chevy Monte Carlo were all the same GM platform. Chevy might have had a version of the Lemans. I think that Olds appropriated the 442 badge for their version. I can't remember, but the Lemans might not have survived all the way to 1977. I remember somebody that had a 1973 Pontiac Lemans. 442 stood for 4-speed, 4 barrel carb, and dual exhaust. The 1976/77ish Olds 442 didn't have all of those features... might have had a 4 barrel. But it was choked with anti pollution devices. Catalytic Converters/unleaded fuel were mandated with 1975 models (California possibly earlier). Early 1970s 442s are bad ass mofos. I think that before 1974 the Buick Century and the Olds Cutlass were the same.
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Le Mans and GTO:s were very similar. Especially in the mid to late 60:s.
 
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#1,518
#1,518
Vjcvette said:
That is so sad to hear :(, but I appreciate you letting me know
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I knew OF her more than knew her. I think that I dropped somebody off at her family's house once, it was a long time ago. Huge red brick house on Scenic Drive close to where it splits with Southgate. Seems like Trinki's dad might have been a doctor. She reminded me of Ally Sheedy's character in the Breakfast Club. A little like Stevie Nicks maybe. She was very pretty.
 
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#1,519
#1,519
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I knew OF her more than knew her. I think that I dropped somebody off at her family's house once, it was a long time ago. Huge red brick house on Scenic Drive close to where it splits with Southgate. Seems like Trinki's dad might have been a doctor. She reminded me of Ally Sheedy's character in the Breakfast Club. A little like Stevie Nicks maybe. She was very pretty.
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Yes she was pretty, you know sometimes you kind of get afraid to ask anymore
 
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#1,521
#1,521
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I knew OF her more than knew her. I think that I dropped somebody off at her family's house once, it was a long time ago. Huge red brick house on Scenic Drive close to where it splits with Southgate. Seems like Trinki's dad might have been a doctor. She reminded me of Ally Sheedy's character in the Breakfast Club. A little like Stevie Nicks maybe. She was very pretty.
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I lived on Scenic Dr. not far from Southgate.
 
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