You Know You Grew Up In Cedar Rapids, IA Because...
- You watched Dr. Max and Mombo.
- You sat in the Plaza Theater all day watching GREASE over and over.
- You shopped at Lindale Mall when it didn't have a roof over the center of it.
- You remember when The Little King sandwich shop was on 3rd Avenue SE, between the World Theatre and Toman Florists.
- You remember that great smell of the McClelland's Dime Store lunch counter, on the corner of 3rd Avenue & 2nd Street SE (kitty-cornered from the Fanny Farmer candy store).
- You remember the Kreske's Dime Store (predecessor of K-Mart) that later became the Jupiter Store, on the corner of 1st Avenue & 3rd Street SE, across 3rd Street from the Iowa Theatre. There's a parking lot there today.
- You remember that Regis was a High School.
- You remember that Westdale Mall was the biggest and best place to shop in 100 square miles.
- You remember the closest Walmart was in Anamosa.
- You remember that Tele-Connect was a big employer.
- You remember Ce-Mar (Cedar Rapids-Marion) Acres kiddie park on the edge of town where CR & Marion meet.
- You remember throwing peanuts shells on the floor of the Ground Round restaurant on First Avenue SE (across 40th St. Drive from the Ford dealership.)
- You remember going to Henry's Hamburger's on 1st Ave NE and taking home ten burgers and one pound of french fries for $2.00! (Henry's was the burger drive-in before Sandy's.)
- You remember the A&P at Town and Country shopping center.
- You remember the May's Drug at Town and Country shopping center.
- You hung out at Godfather's pizza on Friday night.
- You remember "Mr. Steak" on Collins Road NE, across from Lindale Plaza.
- You remember when "The Dragon" was the only Chinese restaurant in the CR area.
- You remember parking at Twinkle Hill with a date.
- You remember Ross's Steak House across 3rd avenue from the Montrose Hotel.
- You remember Ebby's Sporting Goods on 1st avenue.
- You remember Hiltbruner's Music Store on first street downtown.
- You remember megaphone rootbeer and huge tenderloin sandwiches at the A & W Rootbeer Stand on the west edge of Marion.
- You remember Armstrong's Department Store Downtown.
- You remember the Armar Ballroom.
- You remember Krebs Dutch Girl Icecream.
- You remember the all-summer swim pass for Noelridge pool, eating chick-o-Sticks, and rubbing baby oil and Iodine all over your body!
- You sled down the hills at Mount Mercy College.
- You remember getting your Girl or Boy Scout uniform supplies at Kieck's which was below the old Hy-Vee on 32nd St NE.
- You remember Super Skate (in NE CR between Blairsferry Road and Collins Road) or, before that, the Marion skating rink, on Friday or Saturday night. The Couples Skate where you would skate with your girlfriend because a boy wouldn't ask you to skate, and you didn't want to lose out on any skating time! Rex-the-DJ would say ALLLLLLLL Skate!
- You remember PLAYTIME POPPY! Happy little ear of corn!
- You remember Showbiz Pizza on Collins Road NE - Playing the hottest new games like Pac Man and Tron.
- You saved up money all summer for your annual journey to the All-Iowa Fair at Hawkeye Downs.
- You remember the Spud Nuts doughnut store (doughnuts made from potato flour.)
- You remember King's Food Host with locations on Mt. Vernon Road SE, 1st Avenue SE (across from Lindale Plaza,) and 16th Avenue & Williams Blvd SW. You placed your order over a "telephone" at your table and you could always hear your voice echoing in the kitchen. They sold Cheese Frenchies.
- You remember when Howard Hall kept two lions as pets at Brucemore and you remember hearing them roar from time-to-time.
- You remember Grant's Department Store at Town and Country Shopping Center. And you also remember Toy Fair, behind the entrance to Town and Country Bowl.
- You remember milk delivered to your door by Dow's Maniti Dairy.
- You remember the Unique Motel right next door to St. Luke Hospital. Do you remember in what way it was unique?
Check out these great nostalgia videos!
Revised: November 22, 2014