Jason2 comments
Brooklyn1 comments
Gregory1 comments
Well I went there! Again! This weekend! For the first time in like fucking forever! The one I used to go to in Oklahoma closed down years ago.
Did you even know they were still in business? Well, kinda. The one here in Dallas is like the last one anywhere, I think.
Never heard of Crystal’s? It’s like, er, um, Chuck E Cheese’s…minus the animatronics…but all old-victorian-creepy styled on the inside. There’s a cool little theater that plays old cartoons on repeat, an arcade, and even a one-room library. Here’s the thing, though: while other places were full of screaming kids and flashing lights, Crystal’s always had a sort of old world, magical quality about it (with the lighting being really dark and atmospheric) that people loved. Parents could read a book or watch classic cartoons while their kids burned off their sugar highs on some skeeball.
But oh how things have changed.
Remember the moody ambiance? Yeah, gone. For some reason, they’ve now lit the place up like a tarmac, complete with retina burning floodlights and thousand watt fluorescents. Which, as you might imagine, doesn’t do great things for the dated and damaged interior. The place looked totally neglected, and it was kind of sad to see. So many great memories, and the management’s really let the place go to shit.
At least half the arcade games were either off or broken, or both. Most looked like the same games I played 15-20 years ago.
Did I mention the magic show? Cuz…
…fuck yeah we made it for the magic show. I’m pretty sure homeboy blew out my eardrums with his intro music, by the way. I mean, I understand you need to grab attention, Magician Christopher Lyle, but dude. Bleeding ear canals is not a trick worth paying for. Wow. OW.
Anyway, if you too remember the greatness that was Crystal’s Pizza, do yourself a favor and respect the memory of the place by ignoring its glowing zombie carcass off the side of 183. Just keep driving and enjoy the nostalgia.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I remember havin’ a birthday there several times.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I had some birthdays there too. I’ve been squealing every time we drove by there for the past three years. I wish I hadn’t. Childhood memories murdered. The pizza and pasta were still really good though. Too bad Big Bertha was out of order, might have redeemed the place a bit.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/1049589017_30aabdb4f3.jpg?v=0
November 25th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Wow, is that the real deal or did you find it on the webs?
Hey juh: remember how we used to beg to go there on the bus ride back to school after field trips? It was also the go-to spot after little league games, if you were lucky.
Man I wish they’d just take better care of it. We need to petition it for inclusion on the national register of historical places…or just forcefully take ownership.
December 29th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I actually worked at the one in North Oklahoma City off of Rockwell? 25 years ago as a teen. It had my name on a plaque on the wall and all. I was planning to see if the store was still there while I was at my 25 year class reunion. It was not the best place to work. But I had some fun.
Good times………………………………………Good times…………..
December 29th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
That’s the one my friends and I grew up going to. It was greatness.
But yeah, unfortunately they closed it down maybe…12 years ago? Replaced it with a mexican restaurant. Posados, I think it was called. I couldn’t tell you what’s there, if anything, anymore.
Where’d you go to school? Putnam City North?
December 29th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
They tore it down and built the new Chili’s in its spot about a year ago.