Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe--Around Town In The 1970s


more 1970s topics Nostalgia Cafe main page Nostalgia Cafe site map	Around Town In The 1970s ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================


Dining Out McDonalds unveiled its new look, and introduced us to the Egg McMuffin (1973), the Happy Meal (1979) and the characters of McDonaldland. Before the restaurant industry became environmentally aware, they served their sandwiches in styrofoam containers. The first kids meal was introduced by Burger Chef in 1973, and was known as the Funmeal. A cardboard tray decorated with pictures and games held a Funburger, fries and drink. In 1978, the Star Wars Funmeal had trays that could be punched out and assembled into movie characters and vehicles. It was the first kids meal to incorporate a licensed promotional theme. In 1979, McDonalds introduced their version of the kids meal....the Happy Meal. The first promotion consisted of a series of boxes that formed a circus train when combined. A stencil, puzzle book, wrist wallet, top and erasers were inside. Later that year, the theme was Star Trek, The Motion Picture. Talk to the clown! fast food McDonalds Jack In The Box Burger King Wendy's Roy Rogers Restaurants Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips Burger Chef Dairy Queen Cal's Roast Beef Arby's Yankee Doodle Dandy Chicken Unlimited Vintage Fast Food Collectibles Lost Indiana: Stuckey's Lost Indiana: Burger Chef Family restaurants flourished during the 1970s. Sambo's, Golden Bear and Denny's were some of the most popular chains.	-----	new restaurant trends salad bars steak houses drive-up windows Try our new improved salad bar! steak houses Ponderosa Bonanza Sizzler Barnaby's --- ======================================== ======================================== ======================================== ======================================== ======================================== ======================================== other restaurants Denny's Golden Bear Sambo's International House Of Pancakes (IHOP) Steak n' Shake Lums Stuckey's Pizza Hut Long John Silver's Bob Evans Shoney's Ollie's Trolley ---- Lums was a family restaurant specializing in hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches and hamburgers covered in Ollie Sauce. The recipe for Ollie Sauce was purchased from Ollie's Trolley.

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Travel	-----
camping When it was time for the family vacation, we piled into our RVs, pop-up campers and silver Airstream trailers. Staying at a KOA Kampground was an economical alternative to hotels. KOA Kampgrounds Airstream The Pop-Up Times Tom's Trailer Site vacation deals (round-trip from Chicago) 8 Days In Hawaii: includes round-trip airfare, hotel accomodations, hula show, tours, all taxes & tips and more! $319/person (1973) Jamaica Honeymoon: airfare, 7 nights at the Hilton, cocktail parties, transfers. $285/person (1974)	-----	motels & hotels The motel industry had completely updated its image by the 1970s. Simple roadside inns were out. Modern motels now had tanning booths, game rooms, HBO and at least one pool (preferably indoors). Holiday Inn, Best Western and Ramada Inn were popular motel chains. Holiday Inn Best Western Ramada Inn The Gobbler Motel & Supper Club Howard Johnson's History Holiday Inn History vacation destinations Wisconsin Dells Meramec Caverns Universal Studios Kennedy Space Center Colonial Williamsburg Silver Dollar City Jamaica Lake Tahoe Hawaii Colorado Ski Resorts Busch Gardens Tampa Playboy Resorts Click here to see more overnight accomodations in the 1970s!
amusement parks The amusement park industry enjoyed a rebirth in the 1970s. Old-fashioned parks were being replaced by clean, modern theme parks. characteristics of the new theme parks blacktopped walkways manicured lawns and gardens updated rides like the corkscrew roller coaster, skyway and log flume huge parking lots where you could ride a tram to your car *one-price admission, instead of individual tickets for each attraction		During the 1970s, established amusement parks like Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland and a revamped Cedar Point were joined by new parks. These included Opryland in Nashville, King's Island in Ohio, Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, Great America in California and Illinois, the Six Flags parks and Walt Disney World in Florida. Roller Coasters: History Of The Inversion King's Island Disney World Six Flags 1970s Disneyland Cedar Point Opryland USA Theme Park Brochures Worlds Of Fun Knott's Berry Farm Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Shopping


discount stores Zayre Kmart Venture Hornsby's Woolco Korvettes Topps TurnStyle W.T. Grant McDade's Robert Hall Village Cook's specialty Radio Shack Western Auto Spencer Gifts Wicks n' Sticks Plywood Minnesota Tinder Box	fashion & beauty Fayva Thom McAn Kinney County Seat (1973) Brouhaha Ltd. The Gap Claire's Foxmoor Casuals C.D. Peacock Merle Norman Robert Hall variety & convenience Ben Franklin 7-Eleven White Hen department stores Wieboldt's Montgomery Wards Sears J.C. Penney's

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Ben Franklin Nostalgia 1970-1977
Zayre Pictures
Kmart History
About Kmart

In 1973, stores began to use bar codes to scan prices on products. Wrigley's gum was the first product to print bar codes on its packaging.

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After World War II, the growth of the suburbs created a new type of shopping experience. Downtown shopping became too inconvenient for modern suburban families. In response, strip shopping centers and large regional shopping centers began to increase in number during the late 1940s. The first modern enclosed mall opened in 1956.

The 1970s saw a dramatic increase in the number of indoor malls. Woodfield Mall opened near Chicago in 1971. With four anchor stores and hundreds of smaller shops, it was the world's largest mall for quite a few years. In 1979, the Dixie Square Mall (a Chicagoland mall that closed a year earlier) was immortalized on film when it was trashed by Jake and Elwood Blues in The Blues Brothers.

Malls Of America: Vintage Malls
Dead Malls
Lakehurst Mall
Crystal Point Mall
Dixie Square Mall
Pleasant Family Shopping

Click here for more shopping in the 1970s!

When everyone flocked to the mall in the 1970s, downtown areas began to reinvent themselves as trendy, upscale shopping districts.

Etcetera...

gas stations
The gas station industry changed dramatically during the 1970s. Prior to this, most stations provided full service, auto repair and accessory sales. An attendant pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield and checked the oil. Station owners sold motor oil and gave away free road maps and trading stamps.

The first self-service gas station opened in the 1940s. By the 1960s, they were becoming quite common in states where it was legal for customers to pump gas. Station owners could install more pumps and reduce the number of employees, which resulted in higher profits and lower prices.

In the 1970s, both the poor economy and the oil embargo forced many stations to change the way they did business. By the late 1970s, over half of all stations had converted to self-service. Freebies like road maps became a thing of the past.

Many stations dropped their service and accessory departments completely. New cars required fewer repairs, and new businesses specializing in muffler installation and parts sales were taking away their remaining service customers.

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businesses & services
*Fotomat booths could be found in almost every shopping center parking lot. This drive-up film developing service began in 1967 in San Diego. Fotomat provided great service, but couldn't compete with large drugstore chains offering lower prices. In the late 1980s, Fotomat was purchased by a Japanese firm, and by the early 1990s they were all gone.

*Auto rustproofing was highly recommended in the 1970s. The most common rustproofing chains were Ziebart and Rusty Jones.

in the city
*City skylines became sleek and modern. Skyscrapers were built of steel and glass, and the landscaping was impeccable.

*In New York City, the north tower of the World Trade Center opened in 1970, and the south tower opened in 1972. The complex had its own zip code, and also contained four smaller buildings and a hotel. The towers were the tallest buildings in the world until the Sears Tower came along in 1974.

*Chicago's Sears Tower became the world's tallest building when it was completed in 1974, reaching a height of 110 stories and 1,450 feet.

Great Buildings Of The 70s
World Trade Center


Nightlife music & dance clubs At the disco, you could dance and party with the beautiful people. Click here to visit the disco! In the late 1970s, CBGBs in New York City was the birthplace of alternative music. Groups like Blondie, the Ramones and the Talking Heads all got their start here. The trendiest clubs could be found on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. In the early 1970s, performers like David Bowie and Iggy Pop made it a haven for the glitter rock scene. Elton John performed his first American shows in 1970 at The Troubadour. The cream of showbiz society (Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Mick Jagger) could be found at The Roxy and its private upstairs club On The Rox.	-----	the bar scene In the late 1960s, the sexual revolution created a new type of nightspot....the singles bar. It became acceptable to visit a bar with the sole intention of finding a sexual partner. Serious relationships may have been the goal of some patrons, but casual encounters were usually the result. keyholder clubs Keyholder clubs were members-only nightclubs for businessmen. The two biggest chains in the 1970s were the Gaslight Clubs and the Playboy Clubs. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Members enjoyed world-class entertainment, drinks served by Playboy Bunnies and dancing in the discotheque. During the chain's heyday in the late 1970s, there were Playboy Clubs in 24 American cities. The Playboy Resorts in Wisconsin and New Jersey were open to the public, with keyholder clubs on the premises for members. The Gaslight Club was a "Gay Nineties" keyholder club. Here, Gaslight Girls sang, danced and served drinks. The first location opened in Chicago in 1953. By the 1970s, there were locations in several other cities, including New York, Washington D.C. and Paris. Chicago's Playboy Club Retrospective Playboy Club Collectibles Gaslight Clubs The Roxy CBGBs The Troubadour Ex-Playboy Bunnies Website

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