I've lived my whole life in Raleigh, so I remember when Pleasant Valley Promenade was built (sometime around 1989). I was there today and walked all around, reminiscing. Remember when there was a functioning movie theater there? I saw a few flicks there, including Scream. I remember when there was a Phar-mor where the new Bloodbath & Beyond is now. I even remember the Lochmere electronics store that was the first thing to occupy the space where Best Buy is now. It was a big deal when we bought a 27" Toshiba TV set there in 1989. I love the outdated 1980's architecture and color scheme (that pink and green Santa Fe shit); I hope they never change it.

12/31/2005 6:08:22 PM

haha I noticed that old ass theater for the first time the other day

1/1/2006 1:22:10 AM

it was called Lechmere

my folks still use the microwave we bought there

1/1/2006 5:40:57 PM

Wasn't Phar-Mor first where BestBuy currently is? Then when BestBuy came to town, they moved to where the BB&B is...or maybe I have my Pleasant Valley memories jumbled up.

I do remember the movie theater. They tried to reopen it a couple of times (cheapo movies, like $2 second runs), but it just never lasted.

1/3/2006 9:53:01 AM

http://www.northraleighnews.com/front/story/2816733p-9262223c.html

1/3/2006 2:58:14 PM

i'm at the coffee shop over by el rodeo. man i miss how this place used to be. i'd go to the movie theater over there before there was a raleigh grande. my first job was at the chickfila by the walmart near pleasant valley. remember when the walmart was a kmart, but the kmart was destroyed by the N. raleigh tornado. that thing missed my house by less than a mile. whoa...got off on a tangent there. but yeh i used to get all my school supplies from pharmor and get my hair cut at supercuts. is that "Hard Wok Cafe" still open? oh yeh but i thought there was already a gold's gym by where Hard Wok cafe was?

[Edited on January 3, 2006 at 3:10 PM. Reason : fadfs]

1/3/2006 3:09:42 PM

^yeah, hard wok is still there. it's hit or miss - typically a miss

1/3/2006 3:25:55 PM

I saw the Duck Tales movie in that theater.

1/4/2006 1:54:28 PM

when Phar-Mor came to Wilmington it was a huge deal

1/4/2006 6:39:15 PM

anyone remember when the tornados came thru raleigh long long time ago and leveled that K-mart out in that part of town?

1/4/2006 10:11:10 PM

^yah i just said that. i was in kindergarten. this girl showed us her scar from when the tornado went through her house and she was cut by glass...for show and tell. this girl in the 3rd grade died from the tornado when her chimney fell onto her in her bedroom. she went to my elementary school (Lynn Rd elementary). there is a memorial there for her...it should still be there?!??!?! that tornado went through my daycare. for a field trip in day care we went through my friends neighborhood to see the houses that got leveled by the tornado. i couldn't stop laughing b/c i saw a toilet sticking out of some persons house on the 2nd floor. the tornado ripped off the front of the house. i guess i didn't understand the damage so i laughed.


here is a website about the north raleigh F4 tornado.
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/19881128/

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 2:47 AM. Reason : fff]

1/5/2006 2:46:12 AM

my dad owned a store in that place back in the day

1/5/2006 6:34:02 AM

Holy crap, that article said the center's owners (Kimco) plan to do away with the old pink & green paint job! They can't do that!! It's so beautifully '80s. I urge everyone to petition the owners not to change the paint job or general architecture.

1/8/2006 7:47:56 PM

that movie theater has been vacant for so long. crazy stuff.

1/9/2006 11:57:42 AM

i remember when the tornado came through raleigh. i think i was in elementary school or middle school at the time.

and yeah, i used to go to that movie theater when i was in high school.

1/9/2006 4:27:07 PM

oh wow, that tornado went right over the area where my apt complex is.



that's pretty bad-ass

1/9/2006 6:13:40 PM

That shit pretty much went DIRECTLY over the apt complex where I live now.

1/9/2006 10:01:44 PM

how about this....does anyone remember when crossroads was being built? Lowes was not across the street yet, instead there were 3 or 4 homes.
Well, my grandma lived in the house where the lowes parking lot now is. That is where my mother grew up and her brother and sister grew up.
Lowes bought the land from my grandma, as well as her 2 or 3 neighbors.
We have some old home video from before she moved and it shows across the street (a nice 2-lane road) and you can see they are clearing trees to start building crossroads.
You can still see the big oak tree in front of the lowes parking lot on walnut street. That was "home base" when my cousins and I played kickball and whiffleball in the front yard.

1/10/2006 6:50:23 AM

there was one of those landowners that wouldnt sell, i remember them clearing and grading the shopping center around this one little group of trees with a house in the middle, finally they gave in i guess.

1/10/2006 10:08:59 AM

I remember when that tornado hit raleigh. I was in high school in wilson and I always used to sleep with the radio on at night. For some reason around 1:30 or so in the morning, I woke up and 106.1 RDU went to a break announcing that there had been a tornado to hit raleigh and that there were still strong storms in the area and for everyone to be careful. He then started playing Helter Skelter off U2's Rattle and Hum cd. I don't know why but I still remember the sense of fear/dread/whatever that went through me. Still get that feeling when I hear that song. crazy.

1/10/2006 4:55:58 PM

you're reminiscing about a strip mall built in 1989?

1/10/2006 9:39:56 PM