If not what was it before?

Wolf Pen before that. That's about as far back as I go.

When I was in school in early 90's it was a bowling alley.

I actually bought a TV from there when Lowe's sold electronics (before the company turned into a big box home improvement store).

I bowled in league there in 1989-90!

TexAg1987 said:

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As stated earlier, It was Wolf Pen Bowling and had a Roller skating Rink in the back.

I believe there was a short period of time when it had indoor batting cages and a simulated skydiving somewhere around back.

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If I recall correctly, the rink was located more toward the left of the building with the bowling alley on the right, with the gymnastics area in the back.

PS3D said:

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TexAg1987 said:

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As stated earlier, It was Wolf Pen Bowling and had a Roller skating Rink in the back.

I believe there was a short period of time when it had indoor batting cages and a simulated skydiving somewhere around back.

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If I recall correctly, the rink was located more toward the left of the building with the bowling alley on the right, with the gymnastics area in the back.

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Right. Bowling alley was where the lanes are now. Skating rink was where mini golf/arcade/laser tag are now. Then the gymnastics/batting cages area was in the far back left corner. The entrance to the skating rink was where the bar is located now.

The vertical wind tunnel was outside on the NW corner of the building. It was one of two in the US at the time. It was not owned by the Camp's and the volume of business was not large and the apartments that were build behind the building complained about the noise it generated. Of course there are big fancy ones all over the US today.

Rapier108 said:

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It was originally the first Lowest store in B/CS.

It closed and was turned into the bowling alley when the one at Chimney Hill moved there and it became Wolf Pen.

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Thank you! I knew there was a Lowe's over there, but didn't remember exactly where.

Anyone remember what was on the Cavender's site at Holleman and the frontage road by Post Oak Mall? The slab is way bigger than the store - almost like there was a covered outdoor area or something on the south side of the building. I don't remember it being anything specific, but the odd slab has always puzzled me.

Yes - they used to sell plants.

Thought it was an 84 Lumber

No 84 lumber in Brazos county since I have been here but.that's only since 77

And at some point, a go-cart track.

taxpreparer said:

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And at some point, a go-cart track.

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From what I could tell, the go-cart track existed in the latter half of the 1980s, and Wolfe Nursery was there from c. 1993 to 1998, according to when it was built and when Wolfe Nursery started to close stores en masse. Cavender's opened in 2004, that's a fact.

Went on a date there when it has the skating rink. Dude cut me off I hit my head and came to still on top of him.

More like the 1780's but hey whose counting ghosts...

Wasn't 84 Lumber around Wellborn/2818?
Furrow was where lock n roll is.

Rexter said:

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Wasn't 84 Lumber around Wellborn/2818?
Furrow was where lock n roll is.

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Wickes Lumber was at Wellborn and 2818.

I seem to recall seeing the red 84 sign not very long ago on the plumbing supply building

Ooops, beat me to it.

Rexter said:

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I seem to recall seeing the red 84 sign not very long ago on the plumbing supply building

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I don't know, I NEVER remember it being an 84 Lumber. It was a faded sign as far back as I could remember (mid-1990s) with xxxxCO or xxxCOM, then maybe one or two things past 1999 before Moore Supply Co. moved in. I don't quite remember when Moore Supply Co. and the "Bath & Kitchen Showplace" moved in. I want to say 2003 or 2004. This was the same route I took to school every day starting from 1997 up until they closed off that connection in 2009, and I'd remember it being an 84 Lumber (I sure do remember the changes that went with the gas station).

Many years ago I worked on a big fan that powered a skydiving tower at this location.

PS3D said:

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taxpreparer said:

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And at some point, a go-cart track.

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From what I could tell, the go-cart track existed in the latter half of the 1980s, and Wolfe Nursery was there from c. 1993 to 1998, according to when it was built and when Wolfe Nursery started to close stores en masse. Cavender's opened in 2004, that's a fact.

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Yep. Cavender's was in the Toys R Us parking lot before that.

Edit: The funny thing about that statement is that when it was announced that Toys R Us was going to be built, people said "In the Cavender's parking lot"

Yep, Lowe's. You can still see the lumber storage area in the back of the parking lot.

I remember when Chimney Hill Bowling closed.
It sat for while and then Grand Station opened and they essentially moved all the equipment (lanes, everything) from Chimney Hill to that location. Then that location at Chimney HIll became the storage location for stuff that would eventually go into the George Bush Library that was being built.

I had PE class (KINE) bowling class in Grand Station back in the day (it was when they remodeled the basement of the MSC and took out the bowling alley there during remodel).

I guess that fits the Aggie narrative.

UmustBKidding said:

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One of the original Lowes managers was a guy that worked in the Easterwood control tower, and was fired by Ronald Regan during the PATCO strike. When he got the Lowes job he talked a lot of smack about how this was going to be better than than the government jobs that he was now ineligible to hold. I had to bite my tongue when he was shown the door when they closed that location.

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Fun fact: Bill Clinton lifted that civil service band less than a decade later.

There were some shenanigans being pulled with the closing of Chimney Hill bowl. Don't remember the exact situation but that year BCS was supposed to host a statewide bowling tournament. The owners of the Chimney hill property figured out they has a early out clause in the lease with the bowling alley and they would likely be unable to remove their lanes and relocate them due to their financial condition. So the told them they have a short time to get out, and planned to profit from the tournament with the lanes that they acquired by default.
So the wolf pen people swung in to action and put a crew on removing the lanes in the remaining time on the lease, acquiring the rights to the lowes building, buying an additional 16 lanes and putting them in place before the meet. So the chimney hill people got no lanes and had to rent the space essentially as a warehouse for several years.
The MSC lanes actually were removed in an earlier renovation of the basement and were in storage on campus. WP tried to acquire them but they were not available. They were not reinstalled until a later renovation.
Ernie (Wolf pen guy) attended the grand opening of the replacement Lowes in Bryan and told one of the lowes big wigs that he probably could put 150 lanes in that building when they died. He indicated that it would never become a bowling alley on his watch.