Revisiting Rivergate | What Remains of the Once Popular Mall and the Surrounding Area
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- Опубликовано: 15 июн 2021
- Apparently it’s nostalgia week on the channel because we are taking another trip down memory lane. In my youth Rivergate Mall and the surrounding area was the place to be, but now… not so much. Nephew P is with me again for a look at what the mall and the community is like today.
About R-rated movies, parental consent, & Rivergate: I remember going to see "The Blues Brothers" (R-rated) at a theater (I don't remember which.) with my sisters back around 1980. My mom was going to buy me a ticket & leave me with my sisters, since she didn't want to see the movie herself. She was told she'd have to sit there with me through the movie, as some law allowed for law enforcement to bust movie theaters for having children unaccompanied by parents. My mom didn't really want see the movie, so I didn't get to see it either. I don't remember caring that much, and to this day I've still never seen more than a few minutes of the film. I lived in Hendersonville through my teen years, which didn't have much in the way of theaters or other things (We didn't get a McDonald's until 1977, several months after my family moved there.), so I saw movies and went mall shopping at Rivergate. I still remember seeing "Back to the Future" at a Rivergate theater (again I don't remember which) on Wed., Aug 14, 1985, and I thought it was one of the best I'd ever seen. I remember for some reason the theater showing the music video for A'Ha's "Take on Me" before the movie started, along with the assorted movie trailers & ads.
7:23 - I see the old Whataburger is still in the background. That one never seemed to have much business. I've lived in Texas now for decades, where Whataburger's a much bigger deal. I remember near there on Myatt (?) Dr. there was a burger place called Chaff's, which I imagine is out of business by now. I remember before Toys-R-Us there was McMahon's Chevy dealership there at the corner of Gallatin Rd. & Two-Mile Pike. I think the El Chico you mentioned is where my sister worked as a waitress summer 1980. I remember she'd often bring back a bag of leftover tortilla chips after work. Later on I worked summer 1983 as a dishwasher at Tempo's Restaurant, which I remember being nearby on a street called Bluebird Lane.
I remember the anchor stores at opposite ends of the mall were Castner-Knott (eventually Macy's) & Cain-Sloan (where Dillard's is now). I liked the Castner-Knott wing of the mall more, which had favorites of mine like Walden Books, and I think Spencer's Gifts was there too. I remember Spencer's for things like its naughty toys & coffee mugs and its obsession with stopping shoplifting by warning it had people watching shoppers behind every mirror. J.C. Penney's was at the center of the mall, and around 1978, the wing across from Penney's was built out into a fork going in 2 directions, with a video arcade & a pet store among the attractions. When I was last there in 2013, Rivergate still seemed to be doing ok, and it even added another wing. I was surprised to find that Hickory Hollow Mall, which was the only 2-story mall in the area, had gone downhill fast & was out of business. I may get back to the Nashville this spring, so I'm not sure what will still be left at Rivergate. I've lived in & now near Plano, TX, and we had a great mall in the area called Collin Creek Mall (5 anchor stores!), which was profitable for years but was torn down about 5 years ago now. The only mall around here (Collin Co., TX) that still seems to be doing well is Stonebriar Center in Frisco.
Thanks you for sharing your story! There’s so much history in Rivergate that’s starting to fade away
do the hickory hollow mall next 🥲🥲🥲🥲
That’s a good idea
Was the second second theater the one under I65 on the other side of Rivergate parkway I think it is now? Yea I remember that mall, there was where I go to walk and shop before Opryland Mall came.. Not sure if you will answer this. ;0) Not sure about the third one, might have to look it up but Rivergate 8 and the dollar theater I do remember.
I think the were Wynsong, rivergate 8 and I believe cinema 6 or cinema north (the one under I65)
Too bad Wal-Mart and Amazon put Toys R Us out of business
Yep. Bummer
The Rivergate 8 used to be a good place to catch a stray bullet
I once puked out back midway through The 40 Year Old Virgin
i was born and raised in nashville and still live in tennessee but i remember my mom bringing me here after seeing jurassic park the lost world (i saw it 4 times in theaters lol) and i also remember when rivergate mall was safe, but me and the wife before we were married went to rivergate mall one time and as we were walking around people were watching us and staring at us and after that we never went back, its just not a safe mall but then again neither is opry mills
Yeah malls are weird now
@@UncleMadd cool springs is okay, but rivergate and hickory hollow when it was still open just went down the toilet and opry mills feels like it did as well ever since the flood
True
I saw quiet a few movies at Cinema North
On the weekend it was a $1.00
and thru the week it was 50 cents
We need theaters like that again
@@UncleMadd
There also used to be a theater in the shopping center next to Rivergate 8
It was a two screen theater known as Rivergate 9 and 10 when it closed
@@jamesmc75 oh wow I didn’t even know that
AMC bought Carmike
Yep and they’re gone from rivergate now too