Sonoma County in the 80s

Teen pop culture exploded in the 1980s in radical neon fashion. From new wave music and Pac-Man arcade games to mall hangouts and blockbusters at the movie theater, this decade was marked by unbridled entertainment for many teenagers in the United States.

Moreover, for teenagers in 1980s Sonoma Countythe feeling of freedom prevailed.

“It was great growing up in Sonoma County,” Ted Baxter of Rohnert Park wrote in response to a recent Press Democrat survey of what it was like to grow up here in the 80s. Baxter wrote about some of the freedoms he recalled enjoying at a time when “the police were your baseball coaches” and local bands played in garages.

“You can travel downtown without serious violence or gang problems,” Baxter wrote. “I just remember being freer.”

Jillian Burford, who now lives in Lodi but grew up in Santa Rosa, had a similar view of the era.

“Being a teenager in the ’80s in Sonoma County certainly had its freedoms,” Burford wrote. “You’ve been picked up to go ice skating at Star Skate or enjoy SR Park & ​​Rec’s teen dances, hoping you’ll meet new friends or a cute guy from across town.”

Burford also mentioned some of her favorite local places at the time, such as “Leatherby’s or Swensen’s for ice cream” and “late night snacks at Carrows or Lyons”. She also remembered the grand ships and classic cars that passed through town during homecoming week.

Monique Velin of Redding fondly remembered pizza at the old Spaghetti Factory, going to rallies downtown and standing in line to see the 1989 Batman movie starring Michael Keaton.

“We skated every Friday at the rink,” Velin wrote, “and we joked about calling people from the rink’s payphone!”

In the 1980s in Sonoma County, fun and freedom were the most prominent example cruiser.

“One of the best memories I have as a teenager in the early ’80s was the first time I walked down Petaluma Boulevard on a Friday night,” wrote Carol Fontano of Petaluma. “It wasn’t about the destination as it took 30 minutes to drive eight blocks! It was about a slow moving traffic jam full of good friends in classic cars. You can jump into another car to louder music and then jump out again to dance in the street!”

“They should never have outlawed cruises,” Fontano added. “It was such a fun part of Petaluma’s cultural heritage!”

Shannon Wager of Windsor shared the same sentiments.

“Friday and Saturday nights would mean meeting at the original Taco Bell on Washington (Street) and then walking down Petaluma Boulevard or going to dinner at Pueblo Del Sol and then seeing a double feature at Washington Cinemas.”

Stacey Searles of Santa Rosa recalled walking down Mendocino Avenue among her list of other fond teenage memories in the 1980s. She recalled “hanging out at the mall, playing video games at the little place on the G&G lot, International Imports for New Wave posters (and) getting into food fights at the McDonalds on 4th Street.”

Searles also mentioned favorite spots such as Sawyers News (for music magazines), UA5 and Coddingtown Theaters, Roger’s Drive-In, Shakey’s Pizza on Cleveland Avenue, bowling at Holiday Bowl and Continental Lanes, Sweet River Salon for comedy and roller skating at Cal Skate and Star Skate.

Some of those 80s hangout favorites are long gone.

Spaghetti Factory closed in the mid-1980s, Roger’s Drive-In closed in the 1990s, Star Skate closed in 2000, and Santa Rosa’s Continental lanes were closed in 2006. Petaluma G&G Supermarket recently closed in 2016 after 53 years in business. Among the main attractions of the 1980s is Santa Rosa Plaza, fully opened in 1983.