A Tour by D.M. Anderson & Lucy Anderson
The family and I love visiting the Oregon Coast, and are fortunate to live close enough that we can venture there a few times a year. More often than not, we choose the town of Seaside because the weather in this region is wildly unpredictable. So if it happens to be too cold, windy or rainy to hang out on the beach (about 50% of the time), there are lots of shops, arcades and an aquarium to justify the drive. There are also plenty of antique stores. I don’t know if this is true for coastal towns in other parts of the country, but in Oregon, antique stores and the beach go together like cops & doughnuts.
Off the beaten path of Seaside's main street leading to the beach is a place called Universal Video, which is kind of an antique store unto itself. In business since 1983, it’s one of the last remaining video rental stores on the Oregon Coast. Considering all the other attractions in town to grab people’s attention - and money - I don’t know how the place manages to remain in business. Perhaps it’s simply a labor of love for the two older gentlemen who greeted my daughter, Lucy, and I as we entered. In addition to being the presumed owners, I suspect these two guys are the only employees.
Walking into this place was like going back in time…to when mom & pops still dominated the rental business and new releases were promoted with poster & big cardboard displays (that would probably go for hundreds on eBay). Practically a museum of a bygone era, shrines to the likes of Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park and Liar, Liar were everywhere, likely in the same spots as they were when put there in the '90s.
When I asked if I could take some pictures, the guys’ congenial smiles that told me that a majority of their visitors come in to do the same thing…
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| Thousands of DVDs |
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| Thousands more. |
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| A big VHS selection! |
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| The back room (with more VHS) that was probably the "adult" section back in the day. All mom & pops had 'em. |
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| Lucy unearths a priceless relic from the 23rd Century. |
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| Overlooking the checkout counter. |
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| Something has survived...like this awesome display. |
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| I've never seen this particular promo, and I was unable to talk them into selling it to me. |
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| In the 90s, no video store was complete without these things hanging from the ceiling. |
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