Ten Signs You Grew Up in Twin Falls in the ’80s

We came up with a fun little walk down memory lane for those of you who grew up in Twin Falls during simpler times. See if you can remember any of these '80s Twin Falls benchmarks and feel free to set the record straight or add to our list if we missed something.

Pole Line Road in Twin Falls only had two lanes

Do me a favor and picture the intersection at Pole Line and Washington. Now, take out all the lanes except for one in each direction and replace the traffic lights with a four-way stop. Back in the day, Pole Line was little more than a means to get from one end of Twin to the other while avoiding traffic.

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There was only one high school in Twin Falls

With three public high schools at capacity, (four if you count Xavier) try imagining a time when there was only one high school in Twin Falls. Canyon Ridge, our second public high school in Twin did not exist until 2009.

You were a jr high freshman in Twin Falls

In '80s Twin Falls, freshmen didn’t attend class at the high school but were considered upperclassmen at the junior high level. If you moved to Twin Falls as a Sophomore, you had the pleasure of being an underclassman all over again.

The movie theater was on the south side of Twin Falls

If you only know of a movie theater at Magic Valley Mall, then you haven’t lived here long enough. Twin Falls’ main theater used to be located where the car dealership is now.

You rented VHS tapes at Video West

Be kind, rewind. There was no such thing as Hulu in the ’80s. If you wanted a family home movie night, you piled in the car and spend a good hour browsing titles IRL at Video West. There were no online movie reviews at the time, so you read the synopsis on the back of the box, made your choice, and hoped for the best.

You played video games at The Gold Mine

Go to Fred Meyer in Twin and stand where the socks are in men’s clothing. You’ll be standing on the exact-ish spot where so many of us spent hundreds of dollars (one quarter at a time) playing Centipede, Galaga, and Joust.

Edit: There are some interesting comments on Facebook debating the name of this arcade that used to be in the Blue Lakes Mall. Some of you are saying it was the Gold Mine, others are saying that it was the Gold Nugget. In all honesty, they both sound correct to me. As I recall, Gold Mine originated at Blue Lakes and later moved/replaced Gold Nugget which was located at Magic Valley Mall. Feel free to comment and help me set the record straight. 

You cruised Blue Lakes in Twin Falls on Friday night

Morning drive traffic in 2022 can be a nightmare, but it doesn’t rival the cruise on any given Friday night. Blue Lakes would become a string of headlights that stretched from where Burnt Lemon is today, all the way down to the intersection of Blue Lakes and Falls.

You had your driver's license at 14

It was for daytime use only, but those rules were bent and law enforcement had a tendency to look the other way as long as you weren’t up to no good.

You went to the drive-in

Where now sits rows of storage units, used to be one of two drive-ins in Twin Falls. The Motor-Vu Drive-In was a gathering place for friends who would show up early and catch up on gossip as the kids played before showtime. Radio Nights were packed because you could get your entire carload in for just $5 by writing down your favorite radio station on a piece of paper.

You took your prom date to the Aroma, downtown Twin Falls

If you wanted to impress her you took her to this nice little Italian restaurant where Hand’s On is today. All the pasta was made fresh and they had the best chicken lasagna in the state.

These are just a handful of some 80's life benchmarks from living life in the 80's in Twin Falls. I consider topics like this to be a team effort and I'd love to have your help. If you see anything you thinks is incorrect, or if you can think of more we should add to this list, be sure to say so in the comments.