I used to work in this amusement arcade and remember the great laughter machine in the 70's and 80's with the big model robot outside...it was basically a fun house with moving floors and a maze of mirrors etc..Happy Days!....thanks for the video fella, very interesting.
It was finally demolished in late 2023, around 10-11 months after being severely damaged by fire. There had been work being done on the building and it was in scaffold prior to that since about 2019. The Rainbow Restaurant next door was also damaged, but luckily that did not have to be demolished and there are currently builders working there with the hope of it reopening in the spring of 2024. I remember the arcade from when I was a kid in the late 60s/early 70s, it was then called Olympia and had Bumper Cars/Dodgems and [old] penny amusement machines. I remember the type of machine where you needed to shoot a metal ball into the right hole to win.
There was loads of arcade machines inside and games in there so think it was in there but thankfully they got removed before the fire and now it’s demolished but glad it brought back happy memories from the time past
Hey! This channel is amazing. Subscribed with Bell 🔔... this was the first night club I ever went to. Strange to see it here, though even worse it has burned down. Googling was how I found this video.. how did you get in to this exploration? I've always wanted to try this. So much mystery out there...
Do you mean a big glitter-flake painted robot, that had a fun-house behind it? With moving floors and so on? I remember a place like that from a mid 70s holiday.
@LewisMerrin yeah I know - I'm saying the fire was predicted by the project manager that worked on it before the fire. There was an application to turn it into flats - it was rejected. This is why the project manager said it would burnt down. The project manager was the one responsible for directing all the restoration work that was needed due to the leaking roof and collapsing sand stone walls behind the arcade. Local firm. Hastings is full of insurance jobs. 2x listed buildings suffered from arson jobs. 1 in particular was arsoned 3x in a week before it burnt down. Rife with corruption! Do a piece on the Hotel I'm Eastbourne that suddenly "caught on fire" 😂 Same guy who owns that owns Hastings Pier
Machines cleared out mid 2022. Badly damaged by fire on upper floor and most of the roof gone... January 2023. Shouldn't think they'll have too much trouble getting planning to demolish what's left.
The arcade machines where moved around end of 2022 and it had planing permission on the 11th of last month in January 2023 and then fell through and on the 18 of January it got set on fire the fire the date and police have already done a statement. It has been targeted arson bur it’s too dangerous to be left there, so it would need to be demolished anyway because of the fire
@@LewisMerrin It was always "Saturdays" to many of us of a certain age. It changed to "Downtown" at some point, but everyone still called it Saturdays! I moved to Cornwall in 2011 and didn't realise it had closed. :-(
@@LewisMerrin I don't really go to Hastings much these days. I live in Bexhill, which is about 5 miles away. It's always been a bit of a craphole really.
The building was always bad for leaks the back is against a cliff face, then with some bad rain eventually the ceiling in the over 18 collapsed causing the building to be closed for safety during the inspection with the plans to repair it was decided it would cost too much to repair. It has now been sold and the machines that where inside have been removed.
@@disterbed1989 I know the arcade machines have been removed that’s why I have uploaded to stop people breaking or going though a open door the builders left open
@@flippingcarsrepairs oh I see that one at least this video does a better I depth walk around the building then a overhead 2 minute video but thanks for stopping by
I used to work in this amusement arcade and remember the great laughter machine in the 70's and 80's with the big model robot outside...it was basically a fun house with moving floors and a maze of mirrors etc..Happy Days!....thanks for the video fella, very interesting.
Stickiest carpets when it was Saturdays... many a good night was had in there 🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂
Thanks for the history on this place this was amazing explorer thank you
Why thank you Rachel 🙏
Correction - the nightclub opened in Summer 1971. It was called The Aquarius, I was there on the opening night …. it later changed to Saturdays.
Ok interesting thanks for that
It has also been known as Bonita's
@michaelhaywood8262 oh I see
Bonita’s was along the town centre under what was the Queen's Hotel. The entrance to Bonita’s was in Harold Place.
@@gillvarney5310Sorry, got confused.
Fantastic video, thanks very much!
No worries 👍
Great video... I found this place eerie...
Thanks and was good place was kind eerie as with all the arcade games
I loved the intro and the old footage, good video mate that was a fun explore to do
Oh thank you 😊 and sure was ❤️
Good Video Lewis,
I used to live in Hastings,
Always used to enjoy walking around the 'Old Town'...
🙂👍🏻
I think you told me you lived in Hastings a site nice to look at the sea arcades and on the rides 👍
Oh ok it’s still on fire
@@LewisMerrin I was living there when somebody set fire to the pier...
@lillyrosemarshall3849 oh ok
It was finally demolished in late 2023, around 10-11 months after being severely damaged by fire. There had been work being done on the building and it was in scaffold prior to that since about 2019. The Rainbow Restaurant next door was also damaged, but luckily that did not have to be demolished and there are currently builders working there with the hope of it reopening in the spring of 2024.
I remember the arcade from when I was a kid in the late 60s/early 70s, it was then called Olympia and had Bumper Cars/Dodgems and [old] penny amusement machines. I remember the type of machine where you needed to shoot a metal ball into the right hole to win.
I knew most of the time and stuff when it got demolished and information but not the metal ball game something I didn’t know
Thanks for this. I have great memories of the amusements. Did you see the Sega Rally machine? I couldn't see it. I used to love playing that game!
There was loads of arcade machines inside and games in there so think it was in there but thankfully they got removed before the fire and
now it’s demolished but glad it brought back happy memories from the time past
Yes I remember it being called Aquarius I saw the band hot chocolate there
Hey! This channel is amazing. Subscribed with Bell 🔔... this was the first night club I ever went to. Strange to see it here, though even worse it has burned down. Googling was how I found this video.. how did you get in to this exploration? I've always wanted to try this. So much mystery out there...
Just a lot of research and love history to be fair and sad to see it in a sorry state now
what ever happend to the big robot that used to be in there - 50p a time unless you snuck under lol
There wasn’t any robots there when I went only the arcade machines what was there all you see in the video
Do you mean a big glitter-flake painted robot, that had a fun-house behind it? With moving floors and so on? I remember a place like that from a mid 70s holiday.
I remember that in the 80's. No idea what they did with it. Could hardly carry it around anywhere. 😆
Great Laughter Machine
I scaffolded this before it burnt down and the project manager of the build said "you watch it'll be burnt down in a year"...look what happened!
It’s been demolished because it had a fire
@LewisMerrin yeah I know - I'm saying the fire was predicted by the project manager that worked on it before the fire.
There was an application to turn it into flats - it was rejected. This is why the project manager said it would burnt down. The project manager was the one responsible for directing all the restoration work that was needed due to the leaking roof and collapsing sand stone walls behind the arcade. Local firm.
Hastings is full of insurance jobs. 2x listed buildings suffered from arson jobs. 1 in particular was arsoned 3x in a week before it burnt down.
Rife with corruption!
Do a piece on the Hotel I'm Eastbourne that suddenly "caught on fire" 😂 Same guy who owns that owns Hastings Pier
@toms7671 if you got Facebook or instagram please message me privately 👍 my social media accounts links are in the video description
Machines cleared out mid 2022. Badly damaged by fire on upper floor and most of the roof gone... January 2023. Shouldn't think they'll have too much trouble getting planning to demolish what's left.
The arcade machines where moved around end of 2022 and it had planing permission on the 11th of last month in January 2023 and then fell through and on the 18 of January it got set on fire the fire the date and police have already done a statement. It has been targeted arson bur it’s too dangerous to be left there, so it would need to be demolished anyway because of the fire
Many happy nights spent in Saturdays Nightclub
Hopefully it brought back happy memories 👍
@@LewisMerrin It was always "Saturdays" to many of us of a certain age. It changed to "Downtown" at some point, but everyone still called it Saturdays! I moved to Cornwall in 2011 and didn't realise it had closed. :-(
The arcade was there for many, many years. I know it was there in the 80's. It was still there a couple of years ago. Now, it's flats.
It’s not flats yet as it’s getting demolished now
@@LewisMerrin Yeah, I got the wrong info. Shame the arcade went. Was always very popular back in the day.
@@gaywest4298 I bet it was everything in the town is going down hill
@@LewisMerrin I don't really go to Hastings much these days. I live in Bexhill, which is about 5 miles away. It's always been a bit of a craphole really.
😂😂😂😂😂
BTW your info is wrong the arcade closed about winter time 2019
The building was always bad for leaks the back is against a cliff face, then with some bad rain eventually the ceiling in the over 18 collapsed causing the building to be closed for safety during the inspection with the plans to repair it was decided it would cost too much to repair. It has now been sold and the machines that where inside have been removed.
@@disterbed1989 I know the arcade machines have been removed that’s why I have uploaded to stop people breaking or going though a open door the builders left open
Ok thanks for the information
Huh we'res my messages gone 🤔🤔🤔
You haven’t commented on my video before so this is the 1st time you ever commented on this video
@@LewisMerrin sorry thought it was your vid as I watched yours 1st 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️it wa# the other guy with a drone 👍
@@flippingcarsrepairs oh I see that one at least this video does a better I depth walk around the building then a overhead 2 minute video but thanks for stopping by