Huntington Park - Underground Arcade

An almost inconspicuous sign.

Google street maps image looking in from Pacific Blvd.

So the first arcade I want to talk about is the one that is the nearest and dearest to me. It's the Underground Arcade in Huntington Park. Honestly, I don't think the arcade ever had an official name, but to those who knew of it, we all called it the "Underground Arcade" or, "Arcade Fantaztico".

The arcade is long gone now, closed around 2017 or 2018 if I'm remembering correctly, but it used to be located at the corner of Saturn Avenue and Pacific Boulevard. The building was like a mini-mall, with many jewelry stores and clothing shops, but coming in, there were stairs to the left that led to the basement, that's where the Underground Arcade was.

I used to go there often in my mid to late 20s. At that time, it was on its last legs. For three dollars, you could go in and play all the machines you wanted or all the pool you wanted for no extra-charge. Sadly, many machines were out of order, they were tagged up, there were empty beer cans scattered about, and the lights were never turned off anymore, creating a glare while playing. 

The underground arcade was a legacy arcade. No ticket games, no beer or bar (as in being a bar arcade, because people sneaked beer in all the time), or it wasn't part of a store that had arcade machines on the side; just straight up arcade gaming.

Circa 1996-1998

I don't know when underground arcade was opened. I tried looking online for archives or postings, but not much came up. I first went there when I was between four year to six years old. My dad took me and that was between 1996 to 1998. The arcade was already established and it was already a well known spot where all kids from the surrounding SELA cities flocked to, and even kids from as far as my town, South Central, already knew about it. My theory is that it has been open since at least the late 80s, early 90s. I'll definitely ask about it next time I find myself in Huntington Park.

 

 

 

Environment and Aesthetics:

SFII Turbo

This arcade was located in Huntington Park, right on Pacific Boulevard . The streets are decently clean, and the town is quaint and homely. Nothing has ever happened to me there. Parking was easy to come by back in the mid-2010s, so I always parked in the neighborhoods and made the 5-minute walk to the arcade. Pacific Boulevard is a major shopping area so when you were done with the arcades, there was still a lot to do; window shop, grab a bite to eat, go to the double-feature movie theater only a short walk away. Huntington Park has a charm that can't be replicated.

As for the arcade itself. Well, just look at the Yelp and Google reviews from when it was still open. Firstly, visual wise, it definitely looked like an arcade. In the old days there were rows and rows of games, pool tables, and claw games, some vending machines, a restroom on the side, a very simple set up, but they had so many games that it got you really excited just to be there. All the walls had murals of comics, movies, video game characters, etc. and I really do regret not photographing all of them before it closed down.

Evident graffiti.

The Underground Arcade always had this very strong smell that I can't really explain. Some people said it smelled like mold, others like mildew, others say it smelled like dirty laundry. Honestly, yes, it smelled pretty bad down there, and there was always a smell of detergent or pinol, or bleach that tried to counteract it, but the bad smell never left. And the smell wasn't a new phenomenon from the arcade's last days, the bad smell was there since the 90s.

As time passed, the arcade's aesthetics began to change. There were less machines to play, they were all covered in graffiti, defunct machines were corralled in the back, and honestly, I feel like most people went there to play billiards.
 

The Games and the Scene:

The arcade cabinets right before the arcade shut down were in bad condition. Many were out of service, covered in graffiti, and piled in the back gathering dust. The ones that did work ranged from good to very bad. They were covered in graffiti, some had buttons that didn't work, and with the lights always on, there was a bit of difficulty playing with glare on the screen. There was a bit of a fighting game scene, mostly centered around the King of Fighter machines and Marvel vs. Capcom, but for the most part, the arcade was deserted most days, even in the weekends. When people did come, it was mostly for the pool tables.

Most people who went there were nice and friendly and would play fighting games with you despite being strangers, but I wont deny that there was quite a bit of delinquency in there. A lot of teens would ditch school to hang out there and it was a well known ditching spot; even kids from my neck of the woods of South Central would take the bus to ditch there. Most were interested in the games there and would spend all school day playing King of Fighters of Marvel vs Capcom, but others were just interested in cutting class and would tag up the machines or romance their significant others in the restroom (I've personally seen this happen before). Others would come in drunk or sneak beer in and drink inside. Supposedly one girl got kicked out when she got into the fight with the owner while drunk and she was banned... or at least, that's what I've heard.

This arcade was popular for fighting games, especially KoF. This arcade is mentioned as a mini-tourney spot in November of 2005 in a fighting games forum.

I know I'm making it sound like it was a rough spot to visit, but there is a reason why arcades were seen as delinquent hot spots in the 80s and 90s. I personally never had any problems with anyone at the Underground Arcade, but many agree, including me, that it would get pretty rowdy in there at times.

The arcade cabinet graveyard.

Final Analysis:

A lot of good memories in this place. It was one of the last old school arcades before they became the nostalgic, retro-style attractions of today. I would spend hours here jumping from machine to machine, then later, just before it shut down, I would play a lot of pool there. I would say despite all its flaws and criticism, this was one of my favorite arcades of all time. The variety, the grit, the soul, I have not encountered another arcade like this since its closing, and I've been to a lot.

 In Los Angeles, I think "Family Arcade" across the street from Los Angeles City College and the arcade at the Santa Monica pier are the last of the old arcades left in the city. There are newer bar arcades dotted all over town, but the ambience is completely different. But anyway, this is just the first entry of many, hopefully you all check regularly while I talk about arcades I visited, or arcades I remember.

Functional machines with screen glare.

PS: If anyone has any memories or photos or history on this arcade, let me know. I'll probably do an update article on it.