Tales From The Boom: The Open Cybercafe Thread
It is, perhaps, one of the quickest tales of obsolesence ever told: The Cybercafe. Once, when web access required things like sitting in one place the entire time to get a signal, a subscription to AOL or Prodigy, and so on, there was a moment when cybercafes — coffee shops outfitted with desks full of computers — seemed like the most cool and necessary things in the world. It didn’t last; as technology flourished, the cybercafe business model (charging people by the minute for computer/Internet time) died almost completely, although today, no coffee shop worth its beans is without a free wifi signal. Around ten years ago, though, Center City was studded with cybercafes; today, the only one we can think of that’s still in business in the ING Direct Cafe (pictured) at 17th and Walnut. (The story of how this unique specimen came to be, though, is another story entirely, and for another time.) Ah, but once. Got a fave from The Golden Age Of Cybercafes? One you still patronize? Tell us about it in the comments.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
There are still a few other cybercafes still in operation, but they tend to serve immigrant populations. I am thinking in particular of a Vietnamese one in the basement of the Nam Phuong building on 11th & Washington, and a Mexican one just a few blocks away at 9th & League. I think there’s also one on South Street that serves bubble tea concoctions. Not sure how much cafe is a part of any of these, but they are definitely cyber.
Gabe
August 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I remember around 1995, on Walnut west of Broad — maybe 15th/16th Street? — there was a cyber cafe upstairs in a weird, dark room. It was set up like a small college computer lab and was frequented by only creepy white men in their 20s and 30s. I tried looking for other mentions of it online but didn’t see anything.