Does anyone have any old pictures of the monkies that used to be in the cage out by the River Oakes Shopping Center. One of my friends says I am crazy and there was never such a thing.
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Tell your friend you wish you had bet money on that, you'd win. I don't personally remember them, but from what older folks have said they were there. My father in law and others have talked about them.quote:Originally posted by redkayak:
Does anyone have any old pictures of the monkies that used to be in the cage out by the River Oakes Shopping Center. One of my friends says I am crazy and there was never such a thing.
quote:Originally posted by beternU:
Monkies are nasty. Harvey's, s big department store in Nashville had a live monkey display for several years. The thing smelled awful and the little monkeys were nasty-acting little buggers. They finally shut it down. I doubt that keeping monkeys in a sign display outdoors was very humane by modern animal care standards.
quote:River Oakes Shopping Center
quote:Landmark sign signals bygone days
Jim Hannon/TimesDaily
General Sign Co. workers remove the long-standing River Oaks shopping center sign in Sheffield. The sign was once home to three monkeys that lured the curious to the center.
By Russ Corey
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, April 18, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 11:13 p.m.
SHEFFIELD - Once it held three happy monkeys that were considered emissaries of the River Oaks shopping center on Hatch Boulevard.
But eventually, the monkeys moved on to greener pastures and the business closed, but the River Oaks Center sign remained there as a reminder of a bygone era.
On Thursday, workers with General Sign Co. began dismantling the sign that has stood outside the sprawling empty building owned by Darby Real Estate for more than 40 years.
"It was made before they used a lot of rust-proofing," said Beth Thompson, of General Sign Co. "A lot of it was rusted through in places."
She said the property owners asked the company to remove the sign over safety concerns.
"People have been stopping in and getting pictures," Thompson said. "I guess it's a landmark for a lot of people."
Kirk Jones, a former Sheffield police captain, said his wife told him her family used to come to town on Sundays to see the monkeys in the sign.
"At one time they had a bowling alley there," Jones said. "I came to work here in Sheffield in 1980 and there wasn't anything in that building then. The only thing that's ever been in that building since I've worked in Sheffield was a home health-care business."