FunPlex Closing

Houston, get your scrunchies ready for a bittersweet ride down memory lane. FunPlex, the indoor playground once known as Fame City, has officially shut down.

Back in the 80s and 90s, this place was where Saturdays were made. Whether you were a kid mastering the go-kart track, conquering the arcade, or gliding in your roller skates, Fame City was our all-in-one indoor theme park, smack in the heart of Alief. One longtime Houstonian remembers being dropped off and spending the entire day there—bowling, skating, and grabbing lunch with mates, all under one air-conditioned roof. It was a joy-soaked fortress against Houston’s summer heat.

The memories don’t stop there. Rumor has it, though this one’s social media gold, not news-verified, that some kids in the 80s called it “Fame City Waterworks”, thanks to a mini water park section featuring lazy rivers and slides.

In the 2000s, the name changed to FunPlex, but the magic stayed. Beyoncé filmed her “Blow” music video there and even hosted a skating after-party in 2014, paying homage to her own teenage hangouts.

Now, with rides and games going up for auction and the building being sold off to an unnamed developer, the laughs, birthday parties, and memories of Fame City fade, but they’re alive in our hearts forever.

Doug O’Brien