The clock was turned back for baby boomers who returned to an old stomping ground long-forgotten for many in Austin — The Tower.

Light was returned and the dust cleared for one last look at a place in time when rock ‘n’ roll ruled and life was as simple as great music and good friends.

Opened in 1956, The Tower was the place to be for teenagers in Austin, but the hotspot closed after the city cut its electricity in 1973 when a new power plant was built. The second-story hangout has remained hidden from view until recently, when tours were granted Friday and Saturday before the building is demolished.

Calls came in Friday to the Herald with inquiries about tours for one last glimpse of nostalgia.

When today’s teens return to Austin in 35 years, what will they see?

Not to be a traitor to my generation (or the previous Generation Xers or subsequent various tech-savvy groups), but I hesitate to say with sincerity today’s young people would treasure places like The Tower as much as our parents and grandparents did.

If The Tower existed today, would it have as much success? Would teens flock there after every football game like they did in the 50s, 60s and early 70s?

I have heard the same sentiment over and over in the short time I have lived in Austin: there is nothing for young people here.

The schools are great, but what makes someone who just graduated want to come back and live in their hometown? There has to be some kind of pull to persuade someone to set roots down where they grew up.

As the flood of memories returned during tours of The Tower, they likely included scenes from a time when life was slower, people were happier and the influx of technology was many years in the distant future.

Families sat down together for dinner and went for Sunday drives, traffic and gas worries were nonexistent and our Internet connection was never a worry.

We can wish for those times again as much as we want, but they are gone. Out with the old, in with the new — the very new, very fast and very big. We want it — whatever it may be — now. This is the generation of iPods, Bluetooth and Wii (if you don’t know what any of those are, you can probably relate).

I was born in the 80s, the decade of materialism, excess and “me, me, me.” As I see younger people move up in the world, even I am left in the dust technologically, making me sometimes wish for a time and place when people didn’t talk on their cell phones while using public restrooms, when you could stop by and visit a friend instead of wait for a reply from their Blackberry when it’s convenient. There wasn’t that incessant need for communication.

Which brings me back to the original question: what do today’s teens need? Is the answer as simple as a hangout with pizza and pop, were teens are monitored by adults as young love blossomed? Probably not. If so, it would involve a lot of text-messaging because what is happening to them at that moment is just not interesting enough to keep their attention.

The exodus of young people from Austin is likely not completely the fault of the city itself; it’s what these people are seeking — a fast life, new people to meet, more things to do. Some may return, some may not.

I sympathize for people who are dating in this town, those who drive elsewhere for concerts and other various entertainment, and the many who are seeking jobs. And I strongly believe and predict that catering so intensely to seniors and ignoring younger people will result in this population aging out.

When all you have to look forward to is ample senior housing and free blood pressure clinics in the future, what makes you want to stay when you are younger?