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Bowling Signs (page 3)

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Dodge Lanes
Belvidere, IL
The Dodge Lanes sign is probably from the 1960s. The neon is now missing. [map]

Diversey River Bowl
Chicago, IL
The Diversey River Bowl features light shows and fog machines as part of its "Rock N Bowl" theme. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Woodmac
Lanes [gone]
Chicago, IL		 Town Hall Bowl [gone]
Cicero, IL		 Crete Lanes [gone]
Crete, IL		 Metro Bowl
Crystal Lake, IL
This Woodmac Lanes sign was still there in 2006 when this photo was taken although the bowling alley had been closed for years. By 2012, the building and sign were gone.

The Town Hall Bowl sign appeared to be from the 1950s. It had the Federal sign company name at the bottom. The sign was removed in 2022 and will most likely be sold to a collector.

The Crete Lanes sign was restored around 2009 when this photo was taken. The neon was lit in three-part animation. When the bowling alley closed around 2016, Evil Horse Brewing Co. moved into the building. The sign is now displayed inside the bar. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Metro Bowl opened in 1956. The name came from the original owner, William G. Metropulos. [map]

Pla-Mor Lanes
Decatur, IL
The Pla-Mor Lanes opened in 1963. These signs must be from then. The business closed in 2019. One of the blue panels have been removed. [map]

Sim's Bowl [gone]
Des Plaines, IL		 Tivoli Bowl
Downers Grove, IL		 Herrin Bowl
Herrin, IL		 Bowl Inn
Jacksonville, IL
Sim's Bowl opened in 1956 and closed in 2009. The red letters originally spelled out "16 Lanes". The building was demolished in 2011. I don't know if any parts of the sign were saved.

The Tivoli Bowl shares a building with the Tivoli Theatre which opened in 1928. [map]

Herrin Bowl was built in 1959. This sign was built then by the Roth Neon Sign Company of Herrin, now Roth Signs. The company's name is painted at the bottom of the panels. The bowling balls are still sequentially lit in red neon. The pins were always static. For more, see this website. [map]

The Bowl Inn was built around 1948 and these signs appear to be from then. [map]

Washington Lanes [gone]
Joliet, IL		 Don Carter Lanes
Rockford, IL
Washington Lanes was long gone but this sign remained until 2020. It is now in a private collection.

Don Carter Lanes opened in 1953 and this sign is from then. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Spillway Lanes [gone]
Springfield, IL
2005: 2009:
The Spillway Lanes bowling alley and sign were built in 1960 for the Town and Country Lanes. In 1985, it was renamed for the Spillway Lanes. It closed in 2007 and the sign deteriorated after that. By 2014, the sign was gone. Four bowling alleys were built around the same type that shared the same building and sign designs. They were owned and developed by A&L Bowling Centers of Chicago. The Hoffman Lanes is gone but the Park Lanes Bowl and its sign remains. The Meadowdale Lanes, now Liberty Lanes, in Carpentersville, IL, is still there but the pole sign is gone. For more, see this website.

King Pin Lanes
Springfield, IL		 Bowl-Mor Lanes
Streator, IL		 Hank's Bowl
Trenton, IL
The King Pin Lanes sign originally had neon. This photo is from 2005. By 2014, the sign had been repainted with less detail. It is now brown and cream. For more, see this website. [map]

The Bowl-Mor Lanes sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. It was repainted around 2016. The top panel no longer has neon and now reads "Jax Grille". The "Lanes" part of the sign has been covered with a non-neon panel which now reads "Streator". [map]

Hank's Bowl opened in 1967 but the building has been used as a bowling center since the early 1900s. This sign appears to be from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Willowbrook
Bowl [gone]
Willowbrook, IL		 Wayne's Lanes
Woodstock, IL
The Willowbrook Bowl opened in 1963. This sign appears to be from then. The bowling alley closed in 2016. This sign was removed soon after that. It is now in a private collection.

Wayne's Lanes has been here since 1941. [map]

More Illinois:
Riverview Restaurant & Family Bowl (Beardstown)
Bel-Air Bowl (Belleville)
Castaways Bowl (Calumet City)
Ten Pin Bowl [vintage] (Carlyle; now American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH]
Fireside Bowl (Chicago)
Eldorado Bowl: 1, 2 (Decatur) [vintage; gone]
Bowlway (Elgin) [gone]
Hoffman Lanes (Hoffman Estates) [gone]
Park Lanes Bowl (Loves Park)
Town N Country Bowl (Peoria) [gone]
Jeffery Lanes (Wheeling)

Plaza Bowling Lanes
Connersville, IN		 Rainbo Lanes
Elkhart, IN
The Plaza Bowling Lanes signs are probably from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Rainbo Lanes opened in 1963. The circles were once animated neon bowling balls which sequenced towards the pin. The bowling alley closed in 2011 just after this photo was taken. It reopened in 2013. In 2014, it was renamed The Arena. The neon was removed and the sign was painted black. [map]

Westwood Lanes
Fort Wayne, IN		 Pro Bowl West
Fort Wayne, IN		 Dunes Bowl [gone]
Gary, IN		 Cressmoor Lanes
Hobart, IN
The Westwood Lanes' bowling pin sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The business has closed by the sign remains. There's now a used car dealership there but the sign has been moved to the back of the lot. [photo thanks Mark Comstock] [map]

Pro Bowl West has been here since at least the 1980s and probably much longer than that. [map]

The Dunes Bowl was obviously inspired by the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The bowling alley had been closed since at least 2008. This photo is from 2009. The bowling alley was demolished around 2012. By 2014, the sign was removed. The Dunes Bowl bulb letters were saved and incorporated into a new sign which is displayed inside a bar in Ottawa, ON.

The Cressmoor Lanes was built in 1955 and this sign was built then by Federal Sign. The sign is owned by the Gary Sign Company of Merrillville, Indiana. The bowling alley pays a leasing fee for the sign, ensuring that it is maintained. The tacked-on "Billiards" piece on the pin is vintage but might conceal different text underneath. For more, see this website. [map]

Scottsburg Lanes
Scottsburg, IN		 Wawasee Bowl
Syracuse, IN		 Creole Lanes [gone]
Vincennes, IN
The Scottsburg Lanes sign features a classic pin outlined in neon. For more, see this website. [map]

The Wawasee Bowl has been here since at least 1980 and probably much longer than that. This sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Creole Lanes sign was probably from the 1960s. The bowling alley closed in 2018 and the sign is gone.

Western
Bowling Center
Indianapolis, IN		 Woodland
Bowling Center
Indianapolis, IN		 Jubilee Bowl [gone]
Indianapolis, IN		 Expo Bowl
Indianapolis, IN		 Action Duckpin
Indianapolis, IN
The Western Bowling Center, the Woodland Bowling Center, the Jubilee Bowl, the Expo Bowl and one other bowling center are owned by the same company, Royal Pin. The Western and the Woodland have 80 lanes and cosmic bowling.

The Jubilee, with 36 lanes, opened in 1964. It closed in 2009 and, by 2011, the bowling pin was gone. The Western opened in 1976, the Western in 1980. The Expo Bowl features a giant pin and a plastic sign - both visible from the interstate. A base remains as evidence that there was a second giant pin there at one time. For more, see this website. [Western map]; [Woodland map]; [Expo map]

The Action Duckpin sign was built in the late 1970s or early 1980s for a local restaurant. It was reworked for Action Duckpin which opened in 1994. For more see this website. [map]

More Indiana:
Norwood Bowl (Alexandria)
Eastern Lanes (Clarksville) [gone]
Silver Creek Lanes (Sellersburg) [gone]

Bowling Signs
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page 2		 Bowling Signs
page 4		 Bowling Signs
page 5		 Bowling Signs
page 6		 Bowling Signs
page 7		 Bowling Signs
page 8		 Bowling Signs
page 9
Main SCA Article
Companion Page		 Main Signs Page