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Bowling Signs (page 4)

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Duffy's Green Acres Bowl
Abilene, KS
2010: 2023:
Duffy's Green Acres Bowl had opened by 1962. By 2007, the neon was long gone and the Duffy's name had been painted. In 2016, the sign was repainted for the Tornado Alley Lanes. [map]

Holiday Bowl
Augusta, KS		 Zuckey's Bowl
Manhattan, KS		 Ayr Lanes
Liberal, KS
The Holiday Bowl opened in 1958. The sign's lettering was definitely inspired by Holiday Inn signs. The bowling alley closed in 2010. In 2022, work began to reopen the business. [map]

The Zuckey's Bowl sign appears to be from the 1950s. The business is now known as Little Apple Lanes. This sign remains. [map]

Ayr Lanes has been there since at least 1963. It became Billy's Ayr Lanes in 2014. [map]

Tuxie's Ten Pin & Grill
Belleville, KS
Tuxie's Ten Pin & Grill was built as the Belleville Bowl. In 2021, it became Tuxie's and this sign was built. [map]

Starlite Lanes
McPherson, KS
2010: 2023:
The Starlite Lanes opened in 1961 and this sign is from then. Around 2017, the original readerboard had been replaced with a digital display board. [map]

Gage Center Bowl
Topeka, KS
Gage Bowl North [gone]
Topeka, KS
Gage Center Bowl opened in 1960. The signs were refurbished in 2014. The pole sign is animated. For more, see this website. [map]

Gage Bowl North opened in 1961 and had the same signs as Gage Center Bowl. It closed in 2011. By 2014, the sign on the building had been removed and the pole sign was painted over. The building was remodeled for a storage center.

Crescent Bowl [gone]
Bowling Green, KY		 Dix-E-Town Lanes
Elizabethtown, KY		 former Southland
Bowling Alley
Lexington, KY		 Melody Lanes [gone]
Madisonville, KY
The Crescent Bowl featured identical signs to that in Donelson, TN. I believe both of these places were both built by the Crescent Amusement Company which built bowling alleys near their theatres. The Donelson Lanes opened in 1957 and the Crescent Bowl opened in 1960. In 2014, the Crescent Bowl closed and the building was demolished. This sign may have been purchased by a collector. For more, see this website.

The E-Town Lanes, aka the Dix-E-Town Lanes, is located on the Dixie Highway. It has been here since at least the 1960s. In 2022, the business became the B&B Lanes and the sign was adapted and neon removed. For more, see this website. [map]

The Southland Bowling Alley sign was built in the early 1960s. The building and sign were designed by the architectural firm of Johnson-Romanowitz. The sign caught fire in 2007 and was rebuilt by 2009. This place is now known as Collins Bowling Center. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

The Melody Lanes sign is probably from the 1950s. Around 2019, the neon was removed and the sign was repainted. The letters are now backlit plastic. For more, see this website. [map]

More Kentucky:
Lyndon Lanes (Louisville) [gone]
Ten Pin Lanes (Louisville)
Corvette Lanes (Murray)

Mid-City Lanes Rock 'N Bowl
New Orleans, LA
2006: 2019: 2020:
Mid-City Lanes Rock 'N Bowl opened in 1941 and added rock, zydeco and R&B bands in 1988. I don't know when the sign was built or if this was its original position. [map]

More Louisiana:
Holiday Lanes (Bossier City)
Southgate Bowling Center (Shreveport)

Malden Square Bowladrome [gone]
Malden, MA
The Malden Square Bowladrome was later known as Ryan Family Amusements but these signs remained. These photos are from 2009. The signs were restored between 2011 and 2013. The signs feature candlepins. In 2017, the place closed and the vertical pin sign was sold to a collector. The other signs are gone now, too.

More Massachusetts:
Sunnyside Bowladrome (Danvers) [map]
Cove Bowling Lanes (Great Barrington)
Wakefield Bowladrome (Wakefield) [map]
Wal-Lex Recreation Center (Waltham) [gone]

Bay Lanes [gone]
Bay City, MI		 Wenger's Bowl
Grand Rapids, MI		 Clique
Bowling Lanes
Grand Rapids, MI
Bay Lanes opened in 1964 and this sign appeared to be from then. The business had closed by 2023 and the sign is gone.

Wenger's Bowl opened in 1920. This sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Clique Bowling Lanes opened in 1953. The 16 lanes came from the Chicago Coliseum. For more, see this website. [map]

Bowl-E-Drome
Howell, MI		 Sherman
Bowling Center
Muskegon, MI
The Bowl-E-Drome opened in 1950. This sign may be from then. [map]

The Sherman Bowling Center opened in 1956 and this sign appears to be from then. For more, see this website. [map]

Shula's 31 Bowl
Niles, MI		 Bowlero Lanes
Royal Oak, MI
This sign originally advertised for Shula's 31 Bowl and was built in 1964. Shula's 31 Bowl closed around 2002. In 2004, the bowling alley was remodeled for Joey Armadillo's and the sign was adapted as well. The red, backlit plastic sign panels on the corner panels were replaced for Joey's. However, the original Shula's backlit plastic panel with four bowlers was kept. The original porcelain enamel panels with red neon bowling balls lit top to bottom into the "Bowl" text in a five-part sequence were also left intact. The balls are only partially lit now. The gap beneath the sign panel may have held another neon panel originally. The original, backlit plastic readerboard with manually-changed letters below the sign was replaced around 2019 with an electronic message board. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Bowlero Lanes sign appears to be from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Stardust Lanes [gone]
Saginaw, MI		 State Lanes [gone]
Saginaw, MI
The Stardust Lanes opened in 1964. The name and sign's lettering were inspired by the Stardust Hotel signs in Las Vegas. In 2018, the sign was removed. For more, see this website.

The State Lanes opened in 1959. Part of the sign was replaced between 2005 (first photo above) and 2011 (other two photos). The business closed in 2018 and the sign was removed.

Shelby Lanes [gone]
Shelby Township, MI		 Town N Country Lanes
Westland, MI		 Ypsi-Arbor Lanes [gone]
Ypsilanti, MI
I believe Shelby Lanes opened in the late 1960s. This sign appeared to be from then. By 2023, this sign was gone. It was replaced with a smaller, modern plastic sign and set further back from the road.

The Town N Country Lanes sign is probably from the 1960s. For more, see this website. [map]

Ypsi-Arbor Lanes opened in 1964 and this sign is from then. The name came from its location between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. The bowling alley closed in 2001. There are plans to demolish the building in order to construct a strip mall. The contents of the building and the sign were auctioned off. The sign was sold to a private collector for $3,250. It cost another $1,750 or so to move it. The sign was more than twenty feet tall and had been well-maintained over the years. In addition to the red, green, blue and white neon, the sign features more than 200 flashing bulbs. The yellow bulbs were lit sequentially from the tips of the sunburst towards the sign's center. For more, see this website. [night photo thanks Mark Comstock]

More Michigan:
Almac Lanes (Bad Axe)
Garden Bowl (Detroit)
Holiday Bowl (Escanaba) [gone]
Thunderbird Lanes (Ypsilanti) [vintage; gone]

Bowling Signs
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page 9
Main SCA Article
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