In “Bowlarama: The Architecture of Mid-Century Bowling Alleys,” Chris Nichols and Adriene Biondo dig into a sorely unheralded golden age when Googie design flourished and bowling alleys served as community centers.
While they document lanes across the country, it’s one San Gabriel Valley venue that kickstarted the project— Covina Bowl.
“Going into the history of Covina Bowl opened up this whole world,” says Nichols on a recent video call. “This whole lost world of midcentury glamour bowling that I never saw in its heyday, and I was blown away by it.”
Nichols, the Los Angeles magazine editor and author of “Walt Disney’s Disneyland,” and Biondo, a historian and photographer, have long been active in preserving the region’s historic buildings. Both were involved in the effort to save the landmark bowling center designed by Powers, Daly & DeRosa.
“I worked with the community in Covina to establish the Friends of Covina Bowl,” says Biondo, of the group that lobbied for historic preservation. “We designed T-shirts and sold T-shirts to help fundraisers for the nomination and there were so many people that were so happy to pitch in and they would do anything to save Covina Bowl.”
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Meanwhile, Nichols collected materials and stories that linked the bowling to significant architects, which led to an exhibition at the Architecture + Design Museum in 2014 and, ultimately, the book.
Bowlarama documents a brief era when bowling alleys opened across the country with bold Googie architecture imported from Southern California. Locally, these unique entertainment centers drew aesthetic inspiration on everything from ancient Egypt to tropical islands. Their imaginative designs and slate of amenities — from fine dining to live entertainment — made them bustling community centers in newly developed suburbs. But, their popularity was fleeting. Biondo recalls the end of the era, which she experienced from the vantage point of the children’s playroom.
“By the time I was paying attention, they had gotten pretty run down for the most part,” says Nichols. “I think that most people that grew up with them in the last few decades saw them as a run-down, funky joint with aerosol cans in the shoes and mismatched decor.”
“But,” he adds, “when they were new and when they were glorious, they were spectacles, unparalleled spectacles.”
Yet, little of that golden age remains. “Some places, all we have is a matchbook. Even the biggest and most famous of their day left so little behind,” says Nichols. “It’s probably part of the reason why the story is so unknown.”
“There’s a serious black hole where the bowling alleys are,” says Biondo. “It’s terrible. It’s tragic really. It’s like an archeological dig where there’s nothing to be found.”
Moreover, there aren’t many firsthand sources left to share their knowledge. “It’s a race against time to tell the story, the whole thing,” says Nichols.
Covina Bowl was a rare instance where the building was partially rescued. “In preservation, you have far more losses than wins typically,” says Nichols. In this case, Trumark redeveloped the property as condos, while retaining, and restoring, the sign and a portion of the building. “They had an architectural historian on-site through the construction phase. They were able to monitor everything and number stones that were coming off the building and put the major character-defining features back the way that they had always been,” says Nichols. “That’s incredible. You never get a happy ending like that.”
Biondo knows how difficult to save anything from these buildings. She organized a car cruise with a hearse club for Java Lanes, the iconic Long Beach venue that was demolished 20 years ago, but was able to help save the building that once housed Mission Hills Bowl. While mid-20th-century art and design is part of the allure of these disappearing spaces, their significance extends beyond that. Biondo recalls road trips with her family, where her parents would seek out the local bowling alley. “They said, if we can find the bowling alley, we’ve found everything,” she says. “Everything really was under one roof. It represented part of a town and the community center.”
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Adds Nichols, “They were a country club for the people.”
Today, relatively few of the classic mid-century bowling centers remain. The authors provide a nationwide list of survivors in the back of “Bowlarama” As for their own favorites, Biondo mentions Linbrook Bowl in Anaheim. “It’s fantastic,” she says.
And both agree that the best “time machine,” as Nichols calls it, is La Habra 300 Bowl. “They have a showroom. A coffee shop. The Googie is all intact, the neon is all intact,” says Nichols. “It wasn’t the most lavish in its day, maybe, but it’s the best survivor.”
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