Imperial Lanes was in Memphis – opened in 1959 with 48 bowling lanes that were open 24 hours, plus a fine-dining restaurant. The bowling alley closed in 2009 and the building was demolished about ten years later.
Here’s a period postcard showing the restaurant. Certainly fancier than the kind of bowling alley atmosphere that I remember!
The local bowling alley where I grew up (White Oak in Silver Spring, MD) had just a small barstools-at-counter setup that seemed to change from an automat (vending machines that served food) to human servers and back again several times over the years. It’s notable as where I saw and experienced a microwave oven (or “radar oven” as we called it then) for the first time, which blew my mind with its amazing speed. Today that establishment, I think just called White Oak Bowling, is notable for something else – it’s one of only a few dozen duckpin bowling alleys left in the world. I didn’t know as a kid that duckpins weren’t how everyone played the sport; in actuality it’s a Maryland thing with duckpin alleys in only a few other states. Big problem is that nobody has made duckpin pinsetting equipment or parts since decades ago, and only one company makes the pins themselves.
The sign on Imperial Lanes has that same curious cursive font seen on car badges in the mid-to-late 1950s, with a long straight line between every letter. Does this style have a name?
Lot a “blue” here. The “Merc”, coupe, and the “Chev cnvrt” caught my eye. Bet that vivid, red “Falcon” is just about new.
Love that ’61 Valiant in the last photo .
I like the blue Tweetybird at the beginning!
The last shot is Vancouver BC.
Reminds us of how refreshingly different the Tbird was at the time. The other 55-57 Ford and GM cars in the row are the same shape and size.
Imperial Lanes was in Memphis – opened in 1959 with 48 bowling lanes that were open 24 hours, plus a fine-dining restaurant. The bowling alley closed in 2009 and the building was demolished about ten years later.
Here’s a period postcard showing the restaurant. Certainly fancier than the kind of bowling alley atmosphere that I remember!
The local bowling alley where I grew up (White Oak in Silver Spring, MD) had just a small barstools-at-counter setup that seemed to change from an automat (vending machines that served food) to human servers and back again several times over the years. It’s notable as where I saw and experienced a microwave oven (or “radar oven” as we called it then) for the first time, which blew my mind with its amazing speed. Today that establishment, I think just called White Oak Bowling, is notable for something else – it’s one of only a few dozen duckpin bowling alleys left in the world. I didn’t know as a kid that duckpins weren’t how everyone played the sport; in actuality it’s a Maryland thing with duckpin alleys in only a few other states. Big problem is that nobody has made duckpin pinsetting equipment or parts since decades ago, and only one company makes the pins themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckpin_bowling
The sign on Imperial Lanes has that same curious cursive font seen on car badges in the mid-to-late 1950s, with a long straight line between every letter. Does this style have a name?