Dont know if anyone in the SF/bay area know's this but the old Holiday Bowl on Mission Blvnd in Hayward is closed!! Its been there 47 years and has been the host of 2 Billetproof shows and the last Asphalt Invitational show. Here is a shot of the old neon sign I took late one night.........RIP
Damn. One thing I like about bowling alleys is how they sprawl giving lots of places to hamg out and a bit of privacy while you run your criminal enterprise. They have cocktail lounges and sometimes table service. We're losing more than keggling here.
The Rheem Bowl in Moraga closed down 5 years ago after 40 years of reliable cheap fun In its place sits a modern vacant lot.
In the same area they just closed the old Orinda theater....beautiful old marquee with lots of colorful neon lights. See my next post.......its the Park theater that closed
Are you sure? They closed the little Park in Lafayette. I think the Orinda is open for now. There isn't a lot of entertainment choices around here as it is.
I agree the old bowling alleys offered a lot in atmosphere and memories but one thing I never missed about them is the smell of stale cigarette smoke, it always seemed worse in a bowling alley even than in a bar or club. Don't know why....
Bummer, that was my favorite BP location. We're losing more and more of our history, but it's all in the name of progress I guess... I mean it's not like there's a Wal Mart or Starbucks on every corner. Oh wait...
Now that SUCKS! I really enjoyed the Asphault Invitational the last two years there. It was the perfect place for the show. There probably going to put in more housing (condos / apartments) it is a good sized piece of property. Ya that's just what we need....NOT! What a waist, just like Fremont Dragstrip.
They tore down the Java Lanes last year. It was the alleys that the Lava Lounge was in, where the Shifters had their after VLV party party. It's now being redeveloped into a bunch of butt-ugly fake Italian Rennaisance Castle/Villa looking own your own apartments. Can't say I ever supported the place though, but that's the alley's fault... They always had all those "leagues" bowling ALL the time Ery night and if you wanted to bowl you had to be in a league and bowl ALL the time or never , unless you went in at 6:00AM or some such rediculous time and then the leagues got less popular, but they didn't have any history of "casual bowlers" clientelle to cover the empty lane time. I'm afraid indoor lane bowling was a passing fad, like Drive-in movies, Beta, and 8-track tape players. If ya want to save one, buy it, and get elected to your local city council so you can fight the bastards when they wan't to "eminent-domain" your so-called "property rights" right out from under your "free?" ass.
My sentiments exactly! Last week I had a customer from Hayward call me, we talked for a bit & he informed that that he Holiday Bowl in in Hayward has closed down I asked him why & his reply was Housing! Go figure Aren't the developers getting enough $ with the rising & highest housing costs in nation! Well, this is indeed a sad time, I took my older brother to his 1st ever Hot Rod show with his own wheels @ this years AI#2. He had a great time, bought lots of shirts & stuff, tyring to support the vendors & all. I drove up with the Circle City crew & had a great time. What a loss!!!!! So where will the AI#3 be I sure hope Jay Ward see's this post. It was probably the best show that I had been to in years!!!!!
I agree it sucks Holiday Bowl shut down. Holiday bowl closed down due to losing money, not housing. The electricity bill alone was 10k a month.(I know the owner)
They're a dying breed. Anyone remember the Futurama Bowl on Stevens Creek near Lawrence? At least Safeway kept the sign.
I know that place. We had one of our ATM's there. He said the bowling leagues started falling off and that's what kept him alive. sad deal.
Yeah it's too bad that the charm is being sucked out of every city in America. Just to build condos, parking lots, and grocery stores. They are getting ready to demolish Lelani lanes up here in Seattle.
The Holiday Bowl will be missed. I ate in their diner evry week.I have spent many evenings with my wife, son and friends getting a bite and just slowing down a bit. It was like stepping back in time. It seems all these places are now worth more for their land than for the buisness. I am sure in time we (as a society) will look back and wonder why we let it happen. Progress, I don't think so. We need more freakin apartments like we need a hole in a piston. We will all go on but a little piece of our lives will be only a memory. chuck
Somebody save that neon sign. Sure it's too big to fit inside anywhere - if you can't keep it at your place, put it on eBay for whatever your trouble is worth. Someone who appreciates it will buy it. If you're not one to want to let people fight for it, just use a Buy It Now on it. Just tell them no shipping on this, have to come get it. Odds are you can buy it reasonable from whoever knocks the place down -
it was a counter top ATM. We installed it years ago. Its an old dinosaur...haha Called a Moneytel ATM.
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