Hundreds of fans swarmed the Museum of Neon Art this weekend for the opening of Wonder Lanes, a new exhibition on the signs and style of mid-century bowling. We spotted teenagers and nonagenarians equally wide-eyed at the massive neon signs visible up close and saw them peering into a specialized 3-D viewer to see stereo images of magnificent googie bowling centers when they were new.
The show opens with blueprints, vintage photos and a miniature recreation of the preserved neon sign from Covina Bowl. When the lavish pin palace opened in the San Gabriel Valley seventy years ago, the new type of building introduced visitors to a fabulous new world of bowling. In the 1950s, the game evolved from a salty saloon sport into a country club for the people, and bowlers in Covina were the first to experience the luxuries of bowling in a stunning, architecturally dynamic complex that also included a fine dining restaurant, a Las Vegas-style lounge, coffee shop and beauty parlor. The Egyptian pyramid at the entrance was dramatically lit and set off by an enormous neon sign, all perched in exotic landscaping. Oh, and there were also 35 bowling lanes. The landmark closed in 2017, and its character-defining features were incorporated into a condo development.
The epic “California style” bowling center was born and soon spread across the country. These entertainment complexes brought what is still the most popular participatory sport in America to the new suburbs and began an arms race to outspend each other. The bowling boom would create hundreds of new centers but the construction race lasted just over half a decade.
The exhibition has a special focus on four of the most significant centers in Southern California: Covina Bowl, Holiday Bowl on Crenshaw, Java Lanes in Long Beach and Arena Bowl in South Gate. In addition to original neon and backlit plastic signs salvaged from the buildings, the exhibition includes carved wooden tikis, chunks of terrazzo flooring and menus, matchbooks and cocktail napkins from the long-gone lounges.
Neon Jungle, a sign shop in Austin, Texas, loaned a gigantic ball and pin reclaimed from a boneyard and refashioned into a dazzling neon sculpture, and Signmakers in South L.A. brought the rusted letters that once hung on Arena Bowl back to life with blazing white neon. The show was sponsored by Lucky Strike Entertainment, the world’s largest operator of bowling centers, as well as Raging Waters, Boomers and Castle Park amusement parks. The exhibit is curated by Kathy Kikkert, Steve Spiegel and your columnist Chris Nichols.
Wonder Lanes runs through summer, and the museum is planning special events tied to the theme over the next few months. Glendale is also home to two of the oldest bowling alleys in L.A., Back Alley Bowling (formerly Jewel City Bowl) and Montrose Bowl, where we fully expect you to end up on the lanes after seeing this show.
Wonder Lanes at The Museum of Neon Art
216 S. Brand Blvd.,
Glendale, CA 91204
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