As a crowd of 5,000 watched, Woodhaven Lanes in Glendale opened with revolutionary bowling technology on July 29, 1959, initiating a 49-year run in which it hosted Hall of Fame athletes and a nationally broadcast TV game show.
But the 60-lane alley - which closed May 18 - was never designated by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, and locals fear a developer will demolish the brick-box mainstay before its legacy can be saved.
"That history is absolutely important," said Jim Baltz, curator of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis, adding he wants to get Woodhaven Lanes' memorabilia put on display.
Workers are now removing floorboards and machines from the alley to make the interior "spotless" before handing it over to the landlord at the end of the month, according to a manager.
All that will remain is the shell of the alley, established by boxing promoter and bowling center operator Emil Lence, who also owned the 5,000-seat Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn.
Woodhaven Lanes opened in 1959 with innovative "telescore" screens installed on a dropped part of the ceiling, so they'd blend in when turned off.
"Anyone you talk to who's been around for a while will remember Woodhaven as being the most modern when it opened," said veteran bowling writer Chuck Pezzano, 79.
In late 1959, Woodhaven Lanes began hosting the NBC game show "Jackpot Bowling," which aired on Friday nights.
Pezzano, then a columnist at the Paterson (N.J.) Morning Call, said he was hired to prep the show's host, famed sportscaster Mel Allen, before each episode.
Bowlers on the show had nine frames to get six strikes in a row. Bowling icon Don Carter had the right stuff on Dec. 18, 1959.
"I think I was the first one to hit six in a row and win the jackpot," said Carter, 81, of Miami. "It was very exciting."
Bowling Hall of Famer Bill Bunetta, 88, remembers trying to put on a "good show for the audience" when he appeared on May 27, 1960, said Bunetta biographer Danny Ayers.
The game show ended its 15-episode run at Woodhaven on June 24, 1960, with legends Billy Golembiewski and Andy Varipapa on the lanes.
In Sept. 1960, "Jackpot Bowling" moved to 44-lane Hollywood Legion Lanes in California.
But Woodhaven maintained a presence with bowling aficionados. Among those to bowl there in recent years was Kelly Kulick, who in 2006 became the first woman to qualify for the Professional Bowlers Association tour.
"You hate to see something of your pastime torn down," said Kulick, 31. "I'm sad to see it closing."
