A few months back there was a Village14 post about the closing of Swartz’s Hardware in Nonantum. In the comments, Bruce Henderson mentioned that there was a small bowling alley in the basement of Swartz’s. From there the comments quickly filled up with reports of six different old bowling alleys around Newton – everything from the beautiful working candlepin lanes in the Windsor Club in Waban to the last remains of an alley in the basement of The Biltmore in Upper Falls.
This past Sunday, Kara Robbins, Steve Siegel and I and a friend and lifelong bowler Scott Wilson took a look at the old lanes above the gymnasium in the mid 1800’s era Allen House in West Newton (above). This single antique lane is a fabulous find.
We’ve begun hatching a plan for an event called the Back Alleys of Newton. It will be a celebration and exploration of the hidden bowling alleys of Newton. We’ve also recruited V14 regular and alley cat Terry Malloy to the team. Mr Malloy is a welcome addition since he knows more about bowling alley equipment than any one in the city, and the man loves a good party.
At this point details are still sketchy and will start to be filled in over the coming weeks. Before winters out, you’ll all be invited to join us to throw a few balls and hoist a few brews in the Back Alleys of Newton.
I absolutely love this idea! Can’t wait!!
Sounds fantastic!
The Allen House bowling alley had candlepins. None of those wussy ten pins and enormous bowling balls you outlanders are used to. Where is the challenge in that?
Are you sure about that Ted? I would have guessed they had something other than candlepins.
Historic Newton says that they have two of the original Allen House pins and a ball. We’ll have to get down there and take a look.
I feel like it’s a winning idea just because of children’s birthday parties. I’ve been to that place in Needham Center a million times for birthday parties that my girls were invited to.
I asked the NCA executive director when she was presenting the application for CPA funds at last week’s meeting. Having grown up in MA and having bowled candlepins all my life, as well as ten pins and duck pins, it was important to me. I have visited Allen House numerous times and would be interested in a field trip to the Newton History Museum to see the original artifacts.
The King’s Handbook also mentions an 1890s bowling alley at the “Newton Boat Club” in Auburndale
It would make more sense for shorter lanes to use candlepins… Wiki says candlepins were invented in 1890.
Hoss – we’ll have to do a bit of digging on that one and see if there are any traces left of the Auburndale lanes.
The Allen House school was built around 1860. As far as I can see with a quick Internet search it appears that the bowling alley was probably part of the original construction. Bowling balls/pins weren’t standardized unto the 1890’s, so my guess is that the original pins/balls were some sort of mongrels – neither 10 pins nor candlepins. For Ted’s sake, let’s hope that they’re closer to candlepins than those big pin abominations.
Jerry, here is some more history on Allen House. The house was probably built around 1844, and Nathaniel Allen bought it in 1854 for his residence and school. I am not sure when the bowling alley went in, but the kind of pins likely changed over time. Ten pins were not standardized in 1860 and candlepin bowling probably started between 1880 and 1890. BTW, I was told there were originally two lanes (as you can see from the photo.
I seem to recall someone mentioning a couple lanes in the basement of the Turtle Playhouse? But I also see that that property is up for review for a partial demolition at the upcoming Newton Historical Commission meeting on 1/23:
http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/56413
Thanks Peter – one more for our researchers.
I seem to recall a small bowling alley under the Paramount Theatre in Newton Corner. You got to it by a little side door off of Bacon St….
This would have been in the 1960’s.
Thanks TWT. That one’s on our list to research though we haven’t gotten any info yet
While we pine for an answer on the pins, I applaud the initiative of several august citizens of Newton.Thanks from the rest of us.
I bowled in the alleys on Bacon Street in the early 1980s, before they closed. They had 10 lanes down there and the last time I visited them, they had planked over the last four lanes to build a make-shift arcade.
I’ve seen the lanes under the Biltmore before – what a great piece of bowling history. Very short approaches and (of course) no inserting machines.
My wife and I ran the Needham Bowlaway from 2000 to 2011 and spent many years modernizing and improving the place. Having bowled there as a kid, it was really cool to help keep a small part of my childhood alive and preserve it for future generations. It was one of the best jobs I ever had, until the economy collapsed in 2009, and people couldn’t afford to go bowling as frequently. I understand it’s still operating today, but with someone else running it.
I grew up in the Upper Falls, and bowled in numerous houses over my teenage years. Today, only a small handful of bowling alleys (including the Bowlaway) which I bowled at still exist – the rest are gone… That trip sounds like a ton of fun! I’d love to attend it! 🙂
@TWT – Newton Corner Bowl was actually across Bacon Street from the Paramount Theatre and lasted ’til the early 1980’s when that block was rehabbed.
Great info Scott, thanks. Send me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to pick your brain on local bowling info and maybe rope you in for the event.
Jerry this is both an amazing find and a great idea! Just as I thought the Tour de Newton (bicycle) was awesome for community building I believe that putting together a “back alley,” event of some kind will attract families of all types. Seems like a lot of logistics but the fun on the other side of all of the work looks worth it. Please keep me informed.
Here’s a bit of info about another little Newton bowling alley that’s apparently gone without a trace. The Hunneywell Club was a social club in Newton Corner at the corner of Eldredge and Church St. It’s an impressive looking building that now is filled with apartments. Here’s a photo of it today.
Here’s a photo from Historic Newton’s archives of the alleys that were once in the basement.
The Hunneywell Club also functioned in the mid 60’s as the place for the weekly practice sessions leading up to the annual cotillion dance for young Newton boys and girls. Prior to the Hunneywell Club, the practices were held at the Palmer House on Hovey Street (now a vacant lot behind the commercial building on the corner at Washington Street). The actual cotillion dance was held on Algonquin Road, across from the Boston College entrance. The building has been replaced by the residences overlooking the tennis courts and golf course.
I am on a tangent, however Jerry got my brain cells working when he mentioned the Honneywell House.
I was walking by The Biltmore in Upper Falls yesterday morning and saw that the basement door was open. I yelled down and asked if I could come down and snap a quick photo. Here’s the remains of one of The Biltmore’s old bowling lanes . You can see that a wall has been put up across the middle of the lanes.
… and here’s a flyer for The Ebonite bowling balls that were manufactured in the factory on Oak St in Upper Falls. The factory shut down in the 1970’s at the end of a bitter strike. Old timers in the neighborhood say that, back when it was in operation, you could always tell what color balls they were making that day by looking at the color of the water flowing through Hemlock Gorge – bright orange, blue, etc
Shouldn’t the Hunnewell Club be spelled out the Y?
The pollution from the Bowling Ball factory used to be so intense that mothers in Upper Falls could tell if their kids broke their rules against swimming in the polluted river by the color of their skin.
@Brian Yates
No, not according to this.
A few of us went on an exploratory trip a while back to check out the 1800’s era bowling alley in the Allen House in West Newton.
Thanks to Steve Siegel, we have an action video of the lane in use.
Hi there we own a vintage bowling center in Amesbury and have been traveling around the state taking pictures and posting them on our site of all these old school set ups and would love to join in and take and post some pictures
@Riverwalk Lanes – That’s great. We’d love to have you join in the fun especially since you sound like a repository of bowling alley history. We hope to nail down the date for the event early next week – it will most likely be a Sunday afternoon in May. I’ll post something here as soon as we know.
Hi, I have a question. Why were the bowling alleys there? For example, why would a hardware store such as Schwartz need a bowlling alley in their basement?
There used to be a pool hall next door to the hardware store. The pool h as ll had bowling in the basement. At some point the pool hall/bowling alley close and the hardware store expanded into their premises.
@Jerry. Thanks for the call before you left. I thought we wouldn’t hear a word from you for two months. Things are already starting to fall apart without you here.
Today’s Newton Tab features a great photo of the best back alley in Newton, at the Allen House in West Newton. Here’s a video, courtesy of Steve Siegel, of the lane in action last spring.
Many months ago, we went a fair way towards organizing the Back Alleys of Newton event. We arranged access to the bowling alleys at the Neighborhood Club in West Newton and the Windsor Club in Waban. We collected a fair amount of memorabilia and photos about defunct bowling alleys in other corners of the city.
Unfortunately though, the inspiration for the whole event was that way-cool antique bowling alley at the Allen House. The Newton Cultural Alliance, who owns the house, loved the idea but it turned out to just not be do’áble. Until the major renovation work gets completed over the next few years, there were all sorts of legal obstacles (occupancy permits, insurance, etc) for using it even for this one afternoon event.
The Cultural Alliance recently secured a $300,000 CPA grant to embark on the first phase of a five year renovation plan, which is great news indeed.
In the meantime, I guess those bowling pins and ball I scored on eBay will have to get stored away in our basement for now. We’ll check back with the NCA after the Allen House becomes legally habitable again in a few years.
http://WWW.HENRYSBASEBALLCLUB.COM 781 891 0621
I OWNED THE NEWTON CORNER BOWL FOR 10 YEARS. 1976 TO 1986. HOMES OUR LAND LORD STATED THAT HE WOULD NO LONGER RENEW THE LEASE AND HAD PLANS FOR THE BUILDING THAT U SEE THERE TODAY. THE ONLY THING LEFT IS THE ENTRY DOOR TO THE OLD BOWLING ALLEY THAT I WAS TOLD STARTED AROUND 1940. I DO HAVE A 10 MIN. VIDEO THAT WE TAPED JUST BEFORE THE LAST DAY ON THE PREMISES. GLAD TO LET ANY BOWLING PEOPLE SEE IT. IT SHOWS HOW THE OLD MACHINES WORKED. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT TED WILLIAMS THE FAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYER WAS INVOLVED IN SALES IN THE OFF SEASON FOR THE BOWL FAST BRAND. AT THAT TIME BASEBALL PLAYER’S DID NOT MAKE THE MONEY THAT THEY GET TODAY!!
@Henry Munevar – thanks for the info about the Newton Corner alleys. A number of people mentioned having fond memories of bowling there. I remember them from when I lived in Newtonville for a few years sometime around 1980.
Please contact me via email ( [email protected] ). I’d love to see the video. It would be great to have when we eventually do our Back Alleys of Newton event.
Anything further on this project since 2014?
No, but it is not forgotten. Back then I did a fair amount of research, collected some Newton bowling paraphernalia, bought some pins and balls.
The stumbling block is the Allen House bowling alley which was the original inspiration (see above). We won;t be able to legally get in to the bowling alley until their construction is complete. The main house is done but the barn, where the bowling alley is, is under construction at the moment.
It may take a while yet but soon as we can get in there we will definitely do this event.