North side bowling alley closes doors
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Cat Andersen/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - A vintage bowling alley on the north side of Indianapolis has reached the final frame. Jubilee Bowl is shutting down after almost five decades, and Wednesday was the last day on the lanes.
Jubilee Bowl opened its doors in 1961 with 16 operating lanes and much of the machinery that was there on the first day was still there on the last - cranking away, sweeping and resetting the pins, and shooting balls back to their rightful bowlers.
"One time I got up to 150 something. That was an unusually good game," mused Rush Harmon, a loyal Jubilee Bowl customer. He and fiancée Ruth Kitron have made Jubilee Bowl their weekly date for years.
"I'm real sad to see it's going," said Kitron.
Loyal customers say it's about more than just throwing a ball at a bunch of pins. They say when they step up to one of these bowling lanes it's like walking down memory lane.
"When I was a very young mother, I brought my children," said Kitron, who admits that it's looking a bit dated. "You look at Jubilee and the bowling pins over there, that's carpet."
But where else can you find carpet-covered walls, light-up awnings indoors, and a lounge that doesn't separate the smokers from the non-smokers? The décor reminds employees of a time where there were no computers to keep score.
"The first time I was here to bowl they actually still used paper and pencil," said Lisa Edmonds, employee.
Over time they've watched couples meet and marry and families grow.
"Our bowlers that have been here, bowling here for years, they have had babies and their babies are now bowling," said Edmonds. "Everybody's been tearing up."
"All good things have to come to an end," said Harmon.
The Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Creek bought the bowling alley and plans to turn it into an activity center for children. Employees of Jubilee Bowl have been transferred to a nearby Royal Pin Bowling alley.
