Old Bowling Alley Near The Galleria

[TxFireguy]

Back in the 60's-70's there used to be a very large (I mean BIG) bowling alley near old KPRC studios located at what is now the Galleria. It may have been on Post Oak. What I remember about the place was that it had a slotcar track and also an archery range inside, not to mention other entertainment also. I think it was called ----- USA or something with USA in it. Any takers on this one?

This bowling alley was similar in size to the "Bronco Bowl" in Dallas (if it is still there)

See you at the Delman...

[northbeaumont]

Back in the 60's-70's there used to be a very large (I mean BIG) bowling alley near old KPRC studios located at what is now the Galleria. It may have been on Post Oak. What I remember about the place was that it had a slotcar track and also an archery range inside, not to mention other entertainment also. I think it was called ----- USA or something with USA in it. Any takers on this one?

This bowling alley was similar in size to the "Bronco Bowl" in Dallas (if it is still there)

See you at the Delman...

Sorry that I can't help you on this one. But I do remember back in the early 1960s going into an underground bowling alley in what was then called Gulfgate Shopping City. Would you happen to remember that one?

[TxFireguy]

Sorry that I can't help you on this one. But I do remember back in the early 1960s going into an underground bowling alley in what was then called Gulfgate Shopping City. Would you happen to remember that one?

I origianlly grew up in the SE side of Houston and went to Gulfgate quite often. I do not recall the bowling alley unless it was on the East side of the complex, which i think was a little lower than the rest of it.

[northbeaumont]

I origianlly grew up in the SE side of Houston and went to Gulfgate quite often. I do not recall the bowling alley unless it was on the East side of the complex, which i think was a little lower than the rest of it.

I think that that bowling alley was on the side that faced IH-45 (Gulf Freeway). I looked at a photo on TexasFreeway.Com and it a photo from the late 1950s which showed Sakowitz and Joske's and I think that it was somewhere in that vicinity.

[isuredid]

I think the bowling alley at Gulfgate was discussed in a thread on Gulfgate. I went there many times as a kid and it was indeed, in the basement on the side of the mall facing the I-45. I would call that the North side. That bowling alley was where I was first introduced to pinball. I used to go there to get their french fries. They would hand cut a whole potato, fry it up and serve it on a paper plate with a bottle of catsup. Yum!

Now I, like the previous posts, have subverted the original discussion....so...back to the bowling alley by the Galleria

Edited March 22, 2007 by isuredid

[NenaE]

It's funny that so many people remember the Gulfgate bowling alley, guess because it was uniquely "downstairs", underground. In this city, that's rare. It was generally in between Joske's & Picadilly, by the (I would say) East entrance. Orange Julius was close by, maybe directly on top of it, at one time, and a nightclub, and savings bank were in front of it.

I don't remember the bowling alley by the Galleria. Does anyone know what street it faced?

[IronTiger]

I heard there was a bowling alley IN the Galleria, which didn't last long. Is that it?

[Pumapayam]

I don't remember the bowling alley by the Galleria. Does anyone know what street it faced?

There never was a bowling alley in the Galleria.

[RhinoVP]

There never was a bowling alley in the Galleria.

Pumapayam,

There actualy was a bowling alley in the Galleria, back in the mid to late 70's. My father who was a comercial loan officer for Bank of the Southwest at the time, made several trips there (with me in tow) to watch the construction of it.

The sad thing about it was, it stayed in operation almost as long as it took to build. It closed within just a few months, after a large number of complaints from neighboring mall tenants. However the idea didn't really take off anyway.

BTW - This wasn't so much of a bowling alley, as it was a bar that had a bowling alley in it.

[plumber2]

There was a bowling alley near the Galleria on Sage Rd. The Windsor Plaza Bowling alley was in operation during the 60's and early 70's. The building is still there, but the entertainment served these days is much more adult themed than picking up strikes and spares.

[NenaE]

There was a bowling alley near the Galleria on Sage Rd. The Windsor Plaza Bowling alley was in operation during the 60's and early 70's. The building is still there, but the entertainment served these days is much more adult themed than picking up strikes and spares.

...Thought it might have been during that time period, in that area, where everything had a "castle-like" theme.

[rsb320]

Yep, the Men's Club was a bowling alley. It was behind Cooters at the time.

[IronTiger]

Pumapayam,

There actualy was a bowling alley in the Galleria, back in the mid to late 70's. My father who was a comercial loan officer for Bank of the Southwest at the time, made several trips there (with me in tow) to watch the construction of it.

The sad thing about it was, it stayed in operation almost as long as it took to build. It closed within just a few months, after a large number of complaints from neighboring mall tenants. However the idea didn't really take off anyway.

BTW - This wasn't so much of a bowling alley, as it was a bar that had a bowling alley in it.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_742374 mentions "Not everything at the Galleria has gone swimmingly. One of the most notable failures was the bowling alley that was an original tenant of the mall. The alley proved to be a little out of place for an upscale center. "

[plumber2]

Yep, the Men's Club was a bowling alley. It was behind Cooters at the time.

Cooters! What a name for a night club. Where was Uncle Sam's?

[Dagnabbit]

Cooters! What a name for a night club. Where was Uncle Sam's?

Uncle Sam's was on the east side of Fondren about a block or so south of Westhiemer.

[rsb320]

Uncle Sam's was on the east side of Fondren about a block or so south of Westhiemer.

That place was also called Suckers at some point.

[thefensk]

There was a bowling alley near the Galleria on Sage Rd. The Windsor Plaza Bowling alley was in operation during the 60's and early 70's. The building is still there, but the entertainment served these days is much more adult themed than picking up strikes and spares.

It got the name because it was adjacent to "Windsor Plaza" the strip shopping center at Richmond and Sage. In the old days Windsor plaza was anchored on the Sage road side by an A&P supermarket and by the Cinerama movie theatre on the other end at least after a couple of years. The "cinerama" section was a later addtion to the shopping center. The bowling alley was behind the shopping center, fronting on Sage. Windsor Plaza itself fronted toward Richmond.

I remember the very day Window Plaza Bowling Alley opened, they had free bowling and my mom took us all there to take part. I must have been like seven or eight, putting that in the very early in the 60s. That was the first time I ever went bowling, but I used to go bowling there all the time in the 60s.

[Snow]

Post Oak Bowling Lanes was at 11120 S. Post Oak. It's now the site of the Christian Assembly of Houston, which looks like it might be the same building.