Bowlmor Lanes

Beautiful, original interior. This is duckpin bowling, not candlepin or large ball (the balls and the pins are small, but not straight). Call or drive by and read the often hand written note on the door for hours :)

We love this alley. I honestly haven’t been in a few years but it was part of an un-​Official tour my then boyfriend, now husband, conducted of duckpin bowling alleys in New England. I must say, of all of the lanes– Bowlmor was like a living relic– beautifully maintained hardwood benches, lanes and equipment. No automatic scoring; that’s for sissies! You can figure it out– all part of the charm. towards the end of the game when our prize personal ball was stuck in the back (that’s right, the hubs has 4 blue balls and I carry them around In a bag post bowling) they were kind enough to give us a brief peek at the equipment. Since duckpin, like candlepin, is a dying sport equipment really isn’t manufactured, nor do people specialize in repairing them. It was impressive how well– maintained, compared to other lanes we’ve frequented. I do recall that we had to call to confirm they were open, and we almost booked them as an event for my wedding party. Unfortunately, we required alcohol– and they let us know Johnny Law wouldn’t allow it, not even if we brought our own.

I imagine the name «Bowlmor”® dates from the dawn of subliminal advertising. The sign on front of the alley is huge, and given the location right at the busiest intersection in town (a.k.a. the «Town Stoplight»), the words «bowl more» are bound to get stuck in your head.
«Bowl… more. Must… bowl… more. More! Stop bowling? NO, BOWL MORE!!!» I mumbled myself awake at my parents place the morning after having driven past the sign. «Hey little brother,» my sister grabbed me by the arm. «We’ve gotta go bowling.» I was thinking the exact same thing!
There’s charm in any place that predates the Plastic Age, and this vintage duckpin alley looks to be about 1950s, though in good working order. The hard wood benches are actually comfortable, and the fact that you still have to score by hand is a testament to the superiority of the mathematics programming at Old Hammondtown School and Center School just down the street.
I wish I could’ve taken away a star for not having size 14 shoes, but such passive aggressive behavior would undermine the masculine cred I’d otherwise get for boasting about how there’s nothing more manly than stuffing size 14 feet into size 13 shoes. As for not being able to break 100 on any of my matches, well I’m still thinking of an excuse for that. But after all the point is not to bowl well, but to bowl more.