Beacon Bowl (Gone)
Barstow, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Traveling along old Route 66 through Barstow, the big roadside sign for Beacon Bowl once offered a good excuse to stop and roll a few frames. The bowling alley opened in 1961 with 24 Brunswick lanes, giving local bowlers and highway travelers a little indoor recreation away from the desert heat.

Beacon Bowl was built beside the much older Beacon Tavern and Hotel, a well-known Route 66 landmark topped by an aviation beacon. When the hotel was demolished in 1970, the bowling alley was spared and became the last surviving piece of the old Beacon complex.

The lanes later became Paradise Lanes, followed by Revolutions Entertainment Center and its Route 66 Sports Bar & Grill. The names changed, but bowling continued inside the old building until Revolutions closed in May 2016. Somewhere along the way, the classic Beacon Bowl marquee was removed.

Beacon Bowl (Gone)
Barstow, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE : The Beacon Bowl is now Paradise Lanes. Unfortunately, the cool marquee is history. Many thanks to Andre Eubanks for update.

UPDATE: The former bowling alley has been converted into the Barstow Community Health Center. The building survives, but the lanes and roadside sign are gone. A mural on the outside wall now remembers the long-demolished Beacon Hotel that once stood beside it. 09-26

Pioneer Bowl
Pioneertown, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

Wander down Mane Street in Pioneertown and check out Pioneer Bowl, a vintage bowling alley hidden behind an Old West storefront. With six wooden lanes, a bar, pool tables, and cowboy murals covering the walls, the place feels like a throwback inside a town that is already a throwback. No glowing plastic bowling pin out front here. The rustic wooden sign fits right in with the neighboring saloons and Western buildings.

Pioneertown was created in 1946 as a working movie set where actors could film Western scenes during the day and have somewhere to stay and relax after the cameras stopped. Pioneer Bowl opened around that same time as a recreation spot for actors, film crews, extras, and local residents. Roy Rogers, one of the original investors in Pioneertown, reportedly rolled the first game on lane one.

Inside, the bowling alley still has its original 1946 murals painted by Wallace Roland Stark. Cowboys, horses, and scenes from the Old West watch over the lanes while vintage Brunswick equipment keeps the pins moving. The old wood lanes and mechanical pinsetters give every game a little more character than the average modern bowling center. Hopefully the ball makes it back.

Pioneer Bowl
Pioneertown, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

The building also served as Pioneertown’s first post office, making it one of the town’s original gathering places. Apparently, picking up the mail, ordering a drink, and bowling a few frames could all be handled in the same stop.

UPDATE: Pioneertown was threatened by a massive wildfire in July 2006. Fortunately, the movie set itself was saved. 07-06

UPDATE: Pioneer Bowl remains open as a bar and working boutique bowling alley, generally with limited weekend hours. The Western storefront, original murals, wood lanes, and vintage Brunswick equipment all survive, thanks to years of careful maintenance by its owners. 09-26

The alley and the murals Pioneertown, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo	The alley and the murals Pioneertown, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo