Long Beach, CA - Java Lanes is a polynesian styled bowling alley featuring many googie elements. Opening in 1958, Java Lanes was a popular place to hang out in the Long Beach area. Java Lanes was designed by architects DeRosa, Daly & Powers.Visitors also remember the Lava Lounge which featured live entertainment before losing its entertainment permit in 2002.

Java Lanes
Long Beach, CA
Photo courtesy Sal Garcia

Check out the swirling neon at Java Lanes in Long Beach. The big “BOWL” marquee gave Pacific Coast Highway a lively invitation to pull in for a few games. Behind it, a dramatic A-frame entrance suggested that this bowling outing might come with a little more scenery than usual.

Opened in 1958, Java Lanes was designed by Powers, Daly & DeRosa, the architects behind several of Southern California’s memorable mid-century bowling centers. Like its contemporary Kona Lanes in Costa Mesa, Java mixed bold roadside architecture with a Polynesian theme. Apparently a trip to the South Seas could begin with a pair of rental shoes.

The entrance was a major part of the attraction. Its sweeping roof rose above rock walls, giving the building a profile worth noticing from the street. This was the kind of place where taking a photograph outside could be just as rewarding as rolling a respectable score inside.

Java Lanes
Long Beach, CA
Photo courtesy Sal Garcia

The neon marquee supplied another reason to stop. Its oversized script had movement even when the lights were off, with letters that seemed to curl through the air above the property. After dark, the tubing brought the invitation to life. A plain rectangle reading “bowling” would have done the job, but it certainly wouldn’t have made the same impression.

Inside, the 32 lanes were only part of the evening. Java also offered the East Indies Dining Room, a cocktail lounge, coffee shop, billiards, and a supervised nursery. Bowlers could settle in for league night while other members of the family found something to do. These old bowling centers knew how to turn a few games into a longer stay.

Java Lanes Marquee
Long Beach, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

For years, Java was a familiar recreation stop at Pacific Coast Highway and Termino Avenue. The setting carried the optimism of the late 1950s, when even a neighborhood bowling alley could dress itself up as an exotic destination. The tropical atmosphere may not have helped anyone pick up a difficult split, but it gave them something pleasant to look at afterward.

Then another kind of noise joined the falling pins.

During the 1990s, Mark DiPiazza brought live entertainment back to the property, turning the dining area into the Lava Lounge. The bowling center acquired a second life as a music venue, bringing a different crowd through the doors. An evening at Java could now involve guitars as well as bowling balls.

The room became part of Southern California’s live music scene, with acts including Sublime, Weezer, and Rocket from the Crypt associated with its stage. Lit’s 1999 video for “My Own Worst Enemy” was filmed at the bowling alley, giving the lanes an appearance familiar to viewers who might never have traveled down this stretch of PCH.

Marquee spot after
Long Beach, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

It was an unusual combination, though a fitting one for a building that had never been especially ordinary. The old tropical bowling center had found another way to entertain people without giving up the lanes that started it all.

Unfortunately, the music era brought disputes over noise. The city revoked the live entertainment permit in 2002, ending an important part of the venue’s later identity. The bowling business continued for a time, but the property’s future was moving toward housing.

How quickly these treasures seem to disappear. Supporters of Java Lanes lost their battle to save the bowling alley from being turned into condominiums. Java Lanes was eventually torn down in 2004. Today, the former site of Java Lanes is home to the Cienega townhomes.

Java Lanes closed on May 31, 2004. Demolition followed that summer, taking down the A-frame entrance, the rock walls, and the rooms where generations had bowled, dined, and listened to music. The site was cleared for the Cienega townhome development.

Demolition
Long Beach, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The marquee was dismantled as well. Its removal left the boulevard without that exuberant neon invitation, and the eventual destination of the sign remains uncertain. For a place with so much personality, the farewell was a familiar one: the building disappeared, and the photographs became the best way to visit.

The image preserves Java while its sign still belonged to the roadside scene. A little tropical architecture, a little neon, and a place to spend the evening. Long Beach once had all three waiting at this corner.

UPDATE : Java Lanes in Long Beach, CA closed its doors on May 31, 2004. It has been replaced by a town home community. So no where will they go to bowl? It was the last of Long Beach's bowling centers. Many thanks to Rick Medina, former youth director at Java Lanes for update.

UPDATE: Java Lanes closed on May 31, 2004, and was demolished later that summer. The property at 3800 East Pacific Coast Highway was redeveloped as the Cienega townhome community. Its distinctive neon marquee was removed during the site’s clearance. 10-26

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