WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 7, 2019 23
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
earlier, Van Wyck Lanes, located at
Metropolitan and Jamaica avenues in
Richmond Hill, had abruptly ceased
operation.
Unfortunately, for those who enjoy
the pastime, the number of bowling
facilities has shrunk over the last 20
years largely due to the increasing desirability
of the properties as sites for
development. In the case of Woodhaven
Lanes, the former bowling alley
was transformed into Bob’s Discount
Furniture store.
To the best of our knowledge, there
are just a handful of bowling alleys
still operating in Queens, including
Bowlero (formerly 34th Avenue
Lanes) in Woodside, Astoria Bowl,
Whitestone Lanes, Jib Lanes in Fresh
Meadows and Bowl360 (formerly
Cozy Bowl and Americana Bowl) in
Ozone Park.
Going back many years in the Ridgewood/
Glendale area, there was bowling
at the Unity Hall building on the
south side of Myrtle Avenue, just east
of “Old” Fresh Pond Road (now known
as Cypress Hills Street). Erected in
1909 by the Unity Democratic Club,
the building originally featured four
imposing looking white columns and
was equipped with gas and electricity,
which was unusual for Glendale in
those days.
Alfred Denton, the president of the
Unity Democratic Club, was an attorney
who was elected a mutual judge for
the third district in 1909. He held court
Silent movies were made at the Glendale Studio, as pictured in 1921. After the movie operation moved to
California, the site on the north side of Myrtle Avenue became the location for Sportland, a bowling facility.
on the second fl oor of Unity Hall.
On the ground fl oor, there was a saloon.
It served Otto Huber’s Goldenrod
Beer, which was brewed in Brooklyn at
Bushwick Avenue and Meserole Street.
In the basement, there was a gym
with lockers and bowling alleys. In
1915, aft er the saloon had a change in
ownership, the new proprietor decided
he would build up the business by
sponsoring prize fi ghts in the gym in
the basement.
On or about 1920, Unity Hall was
sold and with Prohibition in eff ect,
it no longer housed a saloon. We do
not know exactly when the bowling
operation may have ceased in the
basement, but on July 27, 1924, the
building formerly known as Unity
Hall was damaged by a two-alarm
fi re. It was repaired and still stands
today — minus its distinctive white
columns.
Another popular bowling alley in
Ridgewood, Glenwood Bowl, was located
on Myrtle Avenue at Decatur Street.
Before its operation as a bowling alley,
it was the Glenwood movie theater. Today,
it is the site of Ridgewood’s Myrtle
Avenue post offi ce.
In addition, a bowling alley was located
on the lower level of the Glenwood
Manor Building — the former Evergreen
Theatre — on Seneca Avenue, just
south of Myrtle Avenue, in Ridgewood.
Over the years, we have heard
from readers who made mention of
the Glendale Bowling Alleys, located
further east at 71-48 Myrtle Ave. and
originally operated by two brothers,
Bill and Herman Jakobs.
Another Glendale bowling operation
existed even further east — Sportland
Bowling Alleys, located at 88-43
Myrtle Ave. The owner was Charles
Hug. Sportland also had a basketball
court where the Original Celtics
played an exhibition game.
The Sportland location — on the
north side of Myrtle Avenue between
what is now 88th Lane and 88th Place
— had been a picnic park, William
Riebling’s Greater New York Park and
Casino, with a dance hall, hotel and
picnic grounds.
Later, from 1915 through 1925, it served
as the site of a motion picture studio
where silent movies were produced. In
1925, the operation moved to California.
During the construction of the Interboro
Parkway (now known as the
Jackie Robinson Parkway) in the 1930s,
Sportland was among the buildings
razed.
Sources: the June 26, 2008 Ridgewood
Times, The New York Times and the New
York Daily News.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or old
photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would like to
share with our readers, please write to
the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 38-
15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, or send
an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.
com. Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you upon
request.
Bowlers at the now-defunct Woodhaven Lanes, which closed in May 2008.
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