Goodbye Leilani Lanes: Seattle, WA

Selector Lopaka, who is still in Florida ~ brought this article to my attention Leilana Lanes ~

Wrecking ball to silence bowling pins at landmark Leilani Lanes

By Erik Lacitis
Seattle Times staff reporter

Another Seattle icon — the Leilani Lanes bowling alley in Greenwood, with palm trees on the entrance awning and its beloved Lani Kai Lounge — is going the way of an apartment development.

The Seattle landmark opened in 1961.

The property, at 10201 Greenwood Ave. N., was sold this week for $6.25 million to Michael R. Mastro, a big player in developing properties. He said he plans to put in 363 apartments and 62,000 square feet of commercial development.

Mastro was born and raised in Seattle, graduating from Cleveland High School in 1943, and said he understood the mixed feelings about razing Leilani Lanes. The bowling alley will be open for business until March.

"In newspapers, you say, 'That's progress,' " Mastro said.

Mastro also acquired an adjoining property, Volvo Auto Repair All, for $2.2 million. That gives him more than two acres, nearly the entire block.

Leilani Lanes has been owned by the same private corporation — which has 28 shareholders, many family-related — that owns Sunset Bowl in Ballard.

Jack Leary, president of Sunset Bowling and Recreation, said there are no plans to sell Sunset Bowl.

As for Leilani Lanes, he said, "The land just got too valuable." He said he hoped bowling leagues at Leilani would find a home at Sunset Bowl.

Leary said he knows there are many with good memories of Leilani.

"Things change, you know?' he said. "One of my guys liked to eat at Twin Tepees [the Indian-motif Aurora Avenue North restaurant demolished in 2001 after a fire]. I'm just thinking about all the things that have changed. I don't know, it's something to think about."

Among those already mourning Leilani Lanes is Eric Langsted, of Everett, who worked the bowling alley's front desk for a decade in the 1990s and now is an office administrator. He still bowls at Leilani every Thursday.

He said, "Seattle is no longer a blue-collar town. It's Microsoft and Internet and all those things. Leilani was the 'Cheers' of bowling. Everybody knew everybody.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

When I lived in Seattle I went to Leilani Lanes a few times, and it was one of the last bastions of OLD SCHOOL tiki culture in town (although they didn't have a LOT of it). This is a real shame.

However, I urge any of you who still live in the Puget Sound to see about preserving some of their decor.

--SBiM

RAZZ!!!!!
I have vague memories of that place...

so tragic. someday maybe we americans will learn to restore, not destroy! good reason to photograph as much as possible. sigh.

Sigh. The only bowling alley I know with Witco touches in it. At least I got there in time to shoot it.

And I thought bowling was starting to catch on again.

Boooo!!

Boo progress. Progress... just what Seattle needs, more ugly-arsed apartment buildings.

I'll have to get up there and roll a few more games between now and march. I was just there a couple weeks ago while visiting a friend. He and his workmates bowl there evey week. It's a good bowling alley with good drink service on the lanes and TIKI stuff to boot!! It will be missed.

-Joe

I don't know what sort of newspapers this fellow reads, but any paper that says replacing Leilani Lanes with more apartments is "progress" must have also extolled the great progress hurricane Katrina visited upon New Orleans.

This really, really sucks.

Here's a column about the fate of Leilani Lanes from today's Seattle Post Intelligencer.

I am so *#$@!! sick of greedy-ass developers!!!!!!!

Hey, guy, guess what??!! You have a WHOLE DAMNED PLANET to build on...(and, as Carl Sagan might have said--)BILLIONS AND BILLLLLIONS of square miles to pave over...and how many well-loved tiki bowling alleys remain?!? like, THREE or something??? WHY do you need to build on LEILANI LANES?!?

gggGGGRrrRRRrrr.

I hope a large tiki falls on him. I'm really not joking.

I popped in recently to check Leilani Lanes out again and as I discovered before it isn't the sort of place that would inspire another visit. There are a two large tikis (at entrance and one overseeing a round tiled fountain pool) and a couple standard Witco plaques in the Lani Kai Lounge (two pics on their website). The lounge (which they really over-hype on the website) also has a bit of the Witco/Witco style trim. Two identical native/islander plaques on the restroom doors. You sort of have to look hard to notice any original Tiki touches in the lounge which doesn't seem due to remodel/removal/covering up with cheapo party Tiki crap as much as there never seeming to have been a very high Tiki element to begin with. The feeling of the space isn't exotic escapism so much as dead end depression. And not in the fun way.

Leilani Lane has been remodeled and updated so much that the general impression is one of haphazard shabbiness. The midcentury style round tiled fountain pool as you enter is most likely original to the building but amid all the modern blandness it looks odd and out of place. (I'd guess it's only still there because removal of it was too expensive.) The most appealing part of the whole joint was the very small Lani Kai Restaurant. It's just a square coffee shop space off the main floor, but it looks largely unaltered or dolled up and has that old coffee shop feel to it.

Plans haven't changed and Leliani Lanes is still closing soon. If you're in the area and haven't been there you may want to just so you're not haunted by notions that you missed out on something great. Especially as time will make it seem lie it may have been better than it was.

The auction is scheduled for Tuesday April 11 and is being ran by James G. Murphy Co.. They don't have an active catalog link up yet.

Does anybody want to share some Photo's of this place?? I would be very interested.
Although Woofmutt says there isn't much to see It still sounds like there is some eyecandy left Besides if they are closing this establishment down I think it should be well documented.

Thanks for sharing everbody :)

That's a good point, one of you hotshot Mucky Mucks with yer fancy ass digital cameras and jet powered computers oughtta get on up there and snap some pix.

As always, I nominate dogbytes.

I was just there a few days ago, and took some pics. I'll get them posted tonight or tomorrow.

Of course, it's a tragedy that Leilani Lanes is being torn down for another generic retail/condos building. But man, that web site should have been condemned long ago.

Here's interior and exterior pics of Leilani Lanes, taken a few days ago.

Sign from the entrance at the top of Greenwood Ave:

Building Front, with tiki at entrance door ( coffee shop is on the right):

Lobby with fountain and tiki, and front desk:

Closer view of one of the 2 carvings attached to the front desk:

Outrigger-type beams above the pro shop:

One of 2 tikis painted on the wall ( on on each end of the alleys):

Hallway leading to the Lani Kai Lounge, with Witco carving:

And 1 each on the restroom doors, just before the Lounge area:

Looking into the lounge:

Fireplace area in the lounge:

Tiki and carved trim above the tables in lounge :

There were a few display pieces in the lobby, great reminders of Leilani Lanes' history. The first one is an old poster board display from some of their events in earlier days:

There was a Fashion Show in the Lani Kai Lounge every Friday afternoon (guessing in the 70s ? from the photos), "Featuring Miss Washington and beauty queens and professional models" modelling lingerie, swim suits, sportswear & after five attire:

Aside from seeing the fine fashions of yesteryear, you can also spot some more carvings that used to be on the walls back then ( dolphins on the back wall, and a tiki on the wall in the upper right photo) :

More snapshots from the Fashion Show:

And then there's that shelving unit holding the coffee mugs and condiments :

More carvings in the background, which used to exist on the walls of the lounge:

Near the front doors, is a large "Leilani's Last Hurrah" board featuring old photos and newspaper clippings from Leilani Lanes' earlier days:

A xerox of a newspaper article and record certificate from Guinness Book of World Records, when 2 Seattle men set the 1971 world record by bowling continuously for 152 hours :

A closer view of the article:

Other great old photos from the board:

Earlier photo of the lobby :

some of the 1975 Tournament winner photos :

And this great photo of the Pali Room Girls :

Hopefully these pics will help to document some of Leilani Lanes (still need to get some photos of the coffee shop)...

Leilani Lanes closes at the end of March...

[ Edited by: puamana 2006-02-13 14:44 ]

Those are fantastic, thanks for posting them, puamana! That condiment stand is amazing, the fashion show is surreal. I'd been in that lounge plenty of times, and until our last visit, I'd never noticed that great fireplace, and the water feature underneath it(!). I'm extraordinarily covetous of those orange chairs.

Puamana, you take the best pictures!! thanks for posting. guess i should stop by the Lanes just to say "i did".

Great pictures. That's the kind of place of which I always take loads of photos now, because I know they're disappearing at a fast rate: restaurants, motels, car washes, bowling alleys, apartment complexes, public fountains, housing complexes, small stores, parking buildings, even amusement parks. People see me taking pictures in a store or something and smirk about it amongst themselves, but then suddenly it's gone and nobody anywhere seems to have thought to ever take any photos of it, and I'm the only one holding rare documentation of history and memories. Unfortunately, I didn't start early enough and didn't do that extensively enough to prevent still having regrets.

I don't even live in that area and I regret the demise of that building. Think of all the great times people must've had there, evidenced by those old bulletin board photos. Memories and the original retro architecture/decor are something that no new business can replace. Personally, I boycott any such new businesses that destroyed such nice old vintage things.

On 2005-10-22 00:32, tikivixen wrote:
I am so *#$@!! sick of greedy-ass developers!!!!!!!

Hey, guy, guess what??!! You have a WHOLE DAMNED PLANET to build on...(and, as Carl Sagan might have said--)BILLIONS AND BILLLLLIONS of square miles to pave over...and how many well-loved tiki bowling alleys remain?!? like, THREE or something??? WHY do you need to build on LEILANI LANES?!?

gggGGGRrrRRRrrr.

I hope a large tiki falls on him. I'm really not joking.

TO Quote The Opinion I Made To The Seattle Times:
"WE don’t want new businesses and apartments
clogging up the innocent parking space
That lelani has right now
I say , Leave LELANI ALONE!!!!"

in my statement that i said to that anti-developer opinion i mentioned about if lelani wanted a remodel given the how old it was , you know, a restoration

and i would highly say, that that developer may probably give up

so in conclusion, support NO on that developer's plot to tear down lelani

[ Edited by: AaronJ 2006-03-23 10:25 ]

[ Edited by: AaronJ 2006-03-23 10:25 ]

Great documentation, Mimi, I just KNEW the place was Witco-ed out more than when I saw it during my visit last year...
Now, to find out how the ORIGINAL entrance and sign looked!

Awesome pics. What a shameful shamely shame=(

I'm TOO LATE! argh, stupid Seattle newspapers post stories too late for anyone to actually participate..

"Interested in purchasing a piece of Leilani Lanes history?

James G. Murphy Inc. will be conducting a public auction on premises April 11th, 2006 Viewing will be from 8am to 10am - Open bidding starts at 10am."

http://www.murphyauctions.net/leilanilanes.html

http://www.murphyauctions.net/leilanilanespics.html

On 2006-04-11 16:26, dogbytes wrote:
I'm TOO LATE! argh, stupid Seattle newspapers post stories too late for anyone to actually participate..

"Interested in purchasing a piece of Leilani Lanes history?

James G. Murphy Inc. will be conducting a public auction on premises April 11th, 2006 Viewing will be from 8am to 10am - Open bidding starts at 10am."

http://www.murphyauctions.net/leilanilanes.html

http://www.murphyauctions.net/leilanilanespics.html

RAZZ!!!!

Thanks to all who posted links & pics about the old place...I bowled there for many years before I semi-retired from the sport, and I just heard about all this today...

It brought back a whole lot of memories, especially since I did work there for a time in 1979-1980 when I was 16 years old. I am sad I didn't hear about this sooner so I could have gotten up there before they closed.

Again, thanks to those who got pics.

Seattle Times

summary:

More than 200 signed up in the lobby with the James G. Murphy Co., a local auctioneer. Some of those attending weren't expecting to buy anything. They just wanted to be there and once again say goodbye.

The auction netted a little more than $90,000.

Kym Wells, 45, of Everett, who owns an arcade business and supplies arcade equipment to bars, paid $658 for one of the large Tiki statues. He said it will be one more addition to his home Tiki lounge, which already includes a fountain and thatched roof

I went to the auction, and once the carvings were up, it all went quick. I didn't get to write it all down ( the auctioneer talked so fast, and I was still kinda out of it from our red-eye flight back from Hawaii) , but prices ranged from $ 200+ to $ 600+. Some of the Witco that was pictured in those fashion show snapshots were also there, ( the two man & woman plaques, and the dolphin-type carvings ), and the cabinet that was also in those snapshots (its actually a wine rack on the top) was sitting all lonely and by itself in a back hallway ( didn't see how much that went for ). I got the two carvings that were attached to the front desk. Though I spent more than I wanted to, I'm glad I got something, and those were my faves. It was interesting to walk around the whole building, and see all of the back rooms and hallways that I hadn't seen before. All of the carved trim in the Lani Kai lounge was not auctioned off, so I think that may end up at one of those stores that dismantles buildings and recycles the materials. I'm not sure what company is doing the actual dismantling.

Yesterday's Zippy the Pinhead comic in the Seattle P-I newspaper paid tribute to Leilani Lanes :

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/zippy.asp?date=20060426

Many thanks to Larry for letting me know about it !

On 2006-04-27 09:27, puamana wrote:
Yesterday's Zippy the Pinhead comic in the Seattle P-I newspaper paid tribute to Leilani Lanes :

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/zippy.asp?date=20060426

Many thanks to Larry for letting me know about it !

Here it is ;

an estate sale find from Leilani Lanes, a Bowler's kit, towel, wrist support and luggage tag. i love the tiki with legs. even though its a little bit creepy. i think i'll put it in a shadowbox to display in our tiki room.

I visited Leilani a few times, and these shots are obviously after a late remodel. When I was there in the early '00s, the paint shades were darker and more muted, the bar was very dark (and the heavily carved shelf unit was still there) and the backing screens over the bowling pins' areas had the standard oval, but with a plastic tiki head (all identical) instead of a Brunswick crown covering the strike light! The lobby fountain was empty, and had only a lone standpipe in the center. However, the bar's fireplace was seriously cool - the six chains hold both the hood and the same-shaped fire support, which is a thick wood frame with a big plate of smoked glass set in it, at the middle of which sits the trough with lava rock and gas fire. The waterfall beneath still worked then, and was lit by a green floodlight. The bar had no Polynesian drinks, but they had good, cheap food. It was a cool place back then, to be sure - looks like its last days saw a bad remodeling.

Two really sad things here: One, the developer tore it down a while ago. To this day, the site is a vacant lot.

And two, as for the former owners' other alley, Sunset Bowl in Ballard: "We have no plans to close it"? They DID do a big remodel there at the end of last year.

A month ago, they sold it and it closed. Bleah. Real estate values in Allard are skyrocketing, and everyone wants to build condos. Across from Sunset Bowl was a massive building, a Denny's for many years, with an amazing Polynesian roofline. I've no clue what it once was, but the Denny's is gone, and the neighborhood is rallying to save the building, against the developer who seems to be throwing more and more money at it, hoping to eventually outweigh any claims of historical importance with sheer volumes of cash. I never saw any tiki decor inside, it was the blandest variant on the cheesy "Denny's Diner" remodels of the 90s where Denny's tried to suddenly switch from 60s coffee shop to fake-50s diner decor. But knock down those false drop ceilings, and who knows what's hiding in the rafters...

On 2008-04-26 04:52, TorchGuy wrote:
I visited Leilani a few times, and these shots are obviously after a late remodel. When I was there in the early '00s, the paint shades were darker and more muted, the bar was very dark (and the heavily carved shelf unit was still there) and the backing screens over the bowling pins' areas had the standard oval, but with a plastic tiki head (all identical) instead of a Brunswick crown covering the strike light! The lobby fountain was empty, and had only a lone standpipe in the center. However, the bar's fireplace was seriously cool - the six chains hold both the hood and the same-shaped fire support, which is a thick wood frame with a big plate of smoked glass set in it, at the middle of which sits the trough with lava rock and gas fire. The waterfall beneath still worked then, and was lit by a green floodlight. The bar had no Polynesian drinks, but they had good, cheap food. It was a cool place back then, to be sure - looks like its last days saw a bad remodeling.

Two really sad things here: One, the developer tore it down a while ago. To this day, the site is a vacant lot.

And two, as for the former owners' other alley, Sunset Bowl in Ballard: "We have no plans to close it"? They DID do a big remodel there at the end of last year.

A month ago, they sold it and it closed. Bleah. Real estate values in Allard are skyrocketing, and everyone wants to build condos. Across from Sunset Bowl was a massive building, a Denny's for many years, with an amazing Polynesian roofline. I've no clue what it once was, but the Denny's is gone, and the neighborhood is rallying to save the building, against the developer who seems to be throwing more and more money at it, hoping to eventually outweigh any claims of historical importance with sheer volumes of cash. I never saw any tiki decor inside, it was the blandest variant on the cheesy "Denny's Diner" remodels of the 90s where Denny's tried to suddenly switch from 60s coffee shop to fake-50s diner decor. But knock down those false drop ceilings, and who knows what's hiding in the rafters...

..i started a post some time back about this very denny's you speak of....a quick search here of denny's should reveal it for you...

It's amazing how many cool threads one can miss in here....This place looked great. Tiki and Bowling...like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

We drove past the site the other day. They tore the building down some time ago but nothing has been built in its place. (Gee, I wonder why?)

The Leilani Lanes sign is still up by the road. It just says GOODBYE

On 2010-09-06 22:47, tikiyaki wrote:
It's amazing how many cool threads one can miss in here....This place looked great. Tiki and Bowling...like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

We still have Linbrook bowl, though!

All I can say is that if Europe had the same "tear it down and build crap" mentality, my son's recent trip would have been a waste!

tried to leave a google maps link of a photo of the sign but it didn't work....so annoying.

Sorry for the blank post...this is not a spam advertisement. :)

Do you have your TIKIYAKI ORCHESTRA CD YET ?
http://www.myspace.com/tikiyaki
http://www.tikiyakiorchestra.com

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2010-09-08 11:55 ]

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2010-09-08 12:57 ]

A couple yrs ago I found 3 Witco tikis used a bowling trophies for Lelani Lanes. They were in the dirt in the front garden of a house I staged in South Seattle. The owner had already moved out and left them.
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Just came across this on Etsy.
I didn't buy it but wanted to add it here.

and then I went looking and this is on Ebay - might as well save the photos!
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[ Edited by: Thrift Tiki 2015-05-18 12:33 ]

Well since you brought it up, from the inter webs...

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A Leilani Lanes doubles classic pro-am jacket

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aloha, tikicoma

Found some double rocks glasses from the Women's International Bowling Conference tournament held there in 1980.

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Sadly all those great pictures that puamana posted are gone and she went through all her thumb drives to repost them but she was unable to find them. :( After finding those glasses it finally dawned on me to check youtube for televised tournaments held there and of the ones on there, one the 1985 Seattle open struck paydirt!

First up at and early commercial break we see the trophy itself...
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And at a later break two of the trophies with the tiki fountain in between them. It turns out one of my wife's best friends grew up across the road from the lanes and was in leagues there winning a bunch of trophies including ones like the tiki ones here and in Dawn's photo, all of which she had donated to special olympics...
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At the end the trophy named Leilani Princess is awarded to the winner... (sorry about the image quality but these were taken from what looks like old vhs tape)
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Since all of Mimi's are gone I grabbed a couple from Flickr (shawn anderson's photos taken a month before the lanes closed)

The entrance tiki...
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And a Witco that I heard was on or by the restrooms...
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Just a couple more carved tiki trophies from Seattle Open PBA tournaments at Leilani Lanes (all are screenshots from bad VCR tapes)...

1979...

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1984...

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and the happy winner with his trophy! (the other winners I saw just looked confused.. or worse)

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[ Edited by: tikicoma 2019-12-13 18:57 ]