The Vanishing Alleys project by Kevin Hong
06/21/12
Kevin Hong has been a bowler since age 7 - nearly 30 years. During that time, he has bowled tournaments everywhere – from tiny six-lane centers to the (now-closed) 106-lane Showboat in Las Vegas.
He was competing in a tournament in early 2012 in a little eight-lane center in central Washington State when his first thought was, "You just don't see places like this anymore."
On Facebook, he belongs to a group devoted to bowling in the Pacific Northwest. A few members, including him, started posting various pictures of old centers one day. The comments began pouring in.
"Many grew up bowling in those houses, so the pictures brought back memories", Hong said. "Other "retro" features, such as above-ground ball returns and manual scoring tables, caught people's attention".
Those "old" features are the focus of his "Vanishing Alleys" project.
"Casual bowlers of today expect modernization. They don't want to keep their own score. They want to bowl under black lights, with music playing and the lanes and pins glowing in the dark, disco balls and fog machines providing atmosphere.
"The modern bowling center resembles a dance club on the weekends. People want to bowl in 'centers,' not 'alleys.'
"Sadly, the byproduct of all this modernization is that the smaller, older houses (the "bowling alleys") are disappearing. It's difficult for smaller places to upgrade. Because they can't modernize, these buildings – in a way – are frozen in time. The character of older bowling alleys is preserved in them. They are a reminder of a forgotten, simpler era".
As a former professional photographer, Hong toyed with the idea of going around and photographing these old places before they were gone for good. He did Internet research, made phone calls and looked through old phone books.
He sought out places with 12 wooden lanes or less, preferably with "Magic Triangle" (AMF) or "Gold Crown" (Brunswick) themes still in place.
"To my surprise, there were 10 or so places that fit the bill within a two-hour drive of my hometown of Seattle," Hong stated.
Two were closed down indefinitely. He called the proprietors of the businesses that were still open and made appointments. Since he travels for tournaments and vacations anyway, he scheduled visits to centers that were on his way to other destinations.
"While going to one tournament, for example, I was able to stop along the way and photograph four centers," he said. "Bowling alleys are not a traditional subject for artists, and I was concerned that no one would care.
"It seemed highly likely that I could be the only person on the planet who loved looking at these old places as much as I do! But I went anyway, because photography is how I connect with the world. It gives me a reason to visit amazing places, and allows me to record what I see so I can share with others later."
When Hong assembled the pictures on the web and had a few people preview the project, the response was greater than he imagined it would be. It turned out that others, too, long for the bygone era represented by these older centers.
"It became clear that I needed to continue the project. I continue to photograph, researching centers that I can visit while on vacations and other trips. The project truly is a work in progress."
People who know a "bowling alley" which fits to Hong's project can contact him at hong300@gmail.com.
Click here to view all the photos in high resolution.
Kevin Hong, 36, is a school teacher, freelance photographer and lifelong bowler based in Seattle, Washington. A former award-winning newspaper photojournalist, he launched the Vanishing Alleys project in early 2012. For more information visit Kevin-Hong.com.
United States
Former professional photographer toys with the idea of going around and photographing the old "bowling alleys" before they are gone for good
Kevin Hong has been a bowler since age 7 - nearly 30 years. During that time, he has bowled tournaments everywhere – from tiny six-lane centers to the (now-closed) 106-lane Showboat in Las Vegas.He was competing in a tournament in early 2012 in a little eight-lane center in central Washington State when his first thought was, "You just don't see places like this anymore."
On Facebook, he belongs to a group devoted to bowling in the Pacific Northwest. A few members, including him, started posting various pictures of old centers one day. The comments began pouring in. "Many grew up bowling in those houses, so the pictures brought back memories", Hong said. "Other "retro" features, such as above-ground ball returns and manual scoring tables, caught people's attention".
Those "old" features are the focus of his "Vanishing Alleys" project. "Casual bowlers of today expect modernization. They don't want to keep their own score. They want to bowl under black lights, with music playing and the lanes and pins glowing in the dark, disco balls and fog machines providing atmosphere.
"The modern bowling center resembles a dance club on the weekends. People want to bowl in 'centers,' not 'alleys.'
"Sadly, the byproduct of all this modernization is that the smaller, older houses (the "bowling alleys") are disappearing. It's difficult for smaller places to upgrade. Because they can't modernize, these buildings – in a way – are frozen in time. The character of older bowling alleys is preserved in them. They are a reminder of a forgotten, simpler era".
As a former professional photographer, Hong toyed with the idea of going around and photographing these old places before they were gone for good. He did Internet research, made phone calls and looked through old phone books. He sought out places with 12 wooden lanes or less, preferably with "Magic Triangle" (AMF) or "Gold Crown" (Brunswick) themes still in place.
"To my surprise, there were 10 or so places that fit the bill within a two-hour drive of my hometown of Seattle," Hong stated.
Two were closed down indefinitely. He called the proprietors of the businesses that were still open and made appointments. Since he travels for tournaments and vacations anyway, he scheduled visits to centers that were on his way to other destinations.
"While going to one tournament, for example, I was able to stop along the way and photograph four centers," he said. "Bowling alleys are not a traditional subject for artists, and I was concerned that no one would care. "It seemed highly likely that I could be the only person on the planet who loved looking at these old places as much as I do! But I went anyway, because photography is how I connect with the world. It gives me a reason to visit amazing places, and allows me to record what I see so I can share with others later."
When Hong assembled the pictures on the web and had a few people preview the project, the response was greater than he imagined it would be. It turned out that others, too, long for the bygone era represented by these older centers. "It became clear that I needed to continue the project. I continue to photograph, researching centers that I can visit while on vacations and other trips. The project truly is a work in progress."
People who know a "bowling alley" which fits to Hong's project can contact him at hong300@gmail.com.
Click here to view all the photos in high resolution.
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Kevin Hong, 36, is a school teacher, freelance photographer and lifelong bowler based in Seattle, Washington. A former award-winning newspaper photojournalist, he launched the Vanishing Alleys project in early 2012. For more information visit Kevin-Hong.com.