Pins and Pizza: A Long Lost Bowling Alley Restored to its Former Glory
23/09/2016
Yes. Preservationists. You read correctly.
Located on North Figueroa, in a quickly gentrifying stretch of the block in Highland Park, it is one of many new businesses in the area drawing crowds. Behind the bar, Jared Mort, operations director, moved quickly from one task to the next, explaining that the masterful $2 million dollar renovation of the space, ripe with secrets and surprises, had attracted a lot of bowling alley-history aficionados, renovation buffs and preservation nuts as well.
Jared Mort, operations director of the Highland Park Bowl. | Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Bernabe
It's not the usual crowd you expect when you open a new space, he said. But the story of the renovation itself was so unusual I think that people really wanted to see it for themselves.
But beyond restoring the vintage bowling alley back to its original 1927 condition, Jared Mort has the job of fueling the crowd with food and drink. It is a challenge beyond challenges, when all the hoopla is about the renovation. How do you create a menu that measures up to a space of that quality? And how do you please the clientele who are so in awe of the perfectly polished bowling alley, that anything after just might be a disappointment on some level?
In a space like this my thought was the simpler the better, Mort said. Nothing tricky or gimmicky and nothing intimidating, he said. He decided on pizza cooked in a wood burning oven and envisioned the rest of the menu to be small, but perfectly crafted with a few beautiful crowd pleasers - not unlike the alley itself, simply and beautifully restored with a nod to the details.
Crudo and Arugula pizza at the Highland Park Bowl. | Photo: Courtesy of Leonidas Jaramillo
And those details have a captive audience. Here's how it all came about. Bear with me, we'll get back to the food and drink momentarily.
It turns out the existence of the bowling alley was a complete shocker. When the owners of the 1933 Group (notorious for spots like Idle Hour - one of the last standing barrel bars in Los Angeles - Oldfield's, Big Foot East, Big Foot West and La Cuevita) purchased the building, they had no idea that the bones of the original bowling alley lay waiting. It was a discovery that happened during the initial demolition of the interior when the dropped ceilings, additional walls and details added in the sixties to simply give it a facelift at the time, were peeled away.
This space probably hasn't looked this good since it opened the first time as a bowling alley in 1927, he said.
--
--
Wiry, heavily inked and masterful at story telling, Mort has been a mainstay with the 1933 Group for years. He started his career when he managed a bar for a friend who opened a restaurant with gambling winnings from Las Vegas. Since then, he has opened and run the food and beverage programs at many restaurants and has been a privy to the highs and lows of the explosion of cocktail culture.
He went on to explain that when the bowling alley opened it was during prohibition. The original building housed a pharmacy, music room, bowling alley and bar. Upstairs there were Doctors offices where you could get a prescription for whiskey and then head back to the bar and the bowling alley to hang out and get a legal drink, Mort said.
Highland Park Bowl bar area. | Photo: Courtesy of Wonho Frank Lee
But over the years the building changed hands. The old bowling alley was literally covered over in 1966 with a new alley and nightclub venue, called Mr. T's Bowl, by Joseph Theresa, an Italian immigrant who lived in Highland Park and owned a liquor store. The lanes closed some time in the 1980s and made way for a club, which showcased DIY Punk bands. And bands like the Breeders and Beck played there. Mr. T passed away in 2003 and his son ran the place until 2014, when the 1933 Group purchased the building.
But when the demolition started and the crew began to uncover the layers, the surprises kept coming: a bow-truss ceiling was unveiled with eight skylights, an original Arts & Crafts mural by the Anderson Brothers was discovered and a perfectly intact eight lane bowling alley with all the original machinery was unearthed.
Highland Park Bowl vintage pins. | Photo: Courtesy of Wonho Frank Lee
It was completely mind blowing for everyone, Mort said. At that point we wouldn't have been surprised if we found a dead body.
As they investigated the dusty corners, closets and spare rooms, the vestiges of entire long gone eras began to present themselves. Pinsetters and pins, flags and signage. And one of the biggest discoveries - an entire corner filled with a liquor delivery from the 1970s that had never been opened.
Which brings us back to the food and the drinks of course.
Liquor from the seventies. | Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Bernabe
The decision to have wood burning pizza was a homage to Mr. T and his Italian roots, according to Mort, and there are lots of other nods to the history of Mr. T's and the neighborhood itself on the menu.
The Neapolitan style pizza, made by executive chef and master pizzaiola Marco Aromantario is clearly the highlight. Pizza is personal to him. He described standing with friends outside of a pizza place in Puglia, simply eating pizza and drinking beer by their cars. That's how casual and communal pizza is to me, and that's how it is at the Highland Park Bowl. It reminds me of home.
When asked what his favorite pizza on the menu is, he is direct. Of course my favorite pizza is Margherita, you can feel all of the toppings, from olive oil to the San
LINK: | https://www.kcet.org/food-living/twist-of-luck-highland-park-bowling-a... |
See more stories from kcet |
North America Stories
24/04/2024
Mundo Hispano Digital Launches MundoNow Connect
ATLANTA Mundo Hispano Digital has launched a new advertising product, MundoNow Connect, that is designed to help advertisers reach Hispanic audiences on connect...
24/04/2024
Epic Games Releases Unreal Engine 5.4
Epic Games has released a major new version of Unreal Engine, which has become a mainstay in virtual production, that includes new features and improvements to ...
24/04/2024
NAB Show Welcomes Creators to Las Vegas
The National Association of Broadcasters welcomed the industry to its annual extravaganza last month in Las Vegas. The sights and sounds were similar to previou...
24/04/2024
Chptr, Gray Television Launch on Video Obituary Platform
NEW YORK Chptr and Gray Television have announced that they are introducing a new video solution for funeral homes and communities that will allow funeral direc...
24/04/2024
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London Brie Clayton April 24, 2024 0 Comments Adobe is taking MAX, the world's largest creativ...
24/04/2024
Curtis LeGeyt, NAB President and CEO, Extends Contract
National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that keeps him at the trade association's helm throu...
24/04/2024
Jo Ann Ross Steps Down as Ad Sales Chairman at Paramount
Jo Ann Ross, the long-running queen of television advertising sales, is stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Advertising at the end of the month...
24/04/2024
Scripps Names James Galindo as Station Manager in Bakersfield
E.W. Scripps said it named James Galindo as station manager for KERO, the ABC affiliate in Bakersfield, California....
24/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout' Tops TVision Power Score Rankings
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout topped TVision's Power Score rankings of shows on connected TV for the week of April 15....
24/04/2024
DoubleVerify Gets MRC Stamp for CTV Viewability Metrics
DoubleVerify said that it received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its measurement of video viewable impressions and related metrics for connect...
24/04/2024
PlayBox Neo Highlights Latest Advances in Smart Media Pla...
PlayBox Neo reports a successful and well attended 2024 NAB Show, held in mid April at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Now in its 101st year, the event attract...
24/04/2024
MPEG-5 LCEVC Showcase at NAB 2024 demonstrates ecosystem...
MPEG-5 LCEVC ecosystem support continues to grow and includes TVs and set-top boxes, gearing up for the deployment of TV3.0 in Brazil New, never-before-seen ...
24/04/2024
Black Box and NOVO at Integrate Middle East 2024 Featurin...
At Integrate Middle East 2024 in Booth AR-F45, where the company is exhibiting along with its partner NOVO, Black Box will feature IP-based KVM and AV solution...
24/04/2024
NEP Belgium Taps manifold CLOUD in Virtual OB Setup for Live Sports
FRANKFURT, Germany Software solutions provider manifold technologies has announced that its manifold CLOUD was selected by NEP Belgium to provide a signal proce...
24/04/2024
Integral Ad Science Achieves MRC Accreditation
NEW YORK Integral Ad Science has announced that it has earned Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) filtration f...
24/04/2024
Plex Launches NFL Channel
LOS GATOS, Calif. Streaming media company Plex has announced a partnership with the National Football League that will add the NFL Channel, the NFLs 24/7 free l...
24/04/2024
NAB Extends Contract for President & CEO Curtis LeGeyt
WASHINGTON, D.C. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the helm of NAB through 2029, according to NAB Joi...
24/04/2024
GlobalM, scoopa Form Strategic Partnership To Enable Speedy Content Distribution
GENEVA, Switzerland Software-defined video network (SDVN) platform specialist GlobalM and broadcast-quality content distribution expert scoopa have formed a str...
24/04/2024
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1 The in-person conference is open to Berklee Online students and the music community ...
24/04/2024
Kargo Gives Buyers More Detail on CTV Campaigns
Kargo said it has launched a new product that gives advertisers more details about the connected TV campaigns they are buying....
24/04/2024
MundoNow Connect Launches To Help Brands Target Hispanics on CTV
Mundo Hispano Digital said it has launched MundoNow Connect, which is designed to use first-party audience data to help advertisers reach Latino connected-TV vi...
24/04/2024
Brittney Griner Sits With Robin Roberts for 20/20' Special
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who spent 10 months in a Russian prison, sits with Robin Roberts for a primetime special on ABC Wednesday, May 1. The 20/20 speci...
24/04/2024
DirecTV Adds Content From Cineverse, Scripps
To give its subscribers more content to pick from, DirecTV Stream is making deals to carry streaming channels from Cineverse and additional digital multicast ch...
24/04/2024
Jenny Padura Named Anchor at Univision's WLTV Miami
Jenny Padura has been promoted to co-anchor on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts at WLTV Miami, known as Univision 23. She starts April 25 and will anchor with Ambros...
24/04/2024
Paris Schutz Joins WFLD Chicago as Political Reporter
Paris Schutz has joined WFLD Chicago, known as Fox 32, as a political reporter. He starts April 29 and will handle all political coverage for the station, repor...
24/04/2024
Plex Adds NFL Channel Ahead of Draft Coverage
Plex has made a deal with the National Football League that will let users watch the NFL Channel, the league's free ad-supported streaming television (FAST)...
24/04/2024
Schwarzenegger, Stallone Discuss Rivalry on TMZ Presents'
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone sit for a chat when TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons debuts on Fox Tuesday, April 23. The pair di...
24/04/2024
Lionsgate Signs Long-Term Deal With TV Production Head Gary Goodman
Lionsgate Television said it signed a new multiyear employment agreement with executive VP, worldwide production, Gary Goodman....
24/04/2024
Miguelangel Lopez Upped to Regional VP of News at Telemundo Florida Trio
Miguelangel Lopez, WTMO Orlando (Florida) VP of news, has been named regional VP of news and content for WTMO, WRMD Tampa and WWDT Fort Myers, effective immedia...
24/04/2024
Rays Up: Decoding AI-Powered DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction
Editor's note: This post is part of the AI Decoded series, which demystifies AI by making the technology more accessible, and which showcases new hardware, ...
24/04/2024
Forecasting the Future: AI2's Christopher Bretherton Discusses Using Machine Learning for Climate Modeling
Can machine learning help predict extreme weather events and climate change? Chr...
24/04/2024
NVIDIA to Acquire GPU Orchestration Software Provider Run:ai
To help customers make more efficient use of their AI computing resources, NVIDIA today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Run:ai, ...
24/04/2024
How Virtual Factories Are Making Industrial Digitalization a Reality
To address the shift to electric vehicles, increased semiconductor demand, manufacturing onshoring, and ambitions for greater sustainability, manufacturers are ...
23/04/2024
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: LONDON 2024 REVEALS FULL PROGRAMME LINE-UP BURSTING WITH BOLD CINEMATIC VOICES FOR 11TH EDITION
IN ADDITION TO FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY FEATURES, THE SELECTION INCLUDES: PRO...
23/04/2024
IBC Now Accepting Nominations for 2024 Innovation Awards
LONDON IBC is now accepting nominations for its IBC2024 Innovation Awards, which honor achievements in technological innovation and social impact media & entert...
23/04/2024
NAB Backs Broadcast VOICES Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. In response to the introduction of the Broadcast VOICES Act that seeks to encourage more diversity in the ownership of TV and radio stations, t...
23/04/2024
Hemisphere Media Group Launches WAPA+ on the Roku Channel
MIAMI, Fla. As part of a push to expand its FAST channel and streaming operations, Hemisphere Media Group has launched its free ad supported television (FAST) c...
23/04/2024
DirecTV Launches New Streaming Channels from Cineverse and Scripps Networks
LOS ANGELES DirecTV is adding seven new channels to its rapidly expanding streaming lineup through new licensing agreements with Cineverse Corp. and Scripps Net...
23/04/2024
IBC Launches 2024 Innovation Awards with Nominations Now...
IBC is preparing to honour the highest achievements in technological innovation and social impact with the launch of its prestigious IBC2024 Innovation Awards, ...
23/04/2024
Bolin Technology Integrates NDI Across Product Portfolio
BREA, Calif. Bolin Technology is integrating Network Device Interface (NDI) across its product line, bringing support for the latest NDI technologies to its PTZ...
23/04/2024
Aaron LaBerge Joins PENN Entertainment at CTO
WYOMISSING, Pa. PENN Entertainment has announced that longtime Disney and ESPN executive Aaron LaBerge has been named chief technology officer effective July 1,...
23/04/2024
Nexstar Disputes FCC $1.2M Fine, Order to Sell WPIX
In response to an FCC ruling in March proposing a $1.2 million fine against Nexstar and a ruling that Mission Broadcasting sell WPIX, Nexstar has filled a respo...
23/04/2024
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving
Sony has announced new details about how the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is using Sony's Ci Media Cloud platform to streamline its workflows and spe...
23/04/2024
NiTRos M-CUBE Studio Levels Up Esports Productions with A...
Esports' rapid rise to popularity can be attributed to many factors, from technological advancements that have enhanced the quality of modern gaming experie...
23/04/2024
OpenDrives New Software-Defined Platform Atlas Wins 2024...
OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of software-defined media workflow solutions and data management capabilities, has been selected as a winner in the 2024 N...
23/04/2024
Vipe by BCNEXXT Takes Home 2024 NAB Show Product of the Y...
BCNEXXT is pleased to announce that Vpe has won the 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year Award in the Asset Management, Automation and Playout category. The offici...
23/04/2024
Gravity Media Australia to Deliver Broadcast Technology a...
Gravity Media, a world leading global provider of complex live creative production and media services, today outlined the broadcast technology and television pr...
23/04/2024
Industry veteran Peter Brennan to lead Scality operations...
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage for the AI era, today announced the appointment of Peter Brennan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Scality...
23/04/2024
Blackmagic Design Announces New ATEM Constellation 4K Swi...
Blackmagic Design today announced ATEM 1 M/E Constellation 4K and ATEM 2 M/E Constellation 4K switchers, two new Ultra HD models of the ATEM Constellation famil...