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Goodbye Leilani Lanes: Seattle, WA |
dogbytes
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 2241
From: seattle, wa
|  Posted: 2005-10-13 07:50 am Permalink
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.
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Suffering Bastard of Stumptown
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 09, 2005
Posts: 648
From: PDX
| Posted: 2005-10-13 09:46 am Permalink
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
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3163
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2005-10-13 10:06 am Permalink
RAZZ!!!!!
I have vague memories of that place...
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heelgrinder
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 10, 2005
Posts: 116
From: deep in the jungle of san antonio, texas
| Posted: 2005-10-13 3:11 pm Permalink
so tragic. someday maybe we americans will learn to restore, not destroy! good reason to photograph as much as possible. sigh.
_________________
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10909
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-10-13 9:31 pm Permalink
Sigh. The only bowling alley I know with Witco touches in it. At least I got there in time to shoot it.
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Rum Demon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 20, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Portland, Oregon
| Posted: 2005-10-13 10:19 pm Permalink
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
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monkeyskull
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 08, 2004
Posts: 261
From: Seattle
| Posted: 2005-10-14 4:18 pm Permalink
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.
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Selector Lopaka
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 204
From: Jet City
| Posted: 2005-10-21 9:14 pm Permalink
Here's a column about the fate of Leilani Lanes from today's Seattle Post Intelligencer.
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tikivixen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 28, 2002
Posts: 724
From: Vallejo CA
| Posted: 2005-10-22 12:32 am Permalink
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.
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2590
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2006-02-12 03:46 am Permalink
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.
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The Sperm Whale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 23, 2004
Posts: 1543
From: Lakewood California
| Posted: 2006-02-12 09:56 am Permalink
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 
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2590
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2006-02-12 3:43 pm Permalink
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.
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puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
| Posted: 2006-02-12 4:12 pm Permalink
I was just there a few days ago, and took some pics. I'll get them posted tonight or tomorrow.
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monkeyskull
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 08, 2004
Posts: 261
From: Seattle
| Posted: 2006-02-12 9:18 pm Permalink
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.
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puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
| Posted: 2006-02-13 2:43 pm Permalink
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...
[ This Message was edited by: puamana 2006-02-13 14:44 ]
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