My old bowling centre - Fairlanes

Well, looks like Fairlanes is finally going to be bulldozed after being closed for over 2 years. Should have been knocked down over 18 months ago but, the developers who bought it ran into financial problems at the time.

They disconnected the power from the building a week and a half ago and most of the remaining equipment has been sold and is being removed from the building right now. Demolition is supposed to start in 2 weeks time.

They've changed the plans again, the 14 storey office building they were going to build has been canned. Now, they want to put up a 27 storey building with the first 5 or 6 floors as office space and the rest are apartments.

I managed to get inside there today. Here's a few of the pictures I took.

I've had to brighten up a few of them because there's no power for lighting in the building except the natural light coming in from the windows, etc. and the generator powered lighting Chris Usher (the guy who's taking the lanes out) had set up where he was removing the synthetic panels from the lanes.

The half inch thick synthetic lane panels were put over the top of the old wood lanes when they last renovated the place at the end of 1995.

I'll post them as links so they don't fill up the page here.

https://2img.net/h/oi43.tinypic.com/bi0whx.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi41.tinypic.com/33lo0ia.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi40.tinypic.com/256fbeg.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi43.tinypic.com/2ajfvt.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi39.tinypic.com/xepl5w.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi40.tinypic.com/v8kdhf.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi43.tinypic.com/mvgnmc.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/4sy3br.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi42.tinypic.com/2rcqvbd.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/5l115i.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi39.tinypic.com/2uy293p.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi39.tinypic.com/24qoftv.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/25gch1w.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi41.tinypic.com/2zygzzq.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi40.tinypic.com/9i476t.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi43.tinypic.com/2v9eusj.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi41.tinypic.com/16gnckp.jpg

The last one is the synthetic panels being stacked up in the top carpark.

Looks pretty sad now, you'd never know it was the top tenpin bowling centre in Perth just a few short years ago.

I was rather surprised that wasn't as much dust and dirt as I expected on the machines, etc. considering the centre has been closed for over 2 years.

\

What was that, Kris?

I saw those pics earlier today but did not have time to reply, coffee break at work is short! Yeah, that is kinda sad to see, especially for you being as you worked there before for many years.

Thanks for the pictures Carl. Hope they save some of the equipment.
Are those monitors over the bowling lanes?

Thanks, everyone.

Hi, Sharon. Yep, they're 27 inch CRT color monitors for the computer scoring. The lower consoles have smaller 13 inch CRT's in them.

Sure hope they remove those before they start to demolish the building in 2 weeks time.

Bet you had a lot of good times there Carl... On the puter when you were supposed to be working..

Mr Cojones wrote: Bet you had a lot of good times there Carl... On the puter when you were supposed to be working..

I'm a bit upset that I didn't get an award for it there like I did at AMF last month.

Thanks for sharing the pics's Carl......It must be very sad....

Thanks, Lynn.

Yeah... I was really glad to be out of that place 2 years ago after working there for 18 years. But, I'd also been going there since I was about 11 or 12 years old. It is really sad, especially seeing the condition it is in at the moment.

Just dug up these old pictures, here's what Fairlanes looked like in December, 1983 before the first major revamp of the place:

https://2img.net/h/oi39.tinypic.com/2ceooys.jpg

Between 1984 and the end of 1995 it looked like this (taken about 1990):

https://2img.net/h/oi42.tinypic.com/332pceb.jpg

June, 2006. 6 months before it closed (the masking panels in front of the machines were lifted up when this was taken):

https://2img.net/h/oi41.tinypic.com/aa97rq.jpg

Taken on the last day the centre was open - December 21st, 2006 (the masking panels were up again):

https://2img.net/h/oi41.tinypic.com/90sw8i.jpg

It did very well in the 44 years that it was open (1962-2006).

Couple of videos I made on the last day (December 21st, 2006).

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=281ssi0&s=5 Walking along behind the machines and into the workshop behind lane 24.

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2q2pmax&s=5 Walking down the side passageway next to lane 24.

Very quiet just after lunchtime on that last day, as you can see.

The digital camera I had at the time had a movie mode but no sound, unfortunately.

Here's a few more I took today, I've made them a bit larger this time so they're clearer. The demolition people were there so I could get into the top carpark to take these first two:

https://2img.net/h/oi40.tinypic.com/2qu4q6h.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/xgbkex.jpg

The blue wall in the second picture is the wall next to lane 1. Someone's put some graffiti on it, I see. Here's the wall on December 21st, 2006 (the last day the bowl was open): https://2img.net/h/oi42.tinypic.com/2jwgsi.jpg

You can also see the remains of some of the original wood lanes in the mess.

3 others I took:

https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/fnfxaw.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/aup9c.jpg
https://2img.net/h/oi44.tinypic.com/35jazk0.jpg

The third one is the exit from the lower carpark.

I guess it is finalized now!

Should be all gone in about another week. They'll have to close the footpath right outside the front of what's left before they can knock it down. Too close to people walking past.

They also have to be careful knocking down the rest of the blue wall that was next to lane 1 because its very close to the building next door.

Are you OK with this Carl. ????....

Lynn wrote:Are you OK with this Carl. ????....

Ahhh... yep, Lynn. I was actually glad to be finally out of there when it closed over 2 years ago.

I'd been working there for over 18 years but I'd also been going there since about 1969 or 1970. Spent quite a lot of my younger days in that place. Also used to bowl regularly up to the time I started working there in 1988.

Mr Cojones wrote: Bet you had a lot of good times there Carl... On the puter when you were supposed to be working..

isn't that the truth.

Well, isn't this interesting? (Well, to me, anyway).

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=359&ContentID=132245

Construction of Fairlanes Perth is scheduled to begin in December next year and be ready by early 2012.

Could have kept the bowl open for another 4 years, at least.

I'm betting now that this redevelopment plan will also fail, like the 2 previous proposals. Especially in this economic climate.

Carl D wrote:Thanks, Lynn.

Yeah... I was really glad to be out of that place 2 years ago after working there for 18 years. But, I'd also been going there since I was about 11 or 12 years old. It is really sad, especially seeing the condition it is in at the moment.

Their destroying part of your history Carl.
That's a shame.

Said in the newspaper that there has been an incredible response to the apartments going on sale last weekend.

I went past there today and there was a girl sitting at a desk outside the sales office they've set up next to the big hole in the ground where the bowl used to be. She looked pretty bored to me, no sign of people rushing there to buy apartments off the plan.