![]() ![]() Its formal dedication ceremony took place over a three-day period from July 15-17, 1960. ![]() ![]() The Gable House had a soft opening during the spring of 1960. Its restaurant, The Rik-Sha Room, was located on a mezzanine level above the alleys, along with a second cocktail lounge. The building also included a coffee shop, child care center, a cocktail lounges and a billiard room. Its unique design split the 40 lanes into separate 20-lane wings. The groundbreaking for the 40-lane center took place on July 28, 1959. was ideal, near the southwest corner of Hawthorne and Sepulveda boulevards, and just below the city’s burgeoning retail corridor. (Credit: Torrance Historical Newspaper and Directories Archive database, Torrance Public Library) Cogan would later become manager of Gable House. The Homel brothers owned and operated the Jefferson Bowl in Culver City, and Howard and co-managed the Palos Verdes Bowl. The principals behind the Gable House – Jack Cogan, Jack Howard and brothers Bob, Leonard and Jerry Homel – had experience in the field. The Palos Verdes Bowl and the Bowl-O-Drome quickly followed. The South Bay caught on to the trend quickly, first with the South Bay Bowling Center in Redondo Beach’s South Bay Center (now the Galleria) in 1956. The advent of modern automated pinsetting combined with the need for cheap entertainment for postwar suburban families led to the proliferation of more modern bowling centers during the 1950s. Artist rendering of the Gable House Bowl. They chose a site on the southwest corner of Hawthorne Blvd. The future for bowling in Torrance looked much rosier in November 1959, when a group of men announced an agreement to open the Gable House Bowling Center. in Torrance, which opened as the Bowl-O-Drome in 1957, as the last bowling alley standing. Opened in 1958, it has been demolished and replaced by by a shopping center featuring an Aldi grocery store, a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant and a Kinecta credit union branch. Its demise follows that of the Palos Verdes Bowl on Crenshaw Blvd. Longtime owner Mickey Cogan, son of one of its original owners, announced earlier this year that Gable House Bowl, opened in 1960, would close early next year, with the land slated to be developed into a 218-unit luxury apartment complex. The city, which had three bowling alleys still in operation at the beginning of 2020, will be down to one by 2023. (September 2022 photo by Sam Gnerre)īowling alleys have become a dying breed in Torrance. Whatever you decide, Brookdale South Bay is here for you.The Gable House Bowl in Torrance will give way to a luxury apartment complex in 2023. Or, if you prefer to get in touch with your creative side, stop by our arts and crafts studio or join in on one of our creative writing sessions. Try a new hairstyle at our on-campus barber shop or join our daily B-Fit Walking Club.
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