Clairemont Bowl opened in 1957 with 52 lanes and became a familiar gathering place for generations of Clairemont residents. Over the years, the bowling center and its later incarnation as Sunset Bowl offered a place for family outings, birthday parties, school activities, leagues, and nights out with friends.
A Generational Bowling Alley
For Michael Prine Jr., a lifelong Clairemont resident, the bowling alley was part of growing up in the neighborhood.
“I loved going to the bowling alley as a kid. Growing up on Iroquois Avenue, the Clairemont Bowl (and then Sunset Bowl) was a place that we hung out at regularly.”
Prine said he was never in a bowling league, but his family bowled every few weekends and celebrated many birthdays there. Summer brought another reason to visit.
“In the summertime, they had discounted bowling ($1 a game) so we would beat the summer heat by bowling and playing in the arcade.”
By middle school, he remembered the bowling alley as a social destination where kids walked around to see who would show up for league bowling. He was too young to experience the Quad Room, but recalled the neighborhood stories that circulated after the business became Sunset Bowl.
“I was too young to ever experience the Quad Room, but once it rebranded as Sunset Bowl, the neighborhood kids had urban legends about what went on in the Volcano Club.”
In college, Prine and his friends spent evenings at the Cue Club, drinking and playing pool. He also watched the bowling alley decline until it closed in 2005. Sunset Cove condos were later built on the site.
The bowling center also had a nightclub called the Quad Room, later renamed the Alamo. Former patrons remember its live music and country music scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Nostalgia and Memories of Clairemont’s Past
Prine’s memories echo in a Facebook discussion in which former patrons shared stories about Clairemont Bowl, the Alamo, and Sunset Bowl.
Ron Turner remembered his family’s Sunday bowling outings during the 1960s and ’70s, when they rented several lanes, ate at the snack bar, and went home to watch football.
“In the ’60s-’70s, instead of church, on Sundays you could rent a lane for less than $5 for two hours. Our whole family would get two to four lanes, bowl all morning, eat breakfast from the snack bar, then go home for football.”
Turner also remembered bowling leagues, tournaments, and “Blue Chip” stamp night bowling. One particularly memorable outing involved his wife, who was nearly nine months pregnant when she slipped while taking her shot.
“Half of the full house of bowlers gasped with fear. You could’ve heard a pin drop, but all was good, and she was fine and finished the match [without] a problem.”
He ended his recollection with a wish for a similar gathering place: “Wish we had a place like that today.”
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Michael Burreece remembered the game room and its pinball machines and pool tables. He and his friends sometimes tried to get inside before the school day officially ended, but an older employee named Mike kept them waiting.
“We used to ditch the last period of school and try to go into the game room, but Mike, the older guy that used to watch over the games, would never let us in until 1:50, when school officially was out!! Great memory.”
“Also, when ‘Urban Cowboy’ was a trend, the Alamo used to play country music. We were teenage kids all with long hair hanging out on the front steps and cracking jokes at the expense of guys coming in with full cowboy hats, tight jeans, and boots. Clairemont in the late ’70s and early ’80s!”
School events and bowling leagues also figured in the memories. Andrea Mondragon recalled attending an after-school bowling league at Clairemont Bowl while in ninth grade at Marston Junior High School in 1963–64, followed by a church league in 1969–70. She also remembered the after-proms held at the center, including her own in 1967.
Judy Carroll Murphy remembered a Thursday night league.
“We bowled in a league on Thursday nights called the All States league. We took up all the lanes in Clairemont Bowl.”
Mary Lassiter, who bowled there for years, summed up how much there was to remember: “I bowled there for many years. Could write a novel about happenings on and off the lanes.”
Alexander Bevil pointed people to the Clairemont History Facebook group for more stories and photographs. He also raised a question about the old Sunset Bowl sign, writing: “I’ve read that at night you could see the neon Sunset Bowl sign from Mission Bay down below. However, it would be nice to have some eyewitnesses confirm that.”
Kevin White offered a shorter memory of the pool tables: “I still have an 8-ball I stole from the coin pool tables”
These recollections describe more than a bowling center. Clairemont Bowl and its later names became part of the routines and milestones of neighborhood life, from inexpensive summer games and Sunday family outings to teenage hangouts, school celebrations, leagues and nights at the Cue Club. Even after the lanes closed in 2005, the stories remained.
Sources
- City of San Diego planning report: https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/planning-commission/pdf/pcreports/pc05254madera.pdf
- California Bowling News, August 2005: https://www.californiabowlingnews.com/assets/082505.pdf
- City Council notice for Sunset Cove: https://docs.sandiego.gov/councildockets/dkt2006/dkt20060530.pdf
- Facebook discussion about Clairemont Bowl, Alamo, and Sunset Bowl; comments supplied by the writer.
- Michael Prine Jr., personal recollections provided by email.
