Eastgate Lanes Bowling Alley

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

This is a model of Eastgate Lanes in Sylva, NC, as it would have appeared as originally built in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The Bowling alley was located next to Eastgate Plaza, and was a popular hangout in the 1960s and 70s. Sometime in the 1970s, the bowling alley suffered an explosion that led to its permanent closure. This explosion was caused by a janitor, whom while cleaning the lanes with a solvent, made the poor choice to smoke. The cigarette interacted with the fumes from the solvent, leading the loss of the bowling alley and death of the janitor. The town remained without a bowling alley until the early 2000s, when the former Bi-Lo Supermarket at Jackson Plaza was converted into one. The site of Eastgate Lanes became home to a car dealership before being redeveloped in the late 1980s with new doctor's offices to serve the growing community. Today, the remainder of Eastgate, which was renovated in the 1970s with a more 'rustic' aesthetic, is somewhat rundown and functionally obsolete for use as offices and a pharmacy in the modern day, but does remain in use. Feel free to use this model as you see fit, on the condition that you contact me first so I know where it is being used (I'd love to see it wherever it ends up), and give me a mention or credit wherever it is used or published. #BowlingAlley #MidCenturyModern #RetroArchitecture #VanishedAmerica