Northcote Bowl the tenpin target of developers and government
Northcote Bowl 1963 design
Northcote Bowl, a large building in Northcote is the largest of the remaining buildings from the bowling alley boom of the 1960s. The 1963 design by Fisher & Jackson is reminiscent of the National Gallery of Victoria from the same era with a distinctive arched facade demonstrating a key element of the late Googie style.
Darebin Council has made a bid to save the building from demolition and vow to take the heritage appeal to Heritage Victoria, commissioning a detailed heritage report.
The site is subject to a development proposal for 96 apartments which recently planning minister Justin Madden has said he wants to push ahead with, creating new pathways and siding with the developer to increase the scale of the new development from $16 million to $37 million. The application has attraced just 35 objections and locals, the Municipal Association of Victoria and the state opposition fear that communities are being robbed of their democratic rights .
Thanks to Butterpaper for the tip off.
Sorry, but this was NOT Australia’s first fully automated tenpin bowling alley. That title belongs to the centre that opened at Hurstville in Sydney in late 1960. The one at Northcote was not even the first in Victoria, as it was predated by others that had already opened at Hawthorn, Box Hill, Ringwood, Footscray, Preston, Coburg and elsewhere.
[...] this building is long gone of course, so perhaps I should gird my loins to defend the Northcote Bowl. Ugly, yes. At one time ubiquitous, yes. And, while not the first or only, it’s one of [...]