Fairhaven’s Bowlers’ Country Club Has Been Gone 25 Years
Fairhaven's once "ultra-modern" Bowlers' Country Club, built on land on Route 6 at Sconticut Neck Road and Washington Street once occupied by the Fairhaven Almshouse was gutted 25 years ago in 1998.
The bowling alley was first known as Atlantic Ten Pin Lanes in the early 1960s and later renamed Bowlers' Country Club. The 150-by-250-foot glass and concrete building introduced many to "big ball" bowling in an area accustomed to candlepin and duck pin bowling.
A New Bedford Standard-Times article previewing the opening of the bowling alley credited television with the growing popularity of ten-pin bowling.
"The popularity is due largely to television, which shows the 'three-finger' ball almost exclusively, and to automatic pin setters in the new alleys," the paper wrote.
The article questioned whether women would "shy from the extra weight" of the heavier ten-pin bowling ball.
The paper wrote, "Also in the female fears department; Women are afraid their fingers will stick in the three holes, sending them down the alley with the ball."
The 44-lane Ten Pin Lanes cost $1.5 million.
New Bedford Mayor Francis Lawler and Fairhaven Town Clerk Michael J. O'Leary rolled the first balls on opening night in October 1960. Several thousand fans turned out for the event.
The bowling alley changed hands several times before closing in 1998.
Stop & Shop, already located in the Fairhaven Commons on Alden Road, purchased the bowling alley, knocked it down, and opened a Super Stop & Shop on the site in 1999.
Stop & Shop will celebrate 25 years in the location in 2024.