Post & Webster, Japantown
Bowl. |
Neighbors
fought to save Japantown Bowl, but in the end owner Kintetsu Enterprises
Co. of America wanted to sell the place and it did. The bowling alley was
the cornerstone of Japantown after 24 years at Post and Webster. It was
one of only three bowling alleys remaining in the City and was home to dozens
of youth groups and bowling leagues. The neighborhood institution was the
social center of Japantown until its last day, September 20, 2000. Opposion
to the closure was fierce but fruitless. An offer by the Japanese Cultural
and Community Center of Northern California to purchase the property was
rejected. Supervisor Mabel Teng moved to have the City operate the lanes
as a recreation center but the idea never got off the ground. Supervisor
Michael Yaki's attempt to stop removal of equipment from the property was
merely a speed bump in Kintetsu's road out of the bowling business. Kintetsu
repeatedly stated that bowling was a dying sport while critics said the
company was selling Japantown's character to the highest bidder in the City's
then-booming real estate market. Japantown Bowl was sold to a group of investors
led by Board of Appeals Commissioner John McInerney for $7 million. Shops
and condos went up in place of the facility. The Presidio Bowling Center
and Yerba Buena Bowling Center are the City's last remaining bowling alleys.
Detail
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