Commission Votes to Delay Demolition of Holiday Bowl

At the urging of preservationists and neighborhood residents, the Cultural Heritage Commission on Friday voted, in effect, to delay the demolition of the Holiday Bowl, a Crenshaw Boulevard bowling alley considered by some to be of architectural and cultural significance.

The commission agreed to consider designating the bowling alley a city Historic-Cultural Monument. While the designation is being considered, the property’s owners are barred from demolishing the building. If monument status is granted, the building will be protected from demolition.

Until it closed in May, the bowling alley operated for more than 40 years and was a popular gathering spot for Asian American and African American bowling leagues, as well as late-night diners.

If historic status is approved, the Holiday Bowl would be the first such building to be named a Historic-Cultural Monument.