Tivoli Lanes

Tivoli Lanes, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

When I rule the world, I will enact a law making it mandatory for all bowling alleys to have cool neon signs out front.

Tivoli Lanes, Downers Grove, IL

Bowlway

Bowlway-Elgin, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Bowlway bowling alley in Elgin, Illinois. Not a vintage sign, but a cool one nonetheless. Again, all bowling alleys should have cool neon signs out front!

Bowl-Mor Lanes

Bowl-Mor Lanes, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

When I become emperor of the whole world, I will decree that every bowling alley needs to have an interesting neon sign out front. Preferably a fifties style.

Spotted in Streator, IL.

24 Lanes

24 Lanes, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Sadly de-glassed, the Dodge Lanes sign in Belvidere, Illinois is a classic Googie-tastic slab.

Seriously, all bowling alleys should have awesome neon signs out front.

Neon Friday!

Metro Bowl-Crystal Lake, Il, originally uploaded by William 74.

Must be Friday! This week we're in Crystal Lake, Illinois, for a fantastic bit of retro neon goodness.

The Metro Bowl's sign is pretty old, and it's been modified too-I bet the part where it says "billiards" said something else when this sign emerged from the Nu-Lite shop in Waukegan.

That's actually a detail I like about this sign-the shop's name neatly lettered on it. Most old neon signs have this detail-it's how you can tell if it's been restored or not. In Chicago, and the surrounding suburbs, they all seem to come from one or two shops in the city. Crystal Lake is quite a ways north and west of the city, though-I wouldn't be surprised if Nu-Lite was the closest shop, in Waukegan, 40 miles north of Chicago along the lake shore. The company's still in business, as well.