North Hills Flashback: McKnight Lanes

Everyone has a favorite gone-but-not-forgotten landmark around the North Hills. For some of us, it may be a former place of employment. Many folks who grew up in Ross or West View may have a favorite childhood memory of a particular location or perhaps can recall a favorite teenage hangout. Displaced North Hills residents may bring up something they miss from their hometown years after leaving the area.

This may be the case for me in the near future. While I intend to continue writing North Hills Flashback indefinitely, as Ross and its surrounding areas have a nearly endless history to pull from, this is the final column I will be writing from Pittsburgh. I will be moving to Charlotte at the end of the week to launch a career in education, taking with me plenty of memories of my days in the Steel City. Although I already love my new town, which I’ve visited a few times over the summer, I know there will be a few things I’ll be sad to leave behind. (I already miss Vater’s Hardware and I haven’t even moved yet).

For lifelong Pittsburghers and departed North Hillers alike, cherished memories of old places linger in the deepest corners of our minds. Based on comments I’ve received in recent weeks, it appears one of the universal favorites amongst readers of this column is McKnight Lanes, the old 48-lane bowling alley which once occupied the Bed Bath & Beyond store on McKnight Road. Due to its popularity and familiarity to anyone who has been in the North Hills since 1997, I decided to make it the focus of this week’s edition of North Hills Flashback.

McKnight Lanes opened in 1961. At the time, McKnight Road was a vastly different place, still lined with residential properties and a handful of strip malls. (Northway Mall was expanded and enclosed the following year). Long before malls, arcades, and home video games became the favorite pastimes of youth, bowling was a year-round favorite.

The colossal McKnight Lanes was the flagship bowling alley of the North Hills, featuring 48 lanes, several pool tables, and a cocktail lounge. An older bowling alley, Bowlerama, quietly folded as McKnight Lanes became the hotspot for North Hillers of all ages. Pines Plaza Lanes and Perry Park Lanes had their share of customers and leagues, but most folks put “North Hills” and “bowling” together immediately thought of McKnight (which was technically called Olympic Lanes during its final 13 years; almost everyone used the old name when referencing it until the day it closed).

Like all bowling alleys, McKnight Lanes had to keep up with the times. Bumpers became an option for inexperienced bowlers in the 1980s. Electronic scoring systems were installed over time. A small video arcade was added to the alley as well. Despite the reputation of bowling alleys being somewhat dingy places, McKnight Lanes was always presentable, from its large “BOWL” sign along McKnight Road to the well-kept interior. The alley was even shown nationwide on the silver screen when it was used as the backdrop of the movie Kingpin.

I learned to bowl at McKnight Lanes and spent my share of time at the alley as a youngster. Whether I went with my family, my friends, or my Cub Scout pack, I gained a love for the sport and always had a great time. Having such a great bowling alley just a few miles from my house was a bonus I took for granted.

Although plenty of people went to McKnight Lanes on a daily basis, the popularity of bowling as a whole had started to wane. Discovery Zone and Laser Storm attracted the younger set. New family centers such as Wildwood Highlands offered plenty to do for all ages. Furthermore, McKnight Road itself was changing, having caught “big box fever” in 1996 when North Hills Village Mall began morphing from an indoor mall to a collection of large retailers.

Rumors of the alley’s closure began to swirl in early 1997. Bowlers in the North Hills were furious. No other local alley had the size, convenience, or reputation of McKnight Lanes. Plenty of leagues would become homeless. Nobody felt a big box bedding and bath store would be a good fit for a space used for bowling for over 30 years.

Unfortunately, the alley couldn’t be saved in spite of the protests. The property was slated to be sold and rezoned. On April 15, 1997, as plenty of procrastinators rushed to the post office to drop their taxes in the mail, McKnight Lanes closed its doors for the final time, much to the chagrin of plenty of residents in the North Hills. Shortly thereafter, the building was converted to Bed Bath & Beyond, which continues to operate on McKnight Road today.

(A bit of trivia--the metal door on the side of the building facing McKnight Road is where the entrance to the bowling alley used to be. The automatic doors on the building’s corner were added for Bed Bath & Beyond.)

There are still two bowling alleys in the North Hills: Pines Plaza Lanes and Perry Park Lanes. Combined, the two alleys are nowhere near the size of McKnight Lanes. However, Pines Plaza Lanes has stepped up in recent years in an attempt to fill the void left by McKnight Lanes, having undergone an extensive renovation a few years ago. Keeping up with the latest trends in bowling, Pines Plaza Lanes now offers cosmic bowling, first made popular in the northern suburbs at Harmarville’s Fun Fest.

I have bowled many times at Pines Plaza Lanes, which is my new gold standard when it comes to bowling alleys. The facility is clean, modern, and features some of the friendliest staff around. However, when I sit at a red light at the intersection of Ross Park Mall Drive and McKnight Road, I sometimes look over at the large building and have a sudden urge to turn in, lace up my bowling shoes, walk to one of the 48 lanes, and throw some strikes and spares. In our hearts, nothing can replace a childhood classic, something we grew up with and treasure in our minds.

There is, of course, another unintended side effect of the closure of McKnight Lanes. Bowling is no longer a visible recreation option in the North Hills. When I took four of my friends bowling at Pines Plaza last fall, none of them knew of the alley’s existence. (Two of them were lifelong North Hillers). Tucked away behind Pines Plaza with only a few signs (a small mention on the large Pines Plaza sign and larger painting on the wall located on the south end of the plaza), Ross Township’s only bowling alley is somewhat difficult to see. Perry Park, a few miles north in McCandless, is located in the basement of a building currently occupied by Coldwell-Banker real estate offices (oldtimers may recall this space housing Musik Innovations and a few other tenants). There is no sign for the alley on Route 19; only a small marquee can be found on the building itself. In comparison, McKnight Lanes was known for its towering sign at a busy intersection. The word “BOWL”, illumined by hundreds of individual scoreboard-style light bulbs, pulsated day and night, begging those driving by to stop in and toss a few frames.

It is my hope the two bowling alleys remaining in the North Hills will be able to fill to capacity on a daily basis, perhaps through greater marketing. Bowling is an enjoyable activity for young and old alike. For children, it teaches strategy, builds confidence, and encourages good sportsmanship. The bowling alley is also a great setting for a birthday party. The social aspect of bowling is great for adults of all ages, from those in their twenties looking for a fun way to spend a Friday evening to seniors looking to make new friends through a league. Bowling is an affordable way for a family to spend time together and bond over a sport which is often passed from parents to children. Perhaps a retro-styled “BOWL” sign, reminiscent of the one formerly mounted along McKnight Road, should be installed at the intersection of Route 19 and Trion Road. Perhaps Pines Plaza Lanes can be the special place McKnight Lanes had been to a new generation of bowlers--minus the sudden closure and conversion to a bedding and bath store, of course!

SNEAK PEAK: Next week’s edition of North Hills Flashback will analyze an interesting newspaper article in which several solutions to congestion along McKnight Road were proposed. Most of them never happened. What impact could they have made if they had actually happened? Tune in next week for a journey to a parallel universe!