Bowling Alleys & Skating Rinks

Elite Recreation was a Black-owned bowling alley at 2111 East 96th Street. In 1941, a white bowling-alley operator, Art Loew, bought a sixteen-year-old auto garage and turned it into Elite Recreation with the promise to welcome African American bowlers. Loew promised to hire Black unionized workers. After three years he sold it to Roland Boyce, […]

United Recreation was the first Black-owned bowling alley in the United States. Located on Cedar Avenue at East 82nd Street, the bowling alley was a response to racial discrimination. Postal worker and pioneering Black bowler J. Elmer Reed started his own bowling league, the National Bowling Association, a block away in 1939. Difficulties in gaining […]

From the early 1940s to the mid-1960s, Pla-Mor Roller Rink at 10626 Cedar Avenue was the only skating rink in Cleveland that welcomed Black skaters. Pla-Mor had its start as the Coliseum, a large hall that opened in 1940 in a decommissioned bus garage and, in addition to featuring a large roller rink, hosted trade […]

Alhambra Bowling Co. was located in the Euclid-105th Market building. It was reported for discriminatory treatment of Black bowlers in 1940. By the late 1950s it was known for its Algerian Lounge (formerly the Algiers), which hosted African American musical acts. Additional information coming soon. Resources “Call-Post Columnist Wins Cash for Bowling Jim-Crow.” Call & […]