STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — When Showplace Bowling Center closes its doors on Monday, it won’t only mark the end of a longstanding borough business. For countless Staten Islanders, it will be the end of an era.
“When they first opened up it was a teenage hotspot,” one Facebook commenter noted, responding to an Advance/SILive post about the closure. “Movie theater, ice cream parlor/ arcade/ bowling pizza/ pool and Millard Fillmore’s.”
“Spent a lot of weekends here!! Beer, pizza and bowling til 4 a.m.,” another user added.
“That was the place to be in the 90’s!”
The bowling alley was the last remaining piece of the once-bustling Showplace Entertainment Center in Travis, the sprawling complex off the West Shore Expressway that served as a social hub for first dates, birthday parties and teenage hangouts for nearly four decades.
Originally opened in 1987, Showplace was a destination that featured a multiplex movie theater, restaurants, a pizzeria, an ice cream parlor, lounges, billiards and other attractions that made it a one-stop night out. The alley itself was once one of NYC’s largest: At its launch it featured 64 lanes, two lounges and both a bowling and golf pro shop.
Showplace’s arrival in the borough was celebrated with a black-tie, celebrity-filled gala attended by O.J. Simpson…