Glendale’s Grand Central Airport closed down in the 1950s, and eventually the property was developed as a business park called the Grand Central Industrial Center. One of the new buildings was Grand Central Bowl, a $1-million project at the corner of Sonora Avenue and Flower Street.
The bowling alley, designed by William Rudolph of Pasadena, was developed in mid-1959 by Sports Arenas Inc., according to the Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1959. It included a restaurant and cocktail lounge, coffee shop and children’s playroom.
Rudolph’s architectural firm designed many bowling alleys and entertainment complexes. After the Grand Central project, he was hired to remodel an old boxing arena at El Centro Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. He turned it into a 44-lane bowling alley at a reported cost of $500,000, per the Times, August 28, 1960. It had a playroom for children, a cocktail bar, billiard room and a snack bar.