The quick history is that Vernon Lanes is supposedly the 3rd oldest bowling alley in the country (since April 1, 1918) that started out as a men's club back in 1886. It later (1918) came to be in the spot that is holds now and it is a small 8-lane room with great food, music and atmosphere. I visited on a recent night with my roommate and walked in shortly after a ton of people just got finished filming a movie scene in there. We laced up as they were taking down the lighting props and cameras which made for a slightly surreal start to our night of bowling, but soon it was back to the same old Vernon full of color, good ball selection, and classic rock songs.
One thing I have to do whenever I go there is stock up on a cheesburger and fries because it always goes well with a few games there. The burgers are made in-house and they taste just like they would if I were to grill them at home. Nothing fancy, just a burger and cheese with a heaping dose of krinkle fries.
At times the Lanes can be crazy-packed due to the fact that it is small, and it has turned into a fairly hip place to be these days, so I definitely recommend going on a weeknight as there is usually plenty of room to put your feet up and a greater chance of having a normal conversation without screaming into your friend's ear.
In the basement of the Lanes is an enormous 500-person venue called Club Vernon where they periodically have bands play. It is an incredible room that I cannot wait to hang out in and see a show when they have one. I tried to get a picture of it, but they were closing the room up for the night and I couldn't get a good shot. Here are a few looks at the great time we had!!
I also think that it's worth noting a few of the classic tunes that were played while we were there:
The Beatles- "I'm Only Sleeping"
The Beatles- "Paperback Writer"
Tom Petty- every other song
And I will say that I have never felt so empowered than when I was stepping up to the lane and "Won't Back Down" came on. It was glorious!
