The other night I was doing what most people in Memphis do: looking through a 1959 copy of a small tourist publication called the Memphis Guide.
I was struck by this half-page ad for Imperial Lanes. Located at 4700 Summer, this was considered one of the top bowling alleys in the region. With 48 lanes, it was a large establishment, and obviously attracted many bowlers, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
The place was so popular that in their ads, the owners could — without much exaggeration — describe the bowling alley as a community center, and unlike the simple snack bars found at similar establishments around town, Imperial offered a regular restaurant called, rather obviously, the Imperial Restaurant.
What was really amusing about their ad, though, was the reminder that there was a time — specifically, a time in 1959 — when a restaurant could actually brag that its food was prepared on a microwave. After all (so they claimed), "a Radarange provides more flavorful food for your pleasure."
Imperial Lanes stood next to an Admiral Benbow Inn. The motel closed and was demolished, and then the bowling alley closed and met the same fate (not before it hosted what is still remembered as one of the Memphis Flyer's very best "Best of Memphis" parties).
A Planet Fitness center stands on the site today, occupying almost the exact "footprint" of the bowling alley.
