Turnpike Lanes Revisited

It might be hard to believe that a bowling alley was once located right at the intersection of Griswold Road  and State Route 57. But that's where Turnpike Lanes was located, right at what was then called Turnpike Plaza.

I wrote about Turnpike Lanes back here in 2019, noting that it had opened back in 1961. Here are clippings that tell the story leading up to the Grand Opening on Nov. 3, 1961.

March 18, 1961

April 22, 1961

June 21, 1961

August 4, 1961

August 26, 1961

Sept. 29, 1961

Oct. 6, 1961

Oct. 20, 1961

Nov. 3, 1961

Nov. 3, 1961

And sixty years ago this month, Meyer Goldberg took over the property, opening the fourth store in his grocery empire.

April 5, 1961

April 6, 1966

Looking at the location today, few Lorain Countians probably remember that Turnpike Lanes or Meyer Goldberg were ever there. They're more likely to remember (like me) when Booksellers Paperback Exchange called it home.

Sept. 2025 view of the property

Turnpike Lanes

While researching my recent bowling posts, I came across this ad for a bowling alley I’d never heard of: Turnpike Lanes. The bowling alley with the clever name was located out on Griswold Road at Route 57, a little north of the entrance ramp to its namesake highway.

The ad with the great architectural rendering above appeared in the 1961 Lorain phone book. Note that the special Enterprise 4040 phone number reflected the 40 Brunswick pinsetters.

Turnpike Lanes opened in 1961. Here’s another ad, this time from the Chronicle-Telegram on January 12, 1962. It reveals Dave Marks as the Manager.

It looked like Turnpike Lanes had all the ingredients for success. But an article in the September 13, 1962 edition of the Chronicle pointed out a discouraging trend when it came to bowling: people weren’t bowling as often, with a reported drop in the number of local leagues. The article noted, “One reason lies in the rapidity with which bowling emporiums have been built in the past 10 years. The result has been a slicing up of patronage among the houses, with a couple houses losing customers every time another is built.

“The opening of Shoreway Lanes, a 24-alley plant in Shoreway Shopping Center, Sheffield Lake, has affected the patronage at arenas in Lorain and Avon Lake.”

Although the same 1962 article observed that Turnpike Lanes had scheduled 36 leagues, which was more than the previous year, bowling was not destined to last at that important intersection with the coming of Midway Mall.

Turnpike Lanes continued for about three more more years before a Meyer Goldberg grocery store took over the property Perhaps the impending opening of the Mall simply made the property too valuable to waste on a sport that locally seemed to be declining in popularity.

A variety of businesses called that location home over the years. I’m sure many of you remember when Booksellers was in the western portion of the building. Thinking back at that book-crammed space, I can now visualize a bowling alley (with its multiple levels) there.

Today the nicely remodeled building is home to J&M Interiors and Design.

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UPDATE (April 27, 2026)

Be sure to visit my follow-up post, "Turnpike Lanes Revisited."