Beaver Valley Bowl
In 1996, Bobby and Peter Farrlley set out looking for locations to film there would be hit movie, Kingpin. It was once touted as one of the top 10 movies of 1996 by The Chicago Tribune. Even in 2018, it still rated amongst the top 100 comedies of all time by Bravo, featuring a star studded cast with the likes of Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson. In one of the opening scenes of the movie, star bowler Roy Munson attempts to hustle some local bowlers. When they discovered the ploy, they forced Roy’s hand into the ball return, ending his career. Critics and locals have long said, the greatest part about this scene was that it felt so authentic. The reason for that is they didn't have to change a thing about the place. Beaver Valley Bowl felt just as seedy, even in the years it was open, as the movie portrays it to feel. Sandwiched between the banks of the Ohio River and a railroad line just outside of Pittsburgh, you truly get the feeling that you have crossed onto the wrong side of the tracks.
The Beaver Valley Bowl building, as it is most well known, was built in 1903 as a brewery, then called the Kingpin Brewing Company. The Brewing company did not last long, at least not in any official sense. By 1915, the brewery would be effectively closed and a company put together to run an ice factory and cold storage facility out of the building. Rumours and public record, however, tell that the brewery or a speakeasy had opened sometime during prohibition as the building was raided by police in 1929 for this reason. The date the ice factory closed is not known but by 1945 Beaver Valley Bowl had moved in. After officially incorporating on July 31, 1945, Beaver Valley Bowl would go on to serve the community for nearly 75 years. During this time business peaked in the 70’s and 80’s but began to wane. By the early 90’s the building had started to show signs of ageing as did the equipment inside of the bowling alley. Although the company continued to operate, it did so meagerly, splitting operating costs with a comedy club in the same building. In 2019 when the pool supply building next door had a hazardous chemical fire that leaked chlorine into the surrounding area, the whole block had to shut down until clean up could be completed in 2020. By this time, it was too late. The already fledgling business had gone under. Their last note posted was that they would be closed temporarily, and to excuse the inconvenience; They would never reopen. Today the 7 story historic structure that dominates the skies of Western Pennsylvania has no clear future. With the deteriorating interior and exterior, it is unlikely that any preservation efforts will suffice.