Appendix E .... CAREY & CO. INC. A. RCHITECTURE Mel’s Bowl 2580 E1 Camino Real Redwood City, California Historic Resource Evaluation April 15, 2011 INTRODUCTION David J. Powers & Associates has requested Carey & Co.’s assistance in preparing a study of Mel’s Bowl (now /~MF Redwood Lanes) at 2580 E1 Camino Real in Redwood City, California. Constructed in 1959-1960, the bowling alley is located on an approximately 2.55-acre rectangular parce! on the southwest side of E1 Camino Real, between its intersections with Center Street and Carlos Avenue. The parcel includes the bowling alley building, a large paved parking lot, and a free-standing sign. This ~report provides a description and historical summary of the bowling alley as well as an assessment of its significance, integrity, and eligibility for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) and in the National Register of Historical Places (NRHP). SUMMARY Carey & Co. has determined that Mel’s Bowl does not appear to be eligible for the NRHP or CRHR, and it does not appear to be locally significant. While the property can be associated with the Boicelli family, early settlers of-Redwood City, the family’s association to Mel’s Bowl did not rise above that of landlord. The building is also generally associated with postwar urbanization of Redwood City and the rise in popularity of bowling, but it does not have a significant association with these trends in history. The building typifies postwar bowling alley architecture and was designed by master architect Goodwin Steinberg, but it does not stand out as significant in terms of architectural style or type and it does not appear to be a significant commission that captures the essence of or a particular chapter in the career of Goodwin Steinberg. The Mel’s Bowl sign, however, does appear to be significant locally and at the state level under Criterion 3 as a good example of a midcentury Googie sign. METHODOLOGY Carey & Co. prepared this report by conducting a site visit on March i0, 2011, at which time Carey & Co. evaluated the existing condition, historic features, and architectural significance of the bowling alley. Carey & Co. also undertook archival research at the Redwood City Planning Department, the Redwood City Public Library Local History Room, the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office, and the San Mateo County Historical Society. Old Engine Co. N’2 460 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94108 415.77L0773 f. 415.773.1773 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 The firm reviewed building permits, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, historic newspapers and photographs, genealogical records, and other primary and secondary resources regarding the history of Redwood City, people associated with the subject property, and local and regional bowling alleys and activities during the midtwentieth century. On March 9, 2011, Carey & Co. consulted the Northwest Information Center (NWIC) California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) and verified that the building at 2580 E1 Camino Real is not currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources, nor is it designated as a California State Historical Landmark or California State Point of Historical Interest. No California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523 forms exist for the property, indicating that it has not been previously identified or documented in a reconnaissance survey and has not been assigned a California Historical Resource Status Code (CHRSC). Carey & Co., Inc. 3 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 BUILDING DESCRIPTION The one-story bowling alley faces northeast onto E1 Camino Real between its intersections with Center Street (northwest) and Carlos Avenue (southeast). The property is located approximately one mile southeast of Redwood City city center. E1 Camino Real is lined primarily with small-scale commercial properties, which flank the subject property and face it across E1 Camino Real. Behind the subject property (to the southwest) is a neighborhood of single-family residences. The site is flat and the majority of the subject property is paved with asphalt for use as a parking area. The building is set back from the street, with most of the paved area located between it and the street. At the street, a low concrete curb fronts the lot, with two driveway aprons providing vehicle access to the parking lot from E1 Camino Real. A free-standing, vertically oriented, neon sign is located at the front of the lot. Rendered in a typically mid-century decorative aesthetic, the sign reads "Mel’s Bowl" and has sign boards at the bottom for temporary lettering. Two tall utilitarian light poles are located in the parking lot. Carey & Co., Inc. 4 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Mel " s Bowl Sign The generally rectangular-plan building is of tilt-up concrete construction and features pebble dash and wood board-and-batten siding. The roof consists of a broad shallow gable running northwest-southeast with a border of flat roof around the edges; flat roof transitions to a shed roof across the front of the building. A broad, shallow gable that is oriented on a northeastsouthwest axis and is surrounded by a border of flat roof covers a projecting bay on the north corner of the building. Rolled composition clads the roof. Low planters, sometimes surrounded by a concrete curb, border the base of the primary (northeast) faGade; they contain primarily low plants and shrubs, with three small cypress trees located at the east corner of the building. Primary facade, looking southwest Carey & Co., Inc. 5 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 A wide concrete and pebble dash walkway leads from the parking lot to the main entrance, which is located near the center of the. primary facade. A broad shed roof extends from the main roof; it is supported by square wood posts along its left side and an "adobe" brick wall along its right side. The entry consists of a glazed, anodized aluminum-frame assembly composed of fullyglazed double-doors flanked by narrow sidelights and surmounted by a narrow transom. Low solid dados with large, single-lite, fixed windows above flank the entry door assembly. To the right of the entry, a ground-level planter lines the entry walkway and abuts the base of the thick "adobe" brick wall, which extends through the roofline. This wall separates the entry from a projecting bay on the right side of the primary facade. The bowling alley’s restaurant is located within the projecting bay. It features a secondary entrance on its left side, which consists of a flush wood door made to look like it is built of vertical boards. It has heavy strap hinges and is surmounted by a barrel vaulted fabric awning that extends over the walkway leading up to the door. Four large, single-lite fixed windows flank the entry. They are located over board-and-batten dados. Brick piers flank the door and each window. Two similar windows flanked by brick piers wrap the east corner of the projecting bay, where the "adobe" wall does not extend to its corner. The right side of the projecting bay is clad with board-and-batten siding and is otherwise featureless. The left side of the primary facade is clad with board-and-batten siding and .features a series of tall narrow arrow-slit windows along its length. The windows are fitted with a single pane of textured glass and have small wood sills at the bottom. At the far left end of the primary facade, a board-and-batten fence with ~adobe" brick piers wraps the east corner of the building, enclosing a patio. The primary facade terminates in broad boxed eaves with a metal fascia. Over the projecting bay on the right side of the facade, a low gable rises above the flat roof and has a large metal housing for an HVAC unit. The gable end has broad eaves and a louvered metal vent at the center. Carey & Co., Inc. .6 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Primary entrance A paved driveway that provides access to the rear of the lot borders the southeast facade. The facade features panels of pebble dash cladding with sharply angled concrete piers between. Each panel also has a narrow vertical recessed strip of stucco along each side, flanking the piers. At the right side of the facade is a recessed secondary entrance that consists of a set of fully-glazed, anodized aluminum-frame double doors surmounted by a transom and flanked by single-lite sidelights. The recessed entry vestibule has a stepped soffit clad with textured stucco and features three projecting wood beams held by vertical twopronged brackets that extend up the vertical face of the soffit. The side walls of the recessed entry vestibule are clad with "adobe" brick, which on the right side, continues as a high wall enclosing part of the patio at the east corner of the building. The southeast facade terminates in a flat, eaveless roofline. Carey & Co., Inc. 7 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Southeast facade and east corner Secondary entrance on southeast facade The southwest (rear) facade of the building is bordered by a smaller paved parking area. Like the southeast facade it is clad alternating panels of pebble dash and angled concrete piers. Most of these panels also have narrow vertical recessed strips of stucco along each side. At the center of the facade is a projecting bay that has a secondary entrance at its center. The entrance consists of a set of flush metal double doors surmounted by solid metal transom panels. On the right side wall of the projecting bay is a single flush wood pedestrian door. The southwest facade terminates in a flat eaveless roofline. Carey & Co., Inc. 8 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Southwest (rear) facade The northwest facade closely abuts the property line and is not readily visible due to a fence and vegetation that obscure it. A board-and-batten fence appears to create a utility enclosure on the left side of the facade, while a section of the facade near the center is clad with "adobe" brick. The right side of the facade features pebble dash panels and angled concrete piers identical to those on the southwest and southeast facades. A small section of the roofline on the left side of the facade has overhanging eaves, while the remainder of the facade terminates in a flat eaveless roofline. Physical Integrity The most recent Sanborn Fire Insurance maps available for Redwood City date to 1950. They predate the construction of Mel’s Bowl and do not include the area where the bowling alley is located today. However, graphic evidence of the building’s original appearance is available in the form of a floor plan and plot plan filed with a property appraisal report at the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office. Based on this illustration of the building and building permit records reviewed at the Redwood City Planning Department, the bowling alley seems to have changed little from the time of its construction. No major additions or alterations appear to have been made to the building. According to building permit records, roof trusses failed in April 1962 and were repaired the following month. Unspecified interior alterations were made in June 1967. In 1969 fire damage was repaired, and in 1976 some movable partitions were installed. On the whole, these are not considered significant changes and the interior alterations, although unspecified, do not seem to Carey & Co., Inc. 9 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 have changed the basic floor plan of the building from the way it appears in the property appraisal report. Based on visual observation, no other undocumented changes to the building appear to have made, and therefore its physical integrity is considered intact. HISTORIC CONTEXT Redwood City As with much of the land in Spanish California, after the secularization of the Catholic Missions, vast tracts were granted to private citizens. The area where Mel’s Bowl is located was part of the 69,000-acre Rancho de las Pulgas, the largest land grant on the San Francisco peninsula. It encompassed present-day Redwood City and surrounding communities. The rancho was owned by the family of Don Jose Dario Arg~ello, a high-ranking officer in the Spanish army and governor of California.I With the signing of the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo, which ended the War with Mexico early in 1848, California became a territory of the United States. A few days later, John Marshall discovered gold in the Sierra and soon thereafter California witnessed a huge population boom of gold seekers and entrepreneurs who hoped to make their fortunes. Like many ranchos, Rancho de las Pulgas fell subject to Gold Rush era settlers squatted who claimed land as their own. The Land Act of 1851, however, established a legal process through which Mexican claimants could try establish ownership. Simon M. Mezes, a Basque lawyer who had arrived in California in 1850, accomplished this feat for the Arguello family, securing the family’s title to over 35,000 acres of their land claims. As payment, Mezes earned one quarter of that land, including present-day downtown Redwood City. 2 Upon acquiring ownership of this land, Mezes established the town of "Mezesville" and began to sell lots. Squatters were forced to pay for parcels or leave town. They complied with the law, but continued to call the lumber town they had created ~Redwood" or "Redwood Landing." When a post office was established in 1856, it was called Redwood City, all but officially securing the name. That year, Redwood City also became the county seat of San Mateo County. The town grew rapidly once the railroad was routed City of Redwood City, "History of Redwood City," http://www.redwoodcity.org (accessed 3/18/2011). Ibid; "Simon M. Mezes," http://www.redwoodcity.org (accessed 3/25/2011). Carey & Co., Inc. 10 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 through the area in 1863, and in 1868 Redwood City became the first town in the county to be incorporated. It continued to thrive on the commerce and industry that took place on the shore of San Francisco Bay. During the 1920s, the small-scale commercial emphasis of Redwood City’s downtown shifted to E1 Camino Real, spreading out along the prominent thoroughfare.3 Like much of the San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City witnessed a dramatic population boom during World War II and the postwar era, rising from 12,400 in 1940 to 46,300 in 1960. Farmlands became suburban tracts and twenty-five square mileswere incorporated into the city limits. By 1967, the city counted "sixteen elementary schools, two junior high schools, two high schools, a community college, [and] two hospitals."4 While the downtown remained the center for finance and government, the port expanded its economy to non-marine related industries, particularly in the field of high technology. Ampex Corporation, a developer of magnetic tape and recording equipment, located its headquarters in Redwood City in 1963, and computer giant, Oracle, moved to the city in the 1980s.s E1 Camino Real Mel’s Bowl is located on E1 Camino Real, a major thoroughfare with a history dating back to the Spanish era. E1 Camino Real (the Royal Road) refers to the route taken by Spanish missionaries as they traveled north from San Diego to Sonoma to establish the Missions. It continued to be a significant route connecting Spanish interests (including presidios, pueblos, and missions), facilitating the circulation of people, goods, and information throughout Spanish California and into the Mexican and American periods. In 1902, the California Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Native Daughters of the Golden West embarked upon an effort to memorialize and the mission road by installing its distinctive bell poles along the route and supporting rehabilitation of the old missions. They traded upon nostalgia for California’s Spanish past and the popularity of the modern automobile to build tourism and commerce in California.6 E1 Camino Real became one of California’s first state highways, and the first portion to be paved was located in San Mateo 3 "History of Redwood City; ....Simon M. Mezes." 4 "History of Redwood City." 5 Ibid. 6 American Roads. "El Camino Real, California’s Coast Route," http ://www. americanroads .us/autotrails/elcaminoreal.html (3 / 18/2011 ). California Highways, "Trails and Roads: El Camino Real," http://www.cahighways.org/elcamino.htmi (3/18/2011); Phoebe S. Kropp, California Vieja: Culture and Memory in a Modern Place (Berkeley, 2007), 47-102. Carey & Co., Inc. 11 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 County. Since that time, various sections have been designated as portions of other highways, state routes, county roads and city streets. In Redwood City and along the length of much of the San Francisco peninsula, E1 Camino Real takes the form of a major city street. In proximity to Mel’s Bowl, it is a multi-lane road lined primarily by commercial properties. 2580 E1 Camino Real In 1900, the Boicelli family purchased a 22-acre parcel of land that included the property where Mel’s Bowl now stands. They called the property Boicelli Ranch.v Historic photos show that a small, modest, wood-frame cottage - the Boicelli home - was located on the ranch, possibly in close proximity to the route of E1 Camino Real.8 The property passed down through the family and eventually three grandsons of the original owners - Anthony, Silvio and Charles Boicelli -- inherited it. It is assumed that the property was subdivided and parcels sold off during this time, as an Eichler-designed residential development was constructed to the southwest of the current bowling alley property in 1948 (along Northumberland Avenue, southwest of Cypress Street).9 The Bocelli brothers retained the parcel where the bowling alley now stands and another 2.5-acre parcel between the bowling alley and Cypress Street. The Boicelli’s leased the parcel nearest to E1 Camino Real to Mel Weiss, who is best known as the co-founder of the well-known Mel’s Drive-In restaurant chain. He was also the proprietor of a number of bowling alleys. The first Mel’s Bowl was located in San Jose (Mel’s Palm Bowl, 1958, no longer extant) and was succeed soon thereafter by Saratoga Lanes (1958, San Jose, no longer extant), Mel’s Redwood Bowl in Redwood City (subject property) and Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda (extant). Master architect Goodwin Steinberg designed all four bowling alleys; the latter two are nearly identical in design, likely having been constructed around the same time (1959-1960).1° On August 21, 1959, Redwood City granted Mel’s Inc. a building permit to construct a 40-1ane bowling alley with a restaurant, billiard room, cocktail lounge, and child-care nursery for a cost of $372,000. The permit lists Goodwin B. Steinberg of Los Altos as the architect, Rutherford & Chekene as the structural 7 "The Boicellis’ Viewpoint," 13 May 1966. (Letter to the editor, unidentified newspaper clipping from San Mateo Historical Society collection.) 8 Historic photographs, Redwood City Public Library, Local History Room. 9 "The Boicellis’ Viewpoint." 10 Dill Design Group, "Historical and Architectural Evaluation: Fiesta Lanes and Meineke Discount Mufflers," October 9,2002 (http://www.archivesandarchitecture.com/ProjectRepository/FiestaLanes_100902.pdf, accessed March 28, 2011), 8. Carey & Co., Inc. 12 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 engineer, and Sidney P. Lathrop, of Oregon, designed the timber roof trusses. C.W. Gresham constructed the building, and final inspection took place in April 1960.11 The building has undergone few changes since its original construction. On April 25, 1962, the bowling alley’s roof trusses failed. They were repaired within the month. In 1965, the Boicelli family entered a heated argument with the City of Redwood City over the establishment of a special assessment district that included their parcel to the rear of the Mel’s Bowl property. The assessment district would have enabled the routing of a new street, a continuation of Northumberland Avenue to Leahy Street, through that parcel and would have been constructed at the Boicelli’s expense. The family lost the argument and, the following year, also failed to have the new street named in the family’s honor. These events do not seem to have had an effect on the operations of Mel’s Bowl. In 1969, a fire occurred at the bowling alley, necessitating repairs. Mel Weiss’s involvement with the bowling alley ended around this time as well, and the Boicelli family entered into a long-term lease with American Recreation Centers, Inc., which took over operation of the bowling alley. The bowling alley continued to be known as Mel’s Bowl. American Recreation Centers is known to have operated twenty-six other bowling alleys throughout California at the time.12 In June 1971, Mel’s Bowl hosted the Winston-Salem Bowling Open. R.J. Reynolds tobacco company sponsored the event, which required a few temporary improvements to the bowling alley, such as signage and the installation of bleacher seating. According to a 1979 Haine’s Directory, the prospering bowling alley also conducted business through the Bradbury Pro Shop and the Redwood House Restaurant, both housed within the facility. Silvio Boicelli died in 1973, followed by Charles, and in 2009 by Anthony Boicelli. Ownership of the Mel’s Bowl property passed to the next generation of Boicellis. The bowling alley remains in operation under the management of AMF, a nationwide bowling alley company. It is officially known as AMF Redwood Lanes, but continues to commonly be called Mel’s Bowl. Bowling and Bowling Alleys The sport of bowling dates back to prehistoric times, with archeological evidence of ball-and-pin games found in ancient Original building permit (#21033), 21 August 1959. "Property Problems," 22 June 1977. (Letter to the editor, unidentified newspaper clipping from San Mateo Historical Society collection.) Carey & Co., Inc. 13 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Egyptian tombs. It was also known to have existed in medieval Germany in the form of a game called kegal, which had religious implications involving the absolution of sin with the downing of pins. Bowling persisted in European courts and, with colonization, eventually became a popular betting game in early America. After being banned for its sordid association with gambling in some areas of the country, the American Bowling Congress form in 1895 and created the first standardized rules. Bowling associations for men and women proliferated, and the sport continued to grow in popularity. Rubber balls replaced wood balls early in the twentieth century, and the Brunswick company introduced modern "mineralite" balls in 1914.13 While bowling appealed both to the elite and the working classes through the early twentieth century, it became increasingly associated with the latter. Wealthy Americans installed small bowling alleys in their mansions or bowled at alleys in upscale hotels. More commonly, however, working-class men in urban centers found bowling recreation at saloons, leading to bowling’s strong association with gambling, drinking, and general delinquency. As one historian has written, ~The one thing the sport lacked was a glittering image." 14 Before World War I, women who traded their apron strings for bowling shoes were considered rebels for invading the dingy, smoky, kerosene-lit alleys.15 Prohibition and the Great Depression marked a turning point in the history of bowling. The ban on alcohol forced saloons to closed and, along with them, the bowling alleys located inside. New alleys opened in association with ice cream parlors and soda fountains. As unemployment skyrocketed during the early 1930s, Americans, especially working-class American who were so hard hit by the economic disaster, sought cheap entertainment. Bowling offered one solution, and leagues of groups of men with labor and industry associations grew in number. Women’s bowling leagues grew in number as well.16 Bowling’s popularity gained momentum during World War II and the postwar period. The military built over 4,500 bowling facilities on American bases for the recreation of servicemen and women. Introduced to bowling, these military personnel undoubtedly helped bring the bowling craze to fruition in the post-war years. In the 1950s, the first television coverage of "Championship 13 Help with Bowling, "The History and Origins of Bowling," http://helpwithbowling.com/history-originsof-bowling.php (3/18/2011). t4 Doug Schmidt, "They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America’s Tenpin Capital," The Wisconsin Magazine ofHistoryI, Vol. 91, no. 1 (Autumn 2007), 52. L5 Ibid. L6 Dill Design Group, "Fiesta Lanes," 9; Shcmidt, "They Came to Bowl," 52. Carey & Co., Inc. 14 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Bowling" was aired and other bowling programs followed, further promoting bowling among the general public. Technological advances, such as the introduction of mechanical pin-setting machines in 1952, eliminated the need for human "pin boys" and increased the efficiency of the game. Other advances at the time included foul detectors; the "Pindicator, " which illustrated on a screen the number of pins left standing; hand driers; and automatic under-lane ball return devices. The 1950s also gave rise to theme bowling, such as "lunar bowling" by black light and prize bowling.I~ Suburbanization also contributed to the proliferation of bowling alleys and its dramatic increase in popularity. Postwar affluence, combined with technological advances in home construction and mortgage incentives for home builders and buyers, fostered unprecedented numbers of Americans from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds to buy home. Bowling alleys became a common feature of these new communities, where workingclass Americans transformed the bowling alley into a symbol of wholesome, mainstream consumer culture. Large, free-standing, 4060 lane alleys promoted bowling as a family sport by providing child-care facilities and sit-down restaurants. The traditional inclusion of alcohol and billiards was adapted into upscale and tightly controlled cocktail lounges and pool tables, which were tucked away in separated rooms. Women’s leagues were formed and typically played on weekday mornings, while afternoons were dominated by junior leagues for children.I~ On the West Coast, bowling was particularly popular in Southern California. Between 1960 and 1962, developer Louis Lesser was responsible for building nine expensive and well-appointed bowling alleys. With automated pin-setters, billiard rooms, child-care centers, coffee shops, cocktail lounges, expansive parking lots, and live entertainment, these bowling alleys became extremely popular social Qenues.~9 The San Francisco Bay Area equivalent of Louis Lesser was the firm of Powers, Daly & DeRosa, who created what was termed the ~California Style" for bowling alleys. They designed bowling alleys according to a theme, such as Persian at the Futurama Bowl in San Jose, which featured an elaborately decorated Magic Carpet Room cocktail lounge.~° While these were in the upper echelon of bowling alleys, a number of contemporaneous alleys are known to have been constructed throughout the Bay Area, including but not limited to Serra Bowl 17 Help with Bowling. Dill Design Group/Archives and Architecture. is Dill Design Group, "Fiesta Lanes;" Andrew Hurley, Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture (New York, 2001), 1-18. 19 Wikipedia, "Bowling," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling (3/18/2011) 20 Dill Design Group, "Fiesta Lanes." Carey & Co., Inc. 15 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 (Daly City), Bel-Mateo Bowl (San Mateo), Manor Bowl (San Leandro), Cloverleaf Bowl (Fremont), Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl (Dublin), Alma Bowl (San Jose), Lenny’s Ann Darling Bowl (San Jose), Cambrian Bowl (San Jose), Plaza Lanes (San Jose), Saratoga Bowl (San Jose), and the three Mel’s Bowls. It was within this atmosphere of bowling popularity and glamour that Mel’s Redwood Bowl was born. Goodwin Steinberg, Architect Left: Steinberg residence, Los ~it~s. Center: Del Monte Hyat. Right: Temple Beth Am. Courtesy of www.colornotemusic.com (accessed March 23, 2011). Goodwin "Goody" Steinberg (1922-2010) designed Mel’s Bowl. Born and raised in Chicago, Steinberg was the son of an architect. He followed in his father’s footsteps, studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology under modernist master Mies van der Rohe, and at the ~coles d’Art Am@ricaines at the Palace of Fountainbleau, in France, under Princeton University Professor Jean Labatut. Having passed through the San Francisco Bay Area with the Air Forcein 1944, Steinberg decided to relocate to California permanently in1952. He established Steinberg Architects a year later and built it into an practice with multiple offices in the United States and abroad. Steinberg’s portfolio included a wide range of project types, including residences, corporate campuses and religious buildings. Some of his most renowned projects include the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, buildings for the Stanford Research Center, and restorations of both the Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose and the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey. He is also celebrated for his design of Congregation Beth Am, a Jewish school and synagogue in Los Altos Hills, which was inspired by his own faith and sense of community. Beyond architecture, Steinberg was known as an advocate for regional planning and the conservation of the open space of around Los Altos.21 21 "Steinberg, Goodwin" (obit), San Francisco Chronicle, 17 December 2010. http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-12-17/news/25205604 1 jewish-studies-american-institute-award-winninghomes (3/18/2011); "Celebrated Architect Goodwin Steinberg,89, Dies after Illness," Palo Alto Carey & Co., Inc. 16 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Steinberg designed at least four bowling alleys in the Bay Area, including the three Mel’s Bowls (in San Jose, 1957; Redwood City 1959-1960; and Alameda cao1960) and Saratoga Lanes in San Jose (1959). According to an interview he conducted with Dill Design Group in 2002, Steinberg felt that Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda was the best executed of the four designs and that Mel’s Palm Bowl and Saratoga Bowl were not executed according to his original designs.22 Notably, Mel’s Southshore Bowl and Mel’s Redwood Bowl appear to be identical in plan and facade organization and are very similar in exterior treatment. Online(www.paloaltoonline.com, accessed March 23, 2011); "Goodwin Steinberg," obituary, San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times, December 17, 2010 (www.legacy.com, accessed March 23,2011); "Goodwin Steinberg, Legendary Los Altos Architect, Dies at 88," Los Altos Town Crier, December 2010 (www.losaltosonline.com, accessed March 23, 2011); "Goody Steinberg Fine Art Limited Edition Prints," (http://colornotemusic.com!Color%20Note%20Music/index.html, accessed March 23, 2011); Goodwin Steinberg, From the Ground Up: Building Silicon Valley (Stanford, 2002). z2 Dill Design Group, "Fiesta Lanes," 8. Carey & Co., Inc. 17 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 FEDERAL REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND CRITERIA National Historic Preservation Act, as Amended (1966) The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) defines the Federal Government’s role in historic preservation and establishes partnerships between states, local governments, Indian tribes, and private organizations and individuals. It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to expand and maintain the National Register of Historic Places and establishes the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and state and tribal historic preservation offices. It also requires federal agencies to consider the effects of their undertakings on historic resources and to give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment on those undertakings. A lead federal agency will be responsible for project compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA and its implementing regulations, set forth by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800. National Register of Historic Places National Register Bulletin Number 15, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, describes the Criteria for Evaluation as being composed of two factors. First, the property must be "associated with an important historic context."2~ The National Register identifies four possible context types, of which at least one must be applicable at the national, state, or local level. As listed under Section 8, ~Statement of Significance," of the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, these are: A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. 23 U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Register Bulletin 15 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997), 3. Carey & Co., Inc. 18 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report D. April 15, 2011 Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history.24 Second, for a property to qualify under the National Register’s Criteria for Evaluation, it must also retain "historic integrity of those features necessary to convey its significance."25 While a property’s significance relates to its role within a specific historic context, its integrity refers to "a property’s physical features and how they relate to its significance." ~ To determine if a property retains the physical characteristics corresponding to its historic context, the National Register has identified seven aspects of integrity: Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred. Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. Setting is the physical environment of a historic property. Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property. Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. Feeling is a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time. Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.2v Since integrity is based on a property’s significance within a specific historic context, an evaluation of a property’s integrity can only occur after historic significance has been established.~ 24 U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, How to Complete the National Register Registration Form, National Register Bulletin 16A (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997), 75. 25 National Park Service, National Register Bulletin 15, 3. 26 Ibid., 44. 27Ibid., 44-45. 28Ibid., 45. CareT & Co., Inc. 19 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 California Environmental Quality Act Statute and Guidelines When a proposed project may cause a substantial adverse change to a historical resource, CEQA requires the lead agency to carefully consider the possible impacts before proceeding (Public Resources Code Sections 21084 and 21084.1). CEQA equates a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource with a significant effect on the environment (Section 21084.1). The Act explicitly prohibits the use of a categorical exemption within the CEQA Guidelines for projects which may cause such a change (Section 21084). A "substantial adverse change" is defined in Guidelines Section 15064.5(b) as ~physical demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of the resource or its immediate surroundings such that the significance of a historical resource would be materially impaired." Furthermore, the "significance of an historic resource is materially impaired when a project ~ demolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those physical characteristics of a historical resource that convey its historical significance and that justify its inclusion in, or eligibility for inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources;" or ~demolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those physical characteristics that account for its inclusion in a local register of historical resources..." or "demolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those physical characteristics of a historical resource that convey its historical significance and that justify its eligibility for inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources as determined by a lead agency for purposes of CEQA. " For the purposes of CEQA (Guidelines Section 15064.5), the term "historical resources" shall include the following: i. A resource listed in, or determined to be eligible by the State Historical Resources Commission, for listing in the CRHR (Public Resources Code §5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4850 et seq.). 2. A resource included in a local register of historical resources, as defined in Section 5020.i(k) of the Public Resources Code or identified as significant in a historical resource survey meeting the requirements of. Section 5024.1(g) of the Public Resources Code, shall be presumed to be historically or culturally significant. Public agencies must treat any such resource as significant unless the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that it is not historically or culturally significant. Carey & Co., Inc. 20 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 3. Any object, building, structure, site, area, place, record, or manuscript which a lead agency determines to be historically significant or significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California, may be considered to be a historical resource, provided the lead agency’s determination is supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record. Generally, a resource shall be considered by the lead agency to be ~historically significant" if the resource meets the criteria for listing in the CRHR (Public Resources Code Section 5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4852) as follows: A. Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage; B. Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past; C. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values; or D. Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. (Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act) Under CEQA §15064.5, ~generaily, a project that follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings or the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation with Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings shall be considered as mitigated to a level of less than a significant impact on the historical resource." California Register of Historical Resources The California Office of Historic Preservation’s Technical Assistance Series #6, California Register and National Register: A Comparison, outlines the differences between the federal and state processes. The context types to be used when establishing the significance of a property for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources are very similar, with emphasis on local and state significance. They are: i. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional Carey & Co., Inc. 21 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States; or 2. It is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history; or 3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values; or 4. It has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history of the local area, California, or the nation.29 Like the NRHP, evaluation for eligibility to the CRHR requires an establishment of historic significance before integrity is considered. California’s integrity threshold is slightly lower than the federal level. As a result, some resources that are historically significant but do not meet NRHP integrity standards may be eligible for listing on the CRHR.3° California’s list of special considerations is shorter and more lenient than the NRHP. It includes some allowances for moved buildings, structures, or objects, as well as lower requirements for proving the significance of resources that are less than 50 years old and a more elaborate discussion of the eligibility of reconstructed buildings.~I In addition to separate evaluations for eligibility for the CRHR, the state automatically lists on the CRHR resources that are listed or determined eligible for the NRHP through a complete evaluation process. 32 EVALUATION NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/I The bowling alley does not appear to be eligible for NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/I for association with significant historical events. Constructed in 1959-1960, the bowling alley at 2580 E1 Camino Real generally contributed to the growth of Redwood City and the 29 California Office of Historic Preservation, California Register and National Register: A Comparison, Technical Assistance Series 6, (Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2001), 1. 3o Ibid., 1. 3~ Ibid., 2. 32 All State Historical Landmarks from number 770 onward are also automatically listed on the California Register. [Califomia Office of Historic Preservation, California Register of Historical Resources." The Listing Process, Technical Assistance Series 5, (Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, n. d.), 1. Carey & Co., Inc. 22 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 1.5, 2011 expansion of the commercial corridor along E1 Camino Real in the post-World War II years. Mel’s Bowl does not appear to have played a specific or significant role in this history of postwar growth. Also, although it was associated with the growing popularity of the sport of bowling and the subsequent construction of numerous bowling alleys throughout the state during the 1950s and 1960s, it is one of many examples of bowling alleys from this era and does not seem to rise above others as a particularly noteworthy example, particularly in comparison to more lauded examples, like the bowling alleys constructed by the firm of Powers, Daly & DeRosa. No specific events of historic significance appear to have occurred at the bowling alley and so it does not appear to be eligible under NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/I. NRHP/CRHR Criterion B/2 The bowling alley does not appear to be eligible for NRHP/CRHR Criterion B/2, for association with the lives of persons significant to our past. The Boicelli family, although long-time residents of Redwood City, do not appear to be credited with any significant accomplishments or achievements that made an impact on the history of the area. Moreover, while they owned the land one which the bowling alley stands for over a hundred years, their relationship to Mel’s Bowl does not appear to have extended beyond that of landlord. Mel’s Bowl was initially established by Mel Weiss, an entrepreneur in the restaurant and entertainment industry. He is best known for the Mel’s Drive-In restaurants located around the Bay Area, a number of which have be .reincarnated as Mel’s Original Drive-In (the originals have all closed, including the one immortalized in George Lucas’ film American Graffiti). While Weiss’ association with this iconic restaurant chain may elevate him to the status of a significant historical figure, his association with the bowling alleys does not. The restaurants were his primary business undertaking, while the Mel’s Bowl bowling alleys followed as a secondary business about ten years later. The bowling alleys do not seem to claim enough significance from their connection with Mel Weiss to be eligible for listing under Criterion B/2. For these reasons, the subject property does not appear to be eligible for the NRHP/CRHR under Criterion B/2. NRHP/CRHR Criterion C/3 The bowling alley exhibits typical mid-century architectural styling and building materials, including a horizontal emphasis, gable-on-flat roof forms, tilt-up concrete construction, and pebble dash cladding. Its large, one-story mass, as well as its Carey & Co., Inc. 23 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 interior layout and the facilities it contained are also typical of bowling alleys in the 1950s and 1960s, as noted in the bowling and bowling alleys context above. Although Mel’s Bowl contributes to a broad architectural context in this sense, it does not stand out as noteworthy, and many other, possibly better examples exist. Worth mentioning, is Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda, which was designed by the same architect as Mel’s Bowl in Redwood City and exhibits an identical footprint, roof plan, and facade organization. (The similarity of the actual floor plan and exterior finish treatments are undetermined.) The two bowling alleys appear to be nearly identical, and yet it has been recorded that the architect himself considered the building in Alameda, and not the subject Mel’s Bowl, to be the best execution 33 of the four bowling alleys he designed during his career. Goodwin Steinberg was a master architect who achieved a high degree of respect in the Bay Area and internationally. In his memoir, Steinberg associated himself and his architecture with the postwar transformation of Santa Clara County from the Valley of Heart’s Delight to the Silicon Valley, and obituaries consistently cite the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Beth Am Congregation campus, and restorations of the Santa Clara County Courthouse, and the Del Monte Hotel as his best work. Steinberg designed four bowling alleys during his career, including the three Mel’s Bowls in San Jose, Alameda and Redwood City, all around 1959. These projects do not seem to have been the pinnacle of his achievements, however, and do not capture a significant chapter in his career. Thus, the subject property does not appear to be eligible for the NRHP/CRHR under Criterion C/3, as the work of a master architect, as a good example of a particular architectural type, style, or method of construction, or as achieving a high degree of artistic merit. Mel’s Bowl Sign As mentioned previously, a free-standing, vertically oriented, neon sign is located at the front of the Mel’s Bowl Property, advertizing the bowling facility to traffic along E1 Camino Real. Rendered in a mid-century decorative aesthetic, the sign is comparable to the many iconic Googie style signs that are found throughout the country and considered important elements of roadside architecture. The Googie style, which was commonly expressed in signage as much as in architecture, was popular from the late 1940s through the 1960s, contemporaneous to the erection of the Mel’s Bowl sign. The Mel’s Bowl sign is a relatively simple example of a Googie sign - it does not have boomerang 33 Dill Design Group/Archives and Architecture. The authors interviewed Mr. Steinberg during their assessment of one of the other bowling alleys he designed and received this comment. Mr. Steinberg died recently in December 2010. Carey & Co., Inc. 24 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 shapes and starbursts composed in space-age, gravity-defying arrangements, for example - but it does include an arrow, lights, block letters, and a prominent position at the edge of E1 Camino Real. Carey & Co. performed a cursory survey of roadside signage along E1 Camino Real within Redwood City city limits. Two other midcentury Googie signs stand out as comparable to the Mel’s Bowl sign: Roy’s Drive-In Cleaners at Ii00 E1 Camino Real and the building-mounted sign for Dick & Dale’s Auto Tops at 2504 E1 Camino Real. Both of these signs stand out for their form, which has more movement than Mel’s Bowl. The former, however, does not have lighting, and the latter is relatively small. Neither of the signs is free-standing. Based on this survey, the Mel’s Bowl sign appears to be the best example of a mid-century Googie sign along E1 Camino Real. While it does not appear to achieve significance at the national level, it does appear to be eligible at the local level and for the CRHR under Criterion 3, as a good example of mid-century Googie signage in Redwood City. NRHP/CRHR Criterion D/4 Archival research provided no indication that the bowling alley has the potential to yield information important to the prehistory or history of Redwood City, California, or the nation. Therefore, it does not appear to be eligible for listing under Criterion D/4. Integrity Mel’s Bowl and the sign retain high degree of integrity. They have not been moved and therefore retain integrity of location. E1 Camino Real remains a busy commercial corridor with residential neighborhoods surrounding it, a general condition that has not substantially changed since Mel’s was constructed. Therefore, Mel’s Bowl and the sign retain integrity of setting. The bowling alley and sign retain integrity of design, materials, and workmanship, as few physical changes have been made and they retain their original appearance. Because all of these aspects of integrity are strong, the bowling alley retains its feeling as a mid-century bowling alley and its association with its original use. CONCLUSION Mel’s Bowl, located at 2580 E1 Camino Real in Redwood City, California was designed by Goodwin Steinberg and constructed in 1959-1960. The property on which the bowling alley stands was owned by the Boicelli family for over a hundred years and was Carey & Co., Inc. 25 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 leased to Mel Weiss who established the bowling alley and operated it for about ten years. The bowling alley falls into a context of mid-century bowling popularity and the construction of many large, full-service bowling alleys throughout the nation. However, it does not rise to the level of significance to be considered noteworthy within this context. It is not associated with any important historical figures, and its typical mid-century architecture is not significant. While designed by a master architect, the building does not appear to be a significant example of Goodwin Steinberg’s work. Therefore the building is not eligible for listing in the National or California Registers, nor does it appear to be eligible for local listing. The Mel’s Bowl sign, however, appears to be the only extant, free-standing mid-century Googie sign with good integrity in Redwood City and appears to be significant locally and eligible for the California Register under Criterion 3. IMPACTS AND MITIGATIONS Impact i. Implementation of the proposed project would result in removal of the Mel’s Bowl sign, which is a historic resource under CEQA. (Significant and Unavoidable) The proposed project would cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5. The implementation of Mitigation Measure I, which calls for the documentation of the Mels’ Bowl sign would reduce the magnitude of the impact. Nonetheless, demolition of a historic resource cannot be mitigated to a level of less than a significant level. Therefore, the proposed project would result in a project-level significant and unavoidable impact to a historic resource. Mitigation 1: Documentation. Documentation of the Mel’s Bowl sign would include the following: i. Photographs following these sections of the National Register Photo Policy Factsheet: Selecting a Digital Camera, Taking the Picture, Renaming the Digital TIFF Image, Burning the Images onto an Archival Disk, Labeling the Disk, Printing the Images, Selecting the Paper and Inks, Identifying Photographic Prints, Labeling the Photographs, NR Nomination Photograph Log Page. Note: Use the photograph log page as a template even though the photographs are not being submitted to the National Register of Historic Places. Carey & Co., Inc. 26 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 2. Scaled drawings, or photographs, of both elevations showing the dimensions of the sign and its features. Documentation would be submitted to the Redwood City Public Library and the San Mateo County History Museum. Carey & Co., Inc. 27 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resou.rce Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 SOURCES American Roads. "El Camino Real, California’s Coast Route. " http://www.americanroads.us/autotrails/elcaminoreal.html, 3/18/2o11. ~Boicelli, Anthony J. " (obit) San Francisco Chronicle, 4 March 2009. "Bowling." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling, 3/18/2011. Building permits for 2580 E1 Camino Real. Redwood City Planning Department. California Highways, "Trails and Roads: E1 Camino Real, " http://www.cahighways.org/ elcamino.html, 3/18/2011. ~Celebrated Architect Goodwin Steinberg, 89, Dies after Illness." Palo Alto Online www.paloaltoonline.com, accessed March 23, 2011. City of Redwood City. "History of Redwood City." http://www.redwoodcity.org/about/ local_history/exhibits/redwood_city/rwc_history.html, 3/18/2o11. Dill Design Group/Archives and Architecture. "Historical and Architectural Evaluation: Fiesta Lanes and Meineke Discount Mufflers. " 9 October 2002. "Steinberg, Goodwin. " (obit) San Francisco Chronicle, 17 December 2010. http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-1217/news/25205604_l_jewish-studies-american-institute-awardwinning-homes, 3/18/2011. ~Goodwin Steinberg, " (obit.) San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times. December 17, 2010. www.legacy.com, accessed March 23,2011. "Goodwin Steinberg. "Legendary Los Altos Architect, Dies at 88. " Los Altos Town Crier. December 2010. www.losaltosonline.com, accessed March 23, 2011. "Goody Steinberg Fine Art Limited Edition Prints." http://colornotemusic.com/Color%20Note%20Music/index.html, accessed March 23, 2011. Carey & Co., Inc. 28 Mel’s Bowl Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 Help with Bowling. ~The History and Origins of Bowling, " http://helpwithbowling.com/ history-origins-of-bowling.php, 3/18/2011. Hurley, Andrew. Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture. New York: Basic Books, 2001. Parcel history San Matero County Assessor’s Office. Redwood City City Directories and Haine’s Directories. San Mateo County Historical Society: "Boicelli’s Battle on 2 Fronts, " 18 January 1965. "The Boicellis’ Viewpoint, " 13 May 1966. "Boicelli’s Fail to Get Street Named, " 8 November 1966. "Silvio Bocelli" (obit), 21 May 1973. "Property Problems," 22 June 1977. Local History Room. San Mateo Public Library. Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. "Redwood City, California." Schmidt, Doug. "They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America’s Tenpin Capital," The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 91, no. 1 (Autumn 2007) : 51-53. State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Historic Preservation. California Register of Historical Resources: The Listing Process. Technical Assistance Series 5. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, n. d. California Register and National Register: A Comparison. Technical Assistance Series 6. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2001. User’s Guide to the California Historical Resource Status Codes & Historic Resources Inventory Directory. Technical Assistance Bulletin 8. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2004. Steinberg, Goodwin. From the Ground Up: Building Silicon Valley. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002. US Department of the Interior, National Park Service. How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Register Bulletin 15. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997. Carey & Co., Inc. 29 Mel’s Bowl, Redwood City, California Draft Historic Resource Evaluation Report April 15, 2011 How to Complete the National Register Registration Form, National Register Bulletin 16A. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997. Carey & Co., lnc. 30 State of California -- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI # Trinomial NRHP Status Code PRIMARY RECORD Other Listings Review Code Reviewer Date Page 1 of 9 *Resource Name or #: 2580 El Camino Real P1. Other Identifier: Mel’s Redwood Bowl *P2. Location: [] Not for Publication [] Unrestricted *a. County: San Mateo and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad: San Luis Rey, California Date: 2009 T ; R ; t/4 of 1/4 of Sec ; M.D. c. Address: 2580 El Camino Real City: Redwood City Zip: 94061 d. UTM: Zone: 10 ; mE/ mN (G.P.S.) e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate) Elevation: block 064, lot 21 a,a. *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) The one-story bowling alley faces northeast onto E1 Camino Real between its intersections with Center Street (northwest) and Carlos Avenue (southeast). The property is located approximately one mile southeast of Redwood City city center. El Camino Real is lined primarily with small-scale commercial properties, which flank the subject property and face it across El Camino Real. Behind the subject property (to the southwest) is a residential neighborhood of single-family residences. The site is flat and the majority of the subject property is paved with asphalt for use as a parking area. The building is set back from the street, with most of the paved area located between it and the street. At the street, a low concrete curb fronts the lot, with two driveway aprons providing vehicle access to the parking lot from E1 Camino Real. A free-standing, vertically oriented, neon sign is located at the front of the lot. Rendered in a typically mid-century decorative aesthetic, the sign reads "Mel’s Bowl" and has sign boards at the bottom for temporary lettering. Two tall utilitarian light poles are located in the parking lot. *P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP6. 1-3 story commercial building *P4. Resources Present:~’lBuilding []Structure 13Object I-1Site []District []Element of District []Other(Isolates, etc.) ’P5a. Photo or Drawin~ structures, and P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) Primary and east facades, looking southwest. 6/9/10. *P6. Date ConstructedlAge and Sources: []Historic []Prehistoric ¯Both 1959-1960; original building permit. *P7. Owner and Address: *P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, and address) Carey & Co., Inc. 460 Bush Street San Francisco, CA. 94108 *P9. Date Recorded: 3/22/2010 *P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive *Pll. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter "none.") Historic Resource Evaluation Report: 2580 E1 Camino Real, Redwood City, California *Attachments: ¯NONE []Location Map []Sketch Map []Continuation Sheet []Building, Structure, and Object Record []Archaeological Record []District Record []Linear Feature Record []Milling Station Record []Rock Art Record []Artifact Record []Photograph Record [] Other (List): DPR 523A (1/95) *Required information State of California- The Resources Agency I DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION [CONTINUATION SHEET Page 2 of 9 Primary # HRI# Trinomial *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) 2580 F:I Camino Real *Recorded by: Carey & Co., Inc. *Date: 312212011 Continuation ~J Update P3a. Description (continued) The generally rectangular-plan building is of tilt-up concrete construction and features pebble dash and wood board-and-batten siding. The roof consists of a broad shallow gable running northwest-southeast with a border of flat roof around the edges; flat roof transitions to a shed roof across the front of the building. A broad, shallow gable that is oriented on a northeast-southwest axis and is surrounded by a border of flat roof covers a projecting bay on the north corner of the building. Rolled composition clads the roof. Low planters, sometimes surrounded by a concrete curb, border the base of the primary (northeast) facade; they contain primarily low plants and shrubs, with three small cypress trees located at the east comer of the building. A wide concrete and pebble dash walkway leads from the parking lot to the main entrance, which is located near the center of the primary facade. A broad shed roof extends from the main roof; it is supported by square wood posts along its left side and an "adobe" brick wall along its right side. The entry consists of a glazed, anodized aluminum-frame assembly composed of fully-glazed double-doors flanked by narrow sidelights and surmounted by a narrow transom. Low solid dados with large, single-lite, fixed windows above flank the entry door assembly. To the right of the entry, a ground-level planter lines the entry walkway and abuts the base of the thick "adobe" brick wall, which extends through the roofline. This wall separates the entry from a projecting bay on the right side of the primary facade. The bowling alley’s restaurant is located within the projecting bay. It features a secondary entrance on its left side, which consists of a flush wood door made to look like it is built of vertical boards. It has heavy strap hinges and is surmounted by a barrel vaulted fabric awning that extends over the walkway leading up to the door. Four large, single-lite fixed windows flank the entry. They are located over board-and-batten dados. Brick piers flank the door and each window. Two similar windows flanked by brick piers wrap the east corner of the projecting bay, where the "adobe" wall does not extend to its corner. The right side of the projecting bay is clad with board-and-batten siding and is otherwise featureless. The left side of the primary facade is clad with board-and-batten siding and features a series of tall narrow arrow-slit windows along its length. The windows are fitted with a single pane of textured glass and have small wood sills at the bottom. At the far left end of the primary facade, a board-and-batten fence with "adobe" brick piers wraps the east comer of the building, enclosing a patio. The primary facade terminates in broad boxed eaves with a metal fascia. Over the projecting bay on the right side of the facade, a low gable rises above the flat roof and has a large metal housing for an HVAC unit. The gable end has broad eaves and a louvered metal vent at the center. A paved driveway that provides access to the rear of the lot borders the southeast facade. The facade features panels of pebble dash cladding with sharply angled concrete piers between. Each panel also has a narrow vertical recessed strip of stucco along each side, flanking the piers. At the right side of the facade is a recessed secondary entrance that consists of a set of fully-glazed, anodized aluminum-frame double doors surmounted by a transom and flanked by single-lite sidelights. The recessed entry vestibule has a stepped soffit clad with textured stucco and features three projecting wood beams held by vertical two-pronged brackets that extend up the vertical face of the soffit. The side walls of the recessed entry vestibule are clad with "adobe" brick, which on the right side, continues as a high wall enclosing part of the patio at the east corner of the building. The southeast facade terminates in a fiat, eaveless roofline. The southwest (rear) facade of the building is bordered by a smaller paved parking area. Like the southeast facade it is clad alternating panels of pebble dash and angled concrete piers. Most of these panels also have narrow vertical recessed strips of stucco along each side. At the center of the facade is a projecting bay that has a secondary entrance at its center. The entrance consists of a set of flush metal double doors surmounted by solid metal transom panels. On the right side wall of the projecting bay is a single flush wood pedestrian door. The southwest facade terminates in a flat eaveless roofline. The northwest facade closely abuts the property line and is not readily visible due to a fence and vegetation that obscure it. A board-and-batten fence appears to create a utility enclosure on the left side of the facade, while a section of the facade near the center is clad with "adobe" brick. The right side of the facade features pebble dash panels and angled concrete piers identical to those on the southwest and southeast facades. A small section of the roofline on the left side of the facade has overhanging eaves, while the remainder o.f the facade terminates in a flat eaveless roofline. State of California --The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION I Primary # HRI# CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial Page 3 of 9 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) 2580 El Camino Real *Recorded by: Carey & Co., Inc. *Date: 3/22/2011 P3a. Description (continued) Southwest (rear) facade. Southeast facade and east corner. Continuation Update State of California -- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 4 of 9 *NRHP Status Code 6z *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) 2580 E1 Camino Real BI. Historic Name: Mel’s Redwood Bowl B2. Common Name: Mel’s Bowl B3. Original Use: Bowling alley B4. Present Use: Bowling alley *B5. Architectural Style: Contemporary *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations) Constructed 1959-1960. Roof truss failure and repair 1962. Fire damage repaired 1969. Movable partitions installed 1976. *B7. Moved? I~qNo E3Yes *B8. Related Features: None I-1Unknown Date: Original Location: B9a. Architect: Goodwin Steinberg b. Builder: C.W. Gresham *B10. Significance: Theme: City development, bowling Area: Redwood City, California Period of Significance: 1959-1960 Property Type: Commercial Applicable Criteria: None (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.) In 1900, the Boicelli family purchased a 22-acre parcel of land that included the property where Mel’s Bowl now stands. They called the property Boicelii Ranch. Historic photos show that a small, modest, wood-frame cottage - the Boicelli home - was located on the ranch, possibly in close proximity to the route of E1 Camino Real. The property passed down through the family and eventually three grandsons of the original owners - Anthony, Silvio and Charles Boicelli -- inherited it. It is assumed that the property was subdivided and parcels sold off during this time, as an Eichler-designed residential development was constructed to the southwest of the current bowling alley property in 1948 (along Northumberland Avenue, southwest of Cypress Street). The Bocelli brothers retained the parcel where the bowling alley now stands and another 2.5-acre parcel between the bowling alley and Cypress Street. The Boicelli’s leased the parcel nearest to El Camino Real to Mel Weiss, who is best known as the co-founder of the well-known Mel’s Drive-ln restaurant chain. He was also the proprietor of a number of bowling alleys. The first Mel’s Bowl was located in San Jose (Mel’s Palm Bowl, 1958, no longer extant) and was succeed soon thereafter by Saratoga Lanes (1958, San Jose, no longer extant), Mel’s Redwood Bowl in Redwood City (subject property) and Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda (extant). Master architect Goodwin Steinberg designed all four bowling alleys; the latter two are nearly identical in design, likely having been constructed around the same time (1959-1960). (continued) Bll. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) N/A *B12. References: (See continuation sheet) B13. Remarks: *B14. Evaluator: Carey & Co., Inc. *Date of Evaluation: 3/22/2011 (This space reserved for official comments.) DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information State of California --The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page ~ of 9 Resource Name or #* (Assigned by recorder) 2580 E1Camino Real B10. Significance: (continued) On August 21, 1959, Redwood City granted Mel’s Inc. a building permit to construct a 40-lane bowling alley with a restaurant, billiard room, cocktail lounge, and child-care nursery for a cost of $372,000. The permit lists Goodwin B. Steinberg of Los Altos as the architect, Rutherford & Chekene as the structural engineer, and Sidney P. Lathrop, of Oregon, designed the timber roof trusses. C.W. Gresham constructed the building, and final inspection took place in April 1960. The building has undergone few changes since its original construction. On April 25, 1962, the bowling alley’s roof trusses failed. They were repaired within the month. In 1965, the Boicelli family entered a heated argument with the City of Redwood City over the establishment of a special assessment district that included their parcel to the rear of the Mel’s Bowl property. The assessment district would have enabled the routing of a new street, a continuation of Northumberland Avenue to Leahy Street, through that parcel and would have been constructed at the Boicelli’s expense. The family lost the argument and, the following year, also failed to have the new street named in the family’s honor. These events do not seem to have had an effect on the operations of Mel’s Bowl. In 1969, a fire occurred at the bowling alley, necessitating repairs. Mel Weiss’s involvement with the bowling alley ended around this time as well, and the Boicelli family entered into a long-term lease with American Recreation Centers, Inc., which took over operation of the bowling alley. The bowling alley continued to be known as Mel’s Bowl. American Recreation Centers is known to have operated twenty-six other bowling alleys throughout California at the time. In June 1971, Mel’s Bowl hosted the Winston-Salem Bowling Open. R.J. Reynolds tobacco company sponsored the event, which required a few temporary improvements to the bowling alley, such as signage and the installation of bleacher seating. According to a 1979 Haine’s Directory, the prospering bowling alley also conducted business through the Bradbury Pro Shop and the Redwood House Restaurant, both housed within the facility. Silvio Boicelli died in 1973, followed by Charles, and in 2009 by Anthony Boicelli. Ownership of the Mel’s Bowl property passed to the next generation of Boicellis. The bowling alley remains in operation under the management of AMF, a nationwide bowling alley company. It is officially known as AMF Redwood Lanes, but continues to commonly be called Mel’s Bowl. Bowling and Bowling Alleys The sport of bowling dates back to prehistoric times, with archeological evidence of ball-and-pin games found in ancient Egyptian tombs. It was also known to have existed in medieval Germany in the form of a game called kegal, which had religious implications involving the absolution of sin with the downing of pins. Bowling persisted in European courts and, with colonization, eventually became a popular betting game in early America. After being banned for its sordid association with gambling in some areas of the country, the American Bowling Congress form in 1895 and created the first standardized rules. Bowling associations for men and women proliferated, and the sport continued to grow in popularity. Rubber balls replaced wood balls early in the twentieth century, and the Brunswick company introduced modern "mineralite" balls in 1914. While bowling appealed both to the elite and the working classes through the early twentieth century, it became increasingly associated with the latter. Wealthy Americans installed small bowling alleys in their mansions or bowled at alleys in upscale hotels. More commonly, however, working-class men in urban centers found bowling recreation at saloons, leading to bowling’s strong association with gambling, drinking, and general delinquency. As one historian has written, "The one thing the sport lacked was a glittering image." Before World War I, women who traded their apron strings for bowling shoes were considered rebels for invading the dingy, smoky, kerosene-lit alleys. Prohibition and the Great Depression marked a turning point in the history of bowling. The ban on alcohol forced saloons to closed and, along with them, the bowling alleys located inside. New alleys opened in association with ice cream parlors and soda fountains. As unemployment skyrocketed during the early 1930s, Americans, especially working-class American who were so hard hit by the economic disaster, sought DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information State of California- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 6 of 9 Resource Name or #* (Assigned by recorder) 2580 El Camino Real BIO. Significance: (continued) cheap entertainment. Bowling offered one solution, and leagues of groups of men with labor and industry associations grew in number. Women’s bowling leagues grew in number as well. Bowling’s popularity gained momentum during World War II and the postwar period. The military built over 4,500 bowling facilities on American bases for the recreation of servicemen and women. Introduced to bowling, these military personnel undoubtedly helped bring the bowling craze to fruition in the post-war years. In the 1950s, the first television coverage of"Championship Bowling" was aired and other bowling programs followed, further promoting bowling among the general public. Technological advances, such as the introduction of mechanical pin-setting machines in 1952, eliminated the need for human "pin boys" and increased the efficiency of the game. Other advances at the time included foul detectors; the "Pindicator," which illustrated on a screen the number of pins left standing; hand driers; and automatic under-lane ball return devices. The 1950s also gave rise to theme bowling, such as "lunar bowling" by black light and prize bowling. Suburbanization also contributed to the proliferation of bowling alleys and its dramatic increase in popularity. Postwar affluence, combined with technological advances in home construction and mortgage incentives for home builders and buyers, fostered unprecedented numbers of Americans from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds to buy home. Bowling alleys became a common feature of these new communities, where working-class Americans transformed the bowling alley into a symbol of wholesome, mainstream consumer culture. Large, free-standing, 40-60 lane alleys promoted bowling as a family sport by providing child-care facilities and sit-down restaurants. The traditional inclusion of alcohol and billiards was adapted into upscale and tightly controlled cocktail lounges and pool tables, which were tucked away in separated rooms. Women’s leagues were formed and typically played on weekday mornings, while afternoons were dominated by junior leagues for children. On the West Coast, bowling was particularly popular in Southern California. Between 1960 and 1962, developer Louis Lesser was responsible for building nine expensive and well-appointed bowling alleys. With automated pin-setters, billiard rooms, child-care centers, coffee shops, cocktail lounges, expansive parking lots, and live entertainment, these bowling alleys became extremely popular social venues. The San Francisco Bay Area equivalent of Louis Lesser was the firm of Powers, Daly & DeRosa, who created what was termed the "California Style" for bowling alleys. They designed bowling alleys according to a theme, such as Persian at the Futurama Bowl in San Jose, which featured an elaborately decorated Magic Carpet Room cocktail lounge. While these were in the upper echelon of bowling alleys, a number of contemporaneous alleys are known to have been constructed throughout the Bay Area, including but not limited to Serra Bowl (Daly City), BelMateo Bowl (San Mateo), Manor Bowl (San Leandro), Cloverleaf Bowl (Fremont), Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl (Dublin), Alma Bowl (San Jose), Lenny’s Ann Darling Bowl (San Jose), Cambrian Bowl (San Jose), Plaza Lanes (San Jose), Saratoga Bowl (San Jose), and the three Mel’s Bowls. It was within this atmosphere of bowling popularity and glamour that Mel’s Redwood Bowl was born. alleys promoted bowling as a family sport by providing child-care facilities and sit-sit down restaurants. The traditional inclusion of alcohol and billiards was adapted into up-scale and tightly controlled cocktail lounges and pool tables tucked away in separated rooms. Women’s leagues were formed and typically played on weekday mornings, while afternoons were dominated by junior leagues for children. Prior to this time, women and children would have been rare patrons at a bowling alley. Bowling was especially trendy in Southern California, where between 1960 and 1962, developer Louis Lesser was responsible for building nine pricey and well-appointed bowling alleys. With automated pin-setters, billiard rooms, child-care centers, coffee shops, cocktail lounges, expansive parking lots, and live entertainment, these bowling alleys became extremely popular social venues. The San Francisco Bay Area equivalent was the the firm of Powers, Daly & DeRosa who created what was termed the "California Style" for bowling alleys. Their bowling alleys were each designed around a theme, such as Persian at the Futurama Bowl in San Jose, which sported an elaborately decorated Magic Carpet Room cocktail lounge. While these were in the upper echelon of bowling alleys a number of contemporaneous alleys are known to have been constructed throughout the Bay Area, including but not limited to Serra Bowl (Daly City), Bel-Mateo Bowl (San Mateo), Manor Bowl (San Leandro), Cloverleaf Bowl (Fremont), Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl (Dublin), Alma Bowl (San Jose); Lenny’s Ann Darling Bowl (San Jose), Cambrian Bowl (San Jose), Plaza Lanes (San Jose), Saratoga Bowl (San Jose), and the three Mel’s Bowls. It was of this atmosphere of bowling popularity and glamor that Mel’s Redwood Bowl was born. Goodwin Steinberg Goodwin "Goody" Steinberg (1922-2010) designed Mel’s Bowl. Born and raised in Chicago, Steinberg was the son of an architect. He followed in his father’s footsteps, studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology under modernist master Mies van der Rohe, and at the l~coles d’Art Am6ricaines at the Palace of Fountainbleau, in France, under Princeton University Professor Jean Labatut. Having passed through the San Francisco Bay Area with the Air Forcein 1944, Steinberg decided to relocate to California permanently in1952. He established Steinberg Architects a year later and built it into an practice with multiple offices in the United States and abroad. Steinberg’s portfolio included a wide range of project types, including residences, corporate campuses and religious buildings. Some of his most renowned projects include the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, buildings for the Stanford Research Center, and restorations of both the Santa Clara County Courthouse in DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information State of California -- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 7 of 9 Resource Name or #* (Assigned by recorder). 2580 E1 Camino Real B10. Significance: (continued) San Jose and the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey. He is also celebrated for his design of Congregation Beth Am, a Jewish school and synagogue in Los Altos Hills, which was inspired by his own faith and sense of community. Beyond architecture, Steinberg was known as an advocate for regional planning and the conservation of the open space of around Los Altos. Steinberg designed at least four bowling alleys in the Bay Area, including the three Mel’s Bowls (in San Jose, 1957; Redwood City 1959-1960; and Alameda ca.1960) and Saratoga Lanes in San Jose (1959). According to an interview he conducted with Dill Design Group in 2002, Steinberg felt that Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda was the best executed of the four designs and that Mel’s Palm Bowl and Saratoga Bowl were not executed according to his original designs. Notably, Mel’s Southshore Bowl and Mel’s Redwood Bowl appear to be identical in plan and facade organization and are very similar in exterior treatment. Evaluation NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/1 The bowling alley does not appear to be eligible for NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/1 for association with signifi.cant historical events. Constructed in 1959-1960, the bowling alley at 2580 El Camino Real generally contributed to the growth of Redwood City and the expansion of the commercial corridor along E1 Camino Real in the post-World War II years. Mel’s Bowl does not appear to have played a specific or significant role in this history of postwar growth. Also, although it was associated with the growing popularity of the sport of bowling and the subsequent construction of numerous bowling alleys throughout the state during the 1950s and 1960s, it is one of many examples of bowling alleys from this era and does not seem to rise above others as a particularly noteworthy example, particularly in comparison to more lauded examples, like the bowling alleys constructed by the firm of Powers, Daly & DeRosa. No specific events of historic significance appear to have occurred at the bowling alley and so it does not appear to be eligible under NRHP/CRHR Criterion A/1. NRHP/CRHR Criterion B/2 The bowling alley does not appear to be eligible for NRHP/CRHR Criterion B/2, for association with the lives of persons significant to our past. The Boicelli family, although long-time residents of Redwood City, do not appear to be credited with any significant accomplishments or achievements that made an impact on the history of the area. Moreover, while they owned the land one which the bowling alley stands for over a hundred years, their relationship to Mel’s Bowl does not appear to have extended beyond that of landlord. Mel’s Bowl was initially established by Mel Weiss, an entrepreneur in the restaurant and entertainment industry. He is best known for the Mel’s Drive-ln restaurants located around the Bay Area, a number of which have be reincarnated as Mel’s Original Drive-In (the originals have all closed, including the one immortalized in George Lucas’ film American Graffiti). While Weiss’ association with this iconic restaurant chain may elevate him to the status of a significant historical figure, his association with the bowling alleys does not. The restaurants were his primary business undertaking, while the Mel’s Bowl bowling alleys followed as a secondary business about ten years later. The bowling alleys do not seem to claim enough significance from their connection with Mel Weiss to be eligible for listing under Criterion B/2. For these reasons, the subject property does not appear to be eligible for the NRHP/CRHR under Criterion B/2. NRHP/CRHR Criterion C/3 The bowling alley exhibits typical mid-century architectural styling and building materials, including a horizontal emphasis, gable-on-tim roof forms, tilt-up concrete construction, and pebble dash cladding. Its large, one-story mass, as well as its interior layout and the facilities it contained are also typical of bowling alleys in the 1950s and 1960s, as noted in the bowling and bowling alleys context above. Although Mel’s Bowl contributes to a broad architectural context in this sense, it does not stand out as noteworthy, and many other, possibly better examples exist. Worth mentioning, is Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda, which was designed by the same architect as Mel’s Bowl in Redwood City and exhibits an identical footprint, roof plan, and facade organization. (The similarity of the actual floor plan and exterior finish treatments are undetermined.) The two bowling alleys appear to be nearly identical, and yet it has been recorded that the architect himself considered the building in Alameda, and not the subject Mel’s Bowl, to be the best execution of the four bowling alleys he designed during his career. Goodvvin Steinberg was a master architect who achieved a high degree of respect in the Bay Area and internationally. In his memoir, Steinberg associated himself and his architecture with the postwar transformation of Santa Clara County from the Valley of Heart’s Delight to the Silicon Valley, and obituaries consistently cite the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Beth Am Congregation campus, and restorations of the Santa Clara County Courthouse, and the Del Monte Hotel as his best work. Steinberg designed four bowling alleys during his career, including the three Mel’s Bowls in San Jose, Alameda and Redwood City, all around 1959. These projects do not seem to have been the pinnacle of his achievements, however, and do not capture a significant chapter in his career. Thus, the subject property does not appear to be eligible for the NR_HP/CRHR under Criterion C/3, as the work of a master architect, as a good example of a particular architectural type, style, or method of construction, or as achieving a high degree of artistic merit. DPR 523B (1195) *Required information State of California -- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 8 of 9 Resource Name or #* (Assigned by recorder). 2580 E1 Camino Real B10. Significance: (continued) Mel’s Bowl Sign As mentioned previously, a free-standing, vertically oriented, neon sign is located at the front of the Mel’s Bowl Property, advertizing the bowling facility to traffic along El Camino Real. Rendered in a mid-century decorative aesthetic, the sign is comparable to the many iconic Googie style signs that are found throughout the country and considered important elements of roadside architecture. The Googie style, which was commonly expressed in signage as much as in architecture, was popular from the late 1940s through the 1960s, contemporaneous to the erection of the Mel’s Bowl sign. The Mel’s Bowl sign is a relatively simple example ofa Googie sign - it does not have boomerang shapes and starbursts composed in space-age, gravity-defying arrangements, for example - but it does include an arrow, lights, block letters, and a prominent position at the edge of El Camino Real. Carey & Co. performed a cursory survey of roadside signage along E1 Camino Real within Redwood City city limits. Two other mid-century Googie signs stand out as comparable to the Mel’s Bowl sign: Roy’s Drive-In Cleaners at 1100 E1 Camino Real and the building-mounted sign for Dick & Dale’s Auto Tops at 2504 El Camino Real. Both of these signs stand out for their form, which has more movement than Mel’s Bowl. The former, however, does not have lighting, and the latter is relatively small. Neither of the signs is free-standing. Based on this survey, the Mel’s Bowl sign appears to be the best example of a mid-century Googie sign along El Camino Real. While it does not appear to achieve significance at the national level, it does appear to be eligible at the local level and for the CRHR under Criterion 3, as a good example of mid-century Googie signage in Redwood City. NRHP/CRHR Criterion 1)/4 Archival research provided no indication that the bowling alley has the potential to yield information important to the prehistory or history of Redwood City, California, or the nation. Therefore, it does not appear to be eligible for listing under Criterion D/4. Integrity Mel’s Bowl and the sign retain high degree of integrity. They have not been moved and therefore retain integrity of location. El Camino Real remains a busy commercial corridor with residential neighborhoods surrounding it, a general condition that has not substantially changed since Mel’s was constructed. Therefore, Mel’s Bowl and the sign retain integrity of setting. The bowling alley and sign retain integrity of design, materials, and workmanship, as few physical changes have been made and they retain their original appearance. Because all of these aspects of integrity are strong, the bowling alley retains its feeling as a mid-century bowling alley and its association with its original use.. B12. References (continued) American Roads. "El Camino Real, California’s Coast Route." http://www.americanroads.us/autotrails/elcaminoreal.html, 3/18/201 l. "Boicelli, Anthony J." (obit) San Francisco Chronicle, 4 March 2009. "Bowling." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling, 3/18/20 i 1. Building permits for 2580 El Camino Real. Redwood City Planning Department. California Highways, "Trails and Roads: E1Camino Real," http://www.cahighways.org/ elcamino.html, 3/18/2011. "Celebrated Architect Goodwin Steinberg,89, Dies after Illness." Palo Alto Online www.paloaltoonline.com, accessed March 23, 2011. City of Redwood City. "History of Redwood City." http://www.redwoodcity.org/about/ local_history/exhibits/redwood_city/rwc_history.html, 3/18/2011. Dill Design Group/Archives and Architecture. "Historical and Architectural Evaluation: Fiesta October 2002. Lanes and Meineke Discount Mufflers." 9 "Steinberg, Goodwin." (obit) San Francisco Chronicle, 17 December 2010. http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-12-17/news/25205604_l_jewishstudies-americaninstitute-award-winning-homes, 3/18/2011. "Goodwin Steinberg," (obit.) San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times. December 17, 2010. www.legac¥.com, accessed March 23,2011. DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information "Goodwin Steinberg. "Legendary Los Altos Architect, Dies at 88." Los Altos Town Crier. December 2010¯ www.losaltosonline.com accessed March 23, 2011. "Goody Steinberg Fine Art Limited Edition Prints." http://colornotemusic.con~Color%20Note%20Music/index.html, accessed March 23, 201 !. Help with Bowling. "The History and Origins of Bowling," http://helpwithbowling.com/ history-origins-of-bowling.php, 3/18/2011. Hurley, Andrew. Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture. New York: Basic Books, 2001. Parcel history San Matero County Assessor’s Office. Redwood City City Directories and Haine’s Directories. State of California -- The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Primary # HRI# BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page. 9 of 9 Resource Name or #* (Assigned by recorder) 2580 E1 Camino Real B12. References (continued) San Mateo County Historical Society: "Boicelli’s Battle on 2 Fronts," 18 January 1965. "The Boicellis’ Viewpoint," 13 May 1966. "Boicelli’s Fail to Get Street Named," 8 November 1966. "Silvio Bocelli" (obit), 21 May 1973. "Property Problems," 22 June 1977. Local History Room. San Mateo Public Library. Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. "Redwood City, California." Schmidt, Doug. "They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America’s Tenpin Capital," The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 91, no. 1 (Autumn 2007): 51-53. State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Historic Preservation. Califomia Register of Historical Resources: The Listing Process. Technical Assistance Series 5. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, n. d. __. California Register and National Register: A Comparison. Technical Assistance Series 6. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2001. ¯ User’s Guide to the California Historical Resource Status Codes & Historic Resources Bulletin 8. Sacramento: California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2004. Inventory Directory. Technical Assistance Steinberg, Goodwin. From the Ground Up: Building Silicon Valley. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002¯ US Department of the Interior, National Park Service. How to Apply the National Register Bulletin 15. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997. Criteria for Evaluation, National Register ¯ How to Complete the National Register Registration Form, National Register Bulletin Office, 1997. 16A. Washington, DC: Government Printing DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information