Best bowling alley
Audience Choice, Culture & Nightlife, Lakeview, Logan Square, Sports & Recreation Add commentsSouthport Lanes
This cozy corner pub in Lakeview scores big nostalgia points. One of the few remaining beer houses that Joseph Schlitz opened in the 1890s to tout his Milwaukee brews, it flourished through prohibition after four bowling lanes were installed as a front in 1922. It’s one of eleven alleys in the U.S. still worked by human pin setters. The house rule: If you see legs and feet at the end of the lane, don’t throw your ball. Pack the finger holes with a few bucks and your score might magically grow. An original wooden phone booth is a nod to the discovery during renovations in 1991 of some fifty cryptic phone lines that presumably once led to flapper-era racing tracks and boxing rings.
3325 N. Southport
(773)472-6600
southportlanes.com
Audience choice:
Diversey River Bowl
2211 W. Diversey
(773)227-5800
Best of Chicago 2008
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