A once treasured bowling alley and mid-century modern-style property received landmark designation by City Council on July 22. The former bowling alley at 5850 Freeport Boulevard will be added to the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.
The property was part of a mid-20th-century commercial development that transformed Freeport Boulevard into a bustling commercial corridor for over 60 years.
After a fire damaged the building in February 2024, the AMF Land Park Lanes closed its doors. When the property owner approached the City to demolish the building, the request triggered Historic Preservation review. Historic consultants and community groups advocated for the building’s listing as a potential for historic landmark.
“We are happy to see this property gain its designation as it has been a vital location for many groups to gather for decades and the building’s architectural style holds true to its time,” said Historic Preservation Director Sean deCourcy.
Historic landmark designations allow buildings to be eligible for financial incentives, including the Mills Act property tax reduction program, which is in place to promote the ownership, maintenance, and restoration of historic properties. The designation is a way of preserving Sacramento’s history of not only buildings of a certain era, but the culture and people who gathered there.
The building design reflects a Mid-Century Modern bowling alley, with its dramatic folded plate roof form, concrete construction, geometric entrance awning, and eye-catching space-age entrance sculpture designed to attract the attention of passing, many of which these designs have been demolished or redeveloped in Sacramento, making them increasingly rare. However, the City’s Preservation Commission made the recommendation that the building is particularly significant for its association with Japanese American and LGBTQ+ bowling leagues who used the building as an inter-generational gathering place.
Gonzo and Toki Sakai purchased the land in 1958 and opened the Land Park Bowl in 1960. The building was designed and built by Winston Steel Works, a Sacramento-based company known for many commercial and industrial buildings in Sacramento and Northern California. The bowling alley was one of Sacramento’s first full-service suburban bowling centers, featuring 32 lanes, a cocktail lounge, restaurant, nursery, and children’s play area.
“I’ll be supporting this designation today as this is very historically significant to our communities,” said Councilmember Caity Maple who represents the district. “We look forward to working with the property owner on what comes next.”
The future use of the site is still to be determined.