‘The community deserves it’: Historic Chicago bowling alley seeks community support amid financial struggles

CHICAGO — A historic Chicago bowling alley is asking for some help keeping the doors open after the owners were handed a property tax bill they just can’t cover.

For the last 35 years, Franklin Logan has been lacing up his bowling shoes at Skyway Lanes in Jeffrey Manor.

“I enjoy the game and after I got into bowling it was very enjoyable relaxing and I met a whole lot of friends in bowling,” Logan said.

But the lanes are not as busy as they used to be.

“People don’t bowl anymore, they got older, they don’t take their children like they used to, back in the day bowling was a family affair,” Logan said.

Brunetta Hill-Corley and her husband run the business which her father bought in 2009, but Skyway Lanes originally opened in 1950 and it is the only remaining black-owned bowling alley in the city.

The bowling alley used to have 30 leagues that would bowl regularly here, but now they are down to only 10.

Skyway still hosts Chicago Public Schools bowling tournaments, and children with autism come here with the Chicago Park District.

“We call this our safe haven, not only for us, but the community as well,” Hill-Corley said.

Keeping up with the alley is not cheap. All 36 of the pinsetters behind the house are original.

Hill-Corley said she would like to upgrade to new electronic machines- but that would cost around $1 million.

On top of all of that, Hill-Corley said she is still paying back a COVID disaster relief loan and facing a property tax assessment that has doubled this year.

“The property taxes, just, it’s beyond a kick in the gut when you don’t have the right revenue stream to support it. How can you pay it?” Hill-Corley said.

The family has since started a GoFundMe fundraiser in hopes of raising enough money to stay afloat.

“The community deserves it, and that’s why we’re reaching out to the community to come back in help us through this journey so that we can keep this pillar in our community,” Hill-Colrey said.