A bowling alley on Freeport Boulevard that once symbolized the Japanese American community in Sacramento after the war has become the city’s latest historic landmark.
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday recognized AMF Land Park Lanes located at 5850 Freeport Blvd. as a historic location, over a year after asevere fire in February 2024fire caused the venue to be closed.
A Japanese American developer named Gonzo Sakai created and constructed the now-recognized lanes in 1960. The facility is currently the only remaining bowling alley in Sacramento, as stated by the city’s community development authorities.
Among the factors considered for the designation: the Freeport Manor site’s “contributions to the overall development of Sacramento history,” the city stated.
“The website highlights a significant part of Sacramento’s Japanese American community history, particularly their involvement in recreational and social integration following World War II,” said Whitney Johnson, an assistant planner in the city’s community development department.
Roy Arimoto, a third-generation Japanese American who has lived his entire life in Sacramento and is affiliated with the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, shared with council members that the lanes served as a crucial sanctuary for his community amid the hostility they experienced following the war.
Land Park Lanes organized a Japanese American bowling league, dances, and various social gatherings that brought together a community that had been uprooted, including his parents, who were the proprietors of a gift shop on 10th Street in the area that was once the city’s Japantown.
“There was significant hostility directed at Japanese Americans following World War II. The Nisei (second-generation) bowling league served as a gathering spot where we could come together and experience some camaraderie,” Arimoto said.
When we discuss heritage and family history, along with the experiences the community faced, Land Park Bowl played a significant role.
For many years, Black and LGBTQ bowling leagues also participated on the custom-built Brunswick lanes at Land Park Bowl, contributing to the alley’s extensive community history. The location was also noted in the city’s newly finished LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project, according to Johnson.
Historic conservation supporters, such as Preservation Sacramento and the Sacramento Historical Society, backed the recognition. Notable individuals included Gregg Lukenbill, former owner of the Sacramento Kings.
Lukenbill commissioned a report earlier this year to support the initiative, along with an architecturalhistorian discovering that the lanes are eligible for a local listingA architect from Napa, Kara Brunzell, highlighted its cultural significance and mid-century modern style.
It features that playful folded-plate roof and then that futuristic-looking sculpture near the entrance that cuts through the roof,” Brunzell said to The Bee before Tuesday’s vote. “So it has those striking elements that were meant to catch your attention as you drive by.
Lukenbill spoke briefly to the council prior to the vote.
Thanks for bringing us here,” Lukenbill stated. “This will be a joyous occasion for the residents of Sacramento.
