As newer businesses are looking to bring new life into the Worcester-invented pastime of candlepin bowling, the Worcester Historical Museum will open a new exhibit on Dec. 13 to look back at the sport’s 145-year old history.
The new exhibit, called “Strikes, Spares, and Deadwood: Candlepin Bowling,” honors the tradition of the sport first invented in 1880 by Pop White, the owner of a pool hall on Pearl Street. It will feature a number of items and photographs from collectors, including some salvaged from Colonial Bowling Center, the last candlepin center in Worcester, which closed in 2020, according to a Tuesday press release from the museum.
The museum has been preparing for the exhibit for months, putting out a call on its Facebook page in October for bowlers to consider lending any interesting jerseys from the leagues of yesteryear.
[What does 2025 hold for your business and the Central Mass. economy? Take WBJ’s Economic Forecast survey.]
Once facing a slow march to extinction, candlepin bowling seems to be on more solid footing in 2024, with a new center planned for The Cove luxury apartment building on Worcester’s Green Street and other Central Massachusetts lanes, such as Harvard Lanes in Havard, being taken over by younger ownership.
Central Massachusetts is home to 12 candlepin centers in total, with the 22-lane Ryan Family Amusements location in Millis being the largest.
Located in the museum’s Booth Gallery, the exhibit will run until March 29.
Founded in 1875, Worcester Historical Museum saw 23,000 visitors in 2023, according to data provided to the WBJ Research Department, making it the 24th most popular tourist destination in Central Massachusetts.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
