Candlepin bowling is a New England tradition. Our alley features seven lanes with original 1950s wooden ball returns, hunter green bowling benches and peach scoring tables. The fun continues with 2 pool tables, and a classic Ms. Pac Man / Galaga upright. And if the Sox are playing, you know we'll have the game on at the bar!
The Milky Way "takes you back to those grade-school birthday parties when it was cool to listen to Shawn Cassidy and drink Strawberry Quick" - Citysearch.com.
Right around the corner, you will be wowed by our full bar, offering everything from PBR to single malt scotch to our famous Apple Martinis. Plus, Bella Luna's extensive and delicious menu is served nightly.
"In short, the Milky Way is a great combination of all you need in life-food, beer, entertainment, friends and candlepins" . - Secret Boston
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Basics The great thing about candlepin bowling is that anyone can play and have fun! Our orange and green balls are only 4 inches in diameter, and weigh less than 4 pounds. The pins are always in play even after they fall down, and the bowler gets three chances to clear the deck as opposed to only two in ten-pin bowling. We use "traditional scoring", which means you get a pencil and a scoring sheet and keep track of the scores yourself - a great chance to brush up on your arithmetic skills! |
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Bowling Fees To simplify things, we charge a flat rate of $25 per hour per lane.You can have up to 6 people bowling on one lane. If six people bowl for one hour, it only costs $4.20 each! There is a $2.00 rental fee per pair of bowling shoes. This fee is waived for parties of two. Socks are available for $2.00, you must wear socks. |
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Bowling Availability The lanes are open 7 days a week according to the following schedule. Closing hours may change subject to demand. Mon. 6pm - 12:45am Tue. 6pm - 12:00am Wed. 6pm - 12:00am Thr. 6pm - 12:00am Fri. 6pm - 12:45am Sat. 6pm - 12:45am Sun. 6pm - 11:00pm We do not host children's parties. Children over 48 inches tall, accompanied by a supervising adult, are welcome, but groups of children are not. |
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Bowling Reservations We accept bowling lane reservations for up to two lanes for two hours. It's best to call at least one day in advance. A $25 credit card deposit per lane is required for lane reservations - this deposit will be credited towards your final bill. Email our parties and reservations manager, or call 617-524-3740 ext. 12 to make your reservation. Please note that the Milky Way does not accommodate bowling parties for children. |
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JP Bowling History Candlepin bowling has been a unique New England tradition for over a century. The game was founded in 1880 by Justin P. White in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the summer of 1914, the ten lanes of what would someday become the Milky Way Lounge & Lanes were laid down in Jamaica Plain. We know that a beloved woman named "Mary" ran the JP Bowl in the 60s and 70s - many of our customers remember bowling here under her tutelage 30 years ago as kids. By 1995, the heydays of JP Bowl were over, and the lanes lay unused until 1999, when the owners of Bella Luna Restaurant decided to transform the old JP Bowl into the Milky Way Lounge & Lanes. |
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Candlepin History The pins in ten-pin bowling were originally tall and slender, almost cylindrical. It was hard to get high scores with such pins, so bowling alleys in New York City about 1850 began to use the familiar larger, bottle-shaped pins. After the Civil War, "big pin" bowling became the dominant version of the sport throughout the country. But in 1881, Justin P. White, the owner of a billiard room in Worcester, Massachusetts, and John J. Monsey, an expert billiards player, revived--or perhaps re-invented--the older form of bowling. The original candlepins were 11 inches high and tapered to a diameter of 1 inch at each end. Bowlers used a wooden ball, 3 inches in diameter and weighing about 3 pounds, on a regulation-sized tenpin alley. Because of the size of the ball and spacing of the pins, it was very difficult to get a good score, so White and Monsey hit on the idea of leaving fallen pins, or "deadwood," on the lane to increase scoring. Using deadwood to help knock down the remaining pins is an important tactical feature of candlepin bowling. The pins are now somewhat bigger than in 1881: 15 3/4 inches high and 2 15/16 inches at the middle, tapering to 1 3/4 inch at the ends. The ball is 4 1/2 inches in diameter and weighs from 2 pounds, 5 ounces, to 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Scoring is the same as in regulation tenpin bowling, except that a bowler is allowed three balls per frame. If all ten pins are knocked down with three balls, the score for the frame is simply a 10. The perfect score in candlepins is 300, but no one has ever accomplished that, or even come close. The highest sanctioned score is 240, by Gerry Montminy. The "new old" version of bowling spread quickly through New England and Eastern Canada, often existing side by side with big pin bowling as an attractive alternative for youngsters, seniors, and some women, as well as an interesting challenge for other bowlers. After World War II, big pin bowling gradually began to replace candlepin in many locations, in large part because Brunswick, the major manufacturer of bowling equipment, opened alleys devoted exclusively to that form of the sport. National television of the Professional Bowlers Association tour also contributed to the popularity of big pin bowling. Nevertheless, many adherents remained, and remain, devoted to candlepin bowling, although their numbers have been declining. A candlepin bowling show was telecast every Saturday by a Boston channel for more than 40 years, and it was one of the highest-rated shows on local television in Beantown. It was dropped in 1995, however--not because of poor ratings, but because the station felt the audience was not "demographically attractive to advertisers." The sport certainly hasn't died, but it lives on in only a few alleys, primarily in western New England and Canada's Maritime Provinces. |
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