The Fireside Bowl
41°55′29.94″N 87°41′38.85″W / 41.9249833°N 87.6941250°W
The Fireside Bowl, commonly known as Fireside Bowl or the Fireside, is a bowling alley on West Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square, Chicago, Illinois.[1] It was converted into a bowling alley in 1941. From 1994 to 2004, it operated as a nationally recognized all-ages venue for punk and independent music.[2] After its regular concert program ended, the business returned its focus to bowling.[2] It remained open with numerous bowling leagues in 2026.[3]
History
[edit]Bowling alley
[edit]Owner Henry Sophie converted the building into a 12-lane bowling alley in 1941. Four lanes were added in 1956, bringing the total to 16.[1] The property passed to the Lapinski family in the mid-1960s. By the early 1990s, declining bowling business had brought the Fireside close to failure, and Rich Lapinski's son Jim took over its operation.[2]
All-ages music venue
[edit]In the early 1990s, Fireside regular Russ Forster organized "disco bowl" nights and suggested the alley to Los Crudos musician Martin Sorrondeguy as a possible one-off concert space. Chicago-area bookers Brian Peterson and David Eaves subsequently approached Jim Lapinski about presenting regular shows. By the summer of 1994, they were booking concerts several nights a week, and the Fireside had become better known as a music venue than as a bowling alley.[2] Peterson, the founder of Chicago promoter MP Productions, booked local and touring bands at the venue.[4]
Although the room was formally rented like a hall, it became an all-ages destination on the national punk touring circuit.[2] The stage stood at one end of a long, narrow room perpendicular to the bowling lanes.[5]
The Fireside initially booked almost exclusively punk, but by 2002 its programming had broadened to hip-hop, electro-wave, and heavy metal.[6] Acts that appeared there included Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Bikini Kill, and Sleater-Kinney.[2] Its all-ages policy gave under-21 fans access to live music when most Chicago rock clubs and bars could not admit them. The Fireside served as a center of the city's punk scene through much of the 1990s.[4] Beyond hosting concerts, the Fireside connected local and touring bands, gave emerging Chicago concert bookers practical experience, and served as a networking space for young musicians and fans.[2] In 2008, Pete Wentz said that small independent shows such as those at the Fireside were essential to his musical development and the emergence of Fall Out Boy.[7]
Larger crowds brought police interventions over capacity and complaints from neighbors about noise, parking, underage drinking, and public urination.[2] The city also threatened to acquire the property through eminent domain for an expansion of nearby Haas Park, although the acquisition did not take place.[2][4] Lapinski said he had grown tired of the risks of operating a concert venue and wanted the more predictable schedule of a full-time bowling alley.[2] Regular concerts ended in August 2004, after which the owners renovated the lanes and refocused the business on bowling.[2][4]
Return to bowling and later concerts
[edit]By January 2005, the Fireside primarily offered bowling, with fewer concerts restricted to patrons aged 21 and over.[8] The Fireside began a trial run of live shows in June 2010.[9] By 2013, concerts were limited to roughly six to eight weeks during the summer because bowling leagues used the building during the rest of the year, and bowling remained the primary business.[10]
In popular culture
[edit]Alkaline Trio references the Fireside and a U.S. Maple performance in its song "Goodbye Forever".[11] Allister paid homage to the venue in its song "Somewhere on Fullerton".[12] Parts of Rise Against's music video for "Swing Life Away" were filmed at the Fireside.[13] Comedian Kyle Kinane recounts a story involving the Fireside Bowl and a search for a restroom on his 2010 debut album, Death of the Party.[14][15]
The Fireside Bowl was used as a filming location for The Break-Up.[10] It appears in the film Widows.[16] The bowling alley has also been used as a filming location for the television series Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D..[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Pastport – History". Logan Square Preservation. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DeCeault, Joe (September 14, 2023). "The Fireside Bowl: An unlikely place for punks of all ages". WBEZ. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Mack, Emily (April 2, 2026). "Where You Can Still Bowl in Chicago". City Cast Chicago. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Sun-Times Wire (March 4, 2008). "The Bottom Lounge and Reggie's: Dawn of a new day for the Chicago club scene?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Finnegan, William (November 9, 1998). "Rocket Science". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Hieggelke, Jan (September 26, 2002). "Best of the Best: Fireside Bowl". Newcity. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Sun-Times Wire (May 13, 2008). "Fall Out Boy speaks out: Pete Wentz on the promoter's ordinance". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Porges, Seth (January 2, 2005). "Bottomed out". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Amer, Robin (August 3, 2010). "A Punk Rock Institution Returns to Logan Square". WBEZ. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- 1 2 Pickett, Leah (January 8, 2013). "Fireside Bowl deserves a punk rock comeback". WBEZ. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Anthony, David (November 14, 2014). "My first favorite band: a love/hate story". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Ding, Tony (December 2, 2002). "Chicago's Allister confides their turkey tales". The Michigan Daily. p. 7A. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Garner, George (February 15, 2015). "The Ultimate Rise Against Videography". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Geurts, Jimmy (April 18, 2012). "Editors Choice: Contemporary Comedians". The Oracle. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Death of the Party – Kyle Kinane". AllMusic. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Greenfield, John (May 23, 2019). "Chicago Transportation Infrastructure and Politics Got Their Close-up in "Widows"". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved August 9, 2026.