By Tenpin Bowling Proprietors Association President John Ashbridge
Ambassador Bowl Overton Street Waverley Liverpool 7
The third bowling centre to open in Liverpool and, the largest to open in the North of England in the early period of bowling, was the 30-lane Ambassador Bowl in Overton Street. The centre was in an unusual location having been built on the third floor of the well-known Freemans store. The centre had its own entrance on to the street, was the first to have an escalator to the first floor and opened on Monday 30th September 1963. The 30 bowling lanes, pinspotters and ancillary equipment was supplied by AMF and other facilities available included a large Wimpy snack bar, a licensed club bar and a club meeting room. A novel feature about this time was a mobile promotion vehicle, used jointly between ABC Bowling and Ambassador Bowling, to promote the three bowling centres in Liverpool. Sadly, the Overton Street bowl was not as successful as had been hoped for and it closed on 1st September 1966 having lasted just two years.
