The White House bowling alley is getting a $253,000 makeover, and the contract has put one of the most famous lanes in the world back in the spotlight.
On July 28, the Executive Office of the President awarded the contract to Charles Mann Enterprises, a Washington construction firm, for a "lighting project" on the two-lane alley next to the White House. The deal was first reported by Politico at the end of August and quickly drew national attention, with critics adding it to the list of renovation projects at the White House.
The White House said the work covers standard upkeep and fixing broken lights, and that President Trump was not involved. A spokesman said the alley "remains in frequent use, having hosted nearly 10,000 guests over the past year". The same firm also received a separate $878,000 contract for a "studio project" in the same basement.
It is not the first time the lanes have made headlines, and it will not be the last. For bowling fans, it is a story worth knowing, so here is the full history of the alley, from a birthday gift for Harry Truman to the latest upgrade.
1947: A gift from Missouri
The first White House bowling alley opened in April 1947. A group of Truman's fellow Missourians paid for two lanes on the ground floor of the West Wing. They had planned to present them for his 63rd birthday in May, but construction finished early.
Truman admitted he had not bowled since he was 19. He rolled the first ball anyway and knocked down seven pins. One of those pins is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
The president himself rarely used the lanes. He preferred poker, often with reporters.
1950: The White House Bowling League
Truman's staff made much more use of the alley than he did. In 1950, he set up a White House Bowling League with teams of Secret Service agents, household staff and groundskeepers.
Staff bowling has been part of the alley's story ever since, and staff are still its main users today.
1955: Moving next door
In 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower closed the West Wing lanes and turned the space into a mimeograph room for copying documents. Several accounts say the area later became part of the Situation Room, which was created under John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Bowling moved next door to the Old Executive Office Building, now called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That two-lane alley, known as the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley, is the one getting new lights this year.
The bowling president
No president was more associated with bowling than Richard Nixon. According to the White House Historical Association, both Richard and Pat Nixon were passionate bowlers.
Nixon was photographed bowling in the Old Executive Office Building alley in 1970. Three years later, the Nixons went a step further and had a one-lane alley built inside the White House itself, in an underground area below the driveway leading to the North Portico.
That means the White House complex has two bowling alleys: the two-lane Truman alley next door, mostly used by White House staff and their guests, and the single lane inside the White House itself, built for the Nixons and used privately by the first family.
The residence lane through the years
The Nixon lane had a major renovation in 1994, during Bill Clinton's presidency. The next one came in 2019, during Donald Trump's first term.
First Lady Melania Trump unveiled the refurbished lane on April 30, 2019. The original wooden lane was restored, and the alley got updated wiring, new mechanics and a new interior. She marked the reopening by hosting children of Secret Service agents.
Barack Obama also used the White House lanes, although bowling was never his sport. During the 2008 campaign, he famously bowled a 37 over seven frames at a stop in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he told Jay Leno he had been practicing at the White House and had bowled a 129.
The staff alley today
The Truman alley is still busy. White House staff can reserve the lanes and bring guests, who must clear a background check before they can bowl. By the White House's count, nearly 10,000 people bowled there in the past year.
2014: The renovation that never happened
The Truman alley has been at the centre of a political argument before. In July 2014, the General Services Administration posted a contract to renovate it during the Obama administration. The posting was withdrawn on July 9 after criticism, and the House of Representatives then voted to ban funding for the project.
"With our nation $17 trillion in debt, upgrading the president's private bowling alley shouldn't be a priority," Republican Rep. Pat Meehan said at the time.
Twelve years later
Twelve years after that plan was dropped, the Truman lanes are getting work done after all, starting with the lights. The White House has not said when the project will be finished, and no details of the work have been made public beyond the contract itself.
Nearly 80 years after Truman's first roll, the lanes are still in use, and they still make the news.
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