Assembly Square Infill and Small Developments | Somerville

The garage at the end of Canal Street is much easier to get in and out of and usually has available parking on the first floor.
 
jass said:
A bowling alley with 8 lanes is not a bowling alley
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Nowhere in the name is it described as a bowling alley. It's called "Lucky Strike Social". It has bowling alleys, as well as pool tables, floor shuffleboard, games, and two giant bars (hence the "social")
 
If it were called Lucky Strike I'd agree. But its called Lucky Strike Social. In their signage, the word Social is the same size as Lucky Strike. Their branding makes it pretty clear what types of entertainment are available.
 
AssemblyMoe said:
Nowhere in the name is it described as a bowling alley. It's called "Lucky Strike Social". It has bowling alleys, as well as pool tables, floor shuffleboard, games, and two giant bars (hence the "social")
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Lucky Strike is a bowling alley chain operated by Lucky Strike Entertainment, LLC, which owns and operates a chain of facilities that include bowling alleys and billiard parlors, bars, lounges, restaurants and venues for art and music. Founded in 2003, the company is based in Sherman Oaks, California.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Strike_Lanes

Their website is:

http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/

I wonder why I associate them with bowling. Hmmmmmmm
 
Wow wtf is this discussion even about anymore? The appropriateness or not of the branding of a bowling alley and pool hall venue? Yeesh.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Wow wtf is this discussion even about anymore? The appropriateness or not of the branding of a bowling alley and pool hall venue? Yeesh.
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I remember going down to Good Times--only to fend for your life.
Stabbings, fights, fights in the cage basketball. Pool Table brawls.

The good ole Boston Days.

We will never see those days again in this area. Who would have thought.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Wow wtf is this discussion even about anymore? The appropriateness or not of the branding of a bowling alley and pool hall venue? Yeesh.
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And I'm still processing that a bunch of effete, moneyed, 20-something Brooklyn transplants have the time and energy to piss away an evening playing shuffleboard ironically...
 
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Beton Brut said:
And I'm still processing that a bunch of effete, moneyed 20-something Brooklyn transplants have the time and energy to piss away an evening playing shuffleboard ironically...
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It was an afternoon, and it was a very cool space! There was no cover, drinks were usual bar price, all in all, an inexpensive place to hang out for an afternoon, or for a few hours in the evening. Everyone there was having a good time, enjoying each other's company, and this old goat was very impressed! I don't understand your negativity to the place.
 
atlantaden said:
I don't understand your negativity to the place.
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This place, and others like it, are symptomatic of a culture lacking in an awareness of its own catastrophic superficiality. When patrons tire of shuffleboard, I hope they're prepared and scaled to transition to indoor badminton or axe-throwing...
 
Beton, I'm usually with you but come on. It's a place for games. What's more superficial than games? If you enjoy a game ironically, you're still enjoying it. What are the appropriately authentic pastimes, in your opinion? This was a very 'get off my lawn' comment.
 
I wish more new places had classic New England Candlepin bowling and not the big ball yuppie shit from outside of New England.
 
Beton Brut said:
This place, and others like it, are symptomatic of a culture lacking in an awareness of its own catastrophic superficiality. When patrons tire of shuffleboard, I hope they're prepared and scaled to transition to indoor badminton or axe-throwing...
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You’re overcome by the exuberance of your own verbosity!
 
tysmith95 said:
I wish more new places had classic New England Candlepin bowling and not the big ball yuppie shit from outside of New England.
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The new Flatbreads in Brighton has candlepin bowling.
 
So, I figured my initial comment would stir things up a bit...

Let's carve into this:

cadetcarl said:
This was a very 'get off my lawn' comment.
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Maybe...

One of my oldest friends is a metal fabricator; talented guy, went to school for it, runs his own business. Imagine what he thinks about a kid in his 20s with a $200K art school diploma telling everyone that he's a "blacksmith."

cadetcarl said:
If you enjoy a game ironically, you're still enjoying it.
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Are you? Or are you enjoying "playing dress-up in grandma's attic"?

cadetcarl said:
What are the appropriately authentic pastimes, in your opinion?
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Camping, cooking, reading, appreciating distilled spirits, walking the streets of cities I've never visited before, arguing with strangers on the internet...

The truth is, I never enjoyed being a kid; therapy has helped me realize that this has most to do with my parents' unique approach to raising me. Among the attributes that this gifted me with is a volcanic disdain for the superficial.

And I think you'll agree, we live is superficial times. We try our hardest to extend our adolescence into middle age. We consume when we should create. We watch when we should read. Indeed we've monetized "authenticity" to the point that it's a meaningless concept.

Ruairi said:
You’re overcome by the exuberance of your own verbosity!
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I've been accused of far worse, so thank you.
 
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Beton Brut said:
This place, and others like it, are symptomatic of a culture lacking in an awareness of its own catastrophic superficiality. When patrons tire of shuffleboard, I hope they're prepared and scaled to transition to indoor badminton or axe-throwing...
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Beton - while I tend to agree with you, another major aspect of the systematic disease of our times is the lack of face to face interactivity. In that regard, I am cautiously heartened by the return of halls for playing games. I share your cynicism about the superficiality, as well as the fact that these types of places as of right now tend to be so much gaudy kitsch... overpriced playgrounds for the “New Rome”. I would much rather have a no-frills spot with a lot of table games; Flat Top Johnny’s was an example of a great spot like that that was neither historical, tatty, nor superficial... unfortunately, it’s so damn popular these days that it’s harder to enjoy than it used to be. At any rate, I am hopeful, again with cautious optimism, that games and interactive type stuff might spread into less affluent demographics and lose some of the fools gold glitter.

The nuances of this argument are beyond what can be achieved on an Internet post, but allow me to bloviate on further. For, really, once awareness exists, there’s no turning back. We are all aware of the loss of pre-21st century living styles, and are constantly sentimental and self-conscious in our tastes. One can make the same argument about craft beer (and scotch), organic food, smart growth, and historical as well as environmental preservation. They all stem, in one way or another, from some version of a line of reasoning that says “the set point in the past where X, Y or Z was ideal was ____, and we must return our [eating habits, the species of the planet, the architecture, etc] back to that idealized set point. We are all prisoners of this manner of thinking, whether we like it or not. Eating of the apple of wisdom forever condemned mankind to self-awareness, and an inability to think freely and “naturally”. Despite thinking itself very forward-looking, it seems to me that the present middle-aged generation is in some ways more sentimental about the past than anyone realizes or admits. What I can say for sure is since the fall of modernism, people have shied away from truly believing in the future, and everyone these days, whether they are conservative or liberal, seems to be hung up on something that went wrong in the past, rather than putting stock in a confident vision of the future that is untethered from the past. In music, architecture, politics, everything, it is commonly said as a given that there are no new ideas. Perhaps the West has actually exhausted itself. I myself am not ready to make that concession… And it’s why, on that rare occasion, that some truly novel building or book or movie makes it all that much more worth it.

As for the games… I like shuffleboard on occasion (there’s a great game hall on 6th Street in Austin that has tons of tables, and there is nothing swanky or forced about it, believe me) and would consider playing at Assembly, but prefer to play all my games in what to me at least is an unselfconscious atmosphere. I will have to see for myself where this place falls in that regard. My suspicions are in line with yours about the clientele… But perhaps we mustn’t be so cynical.
 
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