Westport Bowling Lanes — Local services in Westbrook

Don't know much about the place, but this bowling alley has the last 24 pinsetting machines of its kind - IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

These are apparently called "Bowl Fast" pinsetters, manufactured by Simmons Machine Tool Corporation in Albany, NY, for Bowling Machines Inc, a now defunct company.

They're unique because the setting table comes down before the pins are placed in the bins, instead of after, like what is normally done with those Bowl-Mor machines you find in most candlepin bowling alleys nowadays. The pins drop in with a loud THUD which rumbles the whole floor. Apparently you can feel it standing at the end of the lane.

These machines are also able to detect a ball return jam and turn on a trouble light, which is a rather...

Clean, busy, and fun atmosphere. Our game was paused for about ten minutes when all of our bowling balls ended up in the gutters (Thanks to us! 😂) and then the friendly staff helped us fix the issue so we could keep playing. The lady charged us for less without me even asking. She said she wanted be fair to customers given that things went “a little haywire.” I guess a party had an issue with something in their lane being stuck but this didn’t seem to be a widespread problem. This place doesn’t utilize all the modern flashy technology that other places might, but it really didn’t take away from our enjoyment. We will come back! Our two kids’ only complaint was that they didn’t...

This place is fantastic! I've only been once, and I can't wait to go again. We've recently been trying all the tenpin places around, but decided give candlepin a shot for the sake of nostalgia. It felt like stepping decades into the past. Walking in the door is a blast of absolute retro-awesomeness. It's a time capsule of slick vintage Brunswick seats, old-school projectors, ski-ball, pool tables, paper scoresheets, and actual pencils! Pam was super friendly and took the time to explain rules and scoring to us. It was an excellent and memorable experience, and I'm excited about going back. I forgot how fun candlepin was. I highly recommend...