Iconic Sharon bowling alley building finds a new owner

Michael Roknick, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 14—SHARON — Thornton Hall Bowling Lanes has scored a buyer that plans to continue operating the business.

RB&G Entertainment LLC made a tentative deal to buy the two-story, 68,000 sq. ft. building at the intersection of Thornton and Hall avenues. The company offered $230,000 in a public internet-hosted auction run by Loomis Auctioneers of West Middlesex.

The sale is expected to close by the end of May.

The buyer has true local ties. George Farneth, a Pittsburgh-based attorney, and Rick Kennett, owner of Future Building of America Co., Farrell own the company.

Kennett's company manufactures insulated panels used in residential and light commercial construction along with other products.

Both men said they enjoyed the bowling alley's old-fashioned charm, which hasn't changed appreciably since it opened more than seven decades ago.

"We plan to continue operating the bowling alley exactly the way it has been operating, with some upgrades to the interior," Farneth said. RB&G already owns a bowling alley in Wellsburg, W.Va.

The current owners of the building and bowling alley, Mike Scott, 68, and his two cousins, John, 71, and Dave Scott, 74, are selling the bowling lanes and the entire Thornton Hall building as part of their retirement plans.

Located at the corner of Thornton and Hall avenues on the north side of Sharon, the building was constructed in 1949 and doubled in size to its current 44 lanes in the early 1960s. It's a throwback to a different era.

Scorekeeping is done with paper and pencil. A 1944 manual cash register still rings up sales, and players who buy a ball get a free, personal bowling lesson. The first floor — once a roller rink — now houses a couple of tenants but a large space that had been a Golden Dawn grocery store is unoccupied.

Farneth said the new owners will seek advice from local residents and city officials on how to best use the building's first floor and the surrounding property.

"We're not looking to make wholesale changes," he said. "Our belief is it's a good idea to watch the business operate and build ideas from there."