Do you remember if Jackie's Bowl is where Ocean Park Condo now? I vaguely recall its around the area but can't pinpoint the spot.
Let me share with you the history of Jackie's Bowl Katong and Orchard.
Mr Loke Wan Tho of Cathay Organization used to own Ocean Park Hotel together with nearby Cathay Keris Film Studio.
The late Mr Herbert Lim Eng Kuan was the grandson and son of Mr Lim Nee Soon and Mr Lim Chong Phang. Herbert's very beautiful wife Mavis Chew fell in love with Loke Wan Tho and she proceeded to divorce Herbert.
Loke Wan Tho felt very bad and sorry for Herbert and he offered to compensate Herbert with a block of 38,000 sq ft of freehold land at Ocean Park as a gift & the space for a bowling alley at the Orchard cinema at a rental of 10c psf for 50 years.
At that point of time Herbert was trying to bring into S'pore 10 pins bowling from America. He approached Mr Khoo Teck Puat and Mr Jackie Oei (descendent of Oei Tiong Ham) to become his business partners to set up the two bowling alleys in S'pore.
Herbert was the pioneer in S'pore 10 pins bowling and the two Jackie's bowling alleys were very profitable throughout their decades of operation.
Mr Loke Wan Tho divorced his very attractive & high profile socialite wife, Christina Lee to marry Mavis Chew in 1963. Less than a year later, very sadly Loke and Mavis perished in a plane crash in 1964 after they attended the 11th Asian Film Festival in Taiwan.
Dato Loke Wan Tho was only 49 years old.