We are not amused

Redwood City lost a major source of amusement when Marine World/Africa USA left town, but it still had many other, admittedly smaller, places where kids and families could have fun. When my own kids were growing up, my wife and I often took them to Malibu Castle Golf & Games, a miniature golf course and video game arcade between Blomquist Street and Highway 101. When they got older, we watched our kids get their first “driver’s licenses” at Malibu Grand Prix, a go-kart track just south of the miniature golf course. My kids and I went many times to Mel’s Bowl, with my youngest even having a birthday party there. Similarly, my kids spent time at the Redwood Roller Rink, a well-loved source of amusement. And although I don’t believe any of my family members ever skated there, I do know that some spent time at the Nazareth Ice Oasis, on Bay Road, watching close friends play ice hockey.

Of course, we all went to the movies from time to time, either to the domed Century Park 12 theaters along East Bayshore Road or to the UA Redwood 6, a six-screen theater that was located where Walnut Street dead ends into Highway 101. I have particularly fond memories of taking my kids to the Century Park 12 for the rereleases of the original three Star Wars films. I wanted them to enjoy those movies as I originally did: on a big screen in a crowded theater.

Good memories. Sadly, though, that’s all I have left for these places of amusement, since they’ve all succumbed (or likely soon will) to the pressure of development.

In mid-2011, after more than 40 years of operation, Mel’s Bowl was torn down to be replaced by today’s Oakwood Redwood City, a 141-unit apartment complex and its associated parking structure. In August 2013, after operating for some 35 years, Malibu Castle Golf & Games and Malibu Grand Prix both closed. Roughly 15 months later the sites were cleared, leaving us with the large parcel that Jay Paul Company hopes to soon redevelop with a large three-building office complex (That project, incidentally, is slated to go before the Redwood City Council this Monday — but note that it will simply be a study session, with the council making no decisions regarding the project).

The UA Redwood 6 theaters closed in 1998 and were replaced by an office building where today Evernote Corporation has its headquarters. The Century Park 12 theaters fared a bit better, lasting until October 2008, just about a year after Century Theatres opened its 20-screen downtown complex. The Century Park 12 theater buildings still stand, but if SyRes Properties (an incarnation of Syufy Enterprises, the creator of those theaters) has its way, the buildings will be torn down to make way for a 480-unit multifamily housing development and a 97,000-square-foot sport club.

As for our skating venues, although some of the basic structure remains and will be reused, the Nazareth Ice Oasis was recently gutted and is now being transformed into a two-level Life Science laboratory facility. And the Redwood Roller Rink? It closed in late 2017 and sat empty until just last month, when it was demolished to make way for Redwood City’s huge mixed-use ELCO Yards project.

Between our parks, the waterfront, our downtown theaters (including the Fox Theatre), and, possibly, a new family-friendly venture of some sort in the ELCO Yards development, today’s Redwood City isn’t entirely devoid of ways to have fun, of course. But there’s no denying that there are fewer options, especially for the younger set. And sadly, given the high cost of land, many of those options aren’t likely to return any time soon.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.