JIM STEVENS
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Town of Delafield - The former Lakeview Lanes bowling alley off Highway SS will eventually be razed, but before the landmark building is reduced to rubble it will provide a valuable educational training ground for the town Fire Department.

Attorneys for the town and St. Anthony on the Lake, which purchased the property earlier this year, are hammering out a legal agreement that will allow the Fire Department to conduct training exercises in the building. The agreement needs final approval by the Town Board and St. Anthony's.

Deputy Fire Chief Mark Hoppe said if an agreement can be secured, the building will allow the Fire Department to practice various tactics in a large commercial building. Hoppe said the town has entered into agreements in the past with residential properties for houses that were to be razed.

Firefighters will be able to practice search and rescue techniques, using large hoses, ventilation and other aspects of firefighting that can only be done in large commercial buildings, Hoppe said.

"This will be a very good chance," Hoppe said.

Hoppe said the hope is once the agreement is finalized the department will have two to three months to practice in it before it is razed.

St. Anthony on the Lake, W280 N2101 Highway SS, purchased the adjacent Lakeview Lanes' 2-acre property for $840,000 this spring.

The church bought the property for additional parking; if there is to be any future construction, additional land would be needed to meet the town's 50-percent green space requirement.

Lakeview Lanes announced it was closing in August 2008 after 52 years of operation. The bowling alley was last operated by Community Entertainment Centers

Bill Perrigo built the bowling alley in 1955, and the first games were bowled in August 1956. The establishment was called Bill Perrigo's Yacht Club Lanes.

Copyright 2009 Journal Sentinel Inc.
December 1, 2009