HAMMOND | A south side landmark is the latest victim of the torrential rainfall that flooded the city two weeks ago.

The record-setting deluge caused the roof of Bowl-Era Lanes at 6530 Calumet Ave. to collapse, Chief of Inspections James Callahan said Thursday, and the brick walls of the 78-year-old structure are in imminent danger of following suit.

Home to The Times Bowling Classic for 45 years, the two-story Bowl-Era building has become too unstable for inspectors to safely go inside, said Callahan, who sought an emergency demolition order from the Board of Public Works and Safety.

The building's current owner, businessman Charles "Del" Rose, of Munster, told the city he doesn't have the money to demolish it, said Callahan, who received four bids ranging from $57,000 to $123,000 to do the job.

A collapse of the structure, with its distinctive "bowling man" tile mosaic, would threaten traffic on Calumet Avenue, which now is being rebuilt, and the alley behind homes on Jefferson Avenue.

"I don't want to leave this building up any longer than I have to," said Callahan, who hopes to have the details finalized by this weekend.

The building originally was an auto dealership. Hammond businessman Sid Rodkin opened Bowl-Era at the site as a 12-lane alley in 1940, with the second floor occupied by a roller skating rink.

He added another 16 wooden bowling lanes to replace the skating rink in 1953. Those lanes remained in use until Bowl-Era closed in 1995.

As many as 2,000 bowlers from across the country competed at Bowl-Era in the annual Times Classic held there from 1950 to 1995, when the tournament was moved to Olympia Lanes in North Hammond.

Bowl-Era was the first alley in Indiana to eliminate human pin boys by installing the then-new AMF Corp. mechanized pin-spotting system in 1954.