HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-30 - Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club
Proclamation
ON THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PALO ALTO LAWN BOWLS CLUB
WHEREAS, the Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club (PALBC) was founded in 1933 at 474 Embarcadero
Road and sits on the site of the old Peninsula Hospital (built in 1910 and razed in 1931); and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Virginia (Ginny) Arnott (1857-1943) was the driving force behind the creation
of the club; she learned to play the game on John McLaren’s green in San Francisco and missed it
when she and her husband, John Arnott – a Scottish brick mason – moved to Palo Alto; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Ginny Arnott was elected as the club’s first president, and the PALBC opened
on March 10, 1935 with funding from the Civil Works Administration, a predecessor to Franklin
Roosevelt’s Depression-era Works Progress Administration; and
WHEREAS, on site today there is a lawn bowling green with eight available rinks, a clubhouse
with a complete kitchen, men’s and women’s locker rooms, storage closets, and a shed. The PALBC
has more than 130 dues-paying members, with all club duties being performed by member volunteers;
and
WHEREAS, various types of tournaments are held throughout the year, including intra-club
tournaments (men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed team triples, men’s team pairs, women’s draw
pairs) and several invitationals open to all members of Bay Area lawn bowling clubs; and
WHEREAS, as the entire facility of PALBC is a city park, Bowling Green Park, the club and the
City of Palo Alto work together to provide a first-class operation that continues to expand and prosper.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Lydia Kou, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, do hereby congratulate the
Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club on its 90th anniversary.
PRESENTED: September 30, 2023
__________________________
Lydia Kou
Mayor