08/28/2026
Location: Sellens Pool Hall
Full History: https://abandonedks.com/sellens-pool-hall/
Short History: Sellens Pool Hall, also known as Sellens Recreation, was created in the 1920s. At the time, an upward trend was beginning for recreation parlors/pool halls. These were mostly male-dominated social spaces that consisted of smoke, billiard tables, beer and, oftentimes, under-the-table betting.
As Russell became more populated, Sellens got more popular. Around 1935, Sellens was looking to go bigger and better. They envisioned a brand new two-story recreation hall with a second-story bowling alley. They left the above location and moved into the new one in 1936.
The area looks a bit different today than it once did. Today, when you approach Sellens Pool Hall, you wouldn't even begin to imagine the thousands of memories the townspeople carry of this place. Or what hides on the second floor.
As you walk into Sellens, you begin to imagine the pool tables, the laughter, the camaraderie. An escape from everyday life, a place to go and de-stress from the rest of the world. But on the second floor is where most of the magic lies, covered in a thick layer of dust. The bowling alley was the heart of Sellens, which is evident by the many mementos on the wall from the American Bowling Congress certifications dating back to the 1940s. Shoes still stuffed in boxes, cubbies lining the wall, and pins still on the alleys. Tom Glick laughingly remembered, "Lonnie Phillips, Bobby Wright, and I snuck up to the bowling alley in about '64. We rolled a couple of balls, then realized with the noise, we were caught--so we ran like hell!"
