RAF MILDENHALL, England — The bowling center at RAF Mildenhall has won the Air Force Design Excellence Award for Interior Design.

The center had previously won an award on the U.S. Air Forces in Europe level, but finished better in the Air Force-level competition. On the USAFE level, it received a citation award, which information from the base public affairs office called equivalent to a bronze medal. The Air Force award is the same as winning the gold, according to the PAO office.

Cited as a one reason for the top prize is the original artwork decorating the walls of the center, which opened last year. On one wall an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, used at the base by the 352nd Special Operations Group, is depicted shattering a bowling ball with its weapons.

The other wall is covered with a rendering of a KC-135 Stratotanker, flown by the base’s 100th Air Refueling Wing, taking out a bowling pin.

The 12-lane, 15,00-square-foot facility replaced a World War II warehouse that had been converted to a bowling alley in 1966. The new building includes a dining and kitchen area, a games room and a children’s amusement area.

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