Welcome to

Forgotten Roller Rinks of the Past

This is the companion website to the Facebook Page of the same name.   It all started with a Facebook page for the closed Northeast rinks that didn't have one.   Next, this website was created on 04/20/2017 to better organize the FB information, add all the other closed rinks* and to make it easier to find what you're looking for.  In 2018, I decided to begin adding ALL the closed rinks from Coast to Coast and renamed it from "Forgotten Roller Rinks of the Northeast" to the "Past".   As information and pictures are added to to the FB page, I will copy, organize and add them to this website.

• Don't throw that memorabilia away!

At one time when someone would ask if there was a place that they could donate old skating memorabilia left behind by a relative who passed, I would suggest the National Museum.
Now, I suggest sending to me first and if you wish I'll forward the memorabilia to the museum after scanning it.
At least with me scanning it, everyone will have a chance to enjoy it on-line, instead of traveling to Nebraska.
The museum has been terribly understaffed and items sent may not be seen again for a very, very long time.
Also, beware that there are greedy collectors who will take your items and put them in their private collection, never to be seen again.
Visit our Donations Page to see what others have donated.
If you wish to send something, PM me in our FaceBook group or use my email on the contact page.

• FRRP is Ad-Free, No Pop-up's & No penny-per-click Ad bait.

• More Journalism (FACTS) and a lot less Opinions (FICTION).

If you are looking for the facts and the history of your old favorite skating rink, you've come to the right place. Here, you will get the facts from the journalists who were there and wrote about it in their articles. As a paying member of Newspaper.com, I spend many hours searching the national archives to find these articles, cut, clean, adjust and then present them in the correct order.
I will never waste your time or insult your inteligence with pages filled with my opinions & guesses.

If you prefer to read a lot of opinions and unproven statements, there is a copy-cat website that started about a year after FFRP that can help you.
Over there, you will also find many articles copied from FRRP, with our watermark removed and no credit. That site pays for nothing and owns nothing. Not even the website name.
After attempts to sell it failed, It has now been abandoned. "Can't sell what you don't own."

• This will be an on-going project.

I plan to add at least one closed rink each week plus updates as info becomes available, so check back often.

• Error?

If you see an error or missing info, please correct me!
I want this to be as historically accurate as possible.

• Want more?

Post your pictures on our Facebook Page and I'll also post them here - everyone would love to see them!

• Want photo's or info for your school project?

As many of the photo's here were located on the internet, I usually enhance & crop them, but I lay no claim to them.
I do spend a lot of $$$ on newspaper memberships, plus a lot of time locating, trimming & enhancing the articles. FRRP members are always welcome to contact me for a clean image of their favorite rink.
A donation would be appreciated.
Also a link to Forgotten Roller Rinks of the Past and listed as a source.
• NOTE: FRRP does not own the "Watermarked" items.
The marking is only for reference for when the items are copied from here & appear elsewhere.

• Donations Welcome.

Many personal hours have & will continue to be spent on research & site maintenance.
Images like photos, case stickers, articles, etc., usually require some sort of work & that could involve color correcting, re-sizing, repairing and recreating missing parts. (Old case sticker images tend to be missing parts & almost always need to be rotated)
If you wish to donate, PM me in our FaceBook group or use my email on the contact page.
Any help is appreciated.

Sources:

Sources include, but not limited to, Wikipedia, Facebook Clubs, History sites, Many newspapers, National Roller Skating Museum, Competition programs, Skaters and my own collection of memorabilia.
Most aerial photos are courtesy Google Earth.

Website & content edited & maintained with:

Dell and HP computers running Windows 7, Windows Office, Windows Notepad, Windows Paint, Paint.net, Photoshop, PhotoKey Pro, 7 Zip & Sony Vegas.
No Apple hardware or software products were used.

About me...
(Yes, I saved the best for last, lol)

My parents were skaters. Not competetive, just social skaters who enjoyed skating, music and doing the dances.
They used to skate at the many rinks in the area and sometimes just went to watch others skate.
When I was young, they would bring me along, but could not convince me to even try to skate. So, one of them or my sister would take turns sitting with me and watch.
In the late 1960's, I finally decided to give it a try! I did great and didn't fall for many weeks, until I tried to go backwards.
Yes, that's me and the late Kandy Weiland.

1970 Connecticut States was my first competition. The '70s was my favorite time for skating, met a lot of great people and skated in a lot of rinks! (Good, bad & ugly)
In the mid to late '70s, I started to DJ, never in a skating rink, only for private parties.
I always had a rule: Organ music for skating and top 40/disco for non-skating.
In the late'70s, As organ sessions started to become disco sessions, my skating went from several days a week down to one.
By 1979 I had stopped skating and switched to competitive ballroom dance for Fred Astair Studios.
Of course I missed my skating days and would use Rinx records at studio practice. The organ music used to drive the others nuts, but they put up with it.
So now I skate again, but no rinks, just sidewalks and rail-trails.
And yes, still love organ music and play it too!