Ah yes. The Skating Rink. I spent many, many Friday & Saturday evenings at my local one back in the day.

I lived in an addition (a group of houses all on one dead end street) that was RIGHT BEHIND the local skating rink. So I simply walked down the hill and I was there.

Naturally I had my own skates and box to hold them, with lots of random, goofy stickers adorning it.

I had 3 things on my mind while I waited in line to get in. The hot dogs, the video games, and the girl working behind the counter. I loved all three.

Soooo many good times were had there. And one, forgettable, birthday party (to which I wore denim jeans and a light denim jacket - UGH!).

My old skating rink has since been changed into the home office of a construction company...



Here is my POORLY EXECUTED rendition of what it looked like when I went there in my youth...



It wasn't much to look at, but it served it's purpose well.

Recently I happened upon an awesome site that still specializes in roller skates...

http://www.rollerskatenation.com/

It's nice to see that these aren't completely gone forever.

I could hold my own on the wood back in the day. my buds and me would hit the rink now and then, load up on mt dew and try to knock each other over when the staff wasnt looking. They turned that place in to a fitness center.

I went to a girl's birthday party at a roller rink in Glendale, CA. Then in 2006 my cousin had a birthday party at the same rink. I think it's still there. I think it's used for a shooting location.

There was another roller rink in West Covina CA, but it closed in 1998. Or sometime around there. It got converted to a storage facility.

I can't skate worth a crap, but I tried my best when I went to the rink.

thecrow174 wrote :
I can't skate worth a crap, but I tried my best when I went to the rink.

I was not a skating wizard by any stretch of the imagination, but I could get around the rink fairly well. I would even occasionally get up the gumption to perform in the "limbo" competition that took place each Saturday night, though I never won.

There were some regulars that I would see there that could do some pretty amazing things on skates. One of those gentlemen actually works on our furnaces here at the office when they need maintenance. I am not sure if he remembers me or not, but I'm going to mention the skating rink to him next time I see him.

I sucked at skating. I fell so many times its a wonder Im not an paraplegic.

A roller rink in LA is closing. I personally have never been to this location.

The news story.

pikachulover wrote :

A roller rink in LA is closing. I personally have never been to this location.



The news story.

I hate that. It's sad to see these places that represented a time when hours of fun could be had with just a pair of wheels on your feet, disappear.

When I wasn't so busy falling down constantly , I'd waste quarters on the arcade games.

Vaporman87 wrote :
One of those gentlemen actually works on our furnaces here at the office when they need maintenance. I am not sure if he remembers me or not, but I'm going to mention the skating rink to him next time I see him.
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UPDATE: I spoke with Ed (the gentleman mentioned above) about our times at the rink during last year's Fair (I ran into him there). He didn't remember seeing me at the rink, but he knew I remembered him when I started talking about how I wished I could do some of the tricks he did. We got into a big discussion about all our skating rink exploits. It was a good conversation that brought back some memories.

I was pleased to read that a local skating rink (not the one I used to frequent, but still...) has reopened it's doors after a 10 year hiatus. Good to see there is still a demand for places like this.