Old Arena Images & Beginnings

[James Laverance]

^^^Very cool!

Did you know that:

"In late 1892 the ice polo teams in St. Paul outfitted four indoor roller rinks with natural ice.* They were as follows: Jackson, Summit, Wigwam and Exposition, all located near downtown St. Paul. These installations are believed to be the first buildings in the state with natural ice.* During the winter of 1893, St. Paul ice polo teams played many of their contests at these rinks."
http://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/813675-history-of-indoor-ice-rinks-in-minnesota-

Also the earliest image I could find of an indoor skating rink in the state of Minnesota.

This was taken at the St.Paul's Hippodrome in 1917.

 

[greyraven8]

Sunny Brae Rink in Moncton:

http://vintagemoncton.com/sunny-brae-arena/

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=5625

2014 video of its remains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzpw0GQ_bDA

 

[Killion]

Sunny Brae Rink in Moncton:

Isnt that interesting... looked a bit more like a specific purposed agricultural or perhaps distillation facility/building rather than indoor arena.
Amazing that after all this time its foundations still standing. Tragic story goes with & all; death of a child in the fire.

 

[James Laverance]

This is perhaps the oldest image of an indoor Skating Rink in the United States from 1866.

The Great Chicago Skating Rink was built in 1865.
Nineteenth-Century Skating Rinks, Centres of Winter Social Life

 

[Killion]

^^^ Wow. Opened a year before the start of the Civil War, that rendering done the year after it ended. Artist included a soldier. Nice touch.

 

[Killion]

Interesting video

... of Maple Leaf Gardens interior demolition & re-purposing; app. 17:00 www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0VFdnWmJUE

 

[Fenway]

One of the greatest hockey barns was the old Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence

The arena still had chicken wire into the 70's and I still have a small scar on my face playing there in a high school game.

It also had a Bulova clock same as Chicago, Detroit and Boston.

 

[Killion]

^^^ Oh wow. What an old beauty of a building, arena. I played in several
similar to that way back in the day. Loved them. Never visited Rhode Island though.

 

[greyraven8]

Denman Arena - 1805 W. Georgian St., Vancouver - 1911 to 1936.
Home ice of the Vancouver Millionaires.
Vancouver Archives photos.

under construction - in the second panel of this 1911 panoramic view
http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/panoramic-view-of-west-end-from-royal-alexandra-apartments-at-bute-and-comox

* for larger photos of the first two images and others just search "denman arena" on the Vancouver Archives site *

and a couple photos from Vancouver Public Library:

description on West End Vancouver site describes the small building in front of the arena "This small building was a confectionery, grocery and tea room at the northwest corner of Denman Street and Georgia Street. It first appeared in the Vancouver directories in 1919."

Ruins after 1936 fire

 

[WildGopher]

^^^ Wow. Opened a year before the start of the Civil War, that rendering done the year after it ended. Artist included a soldier. Nice touch.

Another link of Chicago skating to the Civil War: The infamous Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, a warehouse turned prisoner of war camp during the war, was bought and demolished brick-by-brick and rebuilt in Chicago in the late 1800s and used as a Civil War museum. Eventually it was torn down, but the façade of the old prison building was retained and kept as a part of the new Chicago Coliseum on the site, which served as the first home of the expansion Chicago Black Hawks NHL franchise in 1926. The Hawks used the Coliseum on and off as their home until their final games there in 1932, when they shifted their games exclusively to the cavernous Chicago Stadium.

 

[Killion]

... Eventually it was torn down, but the façade of the old prison building was retained and kept as a part of the new Chicago Coliseum on the site, which served as the first home of the expansion Chicago Black Hawks NHL franchise in 1926.

Wow. Very interesting. Literally if walls could talk. And those ones probably did what with what mustve gone on inside
& around them. Very likely some paranormal activity going on and right up Major Frederic McLaughlins alley huh?

 

[Fenway]

^^^ Oh wow. What an old beauty of a building, arena. I played in several
similar to that way back in the day. Loved them. Never visited Rhode Island though.

What I remember most of that barn was the smoke from fans.

Great historical site for RI Reds

http://www.rireds.org/

1968 or so they hired a young woman to play organ for one season ( she was in RI for school on an exchange program ) and when she returned to Chicago she got hired by the White Sox.

 

[James Laverance]

Chicago Skating Rink

I've really been trying to dig up the sources for this "rink" and found these references:

I think that it was built as the Central Skating Park C.1860 and officially opened in 1865 as the Wabash Avenue Skating Rink.

"Central Skating park: This enclosed park was also known as the Wabash Rink, and had opened on the northeast corner of Wabash and Jackson streets in the winter of 1865. W refers to it as "the Rink" on 1/17/66 and after. "
https://books.google.ca/books?id=CV...ved=0ahUKEwi2wcKZyK_JAhXDXh4KHRY8DVsQ6AEIJDAA

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1861/10/31/page/4/article/the-central-skating-park
(On the top left hand side)

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1861/12/14/page/1/article/the-central-skating-park



If anyone can figure out the exact year of construction their welcome to.

 

[Killion]

What I remember most of that barn was the smoke from fans.

Oh you were lucky enough to have attended games there Fenway... great memories Im sure. Watched the two clips above, recognized Giacomin right away, & fantastic that even after all these years they have a Booster Club or "Society" with annual get togethers. Clearly meant a lot to the community. 40 years of rich hockey history. Quite the website as well.

 

[George Binks]

Great pics on here, reminds you know that arenas aren't built anymore just to watch the game

 

[greyraven8]

I've really been trying to dig up the sources for this "rink" and found these references:

I think that it was built as the Central Skating Park C.1860 and officially opened in 1865 as the Wabash Avenue Skating Rink.

"Central Skating park: This enclosed park was also known as the Wabash Rink, and had opened on the northeast corner of Wabash and Jackson streets in the winter of 1865. W refers to it as "the Rink" on 1/17/66 and after. "
https://books.google.ca/books?id=CV...ved=0ahUKEwi2wcKZyK_JAhXDXh4KHRY8DVsQ6AEIJDAA

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1861/10/31/page/4/article/the-central-skating-park
(On the top left hand side)

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1861/12/14/page/1/article/the-central-skating-park



If anyone can figure out the exact year of construction their welcome to.

Is this the same Wabash Rink that was destroyed in a fire in December 1867?

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1867/12/14/page/4/article/a-rink-in-ruins

https://books.google.ca/books?id=F9A4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA615&lpg=PA615#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[James Laverance]

Is this the same Wabash Rink that was destroyed in a fire in December 1867?

^^^Yes this was the same rink and thanks for finding this as it states:

"The rink was erected a little more than two years ago, this being it's third season. It was two hundred feet long by one hundred and twenty feet wide, and was constructed at a cost of $12.000."
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1867/12/14/page/4/article/a-rink-in-ruins

Which would mean that it wasn't built until 1865.

I guess I was a bit off (1860) Thank you for correcting this.

 

[sr edler]

^ St. Nicholas Skating Rink on Manhattan, New York City. The St. Nicholas Hockey Club & the New York Athletic Club of the American Amateur Hockey League [1896–1917] played their home games at this arena. Hobey Baker played two seasons with the St. Nicks at this arena between 1914–1916.

^ This is the Clermont Avenue Rink at Clermont Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City. This photo is from before 1904. The Brooklyn Skating Club and The Brooklyn Crescents of the American Amateur Hockey League used this arena as their home from 1896 to 1906. The Brooklyn SC put end to business in 1906 while the Crescents moved into the St. Nicholas Skating Rink for the 1906–07 season.


The first indoor rink in New York City for ice hockey was the Ice Palace on Manhattan, at 107th Street and Lexington Avenue. It opened in the early 1890s and the New York Hockey Club of the American Amateur Hockey League played at this arena. I have no pics of it, but if anyone else has I would like to see them!

^ A sketch of the Brooklyn Ice Palace. This arena came into use in 1917, and it was used by the Brooklyn Crescents in the AmAHL during the 1916–17 season, but then the war put an end to the AmAHL.

 

[James Laverance]

West Side Rink

In August of 1866 was the Opening of the new West Side Rink.

This Rink was located at West Randolph and Ada Streets in Chicago.
https://books.google.ca/books?id=iK...ved=0ahUKEwivkbDs0rjJAhUBqB4KHTl2BG4Q6AEIJDAA
https://books.google.ca/books?id=8_...ved=0ahUKEwjah47007jJAhUHrB4KHWnoBfkQ6AEIIDAD

 

[James Laverance]

The Clermont Rink of 1865

^ St. Nicholas Skating Rink on Manhattan, New York City. The St. Nicholas Hockey Club & the New York Athletic Club of the American Amateur Hockey League [1896–1917] played their home games at this arena. Hobey Baker played two seasons with the St. Nicks at this arena between 1914–1916.

^ This is the Clermont Avenue Rink at Clermont Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City. This photo is from before 1904. The Brooklyn Skating Club and The Brooklyn Crescents of the American Amateur Hockey League used this arena as their home from 1896 to 1906. The Brooklyn SC put end to business in 1906 while the Crescents moved into the St. Nicholas Skating Rink for the 1906–07 season.

The first indoor rink in New York City for ice hockey was the Ice Palace on Manhattan, at 107th Street and Lexington Avenue. It opened in the early 1890s and the New York Hockey Club of the American Amateur Hockey League played at this arena. I have no pics of it, but if anyone else has I would like to see them!

^ A sketch of the Brooklyn Ice Palace. This arena came into use in 1917, and it was used by the Brooklyn Crescents in the AmAHL during the 1916–17 season, but then the war put an end to the AmAHL.

Wow Some interesting Info

With that I recently uncovered the history of the Clermont Rink.
The Clermont Rink was built in 1865 on a huge 26,000 square footprint with frontage on both Clermont and Vanderbilt.
It started off as an indoor natural ice rink in 1865 then would eventually become an artificial ice rink in 1896...
It was the home of the Brooklyn Crescents Aahl team from 1896-1917
It was torn down to make way for a garage by 1929.
http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2010/02/walkabout-brook-1/
http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59863611/

 

[Fenway]

Oh you were lucky enough to have attended games there Fenway... great memories Im sure. Watched the two clips above, recognized Giacomin right away, & fantastic that even after all these years they have a Booster Club or "Society" with annual get togethers. Clearly meant a lot to the community. 40 years of rich hockey history. Quite the website as well.

This screengrab of the Rhode Island Auditorium really shows the smoke problem.

 

[Killion]

^^^ like its got its own atmosphere & climate huh? wow!

 

[ICM1970]

I can remember reading in Bruce Hood's memoirs "Calling the Shots" in which he briefly talked about the Rhode Island Auditorium, as he worked up his way to the NHL by refereeing Reds' games during his stint in the AHL. He mentioned that the Auditorium was the only rink he had ever been in in which the doors to the players benches opened outward, as opposed to inward. You had to be careful about that because many an unsuspecting player or on ice official had been flattened by an opened door just as that player or official was making their way up the ice alongside the boards.

 

[Fenway]

^^^ like its got its own atmosphere & climate huh? wow!

and a Bulova clock. Doesn't get much better than that.

I saw one of the last games played there - a playoff match between the Reds and Boston Braves in 1972. The Reds moved to the new Providence Civic Center the next season and it helped kill the franchise along with the AHL becoming a development league. The Reds franchise moved to Binghamton and then Hartford where it remains.

The Whalers almost moved to Providence from Boston but chose Hartford instead.

 

[greyraven8]

Another inside pic of the Rhode Island Auditorium from the Flickr of the Providence Public Library: