Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Postcard featuring the rink. Decorative lights on Free-Span Steel Trusses. No disco lights though. Insert picture on the postcard was the manager of the rink, Edward J. Von Hagen. Source: Facebook - Remembering Ohio Roller Skating Rinks of the Past and Present.
and Present
and Present
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Taken in 2007. Its hard to see on the left side is the main door. To the right of the photo (not shown) is the parking lot. The bricks were Sierra style. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Taken in 2007. This was the main frotn wall where the sign was and the art work of 3 skates on the right side (rolling toward the right) The parking lot (not pictured) is on the right and the main doors (not pictured) on the left. See below. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Taken in 2007. This was the main front door. It had a ramp to walk up because of the ground was listed to the right (downhill to the right). That brick rail was built perhaps long after 1930 built. It may have been built in some time later on because it did not match to the bricks on the wall and the bricks on the rail was turned 90 degrees-- vertical! Not horizonal as tradition has laid as it is. So, this was very unusual design. Source: Google.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. The interior in 1941. Open ceiling, Rotunda floor, Segmental Arch trusses, and windows seen high on walls. Source: Skating Review magazine 1941.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Taken in 2010s in roughly the same spot as the 1941 photograph. This was a huge renovation and huge difference regarding to the interior design than the original. Of course, the bakery may have ruined walls and what else. So, with this design, covered the ceiling as most rinks do that with ceiling for several purposes such as improving sound reflexions, Sound proofing for exterior (residential houses were like maybe 50 feet away!) and for energy efficiency. Website (defunct) address was on the wall and the logo was graffiti-like painted on the wall in background. Beautiful Fireworks Starburst black light carpet. new half walls and made with Cinderblocks that most rinks of 1970s and 1980s used. New lights and Disco lights with smaller globes (1960s/70s had bigger ones). Looks like staff were working on the rink floor as you can see in the photo. Source: Yelp.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Taken in 2010s. You are looking at the entrance/exit doors. Right next to the exit is token machines with the arrow on the machines to point out where the games are. That was bit unusual because I have seen token machines never have any points or arrows on it. Just plain brown looking token machines. The deal is a deal! 20 USD for 100 token was a good deal in 2010s. I have seen deals much better way back. At Buttons Arcade (defunct) in 1980s and 1990s and very early 2000s before the police busted the arcade for illegal things, the deal was 7 tokens for a dollar or 140 tokens for 20 Dollars. CHEAP! Not anymore. Oh, now I am hearing Bubble Bobble music in my head. How much I spend on for 2 hours making over 100 boards? Maybe 1 dollar or less. Source: Yelp.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. You can see the roof where the skating rink was located. That roof was in excellent shape compared to flat roof that had huge water damages and cave in. This teaches you to have an arch which will be well secured. Have you seen a gable roof house roof cave in? Maybe IF there was NO vent. This is one of reasons why there were damages like that because of no circulation of air. Source: Yelp.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Lockers. It did not seem to have much more lockers. I know of a rink that had a lot more than that much lockers. Many rinks have many lockers, of course. Source: Yelp.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. You can see the roof where the skating rink was located. That roof was in excellent shape compared to flat roof that had huge water damages and cave in. This teaches you to have an arch which will be well secured. Have you seen a gable roof house roof cave in? Maybe IF there was NO vent. This is one of reasons why there were damages like that because of no circulation of air. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Photo taken in 2018. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Demolished in 2020. Photo taken in 2021. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Before it was Demolished in 2020. Please compare this to the first photo on top. Source: Google.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Huge water damage on the roof caused caved in. Likely the weight of water in a storm that took so much water more than it can drain. It happened on August 28, 2016. This might be the main reason why they had to sell and the new owner demolished it. Source: Google.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. The beginning of the rink. It did not say when they would be opened or already opened. Likely it was opened that month though. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 4, 1936.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. I have no idea what political party this was. Very interesting considering normally political parties would be in ballrooms or convention centers today but no skating. I have been to victory parties. You would have to guess what party I am in. Not saying anything. Source: The American Israelite, October 22, 1936.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Happenings at the rink. It was a press release version of advertising. Smart. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 13, 1936.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. The expansion of property to have a parking lot. It was street parking before this happened just merely months. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 28, 1937.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. One year anniversary ahead of time. You remember the Bicentennial Celebration in 1975, a year ahead of 1976? Same idea what they were doing. Almost a year longing celebration. What a find! They found a skate in the ground? Maybe a new folklore we need to create about this skate? I believed they expanded the building. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. May 16, 1937.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Some Roller Hockey happening. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 12, 1939.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Milestone of 6000 new members in 4 years. And the never ending remodeling at the rink. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 22, 1940.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Well known skater skated at the rink. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 6, 1941.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Announcing a tournament happening at the rink putting the rink on the map. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. Wednesday, December 5, 1945.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. And yes the rink is on the map after all. Looks like a packed party. Source: Billboard. June 15, 1946.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. This was the main expansion and renovation because of the crowd and because it was three years before it was sold. Apparently Edward J. Von Hagen wanted to get his investment worth more with this expansion. If you renovate, you get three times valuable more. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. August 20, 1947.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. SOLD! It was the end of roller skating at this location--at the time. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 14, 1950.
Norwood Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Looks like Von Hagen was not ready to retire! Unfortunately, right after this happened, he passed away. This was the end of the era of Norwood Roller Rink. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. March 15, 1952.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Talking about the DJ who was playing music at the rink in the 80's. Also a bit about the manager, Tim Maloney. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. Tuesday, September 6, 1988.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Warning to skaters not to be stupid during the height of MADD era. This is part 1. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 6, 1988.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Warning to skaters not to be stupid during the height of MADD era. This is part 2. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 6, 1988.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Warning to skaters not to be stupid during the height of MADD era. This is part 3. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 6, 1988.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Skating when its cold out. This is part 1. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 9, 1990.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Skating when its cold out. This is part 2. Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 9, 1990.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Skating when its cold out. This is part 2. Source: VC Star. August 31,2016. (Note, Good thing I captured this but the website does not have full article anymore. It says "Snap!" meaning it does not exist anymore. I thought media are supposed to store all articles throughout history? Apparently they don't. This is why Dead-Rink keeps all articles when seen and put it in pdf format in order to save it permanently, Sorry, competitor, your page is outdated. You need to consider PDF all your researches!)
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Final website shown with description about the storm that occurred on August 28th, 2016. Source: Fun Factory Roller Rink Website.
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH. Club members received this merchandise. I do not know what this is for because of the screw on the bottom. Anybody? Source: Facebook - Remembering Ohio Roller Skating Rinks of the Past and Present.
Norwood Skating Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH
Fun Factory Roller Rink 1631 Sherman Ave, Norwood, OH
Fun Factory Roller Rink was located at 1631 Sherman Avenue, Norwood, Ohio. However, it was Norwood Skating Rink originally which was first opened and operated by Edward J. Von Hagen in 1936 and ran till the year 1950. After it was closed, it became a bakery. Yummy bread! Anyway the bakery was Pennington Bakeries which ran from 1950 to 1985.
They had organ music. It was running a good business at the time. The reason for the rink to close was that Edward was retiring and sold to the bakery. Apparently no one wanted to buy the rink at the time.
Edward the original operator and owner, passed away in 1952, just 2 years after he sold the rink.
After the bakery closed, roller skating was back and this time was called Fun Factory Roller Rink which opened in 1985 and operated till 2016. Darrell and Lois Harper were the new operators of the revitalized rink in 1985 and ran for 31 years.
Wow, they just bought a new indoor kiddie playground in 2016! They bought it then shut down? Here was the reason for shut down-- huge flood damages. I can understand why. The building was set on a hill and it easily can drain flooded waters down hill like that and it goes in the rink because the floor is leveled into the ground on one side and its high on the other. I really feel bad.
The Harpers said they were planning to repair the rink but they never repaired it and never reopened it so they sold the building in March 25, 2020 for 220,000 USD. That was just the start of COVID lockdown when it was sold. I understand the price for that cheap is because of water and roof damages. To this day, no one knows who bought it and for what purpose the new operator is going to do with the property now that the building was demolished in 2020. Anyone?
The Interior.
The original is unknown because all I have are the Fun Factory photos. They had Maple wood Rotunda floor with straight corners, not curved walls. Straight Cinderblock walls in Deep Blue or Royal Blue.
The roller floor was a floatation floor for better cushion and sound buffer. They even had circular boards under the wood studs! That is quite interesting to use circles. Must be to leave some space for air breathing. Kind of like venation for air to flow.
The original had no ceiling panels but the new rebooted rink in 1985 had Ceiling panel The original had exposed trusses and beams with hanging pendants for lights. It felt very open airy without the panels. You could see the segmental arch designed trusses as you can see in the photo.
The Exterior.
Originally it was built in 1930. I beileve it was all Cinderblocks at the time before the expansion in 1947 including the popular trendy Sierra bricks were built with. It had that Yellowy Brick, a brick color that was very popular in 1940s to say.. 1950s. It was trendy. You will see in the photos before they renovated on the outside in 2009 by painting in True Blue and Sea Blue colors with some dots that are colorful.
The color of bricks itself may have had been what it was called, Sierra according to Best Panel Company. Note- it may had different names from different brick manufacturers as it is different but similar colors. Ie- Sahara was the name for similar bricks from another company but very close resembled is the Sierra. Another even called Apline. There is no definite brick name. I have a e-catalog of all photographs of bricks but 95 percent of them have no names. Some just numbers so I still have it but not using it. This will be updated when I ask a brick dealer for his catalog with official names. I am talking about old fashioned printed catalog.
That brick was popular along with Sahara from 1940s to 1950s. Even Pink Bricks were common in 1950s. I attempted to find color charts of bricks from each decade has been unsuccessful but color charts for interior walls of each decade are quite common online.
As you know with that bricks on Norwood rink was used when it was built in 1930 and was the color till the new owners painted in 2009 or 2010 until it was demolished in 2020.
The building was built in 1930 but the rink was not opened till October 1936. And then they had expansion. The Flat roof section was expanded in 1947. It was expanded to 46,000 Square Feet! One of the largest facility for a roller rink at the time, not the rink floor itself.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted, Polyurethane coated, Maple. Floor Layout: Rotunda.
Building Size: 220' x 100'. 46,000 SF (1947 expansion size)
Built/Renovations: 1930/1947 (expanded size), 1950 into bakery, 1985 back to as rink, 2016 planned but never completed repairs.
Demolished: Only water damaged by flooding August 28, 2016. Demolished in 2020.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Flat and Pseudo Three-Centered Arch Hip (Extreme rare design).
Acres: 2.6093 AC. (725' x 151.55') Parking: 110 slots.
Operated: (Overall)-- October 1936 to 1950 and 1985 to August 28, 2016.
Norwood Skating Rink: October 1936 to 1950.
(Bakery: 1950 to 1985)
Fun Factory Roller Rink: 1985 to August 28, 2016.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Norwood Skating Rink: Retirement.
(Bakery: N/A.)
Fun Factory Roller Rink: Never reopened after the flood damaged the rink.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources:
Facebook - Group.
Google Map - even showed it was demolished in 2021.
Local Gyms & Fitness - Fun Factory Skating Rink.
Yelp - Fun Factory Skating Rink.
SIBCY - Real Estate.
LOH Miller - Real Estate.
Loop Net - Real Estate.
Date of issue: 11 September 2021. Update: 01 January 2022.
For office use only: 37.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.
They had organ music. It was running a good business at the time. The reason for the rink to close was that Edward was retiring and sold to the bakery. Apparently no one wanted to buy the rink at the time.
Edward the original operator and owner, passed away in 1952, just 2 years after he sold the rink.
After the bakery closed, roller skating was back and this time was called Fun Factory Roller Rink which opened in 1985 and operated till 2016. Darrell and Lois Harper were the new operators of the revitalized rink in 1985 and ran for 31 years.
Wow, they just bought a new indoor kiddie playground in 2016! They bought it then shut down? Here was the reason for shut down-- huge flood damages. I can understand why. The building was set on a hill and it easily can drain flooded waters down hill like that and it goes in the rink because the floor is leveled into the ground on one side and its high on the other. I really feel bad.
The Harpers said they were planning to repair the rink but they never repaired it and never reopened it so they sold the building in March 25, 2020 for 220,000 USD. That was just the start of COVID lockdown when it was sold. I understand the price for that cheap is because of water and roof damages. To this day, no one knows who bought it and for what purpose the new operator is going to do with the property now that the building was demolished in 2020. Anyone?
The Interior.
The original is unknown because all I have are the Fun Factory photos. They had Maple wood Rotunda floor with straight corners, not curved walls. Straight Cinderblock walls in Deep Blue or Royal Blue.
The roller floor was a floatation floor for better cushion and sound buffer. They even had circular boards under the wood studs! That is quite interesting to use circles. Must be to leave some space for air breathing. Kind of like venation for air to flow.
The original had no ceiling panels but the new rebooted rink in 1985 had Ceiling panel The original had exposed trusses and beams with hanging pendants for lights. It felt very open airy without the panels. You could see the segmental arch designed trusses as you can see in the photo.
The Exterior.
Originally it was built in 1930. I beileve it was all Cinderblocks at the time before the expansion in 1947 including the popular trendy Sierra bricks were built with. It had that Yellowy Brick, a brick color that was very popular in 1940s to say.. 1950s. It was trendy. You will see in the photos before they renovated on the outside in 2009 by painting in True Blue and Sea Blue colors with some dots that are colorful.
The color of bricks itself may have had been what it was called, Sierra according to Best Panel Company. Note- it may had different names from different brick manufacturers as it is different but similar colors. Ie- Sahara was the name for similar bricks from another company but very close resembled is the Sierra. Another even called Apline. There is no definite brick name. I have a e-catalog of all photographs of bricks but 95 percent of them have no names. Some just numbers so I still have it but not using it. This will be updated when I ask a brick dealer for his catalog with official names. I am talking about old fashioned printed catalog.
That brick was popular along with Sahara from 1940s to 1950s. Even Pink Bricks were common in 1950s. I attempted to find color charts of bricks from each decade has been unsuccessful but color charts for interior walls of each decade are quite common online.
As you know with that bricks on Norwood rink was used when it was built in 1930 and was the color till the new owners painted in 2009 or 2010 until it was demolished in 2020.
The building was built in 1930 but the rink was not opened till October 1936. And then they had expansion. The Flat roof section was expanded in 1947. It was expanded to 46,000 Square Feet! One of the largest facility for a roller rink at the time, not the rink floor itself.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted, Polyurethane coated, Maple. Floor Layout: Rotunda.
Building Size: 220' x 100'. 46,000 SF (1947 expansion size)
Built/Renovations: 1930/1947 (expanded size), 1950 into bakery, 1985 back to as rink, 2016 planned but never completed repairs.
Demolished: Only water damaged by flooding August 28, 2016. Demolished in 2020.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Flat and Pseudo Three-Centered Arch Hip (Extreme rare design).
Acres: 2.6093 AC. (725' x 151.55') Parking: 110 slots.
Operated: (Overall)-- October 1936 to 1950 and 1985 to August 28, 2016.
Norwood Skating Rink: October 1936 to 1950.
(Bakery: 1950 to 1985)
Fun Factory Roller Rink: 1985 to August 28, 2016.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Norwood Skating Rink: Retirement.
(Bakery: N/A.)
Fun Factory Roller Rink: Never reopened after the flood damaged the rink.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources:
Facebook - Group.
Google Map - even showed it was demolished in 2021.
Local Gyms & Fitness - Fun Factory Skating Rink.
Yelp - Fun Factory Skating Rink.
SIBCY - Real Estate.
LOH Miller - Real Estate.
Loop Net - Real Estate.
Date of issue: 11 September 2021. Update: 01 January 2022.
For office use only: 37.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.