Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Beautiful picture with flowers! Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. This is the new updated sign only showing the front. What happened to the old one? Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Exterior wall sign. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Close up of the rink sign. It lights up at night (see the next 3 photos). Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Nice scenery of the former rink. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Taken in February 2022. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Sign at night. I could not see on the daytime in Google Map where that sign was. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Left photo showing some crane games, skate rental on the left side, and real cool barrels! If they wanted that Western look, the carpet could have had fake wood prints. That is okay. It had nice props and stage set appearance. The Jail theme party room on the right. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. The left is the interior of the party room seen on the right. It shows it appearance like a bank I assume. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Roomy eating area and concession stand in background. On right, Opera themed party room. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. On left, I believe it was a gold mine themed party room. See next photo. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. On left, Mine/cave themed party room. On right, party room belonged to Sheriff's Jail. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Real nice advanced ticket booth and store. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Enough said. Read on to the next one. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. I guess the Zoot Suits are not permitted either! I love the Zoot Suits and Double-Breasts Suits of 1930s - 40s and 1980s-90s. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Skate rental seen on the right. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Nice shirt! Got any left for me? I will take XL. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. With lights on. Yes, they had Roller Hockey goal layout as seen in this photo. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Concession stand in background while very spacious eating area. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Close up of the Concession stand. I love the look but felt it was bit tight feeling at that spot. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Beautiful panorama view of the interior. Source: Google.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Home page of their website, 2022 capture. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Some of the same photos are shown above. Photo gallery on their website. Website 2022. Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Saying good bye on Facebook. Thank you! Source: Golden Skate Collection.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA. Closing for good. Source: CBS News.
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Dr, San Ramon, CA
Golden Skate 2701 Hooper Drive, San Ramon, California. It first opened in 1975 with a Western/Gay 90's theme interior and exterior look and they had operated the rink for this long until they were sold and closed on 31 July 2022.
At this time, I am waiting for more information from them such as who owned and operated.
They sold it because of "...the owner citing finances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the rink to shut down for more than a year."
Another rink joined 30 other rinks closed due to the Great Virus Lockdown as I call it. It is sad. Only 2 brand new rinks opened elsewhere. It will now be hard for the Bay Area skaters without a rink. Another rink closed because of the lockdown was merely next town-- in Sacramento. I do not know the name of it but they are closed for good. That is bad. We do not want to see the rinks gets too rare like Jai Alai has in the United States with just 1 to 2 facilities left!
Xome reported this place was up for sale at the price of.. 9,725,612 US Dollars! This is the most expensive roller rink I ever know of as of 17 July 2022. That is almost 10 Million Dollars! I know why! Its California! Second of all, quite themed roller rink, and almost 4 acres of land! And it sits on a nice hill. And close to Oakland in the Great Bay Area of SF, Oakland, and San Jose area.
The rink was last sold for 2,250,000 USD in December 1997 which was quite expensive than average rink cost that year!
The Interior.
The roller rink floor has most updated with the Sky Blue and White painted rink floor. I do not know what material they had previously. But they designed in 1970s that the rink itself did not have such color on the floor at the time. It was renovated sometimes later than 1975 built.
Since the exterior has a theme, the interior also had a theme. Very much a themed roller rink. Like themed restaurants, this never tired out and they had Gay 90's theme with Wild West look. The logo, the font is Western. There are many similar style of fonts so you can google it yourself for one.
The themes for party rooms, the rest of off-the-rink were all themed. I wish the roller floor was Maple because it would go with the rest of the Western theme. I am talking not painted floors. A Roll-On or a Polyurethane coat would be good but not painted colors. I take they were turning away from Western theme.
Western and Gay 90s were popular also in 1960s and early 1970s which carried even into early 1980s for furniture.
This is why the theme even exterior was Western.
The Exterior.
This building is quite unique. Sadly it will be demolished. It was Free-Span Steel Trusses Stone Veneer - Walled Specialty - like Building with Flat roof and partial unique Mansard roof design only the front corner where the main doors were.
It had that unique stone veneer all around especially the front and front side that is facing the turnabout of this road on a hill. There is a steeper hill behind the former rink.
The Mansard part was faux and just for décor purposes. It was popular in 1960s and early 1970s although this was built in 1975. I am sure the architect designed this at least two years prior this rink was built because it was all manual drafting (remember this was in 1970s before more common usage of computer for AutoCAD Drafting Design. Or ArchitectureCAD or related software to design quicker and cleaner for architects and engineers and designers use today that they can finish the work a lot faster.
To understand this, I am into automotive design and in 1950s, to design a car, the designers take time by hand (many still prefer that way) to draw rendering which can take at least 2 days for a FINAL rendering then submit to drafters after approval by the executives, it takes 6 months 500 drafters to design a car (fact from experience and designers/drafters told me), The number of designers were numbered at least 50.
Today, at least TWO designers for a model and at least TWO the most for CAD drafters to finish in a month or less if they have stored other drawings from previous designs (say, engine design carried over from previous model years into the new one). See the difference and they can produce faster.
Now, dealing with architecture design and drafting, It is faster and finish within a month or LESS because it is not like a car with every complicated parts whereas a building is less complicated of that size.
It may be completed in a week but architects today have interior designers and trend designers research and design for the architect.
So, the trend for this building is very unusual and a little late to the game with that roof design which is more common in 1960s and very early 1970s. McDonalds had their Double-Dipped Mansards designed in 1968. New York State School for the Deaf dormitories were designed in 1965 with the mansard look. The dormitory was built in 1970. 5 years after it was designed when the State of New York assumed operations of the school and redesign completely to replace aging 1875 design.
The theme on the exterior was supposed to be Western. After all, it WAS in California!
The parking lot is a two tier parking because of the landscape that it was on a hill.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Ice Blue and White paint. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 27,101 SF. Built: 1975. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: August 2022.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Stone Veneer - Walled Specialty - like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: 3.4700 AC. (162,740 SF)
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1975 to 31 July 2022.
Reason for Closure: "...the owner citing finances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the rink to shut down for more than a year."
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Facebook - The Golden Skate official page.
Website - capture
Website - Capture (2)
Danville - San Ramon - Thursday 14 July 2022.
CBS News - 6 December 2021.
Yelp - Golden Skate.
SF Yimby - Show future rendering.
Property Shark - Property records.
Xome - Property records (more detailed and accurate.
Date of issue: 16 July 2022.
For office use only: 33.
Worth to visit:
HURRY BEFORE 31 OF JULY 2022 CLOSURE! PLEASE ATTEND FOR LAST TIME AND TAKE PICTURES FOR DEAD-RINKS!
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
At this time, I am waiting for more information from them such as who owned and operated.
They sold it because of "...the owner citing finances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the rink to shut down for more than a year."
Another rink joined 30 other rinks closed due to the Great Virus Lockdown as I call it. It is sad. Only 2 brand new rinks opened elsewhere. It will now be hard for the Bay Area skaters without a rink. Another rink closed because of the lockdown was merely next town-- in Sacramento. I do not know the name of it but they are closed for good. That is bad. We do not want to see the rinks gets too rare like Jai Alai has in the United States with just 1 to 2 facilities left!
Xome reported this place was up for sale at the price of.. 9,725,612 US Dollars! This is the most expensive roller rink I ever know of as of 17 July 2022. That is almost 10 Million Dollars! I know why! Its California! Second of all, quite themed roller rink, and almost 4 acres of land! And it sits on a nice hill. And close to Oakland in the Great Bay Area of SF, Oakland, and San Jose area.
The rink was last sold for 2,250,000 USD in December 1997 which was quite expensive than average rink cost that year!
The Interior.
The roller rink floor has most updated with the Sky Blue and White painted rink floor. I do not know what material they had previously. But they designed in 1970s that the rink itself did not have such color on the floor at the time. It was renovated sometimes later than 1975 built.
Since the exterior has a theme, the interior also had a theme. Very much a themed roller rink. Like themed restaurants, this never tired out and they had Gay 90's theme with Wild West look. The logo, the font is Western. There are many similar style of fonts so you can google it yourself for one.
The themes for party rooms, the rest of off-the-rink were all themed. I wish the roller floor was Maple because it would go with the rest of the Western theme. I am talking not painted floors. A Roll-On or a Polyurethane coat would be good but not painted colors. I take they were turning away from Western theme.
Western and Gay 90s were popular also in 1960s and early 1970s which carried even into early 1980s for furniture.
This is why the theme even exterior was Western.
The Exterior.
This building is quite unique. Sadly it will be demolished. It was Free-Span Steel Trusses Stone Veneer - Walled Specialty - like Building with Flat roof and partial unique Mansard roof design only the front corner where the main doors were.
It had that unique stone veneer all around especially the front and front side that is facing the turnabout of this road on a hill. There is a steeper hill behind the former rink.
The Mansard part was faux and just for décor purposes. It was popular in 1960s and early 1970s although this was built in 1975. I am sure the architect designed this at least two years prior this rink was built because it was all manual drafting (remember this was in 1970s before more common usage of computer for AutoCAD Drafting Design. Or ArchitectureCAD or related software to design quicker and cleaner for architects and engineers and designers use today that they can finish the work a lot faster.
To understand this, I am into automotive design and in 1950s, to design a car, the designers take time by hand (many still prefer that way) to draw rendering which can take at least 2 days for a FINAL rendering then submit to drafters after approval by the executives, it takes 6 months 500 drafters to design a car (fact from experience and designers/drafters told me), The number of designers were numbered at least 50.
Today, at least TWO designers for a model and at least TWO the most for CAD drafters to finish in a month or less if they have stored other drawings from previous designs (say, engine design carried over from previous model years into the new one). See the difference and they can produce faster.
Now, dealing with architecture design and drafting, It is faster and finish within a month or LESS because it is not like a car with every complicated parts whereas a building is less complicated of that size.
It may be completed in a week but architects today have interior designers and trend designers research and design for the architect.
So, the trend for this building is very unusual and a little late to the game with that roof design which is more common in 1960s and very early 1970s. McDonalds had their Double-Dipped Mansards designed in 1968. New York State School for the Deaf dormitories were designed in 1965 with the mansard look. The dormitory was built in 1970. 5 years after it was designed when the State of New York assumed operations of the school and redesign completely to replace aging 1875 design.
The theme on the exterior was supposed to be Western. After all, it WAS in California!
The parking lot is a two tier parking because of the landscape that it was on a hill.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Ice Blue and White paint. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 27,101 SF. Built: 1975. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: August 2022.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Stone Veneer - Walled Specialty - like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: 3.4700 AC. (162,740 SF)
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1975 to 31 July 2022.
Reason for Closure: "...the owner citing finances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the rink to shut down for more than a year."
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Facebook - The Golden Skate official page.
Website - capture
Website - Capture (2)
Danville - San Ramon - Thursday 14 July 2022.
CBS News - 6 December 2021.
Yelp - Golden Skate.
SF Yimby - Show future rendering.
Property Shark - Property records.
Xome - Property records (more detailed and accurate.
Date of issue: 16 July 2022.
For office use only: 33.
Worth to visit:
HURRY BEFORE 31 OF JULY 2022 CLOSURE! PLEASE ATTEND FOR LAST TIME AND TAKE PICTURES FOR DEAD-RINKS!
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.