Grand Central Roller Rink North 8th Street, Lebanon, PA. Source: The Daily News January 1885.
Grand Central Roller Rink North 8th Street, Lebanon, PA
Grand Central Roller Rink North 8th Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania was the second roller rink to open in Lebanon, and in fact, just merely months after the first, The Keystone which opened one street over from Grand Central! It was like any business today open right close to each other such as Burger King and McDonalds always open up immediately to each other or a Sunoco and a Citgo gas stations next to each other. The Home Depot and Lowes. Wegmans and Price Chopper. You get the idea.
The location was just south of the railroad on North 8th Street. From my observation on the map, likely where the current YMCA is housed. That property. That would just south of beautiful rail terminal. Likely the builder built it there taking advantage of rail commune come to the rink after riding on the rail.
This was to open to compete against The Keystone. Grand Central was built by January 1885, just a month before the Keystone would be sold. This gave the operators/owners of Grand Central a business advantage.
A description of the Grand Central appeared following its first public opening:
“From the music stand[…] delightful strains of music emanated, to which youth and beauty kept time, gracefully skimming over the surface of the floor with hearts light and pleasure unrestrained.”
- The Daily News
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
12 Jan 1885
Roller skating celebrities of the period, including “lady skater” Ella Stetson, “young professionals” Bogert and Eno, and a duo known as the Pressy-Lester Star Combination made appearances at these rinks, charging around a quarter for tickets. These regionally-touring stars were very popular attractions and their acts variously involved musical performance, acrobatics, roller skating trick moves, and even the occasional bicycle. This was way before any roller skating shows or even ice skating shows (such as Ice Follies, Ice Capades, and Holiday on Ice) occurred during 20th Century. This is 1880s!
The Grand Central fared somewhat better than its contemporary, with over 2,000 skaters showing up for certain events. The building was leased during the summer months for fairs and markets. While these events went on, the floor was covered in sand to prevent wear-and-tear. By 1887, the rink was no longer considered profitable on its own, and a year later the “old” rink was better known as a market house.
The Grand Central is also notable for its in-house music, the Grand Central Orchestra, a group of brass musicians which survived the closing of their establishment and continued to perform locally for a number of years. These musicians were associated with the Perseverance Band and were considered some of the area’s best.
This rink was short lived. It was only operational from January 1885 to 1887.
The Interior.
Non-painted Maple Hardwood (covered with sand when not skating)
The Exterior.
Unknown.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted Maple Hardwood (covered with sand when not skating) Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: January 1885. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: N/A.
Type of Building: N/A.
Roof: N/A.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: Unknown.
- Grand Central Orchestra.
Operated: (Overall)-- January 1885 to 1887.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
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 [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Lebtown - Article about different rinks in Lebanon, PA. PDF.
Date of issue: 16 January 2022.
For office use only: 1.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.
The location was just south of the railroad on North 8th Street. From my observation on the map, likely where the current YMCA is housed. That property. That would just south of beautiful rail terminal. Likely the builder built it there taking advantage of rail commune come to the rink after riding on the rail.
This was to open to compete against The Keystone. Grand Central was built by January 1885, just a month before the Keystone would be sold. This gave the operators/owners of Grand Central a business advantage.
A description of the Grand Central appeared following its first public opening:
“From the music stand[…] delightful strains of music emanated, to which youth and beauty kept time, gracefully skimming over the surface of the floor with hearts light and pleasure unrestrained.”
- The Daily News
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
12 Jan 1885
Roller skating celebrities of the period, including “lady skater” Ella Stetson, “young professionals” Bogert and Eno, and a duo known as the Pressy-Lester Star Combination made appearances at these rinks, charging around a quarter for tickets. These regionally-touring stars were very popular attractions and their acts variously involved musical performance, acrobatics, roller skating trick moves, and even the occasional bicycle. This was way before any roller skating shows or even ice skating shows (such as Ice Follies, Ice Capades, and Holiday on Ice) occurred during 20th Century. This is 1880s!
The Grand Central fared somewhat better than its contemporary, with over 2,000 skaters showing up for certain events. The building was leased during the summer months for fairs and markets. While these events went on, the floor was covered in sand to prevent wear-and-tear. By 1887, the rink was no longer considered profitable on its own, and a year later the “old” rink was better known as a market house.
The Grand Central is also notable for its in-house music, the Grand Central Orchestra, a group of brass musicians which survived the closing of their establishment and continued to perform locally for a number of years. These musicians were associated with the Perseverance Band and were considered some of the area’s best.
This rink was short lived. It was only operational from January 1885 to 1887.
The Interior.
Non-painted Maple Hardwood (covered with sand when not skating)
The Exterior.
Unknown.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted Maple Hardwood (covered with sand when not skating) Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: January 1885. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: N/A.
Type of Building: N/A.
Roof: N/A.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: Unknown.
- Grand Central Orchestra.
Operated: (Overall)-- January 1885 to 1887.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
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 [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Lebtown - Article about different rinks in Lebanon, PA. PDF.
Date of issue: 16 January 2022.
For office use only: 1.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.