Hudson Roller Rink East St. Louis, IL. The skating rink at the time. It was sporting a 1950s Googie style sign. Source: Hudson Family Collection.
Hudson Roller Rink East St. Louis, IL. The rear of the jacket displayed the name of the rink. Looks still new label but its an old jacket. Source: MJMcC Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks.
Hudson Roller Rink East St. Louis, IL. The front of the jacket showed who wore it and owned it. it was a skater named Gloria. Anyone know who she is? Source: MJMcC Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks.
Hudson Roller Rink East St. Louis, IL. The label showed who made the jackets at the time. I looked it up. It is now Universal Lettering Co. in the same town in Ohio. Source: MJMcC Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks.
Hudson Roller Rink 5600 Forest Boulevard, East St. Louis, IL
Hudson Roller Rink was a rink in this city called East St. Louis, Illinois. I do not have information but a skater send me an email about this jacket she found in United Kingdom! She said it was thrown into the recycle bin to be recycled. Yes, they do use clothes as new bags, insulations, etc.
But she found it and it was a good save! She saved it.
Now, the logo on the jacket showed a skate with wings. This is a classic logo found on many stickers that roller rinks had throughout 1930s to 1960s. Stickers too. Now, this showed me that they had it in good shape with the stitching but the jacket did show age with bit of bleaching here or there.
I am sure it was likely 1960s because of the material, black corduroy style jacket. That was bit of unusual kind of jacket for such team jacket. It was owned by Gloria who perhaps was part of a skate club or skate team. Likely figure skating. Just a guess.
Because of this, I do not know location specific meaning the street and when it was operational. However, I found in February 1961 Skate magazine on Susan A Miller's website, she did not publish all pages. And the name of that rink was quite identical but it was a little different. It said Hudson - Thunderbird Roller Rink.
It did not give page number so I have no idea. Susan did not put every single page on like what Google does with Billboard.
It did say this-- 26 skaters form the Senior Dance Club of the Hudson-Thunderbird Roller Rink in East St. Louis, Illinois who recently passed the Optional Dance test at the rink Was this rink the one and the same? It is possible but must be a rebooted or a merger at the time I saw this article listed on Susan A Miller website. Unfortunately no article to show.
This was one of the two rinks owned by the same owner. The other was Thunderbird Roller Rink.
UPDATE! --
I got the email from the child of the father who owned this rink! This is what he explained to me --
My grandfather owned 2 roller rinks one was the Hudson and the other was the Thunderbird. Hudson Roller Rink burnt down in the early 70’s although it was across the street from the firehouse. Thunderbird was the largest wooden floor rink in the country for years and was in State Park, IL. My dad managed both rinks and I grew up skating day and night. My dad is still around and was a competitive roller skater with my mom and we’re ranked in the top 5 pairs skaters in the country. My dad has much more information and I will try to get more specifics of dates and sizes. Hope this helps. Great to see that jacket again. My mom had one too.
Thank you D.J. So, he owned two. Now I will add another name to the list. Was it the Hudson-Thunderbird the one I listed but it was different address? If so, where was it? Check your email, DJ.
Aww, fire burned down the Hudson. It burned in 1968. They never rebuilt it.
This is the followed up email from the same person --
Hey Mark
I have some more information for you. It was my grandfather who owned two rinks. One was the Hudson and the other was the Thunderbird. Both rinks hosted national competitions in the 1950’s.
The photo I sent you is of the Hudson Roller Rink. It had a hard wood floor that was 60' x120'. It opened in 1954 and burnt down in 1968.
In the 1960’s they had many celebrities make appearances. For example George Harrison’s sister was there when the Beatles were so popular. They also hosted rock and roll bands after skating sessions.
Ike and Tina Turner was there and other local bands would play on the weekends. I’m trying to get some more photos for you. Good luck with your research.
Ah, thank you very much for the information on this rink and the Thunderbird Roller Rink.
UPDATE! -- 03 July 2022.
I have a skater who replied to me about this rink and I learned more about it. Some of the email is posted here.
Hudson's was in Washington Park like a white small enclave of East St. Louis. Hudson's Roller Rink by the Washington Park Police.
Wow, that helps. Now I found the location on the map. Its a parking lot for the station. Thank you so much and I could not reveal more information you send me. Very confessional email.
The Interior.
It had Hardwood Maple floor with the rink size of 60 Feet by 120 Feet. This is about a little larger than half size so it is a Medium sized rink.
The Exterior.
It appeared to be Flatted roof two tone colored Cinderblocks arena like building.
Now a parking lot for abandoned police cars.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 60' x120'. Floor: Non-Painted Hardwood Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: 1968 due to fire.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks Arena-like building
Roof: Flatted.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1954 to 1968
Hudson Roller Rink: 1954 to 1968
Reason for Closure:
Hudson Roller Rink: Fire destroyed the rink. No rebuilds.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have any more photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Email - DJ. 25 October 2021.
Email - DJ. 08 December 2021.
Susan A Miller website - Page unknown.
Email - CLW. (03 July 2022).
Date of issue: 25 October 2021.
Updated: 04 December 2021.
Updated: 03 July 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None to see! It is abandoned cars parking lot directly from the police and fire department. Please do not visit because those LEOs will see you clearly what you are doing right cross the street so please just drive by. That is all you can do.
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.
But she found it and it was a good save! She saved it.
Now, the logo on the jacket showed a skate with wings. This is a classic logo found on many stickers that roller rinks had throughout 1930s to 1960s. Stickers too. Now, this showed me that they had it in good shape with the stitching but the jacket did show age with bit of bleaching here or there.
I am sure it was likely 1960s because of the material, black corduroy style jacket. That was bit of unusual kind of jacket for such team jacket. It was owned by Gloria who perhaps was part of a skate club or skate team. Likely figure skating. Just a guess.
Because of this, I do not know location specific meaning the street and when it was operational. However, I found in February 1961 Skate magazine on Susan A Miller's website, she did not publish all pages. And the name of that rink was quite identical but it was a little different. It said Hudson - Thunderbird Roller Rink.
It did not give page number so I have no idea. Susan did not put every single page on like what Google does with Billboard.
It did say this-- 26 skaters form the Senior Dance Club of the Hudson-Thunderbird Roller Rink in East St. Louis, Illinois who recently passed the Optional Dance test at the rink Was this rink the one and the same? It is possible but must be a rebooted or a merger at the time I saw this article listed on Susan A Miller website. Unfortunately no article to show.
This was one of the two rinks owned by the same owner. The other was Thunderbird Roller Rink.
UPDATE! --
I got the email from the child of the father who owned this rink! This is what he explained to me --
My grandfather owned 2 roller rinks one was the Hudson and the other was the Thunderbird. Hudson Roller Rink burnt down in the early 70’s although it was across the street from the firehouse. Thunderbird was the largest wooden floor rink in the country for years and was in State Park, IL. My dad managed both rinks and I grew up skating day and night. My dad is still around and was a competitive roller skater with my mom and we’re ranked in the top 5 pairs skaters in the country. My dad has much more information and I will try to get more specifics of dates and sizes. Hope this helps. Great to see that jacket again. My mom had one too.
Thank you D.J. So, he owned two. Now I will add another name to the list. Was it the Hudson-Thunderbird the one I listed but it was different address? If so, where was it? Check your email, DJ.
Aww, fire burned down the Hudson. It burned in 1968. They never rebuilt it.
This is the followed up email from the same person --
Hey Mark
I have some more information for you. It was my grandfather who owned two rinks. One was the Hudson and the other was the Thunderbird. Both rinks hosted national competitions in the 1950’s.
The photo I sent you is of the Hudson Roller Rink. It had a hard wood floor that was 60' x120'. It opened in 1954 and burnt down in 1968.
In the 1960’s they had many celebrities make appearances. For example George Harrison’s sister was there when the Beatles were so popular. They also hosted rock and roll bands after skating sessions.
Ike and Tina Turner was there and other local bands would play on the weekends. I’m trying to get some more photos for you. Good luck with your research.
Ah, thank you very much for the information on this rink and the Thunderbird Roller Rink.
UPDATE! -- 03 July 2022.
I have a skater who replied to me about this rink and I learned more about it. Some of the email is posted here.
Hudson's was in Washington Park like a white small enclave of East St. Louis. Hudson's Roller Rink by the Washington Park Police.
Wow, that helps. Now I found the location on the map. Its a parking lot for the station. Thank you so much and I could not reveal more information you send me. Very confessional email.
The Interior.
It had Hardwood Maple floor with the rink size of 60 Feet by 120 Feet. This is about a little larger than half size so it is a Medium sized rink.
The Exterior.
It appeared to be Flatted roof two tone colored Cinderblocks arena like building.
Now a parking lot for abandoned police cars.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 60' x120'. Floor: Non-Painted Hardwood Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: 1968 due to fire.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks Arena-like building
Roof: Flatted.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1954 to 1968
Hudson Roller Rink: 1954 to 1968
Reason for Closure:
Hudson Roller Rink: Fire destroyed the rink. No rebuilds.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have any more photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Email - DJ. 25 October 2021.
Email - DJ. 08 December 2021.
Susan A Miller website - Page unknown.
Email - CLW. (03 July 2022).
Date of issue: 25 October 2021.
Updated: 04 December 2021.
Updated: 03 July 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None to see! It is abandoned cars parking lot directly from the police and fire department. Please do not visit because those LEOs will see you clearly what you are doing right cross the street so please just drive by. That is all you can do.
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.