Courtesy of Marlboro Historical Society. Photo taken when it was a dance hall/ballroom. The big metal framed sign that says DANCING was up above the main doors. In later years, it was removed.
Courtesy of Fitchburg September 21, 1922. One of the ads for the dances at Lyonhurst Ballroom.
Courtesy of The Boston Globe. September 5, 1930. It was up for sale. The daughter ran it since 1926, 4 years after her father began because her father died in 1926. Or to lease. It became leased and was leased to Fred H. Freeman (unrelated to best friend of Billy Batson. Hey I am trying see if you were paying attention. Haha). Fred operated many rinks. See next article.
Courtesy of Historic Marlborugh Sports. Only one found an advertisement for roller skating at the Lyonhurst Rink. This was when Randy Collanni operated the rink between 1958 and the fire of 1963. Note that this was during the Marlboro's 300th Anniversary (Tricentennial) Celebration which occurred in 1960 according to internet search.
Courtesy of Billboard May 30, 1942, page 50. Almost entire article written by Fred Freeman on the same page as his biography insert shown above. He operated a few rinks. If you want to read it, click the link on the name of the magazine.. Now you see Fred Freeman? Not related to Captain Marvel Jr.
Courtesy of History of Marlboro. Fire destroyed the beloved Lyonhurst Roller Rink on March 7, 1963. You can see the big fire really burned up the rink big time. It was totaled burned. Noticed there was a ladder laying on the snow and I did not see any fire fighters. Apparently someone had a camera right on the spot (smart move, long before your cell phones can take photos) and took it before fire fighters were on scene of the fire. Interesting. Apparently the department took longer to arrive or the fire really burned up the rink extremely fast. Looks like four bystanders in photo and the photographer were there. The photograph showed the left side wall and front which is to the right since you can see where the sign used to be above the main doors.
Lyonhurst Roller Rink 60 (?) William St, Marlboro, MA
This was a beloved rink built on William Street in Marlboro, MA. It was originally built in 1922 by Joseph A. Lyons. It was in memorial of his wife and daughter. (the wife must have died before the building was built because of the obituary for Joseph listed other children and family members but not the wife. The famous building hosted many exciting events, from the appearance of big bands to great balls and weddings, and in its later years, a roller skating rink. This according to Memories of Marlboro page.
Looks like original as a dance hall/ballroom. Many rinks were ballrooms in first half of the 20th Century or even in second half of 19th Century for the conversion or multi-uses. It was common practice owners did this. Maybe rinks today should uses both as a rink and a night club these days to keep the rink survival but each segment open different days/nights.
Joseph was a boxer so apparently that was his business plan to built that building for boxing events plus other activities and events. But Joseph died just four years after he opened the Lyonhurst Hall and his daughter operated till 1958 when she sold it to Ranny Colaianni. Apparently the rink may have been operated after the selling of the building.
I am not sure because there are no actual third party proof about roller skating at that rink till toward end. Never mind that competitor said 1922 as skating rink. No, it was later. Likely was later.
The fire on March 7, 1963 was a Three-Alarm which was really dangerous and likely several fire departments arrived on the scene of the fire. It completely burned down because of that
Today there are rows of apartment complexes and houses on one side. The former rink sat directly cross from the current Marlboro District Court Building which sits at 45 William Street. From what I seen, likely the location is where the apartment complex because of the age of the building compared to all other houses in immediate area which are much older. The apartment complex appeared to be 1960 style. I know apartment complexes at many places with this style of design.
This will always be updated. Stay tuned.
Back then they had big bands with big names such as Guy Lombardi, Glenn Miller, and others to play music but also some big names hung out or eat at the rink. Baseball Famed player named Babe Ruth would go to the Lyonhurst to eat and dance with his first wife according to Wicked Local publication. At the time, Babe Ruth was a player for the Boston Red Sox before he was traded to the Yankees. This was before the 1919 trade to the Yankees for a price of 125,000 USD but also received the loan from the Yankees for the Comstock Stadium. A whole another story another time.
The Interior.
The photo I saw of the interior was set up for a boxing match considering Joseph Lyons was a professional boxer who built and opened this hall. It appeared to be wood structure with columns support.
The Exterior.
The exterior looked very country style with many windows. It had Hip roof design and housed as many as 3000 patrons in there for dancing. More so for boxing and less for skating. There was a huge sign calling, DANCING above the main door for public to see. Likely it was shining red lights.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Maple? Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 170' x90'. Built: 1922. Demolished: March 7, 1963 by fire.
Type of Building: Free-Span columns supported Steel Truss Wood and Stone-Walled public venue-like Building.
Roof: Hip.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1922 to March 7, 1963.
Reason for Closure: Fire.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos.
Anyone has pictures and/or information please let me know at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Memories of Marlboro page; Marlboro Sports History; Taptalk - J.A. Lyons; Wicked Local - Babe Ruth visited the famous Lyonlurst Hall. Babe would go there often before he was traded to the Yankees;
Billboard, May 30, 1942, Page 50 - Fred Freeman;
Date of issue: 23, December 2020.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.
Looks like original as a dance hall/ballroom. Many rinks were ballrooms in first half of the 20th Century or even in second half of 19th Century for the conversion or multi-uses. It was common practice owners did this. Maybe rinks today should uses both as a rink and a night club these days to keep the rink survival but each segment open different days/nights.
Joseph was a boxer so apparently that was his business plan to built that building for boxing events plus other activities and events. But Joseph died just four years after he opened the Lyonhurst Hall and his daughter operated till 1958 when she sold it to Ranny Colaianni. Apparently the rink may have been operated after the selling of the building.
I am not sure because there are no actual third party proof about roller skating at that rink till toward end. Never mind that competitor said 1922 as skating rink. No, it was later. Likely was later.
The fire on March 7, 1963 was a Three-Alarm which was really dangerous and likely several fire departments arrived on the scene of the fire. It completely burned down because of that
Today there are rows of apartment complexes and houses on one side. The former rink sat directly cross from the current Marlboro District Court Building which sits at 45 William Street. From what I seen, likely the location is where the apartment complex because of the age of the building compared to all other houses in immediate area which are much older. The apartment complex appeared to be 1960 style. I know apartment complexes at many places with this style of design.
This will always be updated. Stay tuned.
Back then they had big bands with big names such as Guy Lombardi, Glenn Miller, and others to play music but also some big names hung out or eat at the rink. Baseball Famed player named Babe Ruth would go to the Lyonhurst to eat and dance with his first wife according to Wicked Local publication. At the time, Babe Ruth was a player for the Boston Red Sox before he was traded to the Yankees. This was before the 1919 trade to the Yankees for a price of 125,000 USD but also received the loan from the Yankees for the Comstock Stadium. A whole another story another time.
The Interior.
The photo I saw of the interior was set up for a boxing match considering Joseph Lyons was a professional boxer who built and opened this hall. It appeared to be wood structure with columns support.
The Exterior.
The exterior looked very country style with many windows. It had Hip roof design and housed as many as 3000 patrons in there for dancing. More so for boxing and less for skating. There was a huge sign calling, DANCING above the main door for public to see. Likely it was shining red lights.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Maple? Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 170' x90'. Built: 1922. Demolished: March 7, 1963 by fire.
Type of Building: Free-Span columns supported Steel Truss Wood and Stone-Walled public venue-like Building.
Roof: Hip.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1922 to March 7, 1963.
Reason for Closure: Fire.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos.
Anyone has pictures and/or information please let me know at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Memories of Marlboro page; Marlboro Sports History; Taptalk - J.A. Lyons; Wicked Local - Babe Ruth visited the famous Lyonlurst Hall. Babe would go there often before he was traded to the Yankees;
Billboard, May 30, 1942, Page 50 - Fred Freeman;
Date of issue: 23, December 2020.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.