Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. The main entrance to the park. The name on the sign was quite difficult. Many parks, businesses, etc had signs like that and it was quite difficult to see.
Source: Zainsville Times Recorder File photo.
Source: Zainsville Times Recorder File photo.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. The roller rink back in its hey days. Beautiful interior design! I love that design. It shows it had rounded Round Trefoil Arch Ceiling with much windows on both level-- ground and upper to bring in much needed lights. It also had very popular light pendant of its day. (I remember my old school for the Deaf I attended, this section they had was preserved and the lights they had was exactly the same light pendants as seen in this photo. The school said that school building was built in 1931 and everything was untouched.) So likely this was done in 1920s-1930s. You can even see tall tables and stools! The name on the Art Deco above the stage appeared to spell as "RAL'S" or "PAL'S"-- was that a band name? Source: Zainsville Times Recorder File photo.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. This is an aerial view of the former rink and park. You can see the big rounded Round Trefoil Arch Roof building quite clear at the bottom of the photo. That was the former rink. The dance hall was to the left, right by the main road that curved. This photo pointed North as East. Several rides and vendor buildings were shown and the oval track that is not perfectly oval for derby car races. Easy to see was the swimming pool next to the race track. You also saw many tractor trailers parked. That would be the vendors parking space. Skaters, dancers, and park attendees parked at various locations including one between the rink and dance hall. Source: Zainsville Times Recorder File photo.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. An advertisement in 1943. Tim Nolan was the operator/owner. Source: Billboard, 22 May 1943, Page 57.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. An advertisement that the park was up for lease. First listed was the roller rink! Other things too are rented. Tim Nolan was the operator/owner. Source: Billboard, 05 April 1952, Page 79.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH. An advertisement that the park things were up for lease. First listed was the roller rink! Tim Nolan was the operator/owner. Source: Billboard, 12 April 1952, Page 96.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, OH
Moxahala Park Skating Rink Newton Twp. Rd. 84, Zanesville, Ohio. It was a roller rink in a Trolley Park called Moxahala Park. it ran quite a while. It began in 1906 seven miles south of Zanesville where the interurban, trolley-type from the Southeast Ohio Railway and Light Co ran their trains to the park as to attract riders. Just like any other trolley parks such as Luna Parks, Electric Parks, Coney Island, and many other Trolley/Ferry Parks were operating.
However, the rail company folded in 1924 just leaving their division, the Maxahala Park still operating for quite a long time.
What they did was they dammed up a nearby creek to create a lake for their boating and swimming recreation area and built a Japanese-style bridge and garden as an attraction. Eventually, the park featured several things at the park including a dance hall, baseball field, merry-go-round and all the rides one would expect at any Trolley, Electric, Ferry Parks.
Attendance started to decline during the Depression. This forced a foreclosure on the park and then rented by various operators until Tim Nolan purchased it, who owned carnivals in Columbus. Nolan operated the park until 1956, when it closed down for 15 years temporarily.
The park was reopened for the second time when it was 1971 by the same operator Tim Nolan who operated from 1940s and 50s. The reopened park featured a rebuilt dance hall and 22 new rides. A small zoo, an arcade, a swimming pool and a track for demolition derbies completed the list of attractions. The park lasted another six years by the time they closed for good in 1978.
The rides, equipment and other park paraphernalia were auctioned off by the Nolan company to make room for the company’s road operation.
The skating rink building, while being used as a bingo hall, burned in 1998.
The Interior.
Beautiful Rotunda Maple floor with much beautiful ceiling that curved. It was a Monitor-style Roof but not Gabled. It was curved Roof. That translate as Round Trefoil Arch. Likely it had almost the size of an NHL rink floor. But I am not sure.
The Exterior.
I do not know what the exterior was like but clearly you can see it was a Round Trefoil Arch Roof building. It appearance was similar to a several rinks even in the same state of Ohio. If you have done your homework looking at rinks in Ohio, you will discovered it was similar design. I do not think any other rinks in the United States has that design.
It was set in a former Trolley Park turned to Amusement Park.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted, Maple. Floor Layout: Rotunda.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Fire, 1988.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Round Trefoil Arch.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- Spring 1906/1910s to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to Fall 1978/1988 (See below).
Moxahala Park: Spring 1906 to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to Fall 1978.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink: 1910s to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to 1998.
Moxahala Park BINGO Hall: Fall 1978 to 1988.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
1956: Decline attendance, forced to close temporarily.
1978: Decline attendance, forced to close permanently, turned into field days traveling caravel.
1988: Fire destroyed building.
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. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Zainsville Times Recorder - gallery of photographs.
Zainsville Times Recorder - Article. PDF version.
Way Marketing - photos and very brief info.
AJM Photos - website about the abandoned park. Note, the structure you seen on the website you may thought it is still standing, it was the dance hall, NOT the roller rink.
Facebook - Moxahala Park Skating Rink
Billboard - 05 April 1952, Page 79. First Column.
Billboard - 12 April 1952, Page 96. Second Column.
Billboard - 22 May 1943, Page 57. First column.
Date of issue: 05 November 2021. Updated: 15 December 2021.
For office use only: 6.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.
However, the rail company folded in 1924 just leaving their division, the Maxahala Park still operating for quite a long time.
What they did was they dammed up a nearby creek to create a lake for their boating and swimming recreation area and built a Japanese-style bridge and garden as an attraction. Eventually, the park featured several things at the park including a dance hall, baseball field, merry-go-round and all the rides one would expect at any Trolley, Electric, Ferry Parks.
Attendance started to decline during the Depression. This forced a foreclosure on the park and then rented by various operators until Tim Nolan purchased it, who owned carnivals in Columbus. Nolan operated the park until 1956, when it closed down for 15 years temporarily.
The park was reopened for the second time when it was 1971 by the same operator Tim Nolan who operated from 1940s and 50s. The reopened park featured a rebuilt dance hall and 22 new rides. A small zoo, an arcade, a swimming pool and a track for demolition derbies completed the list of attractions. The park lasted another six years by the time they closed for good in 1978.
The rides, equipment and other park paraphernalia were auctioned off by the Nolan company to make room for the company’s road operation.
The skating rink building, while being used as a bingo hall, burned in 1998.
The Interior.
Beautiful Rotunda Maple floor with much beautiful ceiling that curved. It was a Monitor-style Roof but not Gabled. It was curved Roof. That translate as Round Trefoil Arch. Likely it had almost the size of an NHL rink floor. But I am not sure.
The Exterior.
I do not know what the exterior was like but clearly you can see it was a Round Trefoil Arch Roof building. It appearance was similar to a several rinks even in the same state of Ohio. If you have done your homework looking at rinks in Ohio, you will discovered it was similar design. I do not think any other rinks in the United States has that design.
It was set in a former Trolley Park turned to Amusement Park.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Non-painted, Maple. Floor Layout: Rotunda.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Fire, 1988.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Round Trefoil Arch.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- Spring 1906/1910s to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to Fall 1978/1988 (See below).
Moxahala Park: Spring 1906 to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to Fall 1978.
Moxahala Park Skating Rink: 1910s to 1956, reopened Spring 1971 to 1998.
Moxahala Park BINGO Hall: Fall 1978 to 1988.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
1956: Decline attendance, forced to close temporarily.
1978: Decline attendance, forced to close permanently, turned into field days traveling caravel.
1988: Fire destroyed building.
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. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Zainsville Times Recorder - gallery of photographs.
Zainsville Times Recorder - Article. PDF version.
Way Marketing - photos and very brief info.
AJM Photos - website about the abandoned park. Note, the structure you seen on the website you may thought it is still standing, it was the dance hall, NOT the roller rink.
Facebook - Moxahala Park Skating Rink
Billboard - 05 April 1952, Page 79. First Column.
Billboard - 12 April 1952, Page 96. Second Column.
Billboard - 22 May 1943, Page 57. First column.
Date of issue: 05 November 2021. Updated: 15 December 2021.
For office use only: 6.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.