Newport Roller Skating Rink 141 Pelham St, Newport, RI. Atlantic House Hotel was the first rink in the United States and one of the World's First Roller Rink. Pretty fancy place huh? Just like Doc Brown said, "Why not go in style!" James Plimpton perhaps thought the same. Apparently somewhere on third and forth floor. See next two photos and you will see why. Source:
Newport Roller Skating Rink 141 Pelham St, Newport, RI. The cover of Harper's Weekly Magazine, a newspaper style magazine It was featuring the cover story on Roller Polo, one of the first sports mix with roller skating. It is the original before hockey! Source: Harper's Weekly Magazine. 8 September 1882, Cover. “Polo on Skates at Newport,” illustration by C.W. Weldon for Harper’s Weekly,
Newport Roller Skating Rink 141 Pelham St, Newport, RI. The cover of Harper's Weekly Magazine, a newspaper style magazine It was featuring the cover story on Roller Polo, one of the first sports mix with roller skating. It is the original before hockey! This version is an illustration colored with color pencils to give more realistic. Now, can you see why I said 3rd and 4th floor? Look up on the ceiling, the wall. It had small windows. The illustration may have faced rear of the building which may have been different look than the front. Those were small windows and I would say they are on the 4th floor (look at the photo on top). Source: Harper's Weekly Magazine. 8 September 1882, Cover. “Polo on Skates at Newport,” illustration by C.W. Weldon for Harper’s Weekly,
Newport Roller Skating Rink 141 Pelham St, Newport, RI
This was the World's First Roller Rink, the Newport Roller Skating Rink that was on 141 Pelham Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Roller skating has been around already since 1760 but it was James Leonard Plimpton invented the modern skates we all know-- the "Quads" that you can turn or pivot on skates in 1863, a hundred years after the very first recorded inventor of skates, Jean-Joseph Merlin, also known as John Joseph Merlin.
James Plimpton realized the need of a place to roller skate after his invention caught on right after the US Civil War. So, in Newport, Rhodes Island, James Plimpton established Newport Roller Skating Rink on 11 August 1866. It was the
New York Roller Skating Association (NYRSA) leased the Atlantic House Hotel in town and when the dinning room was not in use, they converted the dining room into a skating room.
Because of this, this became the World's First and First Roller Rink opened to public in the United States. James Plimpton was credited for development of popularity of roller skating because of his invention and genius idea to operate a rink as an income when there are skate rentals
James Plimpton was also the World's First Roller Skating Rink Operator and Manager.
The Atlantic House Hotel, which was the US Naval Academy during the US Civil War, is now the Elks Club on the corner of Pelham Street and Bellevue Avenue. In Newport, in 1879 the Ocean House Hotel constructed a new rink. It hosted roller skating polo (rink hockey) and “circling” around the rink, enjoyed by “educated and refined patrons” and later opened to the general public.
The hotel, the Atlantic House Hotel was built in 1845 and it was a rather large hotel at the time with 4 stories or floors. It served as a hotel but when the US Civil War broke out on Friday, 12 April 1861, the hotel became the US Navy Academy considering its location, that Newport, Rhodes Island a oceanside city.
Interesting to connect between New York City and Newport, Rhodes Island is that it is not just roller skating. The New York Yacht Club, the club that held the trophy of the First America's Cup yacht racing that the America won off the shores of United Kingdom. The yacht club hosted every race that they won in 132 years in Newport, Rhodes Island where the famed America's Cup races were held and for the last time when Dennis Conner skippered on Liberty and lost the Cup to the Australians in 1983. So, there were those 2 connections-- roller skating and yacht. Makes you, skaters, proud to have that part of history along with the yacht racing fans.
Back to skating, When the US Civil War ended exactly 4 years later on 9 April 1865, around there, the US Navy Department closed the Academy and abandoned the hotel. It was returning back to the hotel in 1866, July 1866, the hotel management contacted James Plimpton about the possibility of a rink at the hotel. A lease contract was signed so, later, on Saturday 11 August 1866. First rink was established. One of the first entertainment/recreation venue attached to the hotel. This may have spun off as resorts for many hotels today have with their venues such as swimming (oceans, lakes, pools), arcades, casinos, stage theaters, and even amusement parks.
The hotel's purpose to have a rink was this-- Known as “Rinking.” The parlors of European aristocracy and this, it was developed for that class for roller skating. Funny thing was that this was actually imported to America. The Quads was invented in the US but first rinks were actually in UK. I believe this was done due to the fact the United States was still in Civil War till early 1865 and Plimpton perhaps wanted to stay out of the Civil War in his backyard. And when the war ended, he was able to return back to the US as soon as possible. This is my humble educated guess. Europe’s first Plimpton's skating rink opened at London’s Chrystal Palace already in 1865, a year prior to the Newport Roller Skating Rink.
That was one of the World's First resort.. well, sort of. The Omni Hotel in VA was the first in 1766 for the US, globally? Has to be Europe or Middle East. World's First hotel with a roller rink as part of inclusion.
The hotel held the rink only during warm seasons, not cold season which is quite opposite of some rinks practice this today.
The most popular spectalor sports at this rink was Roller Polo. It was actually inherited from Polo, the equestrian version which began in United Kingdom. Since James Plimpton was in UK where he began the actual the World's First Rink in UK such as The Strand and Albert Hall, The sport was brought over to the United States of America. It was round ball and technically, it was field hookey, not hockey. Hookey similar to women's field hockey you seen at your local high school. The Roller Polo is a spin off of Field Hookey. But it was not till later, some Canadians brought up Roller Polo and used ice skates to play hookey on ice but the ball was too fast and skimmish. So, someone actually cut the two sides of the ball and made as a puck. That was the invention of hockey that we all knew. Because of that, Roller Polo kind of died down by 1920s. Instead around that time, the adoption switched to Roller Hockey using same uniforms and protections that they adopted from ice hockey and made as Roller Hockey today. It flipped flopped the sport. But this was the birth place at Newport Roller Skating Rink the American version of Roller Polo that gave us Ice Hockey we know today!
It's demise may have been around 1890s because of the downturn of roller skating as the Golden Era ended by 1890. The Skating Polo was also played at this venue. Skating Polo is largely different than Roller Hockey that we are more familiar with. Roller Hockey uses same size or supposed to be as NHL rink size or the Olympic hockey rink size (85' x 200' NHL or for Olympic size, 98.4' x 196.9' (they use metric for the Olympics which is 30m x 60m.
Roller Polo is different sized. Their standard size is much smaller. 40' x 80' It was the standard for that size although some rinks had it bigger and often times they put up chicken wire to screen protect from patrons when the ball might fly toward out of the rink. Similar to baseball stadiums and fields having a net behind the batter, catcher, and the umpire.
Many rinks back then had small sized rinks. Not until 20th Century.
The hotel was razed and a new house-like building was built and it is an Elks Club lodge.
The Interior.
It appeared to be Maple wood floor or similar hardwood that was a double for a dinning room/restaurant. When there were no dinning, the restaurant furniture were cleared and set up as a rink. The ceiling was high and this, had a balcony for spectators to watch the skaters skate or a skate polo match occurred.
It had a balcony above for spectators to watch the Roller Polo and maybe for children to skate as parents watch them.
The Exterior.
The hotel looked like a supersized White House, the US Presidential residence. The difference was that this version has 4 stories/floors. The top floor had smaller windows and had angled walls in the hotel rooms. The hotel had six Greek Ionic Columns making this place more Greek although some elements do look Roman. It had Intersection/Overlap Hip Roof design. It was the design on the walls and the columns making it more Greek but the roof was not. Roman and Greek had Gabled and related to Gabled roof design.
It was a Neo-Classical design.
The exterior walls appeared to be Stone otherwise, it was Cinderblocks. White color although the pictures seen on the net are in Black-and-White. it is common for this type of place to have White paint.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Possible Maple Hardwood. Floor Layout: Straight.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1845. Renovations: 1866 (for rink). Demolished: 1877 Human demolished, divided land.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks/Stone - Walled Manson (Hotel) - like Building.
Roof: Intersection/Overlap Hip Roof.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- Saturday 11 August 1866 to 1877.
Reason for Closure: Hotel out of business, demolished building, divide land in half. (the main one is Elks Lodge today).
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:
Roller Polo
Skate Dance Diagrams and Tools - History of Roller Skating (showing an ad he copied from Facebook with Facebook mess on it, could not find on Facebook. He took it from his phone, not computer.
Newport History
What's Up website - Deep history.
Facebook - Rhode Island Now and Then group.
150 Years of history
Newport This Week - History of hotels in the town. Most explaination.
Wikipedia - History of Roller Skating
James Leonard Plimpton
John Joseph Merlin.
First America's Cup races in the United States hosted by NYYC in Newport, RI. See connection?
Date of issue: 21 November 2021.
For office use only: 3.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.
James Plimpton realized the need of a place to roller skate after his invention caught on right after the US Civil War. So, in Newport, Rhodes Island, James Plimpton established Newport Roller Skating Rink on 11 August 1866. It was the
New York Roller Skating Association (NYRSA) leased the Atlantic House Hotel in town and when the dinning room was not in use, they converted the dining room into a skating room.
Because of this, this became the World's First and First Roller Rink opened to public in the United States. James Plimpton was credited for development of popularity of roller skating because of his invention and genius idea to operate a rink as an income when there are skate rentals
James Plimpton was also the World's First Roller Skating Rink Operator and Manager.
The Atlantic House Hotel, which was the US Naval Academy during the US Civil War, is now the Elks Club on the corner of Pelham Street and Bellevue Avenue. In Newport, in 1879 the Ocean House Hotel constructed a new rink. It hosted roller skating polo (rink hockey) and “circling” around the rink, enjoyed by “educated and refined patrons” and later opened to the general public.
The hotel, the Atlantic House Hotel was built in 1845 and it was a rather large hotel at the time with 4 stories or floors. It served as a hotel but when the US Civil War broke out on Friday, 12 April 1861, the hotel became the US Navy Academy considering its location, that Newport, Rhodes Island a oceanside city.
Interesting to connect between New York City and Newport, Rhodes Island is that it is not just roller skating. The New York Yacht Club, the club that held the trophy of the First America's Cup yacht racing that the America won off the shores of United Kingdom. The yacht club hosted every race that they won in 132 years in Newport, Rhodes Island where the famed America's Cup races were held and for the last time when Dennis Conner skippered on Liberty and lost the Cup to the Australians in 1983. So, there were those 2 connections-- roller skating and yacht. Makes you, skaters, proud to have that part of history along with the yacht racing fans.
Back to skating, When the US Civil War ended exactly 4 years later on 9 April 1865, around there, the US Navy Department closed the Academy and abandoned the hotel. It was returning back to the hotel in 1866, July 1866, the hotel management contacted James Plimpton about the possibility of a rink at the hotel. A lease contract was signed so, later, on Saturday 11 August 1866. First rink was established. One of the first entertainment/recreation venue attached to the hotel. This may have spun off as resorts for many hotels today have with their venues such as swimming (oceans, lakes, pools), arcades, casinos, stage theaters, and even amusement parks.
The hotel's purpose to have a rink was this-- Known as “Rinking.” The parlors of European aristocracy and this, it was developed for that class for roller skating. Funny thing was that this was actually imported to America. The Quads was invented in the US but first rinks were actually in UK. I believe this was done due to the fact the United States was still in Civil War till early 1865 and Plimpton perhaps wanted to stay out of the Civil War in his backyard. And when the war ended, he was able to return back to the US as soon as possible. This is my humble educated guess. Europe’s first Plimpton's skating rink opened at London’s Chrystal Palace already in 1865, a year prior to the Newport Roller Skating Rink.
That was one of the World's First resort.. well, sort of. The Omni Hotel in VA was the first in 1766 for the US, globally? Has to be Europe or Middle East. World's First hotel with a roller rink as part of inclusion.
The hotel held the rink only during warm seasons, not cold season which is quite opposite of some rinks practice this today.
The most popular spectalor sports at this rink was Roller Polo. It was actually inherited from Polo, the equestrian version which began in United Kingdom. Since James Plimpton was in UK where he began the actual the World's First Rink in UK such as The Strand and Albert Hall, The sport was brought over to the United States of America. It was round ball and technically, it was field hookey, not hockey. Hookey similar to women's field hockey you seen at your local high school. The Roller Polo is a spin off of Field Hookey. But it was not till later, some Canadians brought up Roller Polo and used ice skates to play hookey on ice but the ball was too fast and skimmish. So, someone actually cut the two sides of the ball and made as a puck. That was the invention of hockey that we all knew. Because of that, Roller Polo kind of died down by 1920s. Instead around that time, the adoption switched to Roller Hockey using same uniforms and protections that they adopted from ice hockey and made as Roller Hockey today. It flipped flopped the sport. But this was the birth place at Newport Roller Skating Rink the American version of Roller Polo that gave us Ice Hockey we know today!
It's demise may have been around 1890s because of the downturn of roller skating as the Golden Era ended by 1890. The Skating Polo was also played at this venue. Skating Polo is largely different than Roller Hockey that we are more familiar with. Roller Hockey uses same size or supposed to be as NHL rink size or the Olympic hockey rink size (85' x 200' NHL or for Olympic size, 98.4' x 196.9' (they use metric for the Olympics which is 30m x 60m.
Roller Polo is different sized. Their standard size is much smaller. 40' x 80' It was the standard for that size although some rinks had it bigger and often times they put up chicken wire to screen protect from patrons when the ball might fly toward out of the rink. Similar to baseball stadiums and fields having a net behind the batter, catcher, and the umpire.
Many rinks back then had small sized rinks. Not until 20th Century.
The hotel was razed and a new house-like building was built and it is an Elks Club lodge.
The Interior.
It appeared to be Maple wood floor or similar hardwood that was a double for a dinning room/restaurant. When there were no dinning, the restaurant furniture were cleared and set up as a rink. The ceiling was high and this, had a balcony for spectators to watch the skaters skate or a skate polo match occurred.
It had a balcony above for spectators to watch the Roller Polo and maybe for children to skate as parents watch them.
The Exterior.
The hotel looked like a supersized White House, the US Presidential residence. The difference was that this version has 4 stories/floors. The top floor had smaller windows and had angled walls in the hotel rooms. The hotel had six Greek Ionic Columns making this place more Greek although some elements do look Roman. It had Intersection/Overlap Hip Roof design. It was the design on the walls and the columns making it more Greek but the roof was not. Roman and Greek had Gabled and related to Gabled roof design.
It was a Neo-Classical design.
The exterior walls appeared to be Stone otherwise, it was Cinderblocks. White color although the pictures seen on the net are in Black-and-White. it is common for this type of place to have White paint.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Possible Maple Hardwood. Floor Layout: Straight.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1845. Renovations: 1866 (for rink). Demolished: 1877 Human demolished, divided land.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks/Stone - Walled Manson (Hotel) - like Building.
Roof: Intersection/Overlap Hip Roof.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- Saturday 11 August 1866 to 1877.
Reason for Closure: Hotel out of business, demolished building, divide land in half. (the main one is Elks Lodge today).
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:
Roller Polo
Skate Dance Diagrams and Tools - History of Roller Skating (showing an ad he copied from Facebook with Facebook mess on it, could not find on Facebook. He took it from his phone, not computer.
Newport History
What's Up website - Deep history.
Facebook - Rhode Island Now and Then group.
150 Years of history
Newport This Week - History of hotels in the town. Most explaination.
Wikipedia - History of Roller Skating
James Leonard Plimpton
John Joseph Merlin.
First America's Cup races in the United States hosted by NYYC in Newport, RI. See connection?
Date of issue: 21 November 2021.
For office use only: 3.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.