Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. This is the location where the amusement park was. All commercial now. More information, please read update below. Side note: The upper part of the photograph is the airport runway 145-325. Source: Google.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. A program booklet for Roller Skating contest. Source: Google.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. A program booklet for Roller Skating contest. Source: Democrat and Chronicles - 31 December 1969.
Olympic Park 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. A big fire destroyed part of the amusement park and this is the start of the rebuilding after the fire the roller rink. (note- sorry I could not zoom it bigger and besides, It came out blurred when retrieved from Newspaper.com so there is no way I can clear it up. Thank you for understanding.) Source: Democrat and Chronicles - 02 July 1964.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. An advertisement in the college newspaper/magazine. (I never seen RIT's but only NTID version of the Register). This showed that the roller rink opened after that big fire. Source: Rochester Institute of Technology Reporter - 04 October 1968, page 6, first column.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. Carl was right about how children and teens went skating at the time. Remember, no cell phones, no computers, no tablets, no TV in bedrooms, limited cable TV, and mothers using the phones in the kitchens. This was during the week of the Blizzard of 1977 during the week of 28 of January to 01 of February 1977. That was the main culprit reason of why students were out of school that week! Source: Democrat and Chronicles - Thursday 3 February 1977.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. Listing of all roller rinks in Rochester Metro area. All must be part of a group but different owners. They worked together to do the ad in 1983. All rinks are dead now. Sorry, those coupons were expired. Source: Democrat and Chronicles -1983.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. Announced of a reunion in 2010. Sorry, you missed the reunion. Source: Democrat and Chronicles - Wednesday 21 July 2010.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. Article about the old park. Source: Democratic and Chronicles - Saturday, 18 October 2013.
Olympic Bowl Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. An ashtray. Source: Pinterest.
Olympic Bowl Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY. Another ashtray. Source: Pinterest.
Olympic Skating Center Olympic Park, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY
Let's not confuse the name, Olympic Skating Center to the Olympics. It was not part of any Olympics of every four years. It was just merely a name. It was part of Olympic (amusement) Park. Not a whole lot of information regarding this rink. As I recalled when I was a student at Rochester Institute of Technology that was just a few miles away, I went over to play at the arcade. I was unaware of the rink that was housed in the same location. That was because the name was gone. Just the arcade was there in 1988-1989 when I was living on campus at the college. (I went to that college for a year and left).
As I recalled, it was brick building with the appearance of maybe late 1950s to 1960s. I thought the place had bowling alley. It may have been mutli-use entertainment facility. As I figured, it was an amusement-recreation center (grounds) that included bowling, roller skating rink, mini-golf, billiard hall, and a go-kart track.
It was part of the local trolley park called Olympic Park. Main competitor is on-going Seabreeze which is more successful. It had amusement rides just like Seabreeze does today.
This rink closed in 1982 along with the rest of the amusement park except for the arcade. I came up there as a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and discovered this place with just an arcade. In 1988 when I was at the college, it was not a good entertainment time for that area of Rochester. There was a singles dance on Friday nights on the same road just a few doors down and when I arrived at 7:40 PM as I still recalled the time I came, it was open at 7 PM and supposed to close at 11 PM but I was the 2nd person to arrive and the other person left when I arrived. The lady who ran said it was pretty much getting dead in many things including her singles dance. Apparently the thought was the same for the skating, bowling, mini-golf, and others, and the arcade on the same street while Henrietta was growing surrounding the Marketplace Mall on Henrietta-Jefferson Street area.
Joseph H. Schuler Sr. was the owner who began the park in 1931 with a driving range and later, he added other entertainment. The Olympic Park was a 12 acres entertainment park with all the fun even rides. Later in 1972, Joseph added 18 acres to establish a Frontier Village. An echo to Frontier Town and Gaslight Village in Lake George, NY with actors dressed the part, fake gun fights, bar girls, and more. That means 30 acres at the time in the 1970s.
The problem with the Olympic Park was lacking of natural beauty like what Seabreeze in Irondequoit had because it sits by Lake Ontario and the bay. Disney World has lakes, well, man-made lakes, and Marineland right by Niagara Falls, Ontario. You get the idea. It was very plain "trolley route-end" park as they are called because many cities had their own amusement parks at the end of the trolley runs like the Suburban Park in Manlius, NY and many amusement parks in Lake George-Saratoga Spring, NY area and Coney Island Parks.
With Seabreeze and Darien Lake Theme Park, a major park was in operations, competition was large that maybe hurt Olympic Park, it was failing with the last thing-the arcade that I went. It closed for good when I left in 1989, the same year and then it is now all office buildings, a tire store, among other purposes in that area. But in 1981, when the original owner sold the business, the Amusement Corporation of America became the new owners. They were going to invest 1.5 million Dollars in upgrades but never did and kept those buildings shut except for the arcade open till 1989. When I was there in 1988, nothing else but the two building were there.
Near by as I said about the singles dance, the lady closed shop at 8 pm instead and gave me the door prize because I was only guy there at the singles dance. It was a bottle of champagne! (I did not drink as I do not drink at all, I gave it to someone else).
I never got to see the rink myself as I was unaware of. Just the arcade. The arcade was pretty much up front, fairly dark place. But quieter than any arcades I have been to.
There was a cut off wall there as I can see it apparently looked boarded up in 1988.
The park was less than 5 minutes from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Olympic Skate Center apparently may have been around at least 30 years from the look of the building itself till its closure in 1981/82.
Last part of the park was the arcade and I was fortunate to go to the arcade but not the rest. I had no idea about this. Just missed by a few years. After I left, apparently the arcade closed for good. It is all different commercial properties there now.
UPDATE! -- 30 June 2022.
Here is the lengthy email I received. It is edited and part of the email he also talked about other rinks too. Here is what he has to say --
All the following is viewing from standing on Scottsville Road, w/ your back to the airport, looking in towards what is now the tire company (bowling) and RG&E. (park and skating rink, et al)
1. At the far right there is a window and door company, this is where the go Kart track and small game room/billiards was located, if you look closely at an aerial you can still see the go cart pathways in the grass at the extreme end of the property towards [Rochester Institute of Technology] campus some 5 miles away.
2. The tire wholesaler basically sits on the footprint of the entire bowling alley, then approx. 75,000 [SF].
3. A large parking lot approx. 100' deep spans almost the entire property from the now window store to the used car dealer the entire length which serviced parking for , go-karts, park, roller rink, miniature golf, driving range and burger-go-round. Imagine 3 - 5 long rows running parallel to Scottsville road the entire length of the property.
4. The park was on the property where the office building sits now, plus a little more.
5. The Dunkin' Donuts footprint is on top the Burger-Go Round, almost exact.
6. Now the good part: THE ROLLER RINK. [T]he rink sat exactly where the [storage] yard is now for equipment, approx. 300' behind the Burger-Go-Round/Dunkin' Donuts. That is 100% fact based. I walked it thousands of times and snow shoveled it too. If you walked out the only front doors of the rink towards Scottsville Road and the parking lot, you ran into the back of the burger joint, now Dunkin' Donuts, 100% for sure.
7. The only remaining structure on the entire property is the used car dealer, then a gas station I used to buy a tank of gas for my [car] for $3.00 full fill-up.
8. The roller rink had a very limited visual view from the front as it was packed in behind and next to the large Skee-ball arcade and Fascination game, which both were leased by Schuler to Carl Gardner. You could not see the rink from Scottsville Rd. It appears two separate buildings may have been built and then there was a 60' gap and land deep behind so the squeezed the roller rink in forming a U-type layout.
9. The last piece of the puzzle was the large driving range adjacent to a small pond where-in The Schuler family had two houses they lived in. The aerial view shows some green grass rock/pond area, that may have been deed restricted as "The Schuler Homestead" property as a park setting.
YES IT WAS GREAT PLACE TO GROW UP AT.............
It is being on Dead-Rinks! I never heard of that game! The Fascination game. It is like a mix between Skee-ball and BINGO. The layout is the same as a BINGO but you roll the ball like a Skee-ball would but small ball.. Smaller than a Skee-ball. You have to make it in straight line or fill in entirely. Click on the video and that one is the LAST Fascination hall. Will International Commercial Archeology Preservation© get a new site up? Perhaps if I ever have staff and work on it and call it Dead-Fascination.
UPDATE! -- 01 July 2022.
More information came in from Richard.
Info as I know it about Olympic, Rochester NY:
I worked for Carl Gardner starting in 1967 at the roller rink and a roll the ball type skill game called "Fascination" which was connected thru a back room to the roller rink. Carl Gardner was a very charismatic friend of mine, I was about 15 and had skated at the rink regularly and wanted to work at the rink but he thought I much better suited for Fascination, first as coin collector and then I took over Carl's spot in the both as overseer and caller at the game, as his involvement in the rink operation grew.
I am 99% sure the rink opened in late 1966 or early 67, after a devastating fire took out the original Fascination game, bingo and game area on 01 July 1964 just before the height of the then summer season. (Google/Democrat and Chronicle fire at Olympic Park) (Mark's note, I am aware of the fire, thank you). A new fascination, chance games and the roller rink were built on the leveled land ( I was a kid in 6th grade) I know the rink upon opening was owned and operated by park owners, Joesph and son Phil Schuler, and nightly managed by a young guy named Robert Rathke, who ironically worked and retired from RGE&E who now have the property. Stranger things have happened in life.
Management problems occured at the rink and due to Carl Gardners success in leasing the Fascination game space, Schuler offered the rink to Carl and Dot (wife) Gardner who ran the rink, around late 67 or early 68, and lived across the street from the rink in a defunct modular home development at 6 Comanche Dr, (note the rink and Olympic Park, and Carl's home were all in the town of Chili, but had a Rochester mailing code, FYI). Around 1972 floor problems forced the closure for a month as Carl personally ripped out the particle board 4x8 sheet floor and a slab was poured for one of the first concrete floors in roller rinks at the time. Carl was a thinker and realized large bldgs would develop leaks and the wood would always be a problem , hence 4,000 psi curb concrete rebar slab would eliminate the problem.
On July 7, 1971 I just graduated H.S. and off to VietNam but kept close contact with the rink and Carl Gardner, I left service in 9/76 and went to Lincoln Ne and started w/ Seth Scott at Holiday Skate World as full time pro / asst mgr to Dennis Runyan (to follow) In Dec. 77 I left Lincoln, and took over fledgling Eatontown Roller Rink for AOW, and turned it into #2 in revenue from #9, ($$$ Kaching Kaching for AOW and me both)
In 1979 or 78 I flew Carl Gardner to Eatontown NJ to consult and help me airless spray coat my particle board floor, at the Eatontown NJ roller rink I managed, as he was an expert on floors by now on coating application. At this point in 78/79, Carl Gardner was still operating Olympic, but I think a liability issue developed thereafter and Carl left the rink, but maintained Fasciantion. operation, the cash cow so to speak.
Olympic started with a particle board floor and ended with a Rink-Cote E spray on concrete floor. The floor was 75 x 150, and bldg was 75 x 200 +-, the off floor area was on one end and the back was the rink as it was a perfect rectangular "Butler" type/mfrg building. I am sure the closing coincided with the park demise in or about 1982 or thereabouts.
In a week or two, Seabrook and Wheel-A-While, one and the same.
Second email...
In reply to your [email] today this prior e/m I sent a couple days ago gives you all the info u asked for today , I THINK, lol To clarify the building was a big rectangular shoe box with the rink on the far end and the lobby, restrooms, games, skate rental on the front end., just take a legal size piece of paper and fold it in half width wise, one end was the rink the other end the office, off-floor etc., the skating floor had 3 exterior walls, lol, always cold in the winter, hot in the summer.more in coming weeks and months
Floor initially was particle board with clear rink-cote, and then to concrete, with blue spray on as noted.
No organ music always Top 40, Pro's Carol and Leif Hansen (Danish) - Great Guy. Very Limited Free Style, and No speed team
The rink opened w/ a Hawaiian Theme of like with large palm branches hiding the ugly metal ceiling but I vividly remember working with Carl and about ten people as we took them down and dust was everywhere, I think, the fire marshal objected to the hanging plastic above the skate floor and while we cleaned them they never got put back up, I would think that was the summer of 68 or 69. There is a postcard I now do not have showing that look, Down the middle of the back of the postcard is the maker of the card and the name Robert Rathke, I assumed he ordered the cards. Robert Rathke may still be around, maybe I recall hearing in Myrtle Beach.
(I just looked and there are no postcard at the moment, I will keep eye out and skaters, if you have one, please let me know and photograph it or better, scan it. Thank you!)
Wow, the Hawaiian theme. I am sure it looked great but that fire hazard. That reminded me of the Cocoanut Grove Fire and all of you were blessed not to get another fire on the same property where the 1964 fire was on the same property!
When Carl Gardner left someone else took over for a year or two, but Carl was the master showman, Think Barnum Baily, Cole Bros, and Ringling Bros.
Carl later opened a short lived rink in Brockport/Clarkson, I think it was Clarkson Roller ........ but short lived only a couple years.
When I went to work for AOW in Jan 1978 Carl was 100% for sure still operating Olympic as I brought in him in to consult on my floor, and I saw him at RSROA convention in Hawaii and Las Vegas so that would have been, May of 1979 and 1980.
Hope this answers your question s of today and look for.
Wow, this helps! Thank you Robert! I could not find that postcard, and could not find that rink Carl started in Brockport-Clarkson area. The area west of Rochester, NY (for skaters to know where that is).
NOTE: This is the third time I am on this page and this is the second time I see photographs DISAPPEARED! WHERE DID IT GO? WHY WAS IT GONE? WHAT HAPPENED? i CHECKED MY FILES OF PHOTOS AND THEY ARE GONE TOO. REAL STRANGE!
ANY OF YOU HAVE PHOTOS, PLESAE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL POST WITH YOUR NAME ON THE PICTURES SO ITS YOURS SO THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
My competitor had pictures too but both of us are missing pictures. Really strange!
The Interior.
[Skating] rink on the far end and the lobby, restrooms, games, skate rental on the front end., just take a legal size piece of paper and fold it in half width wise, one end was the rink the other end the office, off-floor etc., the skating floor had 3 exterior walls, always cold in the winter, hot in the summer. more in coming weeks and months... (more information coming)
Exposed ceiling.
Floor initially was particle board with clear rink-cote, and then to concrete, with blue spray on as noted.
The Exterior.
Free-Span steel Trusses Cinderblocks built with Flatted roof like a "Shoe box" as Richard said.
The Stats:
Original Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Clear Rink-Cote Particle Board. Floor Layout: Boards.
Updated Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Sky Blue Sprayed Concrete. Floor Layout: STandard.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1966. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: c. 1989.
Type of Building: Free-Span steel Trusses Cinderblocks built.
Roof: Flatted.
Acres: ~12.000 AC (includes amusement park).
Organ: None.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: 72
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: 8
Pocket Billiard Tables: 26
Amusement Rides: 28
Driving Range Slots: Number unknown.
Miniature Golf Course: 18
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: (Number unknown)
Fascination: (Number unknown)
Restaurant: 1 (Burger-Go-Round)
Cocktail lounge: 1.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1931? -1982?
Rink: 1966/67 -1982.
Olympic Amusement Park: 1931 to 1981 - 1982)
(Arcade closed in 1989 and auctioned off and demolished building.)
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Rink: Competition and new management woes (park, not just rink).
Olympic Amusement Park: Competition and new management woes.
(Arcade was last remaining opened, closed, auctioned off in 1989.)
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:
Democratic and Chronicles.
Auction selling park.
Email - Richard Jones (30 June 2022).
NYS Historic Newspapers - Rochester Institute of Technology Register - 04 October 1968, p. 6, 1st column.
Obituary - Carl R. Gardner, operator of Olympic Skate.
Date of issue:
First issued: January 2019
Updated: Summer 2020.
Updated: 24 April 2019.
Updated: 30 June 2022.
For office use only:
Note- this page is photographed for evidence. And to show you after the 3rd removal. It will be shown on here. Understand that whoever you are.
Worth to visit:
None. All demolished, all private and public businesses.
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As I recalled, it was brick building with the appearance of maybe late 1950s to 1960s. I thought the place had bowling alley. It may have been mutli-use entertainment facility. As I figured, it was an amusement-recreation center (grounds) that included bowling, roller skating rink, mini-golf, billiard hall, and a go-kart track.
It was part of the local trolley park called Olympic Park. Main competitor is on-going Seabreeze which is more successful. It had amusement rides just like Seabreeze does today.
This rink closed in 1982 along with the rest of the amusement park except for the arcade. I came up there as a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and discovered this place with just an arcade. In 1988 when I was at the college, it was not a good entertainment time for that area of Rochester. There was a singles dance on Friday nights on the same road just a few doors down and when I arrived at 7:40 PM as I still recalled the time I came, it was open at 7 PM and supposed to close at 11 PM but I was the 2nd person to arrive and the other person left when I arrived. The lady who ran said it was pretty much getting dead in many things including her singles dance. Apparently the thought was the same for the skating, bowling, mini-golf, and others, and the arcade on the same street while Henrietta was growing surrounding the Marketplace Mall on Henrietta-Jefferson Street area.
Joseph H. Schuler Sr. was the owner who began the park in 1931 with a driving range and later, he added other entertainment. The Olympic Park was a 12 acres entertainment park with all the fun even rides. Later in 1972, Joseph added 18 acres to establish a Frontier Village. An echo to Frontier Town and Gaslight Village in Lake George, NY with actors dressed the part, fake gun fights, bar girls, and more. That means 30 acres at the time in the 1970s.
The problem with the Olympic Park was lacking of natural beauty like what Seabreeze in Irondequoit had because it sits by Lake Ontario and the bay. Disney World has lakes, well, man-made lakes, and Marineland right by Niagara Falls, Ontario. You get the idea. It was very plain "trolley route-end" park as they are called because many cities had their own amusement parks at the end of the trolley runs like the Suburban Park in Manlius, NY and many amusement parks in Lake George-Saratoga Spring, NY area and Coney Island Parks.
With Seabreeze and Darien Lake Theme Park, a major park was in operations, competition was large that maybe hurt Olympic Park, it was failing with the last thing-the arcade that I went. It closed for good when I left in 1989, the same year and then it is now all office buildings, a tire store, among other purposes in that area. But in 1981, when the original owner sold the business, the Amusement Corporation of America became the new owners. They were going to invest 1.5 million Dollars in upgrades but never did and kept those buildings shut except for the arcade open till 1989. When I was there in 1988, nothing else but the two building were there.
Near by as I said about the singles dance, the lady closed shop at 8 pm instead and gave me the door prize because I was only guy there at the singles dance. It was a bottle of champagne! (I did not drink as I do not drink at all, I gave it to someone else).
I never got to see the rink myself as I was unaware of. Just the arcade. The arcade was pretty much up front, fairly dark place. But quieter than any arcades I have been to.
There was a cut off wall there as I can see it apparently looked boarded up in 1988.
The park was less than 5 minutes from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Olympic Skate Center apparently may have been around at least 30 years from the look of the building itself till its closure in 1981/82.
Last part of the park was the arcade and I was fortunate to go to the arcade but not the rest. I had no idea about this. Just missed by a few years. After I left, apparently the arcade closed for good. It is all different commercial properties there now.
UPDATE! -- 30 June 2022.
Here is the lengthy email I received. It is edited and part of the email he also talked about other rinks too. Here is what he has to say --
All the following is viewing from standing on Scottsville Road, w/ your back to the airport, looking in towards what is now the tire company (bowling) and RG&E. (park and skating rink, et al)
1. At the far right there is a window and door company, this is where the go Kart track and small game room/billiards was located, if you look closely at an aerial you can still see the go cart pathways in the grass at the extreme end of the property towards [Rochester Institute of Technology] campus some 5 miles away.
2. The tire wholesaler basically sits on the footprint of the entire bowling alley, then approx. 75,000 [SF].
3. A large parking lot approx. 100' deep spans almost the entire property from the now window store to the used car dealer the entire length which serviced parking for , go-karts, park, roller rink, miniature golf, driving range and burger-go-round. Imagine 3 - 5 long rows running parallel to Scottsville road the entire length of the property.
4. The park was on the property where the office building sits now, plus a little more.
5. The Dunkin' Donuts footprint is on top the Burger-Go Round, almost exact.
6. Now the good part: THE ROLLER RINK. [T]he rink sat exactly where the [storage] yard is now for equipment, approx. 300' behind the Burger-Go-Round/Dunkin' Donuts. That is 100% fact based. I walked it thousands of times and snow shoveled it too. If you walked out the only front doors of the rink towards Scottsville Road and the parking lot, you ran into the back of the burger joint, now Dunkin' Donuts, 100% for sure.
7. The only remaining structure on the entire property is the used car dealer, then a gas station I used to buy a tank of gas for my [car] for $3.00 full fill-up.
8. The roller rink had a very limited visual view from the front as it was packed in behind and next to the large Skee-ball arcade and Fascination game, which both were leased by Schuler to Carl Gardner. You could not see the rink from Scottsville Rd. It appears two separate buildings may have been built and then there was a 60' gap and land deep behind so the squeezed the roller rink in forming a U-type layout.
9. The last piece of the puzzle was the large driving range adjacent to a small pond where-in The Schuler family had two houses they lived in. The aerial view shows some green grass rock/pond area, that may have been deed restricted as "The Schuler Homestead" property as a park setting.
YES IT WAS GREAT PLACE TO GROW UP AT.............
It is being on Dead-Rinks! I never heard of that game! The Fascination game. It is like a mix between Skee-ball and BINGO. The layout is the same as a BINGO but you roll the ball like a Skee-ball would but small ball.. Smaller than a Skee-ball. You have to make it in straight line or fill in entirely. Click on the video and that one is the LAST Fascination hall. Will International Commercial Archeology Preservation© get a new site up? Perhaps if I ever have staff and work on it and call it Dead-Fascination.
UPDATE! -- 01 July 2022.
More information came in from Richard.
Info as I know it about Olympic, Rochester NY:
I worked for Carl Gardner starting in 1967 at the roller rink and a roll the ball type skill game called "Fascination" which was connected thru a back room to the roller rink. Carl Gardner was a very charismatic friend of mine, I was about 15 and had skated at the rink regularly and wanted to work at the rink but he thought I much better suited for Fascination, first as coin collector and then I took over Carl's spot in the both as overseer and caller at the game, as his involvement in the rink operation grew.
I am 99% sure the rink opened in late 1966 or early 67, after a devastating fire took out the original Fascination game, bingo and game area on 01 July 1964 just before the height of the then summer season. (Google/Democrat and Chronicle fire at Olympic Park) (Mark's note, I am aware of the fire, thank you). A new fascination, chance games and the roller rink were built on the leveled land ( I was a kid in 6th grade) I know the rink upon opening was owned and operated by park owners, Joesph and son Phil Schuler, and nightly managed by a young guy named Robert Rathke, who ironically worked and retired from RGE&E who now have the property. Stranger things have happened in life.
Management problems occured at the rink and due to Carl Gardners success in leasing the Fascination game space, Schuler offered the rink to Carl and Dot (wife) Gardner who ran the rink, around late 67 or early 68, and lived across the street from the rink in a defunct modular home development at 6 Comanche Dr, (note the rink and Olympic Park, and Carl's home were all in the town of Chili, but had a Rochester mailing code, FYI). Around 1972 floor problems forced the closure for a month as Carl personally ripped out the particle board 4x8 sheet floor and a slab was poured for one of the first concrete floors in roller rinks at the time. Carl was a thinker and realized large bldgs would develop leaks and the wood would always be a problem , hence 4,000 psi curb concrete rebar slab would eliminate the problem.
On July 7, 1971 I just graduated H.S. and off to VietNam but kept close contact with the rink and Carl Gardner, I left service in 9/76 and went to Lincoln Ne and started w/ Seth Scott at Holiday Skate World as full time pro / asst mgr to Dennis Runyan (to follow) In Dec. 77 I left Lincoln, and took over fledgling Eatontown Roller Rink for AOW, and turned it into #2 in revenue from #9, ($$$ Kaching Kaching for AOW and me both)
In 1979 or 78 I flew Carl Gardner to Eatontown NJ to consult and help me airless spray coat my particle board floor, at the Eatontown NJ roller rink I managed, as he was an expert on floors by now on coating application. At this point in 78/79, Carl Gardner was still operating Olympic, but I think a liability issue developed thereafter and Carl left the rink, but maintained Fasciantion. operation, the cash cow so to speak.
Olympic started with a particle board floor and ended with a Rink-Cote E spray on concrete floor. The floor was 75 x 150, and bldg was 75 x 200 +-, the off floor area was on one end and the back was the rink as it was a perfect rectangular "Butler" type/mfrg building. I am sure the closing coincided with the park demise in or about 1982 or thereabouts.
In a week or two, Seabrook and Wheel-A-While, one and the same.
Second email...
In reply to your [email] today this prior e/m I sent a couple days ago gives you all the info u asked for today , I THINK, lol To clarify the building was a big rectangular shoe box with the rink on the far end and the lobby, restrooms, games, skate rental on the front end., just take a legal size piece of paper and fold it in half width wise, one end was the rink the other end the office, off-floor etc., the skating floor had 3 exterior walls, lol, always cold in the winter, hot in the summer.more in coming weeks and months
Floor initially was particle board with clear rink-cote, and then to concrete, with blue spray on as noted.
No organ music always Top 40, Pro's Carol and Leif Hansen (Danish) - Great Guy. Very Limited Free Style, and No speed team
The rink opened w/ a Hawaiian Theme of like with large palm branches hiding the ugly metal ceiling but I vividly remember working with Carl and about ten people as we took them down and dust was everywhere, I think, the fire marshal objected to the hanging plastic above the skate floor and while we cleaned them they never got put back up, I would think that was the summer of 68 or 69. There is a postcard I now do not have showing that look, Down the middle of the back of the postcard is the maker of the card and the name Robert Rathke, I assumed he ordered the cards. Robert Rathke may still be around, maybe I recall hearing in Myrtle Beach.
(I just looked and there are no postcard at the moment, I will keep eye out and skaters, if you have one, please let me know and photograph it or better, scan it. Thank you!)
Wow, the Hawaiian theme. I am sure it looked great but that fire hazard. That reminded me of the Cocoanut Grove Fire and all of you were blessed not to get another fire on the same property where the 1964 fire was on the same property!
When Carl Gardner left someone else took over for a year or two, but Carl was the master showman, Think Barnum Baily, Cole Bros, and Ringling Bros.
Carl later opened a short lived rink in Brockport/Clarkson, I think it was Clarkson Roller ........ but short lived only a couple years.
When I went to work for AOW in Jan 1978 Carl was 100% for sure still operating Olympic as I brought in him in to consult on my floor, and I saw him at RSROA convention in Hawaii and Las Vegas so that would have been, May of 1979 and 1980.
Hope this answers your question s of today and look for.
Wow, this helps! Thank you Robert! I could not find that postcard, and could not find that rink Carl started in Brockport-Clarkson area. The area west of Rochester, NY (for skaters to know where that is).
NOTE: This is the third time I am on this page and this is the second time I see photographs DISAPPEARED! WHERE DID IT GO? WHY WAS IT GONE? WHAT HAPPENED? i CHECKED MY FILES OF PHOTOS AND THEY ARE GONE TOO. REAL STRANGE!
ANY OF YOU HAVE PHOTOS, PLESAE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL POST WITH YOUR NAME ON THE PICTURES SO ITS YOURS SO THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
My competitor had pictures too but both of us are missing pictures. Really strange!
The Interior.
[Skating] rink on the far end and the lobby, restrooms, games, skate rental on the front end., just take a legal size piece of paper and fold it in half width wise, one end was the rink the other end the office, off-floor etc., the skating floor had 3 exterior walls, always cold in the winter, hot in the summer. more in coming weeks and months... (more information coming)
Exposed ceiling.
Floor initially was particle board with clear rink-cote, and then to concrete, with blue spray on as noted.
The Exterior.
Free-Span steel Trusses Cinderblocks built with Flatted roof like a "Shoe box" as Richard said.
The Stats:
Original Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Clear Rink-Cote Particle Board. Floor Layout: Boards.
Updated Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Sky Blue Sprayed Concrete. Floor Layout: STandard.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1966. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: c. 1989.
Type of Building: Free-Span steel Trusses Cinderblocks built.
Roof: Flatted.
Acres: ~12.000 AC (includes amusement park).
Organ: None.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: 72
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: 8
Pocket Billiard Tables: 26
Amusement Rides: 28
Driving Range Slots: Number unknown.
Miniature Golf Course: 18
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: (Number unknown)
Fascination: (Number unknown)
Restaurant: 1 (Burger-Go-Round)
Cocktail lounge: 1.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1931? -1982?
Rink: 1966/67 -1982.
Olympic Amusement Park: 1931 to 1981 - 1982)
(Arcade closed in 1989 and auctioned off and demolished building.)
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Rink: Competition and new management woes (park, not just rink).
Olympic Amusement Park: Competition and new management woes.
(Arcade was last remaining opened, closed, auctioned off in 1989.)
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:
Democratic and Chronicles.
Auction selling park.
Email - Richard Jones (30 June 2022).
NYS Historic Newspapers - Rochester Institute of Technology Register - 04 October 1968, p. 6, 1st column.
Obituary - Carl R. Gardner, operator of Olympic Skate.
Date of issue:
First issued: January 2019
Updated: Summer 2020.
Updated: 24 April 2019.
Updated: 30 June 2022.
For office use only:
Note- this page is photographed for evidence. And to show you after the 3rd removal. It will be shown on here. Understand that whoever you are.
Worth to visit:
None. All demolished, all private and public businesses.
DISCLAIMER:
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