All courtesy of fans taking pictures of former rink and posted in Saints Olivette Family RS Rink Facebook page.
Google Map. Red circle dictate the former location of the rink. The building has been demolished.
Saints Olivette Family Roller Skating, 1168 North Warson Rd., Olivette, MO.
This rather long name for a roller rink that was in Olivette, Missouri. However that building has been demolished. It was owned by Andre Stith. But before the rink, it was an ice rink on Bock's Pond at Stacy Park in early 1900s. Before it was a park there, it was the Saints Olivette Family Roller Skating Rink at that location. It had a rather large parking lot behind the building. Today, the former rink building is all green grass as part of the park there. Parking lot is easily seen on Google Map all cracking up. On Facebook, someone had it perfect filming of the view where the rink used to be. You will see on Google Map where the rink used to be. I will circle where that is thats to the video made by a skater who used to skate there and uploaded it on Facebook.
There is a lot of links but many are like yellow pages of the internet. With an exception of one article I could find that explained the negative aspect of the rink. Media loves negative news. Or fake news if you will call it.
In Riverfront Times newspaper dated July 30, 2003, people and the council wanted to clap down the Saints as they were called for the rink. The rink began its history as an ice rink when the city had a lease in 1973 for a dollar a month. It was a steal! A private non-profit group started as an ice rink but soon failed and the city along with the bank seized the building and leased to a Minneapolis corporation which then converted the rink to a roller rink in 1980 and leased it out to Andre Stith. Then the lease expired in 2005 and somehow Andre Stith kept operating the rink. He wanted a lock-ins but the teens were causing trouble in wee hours or wakeup hours in the morning that caused broken windows, harassment to restaurant patrons and restaurant staff and management. Anything along in the neighborhood when children walked home. Or even drove home.
The city made agreement with Mr. Stith that he can have 10 lock-ins a year. But the December 2002 was the last draw. They had so much assault cases and call-ins to the rink from the police department. They felt it was getting out of control.
The management reduced to 3:30 AM but the residents complained so he reduced to Midnight but they kept pushing earlier and earlier. The earliest he can close was 11:40 PM. Apparently the residents and the city did not want the rink at all. None of that.
it sounded similar problem with another rink.. the Johnsons with the Rob's Roller Rink wanted to set up in same town but people said no.
This problem was common cross the country because of more teens are at skating rinks than in pre-Disco era whereas they were all adults and mature teens focusing on Figure skating, couple skating, etc. with classes and practices. The Disco era pushed all that out.
Now, let's talk about the building. Since they built in 1975 and remodeled in 1980 as a roller rink, the facility was quite modern. Brown bricks instead of red. And Dark Chocolate steel sheetings for a "roof"-line. It was the style of its day. Technically it was a flat roof building. It was part of the Browning of America era when they build this. You would see this common such as 1970s through early 1990s Wegmans grocery stores and aging shopping centers if any left.
It had a very huge modern open roof canopy. This design is similar to some facilities built of its day.. including a dormitory at a residential school for the Deaf in New York State.
The contrasts between exterior and interior is quite astronomical. The exterior was bit Conservative in harmony with nature as part of the Browning of America era. But interior was quite Liberal and literally with a circus theme. Many murals. The colors for the name SAINTS were in 1970s feel including Seventies Sunburst Yellow, Dark Avocado Green, Red-Pink, and Slight Burnt Orange. There were stripes running around the rink. They had cinder block half-walls painted in that Seventies Sunburst Yellow. But on other walls, they had that 1960s Circus theme and feel. Murals of tigers, toy soldiers, and the same colors running around that side where snack bar was, party room, game room, and skate counter used to be. The jungle mural with a tiger on was quite realistic. It was Surrealism at best with the Retro 1960s Circus theme in 1980s style. Right down to the carpet with same color.
The reason for closure was that the city and residents complained which forced management of the rink to comply and shorten hours that caused skaters disinterest in going to the rink. I have heard of this before. Common with shopping malls today that they do not allow teens after hours on a Friday and Saturday night. They would have volunteer floor guards at the malls today. This also reminded of how drive-ins theaters and drive-ins restaurants closed up because of the behavior of teenagers were found to be unsatisfied to the neighbors and the towns or city especially those boards and neighbors. Drive-ins theaters, drive-in restaurants, diners of its day were all facing same problems as roller rinks did from 1975 on. Same fate. Shopping malls too. All because of neighbors complained, patrons complained, and towns too.
Sadly the rink closed but it did not say when. Likely around mid 2000s. It has been demolished in early 2010s.
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Originally Ice, then converted in 1980 to Roller-White Concrete Floor Layout: Standard
Building Size: N/A Built: N/A
Type of Building: Free Span Steel Warehouse Building.
Roof: Gable
Acres: N/A
Operated: (As ice) 1975 to 1979
(As Roller) 1980 to 2010s?
Reason for Closure: Neighborhood complaining, lease expired, violence, shooting at other locations and they blame on the rink (wrong person to blame!), likely cause financial drainage and closed up for good.
Wanted: Information regarding photos of interior before it was closed, and old theme. But also size of rink, building, and building before it was closed up. Exact date of start and end.
Sources: Riverfront Times, Facebook, Olivette, MO.,
© 2019 - 2020 Dead Rinks. All Rights Reserved
This rather long name for a roller rink that was in Olivette, Missouri. However that building has been demolished. It was owned by Andre Stith. But before the rink, it was an ice rink on Bock's Pond at Stacy Park in early 1900s. Before it was a park there, it was the Saints Olivette Family Roller Skating Rink at that location. It had a rather large parking lot behind the building. Today, the former rink building is all green grass as part of the park there. Parking lot is easily seen on Google Map all cracking up. On Facebook, someone had it perfect filming of the view where the rink used to be. You will see on Google Map where the rink used to be. I will circle where that is thats to the video made by a skater who used to skate there and uploaded it on Facebook.
There is a lot of links but many are like yellow pages of the internet. With an exception of one article I could find that explained the negative aspect of the rink. Media loves negative news. Or fake news if you will call it.
In Riverfront Times newspaper dated July 30, 2003, people and the council wanted to clap down the Saints as they were called for the rink. The rink began its history as an ice rink when the city had a lease in 1973 for a dollar a month. It was a steal! A private non-profit group started as an ice rink but soon failed and the city along with the bank seized the building and leased to a Minneapolis corporation which then converted the rink to a roller rink in 1980 and leased it out to Andre Stith. Then the lease expired in 2005 and somehow Andre Stith kept operating the rink. He wanted a lock-ins but the teens were causing trouble in wee hours or wakeup hours in the morning that caused broken windows, harassment to restaurant patrons and restaurant staff and management. Anything along in the neighborhood when children walked home. Or even drove home.
The city made agreement with Mr. Stith that he can have 10 lock-ins a year. But the December 2002 was the last draw. They had so much assault cases and call-ins to the rink from the police department. They felt it was getting out of control.
The management reduced to 3:30 AM but the residents complained so he reduced to Midnight but they kept pushing earlier and earlier. The earliest he can close was 11:40 PM. Apparently the residents and the city did not want the rink at all. None of that.
it sounded similar problem with another rink.. the Johnsons with the Rob's Roller Rink wanted to set up in same town but people said no.
This problem was common cross the country because of more teens are at skating rinks than in pre-Disco era whereas they were all adults and mature teens focusing on Figure skating, couple skating, etc. with classes and practices. The Disco era pushed all that out.
Now, let's talk about the building. Since they built in 1975 and remodeled in 1980 as a roller rink, the facility was quite modern. Brown bricks instead of red. And Dark Chocolate steel sheetings for a "roof"-line. It was the style of its day. Technically it was a flat roof building. It was part of the Browning of America era when they build this. You would see this common such as 1970s through early 1990s Wegmans grocery stores and aging shopping centers if any left.
It had a very huge modern open roof canopy. This design is similar to some facilities built of its day.. including a dormitory at a residential school for the Deaf in New York State.
The contrasts between exterior and interior is quite astronomical. The exterior was bit Conservative in harmony with nature as part of the Browning of America era. But interior was quite Liberal and literally with a circus theme. Many murals. The colors for the name SAINTS were in 1970s feel including Seventies Sunburst Yellow, Dark Avocado Green, Red-Pink, and Slight Burnt Orange. There were stripes running around the rink. They had cinder block half-walls painted in that Seventies Sunburst Yellow. But on other walls, they had that 1960s Circus theme and feel. Murals of tigers, toy soldiers, and the same colors running around that side where snack bar was, party room, game room, and skate counter used to be. The jungle mural with a tiger on was quite realistic. It was Surrealism at best with the Retro 1960s Circus theme in 1980s style. Right down to the carpet with same color.
The reason for closure was that the city and residents complained which forced management of the rink to comply and shorten hours that caused skaters disinterest in going to the rink. I have heard of this before. Common with shopping malls today that they do not allow teens after hours on a Friday and Saturday night. They would have volunteer floor guards at the malls today. This also reminded of how drive-ins theaters and drive-ins restaurants closed up because of the behavior of teenagers were found to be unsatisfied to the neighbors and the towns or city especially those boards and neighbors. Drive-ins theaters, drive-in restaurants, diners of its day were all facing same problems as roller rinks did from 1975 on. Same fate. Shopping malls too. All because of neighbors complained, patrons complained, and towns too.
Sadly the rink closed but it did not say when. Likely around mid 2000s. It has been demolished in early 2010s.
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Originally Ice, then converted in 1980 to Roller-White Concrete Floor Layout: Standard
Building Size: N/A Built: N/A
Type of Building: Free Span Steel Warehouse Building.
Roof: Gable
Acres: N/A
Operated: (As ice) 1975 to 1979
(As Roller) 1980 to 2010s?
Reason for Closure: Neighborhood complaining, lease expired, violence, shooting at other locations and they blame on the rink (wrong person to blame!), likely cause financial drainage and closed up for good.
Wanted: Information regarding photos of interior before it was closed, and old theme. But also size of rink, building, and building before it was closed up. Exact date of start and end.
Sources: Riverfront Times, Facebook, Olivette, MO.,
© 2019 - 2020 Dead Rinks. All Rights Reserved