Skate Haven 5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL.Street level. Hard to see but it is behind that plaza on the left. It is slightly downgrade or downhill to see where the storage place is now. The rink was demolished but it was where the storage place is located now. Source: Google.
Skate Haven 5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL. Bird view. The rink was demolished but it was where the storage place is located now. Source: Google.
Skate Haven 5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL. Source: Facebook - I hung out at Skatehaven in Montgomery, AL.
Skate Haven 5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL. Source: The Alabama Journal - 1991
Skate Haven 5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL The detailed article on Skate Haven problems that they faced 88 calls and the second murder occurred at the rink parking lot at midnight really effected and was forcing to close soon after and the rink was torn down. Newspaper article-- The Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday, 26 Mar 1991, Page 1 (There is page 8 but unable to retrieve it and I tried to clean up but they had terrible blur on this).
Skate Haven
5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL
5171 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL
Skate Haven was a rink on Atlanta Highway in Montgomery, Alabama. It did end on a very sad note that there were so much crimes occurred at the rink including a murder. Truly sad. What was it made to have this rink a crime magnet? It is sad and this page dedicated to those victims. Several separate murders (so far I got that count) occurred there and this was final draw after so many calls to the rink where crimes occurred. Two murders, violence... The newspaper article was published in 1991 that since January 1990, they counted to 88 calls by the time it was printed (on 26 March 1991). That is too much. I am sure many thought the same I am asking now. Why this has to happen. Why?
The latest victim in March 1991, she was a bystander waiting for a ride (I believe) when she got caught in a gun battle between two gangs. Neighbors complained of hearing noises and even skate rink patrons were unfriendly.
There were two employees of the rink in 1981 who were also murdered.
The owner, Nick Stratas was a well known owner that many parents trusted him to be strict and has adults supervising in the rink. Perhaps from the lesson in 1978. This is what I see what went wrong. Where are the off duty police officers or hired police? Apparently that must be later on they came along according to the article. See above.
Likely it was forced to close in 1991 after that murder. The rink building was demolished. I got this information about the rink from a former manager at another skating rink in the same state.
Anyone know more about the dates of open and closes? I only got the brief info from the former manager and I found that article.
The mayor stepped in and wanted the rink to close. Apparently everyone did so that was the end of the rink there.
Anyone got any photos of the rink? Both inside and out? And the dates?
UPDATES! -- 12 July 2022.
I found the Facebook page and wow, it is sad on that page. Perhaps the Saddest of all Facebook rink memorial pages. So many obituaries and memorials and remembrances of skaters, coach, and staff passing.
Reason I updated this page is because someone emailed me this--
Hello
I came across your article and the article said the exact location is unknown. The rink was leveled and it is now Village East Mini Storage. Located at 5171 Atlanta Highway Montgomery, AL 36109.
I skated there as a child in the late 70s and early 80s before the crime picked up.
Hope this helps in your skate rink research.
Thank you! I appreciate this where it was. Smart you got out before the crime picked up.
I still do not get it. Why cannot the owner hire more police? Back then no one thought of hiring more police because of the mass shooting these days.
I can understand why they were crime magnet at that location. If you see the photos, the rink was set much lower than the road level.. The lower elevation hides trouble easily. Second of all, I am sure with that plaza, it can hide trouble as well. I can see the residential housing on the left and behind the rink which may have contribute people walking all over from that neighborhood. I can understand because I walked 3 blocks to the mall from my old home THROUGH people's yards, NOT walking around the blocks onto a very busy Route 5/East Genesee Street in Fayetteville to go to that now dead mall called Fayetteville Mall. Remember, this is in the 1970s and neighbors were friendly at the time. On that site, yes, I see my old home on that profile on Fayetteville Mall. Note- that website, deadmalls.com is not my site.
The Interior.
It had White Paint Polyurethane coated Concrete or was it Sky Blue? Some photos showed different color floor. They had this diamond shaped thingy on the ceiling that I do not know what the purpose was for. Very unusual looking thing for a rink. Was it made for speakers? Lights? What? (photo disappeared from the net.)
The Exterior.
N/A.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: (One photo showed White, other photo showed Sky Blue) Polyurethane coated Concrete. Floor Layout: Standard..
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Demolished: c. 1991 due to controversy, crime, and town wants this rink gone.
Type of Building: N/A.
Roof: N/A.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1970s to c. 1991.
Reason for Closure: Forced to close due to a lot of crime and incidents including murders spanning between 1978 and 1991.
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 Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
D.B.; Newspaper- The Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday, 26 Mar 1991, Page 1;
Alabama Journal Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday, March 26, 1991.
Justa - Case- Jerome Vincent BERARD, v. STATE (1981).
Justa - case- APPEAL (1985).
Facebook - I hung out at Skatehaven in Montgomery, AL.
Date of issue: 06 May 2021.
Update: 12 July 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None. It is a storage place now. Please do not cause trouble there again.
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
The latest victim in March 1991, she was a bystander waiting for a ride (I believe) when she got caught in a gun battle between two gangs. Neighbors complained of hearing noises and even skate rink patrons were unfriendly.
There were two employees of the rink in 1981 who were also murdered.
The owner, Nick Stratas was a well known owner that many parents trusted him to be strict and has adults supervising in the rink. Perhaps from the lesson in 1978. This is what I see what went wrong. Where are the off duty police officers or hired police? Apparently that must be later on they came along according to the article. See above.
Likely it was forced to close in 1991 after that murder. The rink building was demolished. I got this information about the rink from a former manager at another skating rink in the same state.
Anyone know more about the dates of open and closes? I only got the brief info from the former manager and I found that article.
The mayor stepped in and wanted the rink to close. Apparently everyone did so that was the end of the rink there.
Anyone got any photos of the rink? Both inside and out? And the dates?
UPDATES! -- 12 July 2022.
I found the Facebook page and wow, it is sad on that page. Perhaps the Saddest of all Facebook rink memorial pages. So many obituaries and memorials and remembrances of skaters, coach, and staff passing.
Reason I updated this page is because someone emailed me this--
Hello
I came across your article and the article said the exact location is unknown. The rink was leveled and it is now Village East Mini Storage. Located at 5171 Atlanta Highway Montgomery, AL 36109.
I skated there as a child in the late 70s and early 80s before the crime picked up.
Hope this helps in your skate rink research.
Thank you! I appreciate this where it was. Smart you got out before the crime picked up.
I still do not get it. Why cannot the owner hire more police? Back then no one thought of hiring more police because of the mass shooting these days.
I can understand why they were crime magnet at that location. If you see the photos, the rink was set much lower than the road level.. The lower elevation hides trouble easily. Second of all, I am sure with that plaza, it can hide trouble as well. I can see the residential housing on the left and behind the rink which may have contribute people walking all over from that neighborhood. I can understand because I walked 3 blocks to the mall from my old home THROUGH people's yards, NOT walking around the blocks onto a very busy Route 5/East Genesee Street in Fayetteville to go to that now dead mall called Fayetteville Mall. Remember, this is in the 1970s and neighbors were friendly at the time. On that site, yes, I see my old home on that profile on Fayetteville Mall. Note- that website, deadmalls.com is not my site.
The Interior.
It had White Paint Polyurethane coated Concrete or was it Sky Blue? Some photos showed different color floor. They had this diamond shaped thingy on the ceiling that I do not know what the purpose was for. Very unusual looking thing for a rink. Was it made for speakers? Lights? What? (photo disappeared from the net.)
The Exterior.
N/A.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: (One photo showed White, other photo showed Sky Blue) Polyurethane coated Concrete. Floor Layout: Standard..
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Demolished: c. 1991 due to controversy, crime, and town wants this rink gone.
Type of Building: N/A.
Roof: N/A.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1970s to c. 1991.
Reason for Closure: Forced to close due to a lot of crime and incidents including murders spanning between 1978 and 1991.
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 Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
D.B.; Newspaper- The Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday, 26 Mar 1991, Page 1;
Alabama Journal Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday, March 26, 1991.
Justa - Case- Jerome Vincent BERARD, v. STATE (1981).
Justa - case- APPEAL (1985).
Facebook - I hung out at Skatehaven in Montgomery, AL.
Date of issue: 06 May 2021.
Update: 12 July 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None. It is a storage place now. Please do not cause trouble there again.
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.