Photo courtesy of The Courier newspapers online. This was taken as they were finishing construction of the new rink by paving their parking lot. You can tell by that steam roller on the left as a worker looks on in background. The sign for Skateland was alighted to the front corner. Noticed all bricks!
Courtesy of Black Hawk FSC Facebook.
Google Map. As of 2012. A gym is housed there now. I see a school bus is parked there during the day.... No kids on there. Driver sleeping? Tsk Tsk!
Skateland 1101 Black Hawk Road, Waterloo, IA
Skate Alive 1101 Black Hawk Road, Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk Family Skating Center 1101 Black Hawk Road, Waterloo, IA
This rink was one of so many Skateland rinks in Iowa. This being in Waterloo, Iowa. This rink was also was Black Hawk (Road) Family Skating Center. Both have defunct and it is now a gymnastic club with indoors tennis courts adjoined next door.
Originally, Skateland first opened in on or around Friday July 16, 1971 but they closed sometimes after that and was reopened as Black Hawk Family Skating Center. I have no dates of closing for both and the opening for Black Hawk. Manta has no dates whatsoever for BH FSC. But Bizapedia has registration date for Skate Alive which was September 7, 1984.
This rink standard look.
The Interior.
The interior was unknown in the 1970s to end of 20th Century due to no photographs but they had Red, White, and Blue lights over the Maple Wood floor that was painted Light Blue with Polyurethane coat.
Bright snackbar and lounge area according to the Courier newspapers.
For Skate Alive, I have no idea.
But with Black Hawk Family Skating Center, it was quite different. Patriotic theme was added just like the original but there were no White lights. It was all neon lights of Red and Blue with stars and a Liberty Bell neon lights on the end side of the rink. They had no half-walls or rails. It was pretty much opened floor with Navy Blue Carpet around the rink. No fancy carpet that you see in other modern day rinks with neon graphics on the carpet.
It appeared dark inside although with full lights on the ceiling. They had those stripes of disco lights (One other rink I can think of having that design similar was to Empire Skates East in DeWitt and I am sure a very few other rinks having that layout design of flashing lights strips.
One more thing, Black Hawk operators may have replaced or refinished the floor back to natural or clear coated polyurethane coat Maple floor.
The Exterior.
The exterior does appear like it was a Skate Country design but it was not. It was a cinderblock built warehouse-like building with extension for main door admission into the rink building. The difference you can see in the photos that separate from popular Skate Country design was the front walls were not as straight corner. It turns inward where the admission extension was and turn outward again to parallel with the main front wall then turns a corner. Skate Country does not have that design. Another thing, the ceiling appeared to be higher than Skate Country by 2 to 4 feet higher. (my opinion and by observation).
As for Skate Alive, I have no idea what they looked like.
The original wall had exposed Dark Red or Brown bricks which were popular in the 1970s (think Wegmans, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Friendly's Ice Cream Restaurants of the 1970s)... Entire building was that brick with Steel trim upon top part of the building. Skate North has that trim too. Even Wegmans G-stores of the past had that look too.
The Stats:
Skate Land -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Light Blue Painted Polyurethane Coated Maple Floor Layout: Likely Curved.
Skate Alive -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: N/A Floor Layout: N/A
Black Hawk -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Clear Polyurethane Coated Maple Floor Layout: Curved!
Building Size: N/A Built: N/A Demolished: N/A
Type of Building: Free Span Steel Brick Building.
Roof: Flat
Acres: N/A
Operated:
Skateland: Likely Friday July 16, 1971 to 1984
Skate Alive: Registered September 7, 1984, opened Fall 1984 to N/A
Black Hawk Family Skating Center: N/A to likely before 2010 (Google Map can only show me 2012 as oldest photo).
Reason for Closure:
Skateland: N/A
Skate Alive: N/A
Black Hawk Family Skating Center: N/A
Wanted: Information regarding more photos! Interior as Skateland, more photos of interior of BHFSC. More exteriors and color photos of both rinks. Exact dates for both rinks of open and closed. Why closed both?
Sources: The Courier, Black Hawk rink Facebook page, Bizapedia,
SUPPORT! GoFundMe BHFSC
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved.
Skate Alive 1101 Black Hawk Road, Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk Family Skating Center 1101 Black Hawk Road, Waterloo, IA
This rink was one of so many Skateland rinks in Iowa. This being in Waterloo, Iowa. This rink was also was Black Hawk (Road) Family Skating Center. Both have defunct and it is now a gymnastic club with indoors tennis courts adjoined next door.
Originally, Skateland first opened in on or around Friday July 16, 1971 but they closed sometimes after that and was reopened as Black Hawk Family Skating Center. I have no dates of closing for both and the opening for Black Hawk. Manta has no dates whatsoever for BH FSC. But Bizapedia has registration date for Skate Alive which was September 7, 1984.
This rink standard look.
The Interior.
The interior was unknown in the 1970s to end of 20th Century due to no photographs but they had Red, White, and Blue lights over the Maple Wood floor that was painted Light Blue with Polyurethane coat.
Bright snackbar and lounge area according to the Courier newspapers.
For Skate Alive, I have no idea.
But with Black Hawk Family Skating Center, it was quite different. Patriotic theme was added just like the original but there were no White lights. It was all neon lights of Red and Blue with stars and a Liberty Bell neon lights on the end side of the rink. They had no half-walls or rails. It was pretty much opened floor with Navy Blue Carpet around the rink. No fancy carpet that you see in other modern day rinks with neon graphics on the carpet.
It appeared dark inside although with full lights on the ceiling. They had those stripes of disco lights (One other rink I can think of having that design similar was to Empire Skates East in DeWitt and I am sure a very few other rinks having that layout design of flashing lights strips.
One more thing, Black Hawk operators may have replaced or refinished the floor back to natural or clear coated polyurethane coat Maple floor.
The Exterior.
The exterior does appear like it was a Skate Country design but it was not. It was a cinderblock built warehouse-like building with extension for main door admission into the rink building. The difference you can see in the photos that separate from popular Skate Country design was the front walls were not as straight corner. It turns inward where the admission extension was and turn outward again to parallel with the main front wall then turns a corner. Skate Country does not have that design. Another thing, the ceiling appeared to be higher than Skate Country by 2 to 4 feet higher. (my opinion and by observation).
As for Skate Alive, I have no idea what they looked like.
The original wall had exposed Dark Red or Brown bricks which were popular in the 1970s (think Wegmans, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Friendly's Ice Cream Restaurants of the 1970s)... Entire building was that brick with Steel trim upon top part of the building. Skate North has that trim too. Even Wegmans G-stores of the past had that look too.
The Stats:
Skate Land -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Light Blue Painted Polyurethane Coated Maple Floor Layout: Likely Curved.
Skate Alive -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: N/A Floor Layout: N/A
Black Hawk -
Rink Size: N/A Floor: Clear Polyurethane Coated Maple Floor Layout: Curved!
Building Size: N/A Built: N/A Demolished: N/A
Type of Building: Free Span Steel Brick Building.
Roof: Flat
Acres: N/A
Operated:
Skateland: Likely Friday July 16, 1971 to 1984
Skate Alive: Registered September 7, 1984, opened Fall 1984 to N/A
Black Hawk Family Skating Center: N/A to likely before 2010 (Google Map can only show me 2012 as oldest photo).
Reason for Closure:
Skateland: N/A
Skate Alive: N/A
Black Hawk Family Skating Center: N/A
Wanted: Information regarding more photos! Interior as Skateland, more photos of interior of BHFSC. More exteriors and color photos of both rinks. Exact dates for both rinks of open and closed. Why closed both?
Sources: The Courier, Black Hawk rink Facebook page, Bizapedia,
SUPPORT! GoFundMe BHFSC
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved.