Courtesy of GM. Noticed evolution of façade of the building? I do not have any photos of the rink which closed way back in 1970s. Any of have it, please let me know. Top to bottom. 2013, 2015, 2018. I like top and bottom best.
Photo courtesy of Florida Union Times. Wow, what a find but don't you think its best to find people who owned those things might want it back? Skaters who skated at this rink, please contact PRI Productions and tell them your name and address the time you lived at the time even SS number then go see that place and retrieve them. I would if I were you.
Courtesy of Google Map. Bird view of the former rink.
Skateland 1819 Kings Ave, Jacksonville, FL
Skateland was on Kings Ave in Jacksonville, Florida. Yes, another Skateland! Many Skateland rinks around the country. But this one on this profile page is about Skateland in Jacksonville. Sometimes called Skateland of Jacksonville.
It was built in 1950. It rans through 3 decades. From 1950 to 1970s. What was interesting is that.. Tony Allen and an employee of a company for 41 years, stepped up as a disc jockey at Skateland in 1967 because the Radio station WPDQ ran ads for Skateland but its on-air personalities didn't want to work as DJs there. Tony's sister, Betty Standford worked at the rink as well. (Source: Questia)
Wait till you read this, this is an exert from this website, Questia talking about this rink. Betty said this.
"I worked on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to midnight for $25 a night," he said. "It was great money for a kid back then. There would be about 100 kids each night skating and having a good time, and we had hired some Navy guys to work as floor marshals - guys who would blow a whistle if you got too fast or rowdy."
Wow, that was five Dollars an hour in the 1960s! That time minimum wage was anywhere from 1.00 USD (enacted in 1956), 1.25 in 1963 as it went down to 1.15 in 1964 then 1.25 in 1965 followed by 1.40 in 1967. and 1.60 in 1968, then back down to 1.30 in 1969. See it went on a roller coaster of increase and decrease but not so for Betty and I am sure others too at the rink earning good money which was by 1980s standards.
And the Navy Sailors worked as the floor guards (Back then at that rink, Floor Marshals). Made sense they hired Sailors because of their statue of fitness--muscles, big size, strong. Acting more like bouncers. This is what rinks need today due to violence in some rinks. Most bars and night clubs already ahead of that curve but controversy continue on that part for bars. One being in the news very recently and will not get into that.
Mr. Fritz owned the rink at the time. One makes me wonder... was he part of the Mr. Fritz and Mr. Flack duo from Ice Follies? Nah.. Just a thought. Haha.
When the rink closed, it became a camera store (remember those folks? All before your cell phones stole it all like computers stole all the typewriters). Anyway, one of the staff at the camera store eventually bought the place and he converted it to his current business, PRI Productions, an event planning company. What remains not just the building but the original wood floor that skaters skated! Sound similar to a fish shop did the same thing out in Phoenix, AZ where Rollerland was once held. Both of those businesses seemly want to preserve a history. If they want to replace, I recommend both of them to do this, Cut into 4 by 4 squares but be sure all studs are glued together tight and then have imprints of their respective rinks on those wood blocks and sell them to skaters who might want to keep as a memory or memorial or for a collector of skate floors but please not sell to USA because they will grind into wood chip to make sure no one can be competitor to that rink company. Please listen to that advice!
It is an amazing that the floor survived well at this former rink in Jacksonville because it is a hurricane prone state.
There is one more surprise for you fans. The present owner of PRI, he has all the skating rink memorabilia on his wall including things that appeared to be like a time capsule. You see, there was a hole above in the old mens' bathroom and when they were renovating ripping out old walls of former rink especially the bathrooms, there were many lost items likely stolen by other skaters who wanted money or ID. There were no money though but drivers licenses, social security cards, library cards, and many more. They all were in that wall when the thieves stole wallets, they would take money and then dump wallets down the hole and fill up with wallets. But also they dumped things too such as rink merchandise there.
Right now, the owner proudly display what he found behind that wall and it is in his office. Um.. I think you should contact the police, Randy. There are also many photos of family members or boyfriend-girlfriend there.. There is even a lighter! Oh no! Whew.. I am glad it did not catch the rink on fire with that lighter went down with the stuff. The photo will show you what were found at the old rink behind the walls. Yes, even a one of pair of rental skate! Should we start having bathroom ushers? With the way the world is going on today? Maybe we need an usher for every bathroom at the rinks. Hey, the State Fair 5 minutes from me even have bathroom ushers during the Fair! Still traditional! And smart! You should see how clean their bathrooms are even pre-COVID era.
They have a very good public and private transportation access in the area.
Wow, according to Realty Trac, they said there are 13.... yes, 13 bathrooms! Wow! Too many! Why the need to have 13 instead of 2 to 4 bathrooms?
Here is a skating fan name P. who wrote this to me about his experience at this wonderful skating rink. It is long so here it is --
I went there from 1967-68-to 1978 when it closed it was owned by a man named who we call Mr. Fritz, I believe it was a change in kids frame of mind, and Mr. Fritz was tiring and saw the change coming, it was definitely a sad day I remember walking out the door of the rink for the last time, lot’s of people cried that it was closing.
I went sometimes 3 days a week, Friday and Saturday nights, also Sunday afternoon, even Wednesday nights if I recall. I even recall a skate session 7pm till midnight, and then you’d pay $$ tto skate from midnight to 4-5am, that didn’t last long not many participants. (Wow! Midnight till 4/5 in the morning! It does sounds like all-night skating that some rinks still do. but this sounds like a bar/night club would do.)
Things I remember I had my own speed skates with wooden wheels that sounded so cool on the wooden floors on the turns !!!, Those house rental skates…wow trucks, or uneven wheels were death trap skates, whenbefore I had my own skates and using house skates I would trade them in 3-4 times before I found a pair that would actually roll straight…..lol.
I remember sometime they had a stage at the far end of the rink they would sometimes have live bands to play, other things I remember were they had put in Black Lights, which they would sometime cut out all the lights but the Black Lights and people with white T-shirts on and teeth would glow in the dark, I remember calls like All Skate, Girls Only Skate, Guys only skate and Couples only skate, they had a sign that would light up with what ever skate was called it was over the stage, it had at the base of the rink floor, like a rounded hump of continuous wood beam look like knotty pine and steel piped hand rails, during all girls skate the guys would stand on the outside of the rails with there hands out and the girls would tag the guys hands when they skated by, and the reverse when it was all guys skate , sometimes if the girls didn’t like a guy they would raise or pull their hand back, funny I don’t think I ever had that problem….I recall having 13 GF’s over my time there… sometimes 3 at a time…hehe, and trying to keep the others from knowing, they had big AC units that you could get behind and steal a kiss !!! (Ohhh, you are bad, P.! Three at a time!? Haha. I never had three at the same time. Never. And second of all, I only had 3 girlfriends whom I met all at different times at 2 rinks, man! First one was at Empire Skates East in 1978. Funny about that one.. I did not see her again till 1985 at an arcade in the mall when I was a Mall Rat there during the day everyone was working. She left me for no reason. Oh well. Now, the 2nd two ex girlfriends.. haha. One I met in same year, in 1985 before that one I dated whom I met at Empire Skates. The 2nd one I met was at Sports-O-Rama Roller Rink and we dated only two weeks because she really came from Indiana (I am from NYS) and never heard from her again. Third one was in 1987 at Sports-O-Rama again. Dated 3 months but broke up because she was not ready for relationship and needed to be alone for that moment. I let her go. but man, I met hundreds of females and the last one was in 1990s to join with me to have couple skating. Other rinks did not have it anymore since then. So.. haha. I met about 5 to 10 females each session. Couple skated two times a session. Sometimes once.)
As for stuff (rooms) inside it only had 2 bathrooms one on each side of the rink on the stage end of the rink, it had a small game room (two or three games at the most, the kind of pinball machines that for a quarter would give you 5 balls and you could shake them without “Tilting it”) an office and place to buy tickets to come in, a skate room, and of course a concession stand, where I would always buy a Reeses peanut cup before the race sessions ( I guess it gave me a sugar rush of energy ?) and if you won the race you’d get a free small coke, the race song was always “The Pony”, they also did skate Limbo and they’d play Chubby Checkers “Limbo Rock”, The Hokie Pokie song and people would stand in a circle in the middle of the rink and do as the song said, and the “Bunny Hop” song you’d skate around the rink and hop in that part of the song…wow talk about memories and reminiscing. 😊
Some of the things, I was a part of a short lived Skateland racing team, I was also Floor Guard with shirt that had floor guard printed on it and a whistle, I would also go around at the end of the night and pick up rental skates people would leave on the floor to take to the skate room, usually you’d have to leave something with a skate room attendant when you rented skates and return the skates to get your item back, your item would be put in a cubby hole with the same number on the heel of the skates.
Speaking of skates as I said a lot of my friends including me had racing skates with low boot type and light weight trucks with wooden wheels and real bearings and cones to (2) sets to hold the bearings on back and front side of the axle, you could buy those parts and wheels from the skate attendant, and work on your own skates, later they come out with precision bearings (enclosed bearings), and urethane wheels.. never did like those last two changes!
Thank you for the information 😃
P.
I am sure many of you guys did the same as he and I did with meeting many of the females, right? And some of you have cheated as well! Be honest here, skaters! Haha. You too females! You have cheated too. I saw one did and made out with a guy and to be honest, I liked her a lot and I think she knew that but after what she did, I dumped her.
I still wanted to know why the first one left me without telling me why.. Boohooo.. Haha.
The Interior.
Likely Maple floor. I do not know anything else but this former rink. No photographs.
The Exterior.
It is a long hung Gable warehouse-like building with Cinderblock walls. Currently it has windows on there but I believe it may have been there during the period the rink was in business.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Likely Maple, likely clear coated. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 30,168 SF. Built: 1950.
Demolished: Still standing. Became camera shop, now event planning company.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Truss Cinderblock-Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Gable, low hung.
Acres: 2.3279 Acres.
Operated: 1950 to 1978.
Reason for Closure: Owner was tiring and saw things were changing so best to get out ahead of the downward turn.
Wanted: Information regarding actual dates of open, closed, why closed, size of rink, size of building. Also photos.
Anyone has pictures and/or information please let me know at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Florida Times Union - Article about rink; Minimum Wage; Loop Net; Realty Trac;
Florida Times Union (full article);
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. God Matters. Jn 3:16.
It was built in 1950. It rans through 3 decades. From 1950 to 1970s. What was interesting is that.. Tony Allen and an employee of a company for 41 years, stepped up as a disc jockey at Skateland in 1967 because the Radio station WPDQ ran ads for Skateland but its on-air personalities didn't want to work as DJs there. Tony's sister, Betty Standford worked at the rink as well. (Source: Questia)
Wait till you read this, this is an exert from this website, Questia talking about this rink. Betty said this.
"I worked on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to midnight for $25 a night," he said. "It was great money for a kid back then. There would be about 100 kids each night skating and having a good time, and we had hired some Navy guys to work as floor marshals - guys who would blow a whistle if you got too fast or rowdy."
Wow, that was five Dollars an hour in the 1960s! That time minimum wage was anywhere from 1.00 USD (enacted in 1956), 1.25 in 1963 as it went down to 1.15 in 1964 then 1.25 in 1965 followed by 1.40 in 1967. and 1.60 in 1968, then back down to 1.30 in 1969. See it went on a roller coaster of increase and decrease but not so for Betty and I am sure others too at the rink earning good money which was by 1980s standards.
And the Navy Sailors worked as the floor guards (Back then at that rink, Floor Marshals). Made sense they hired Sailors because of their statue of fitness--muscles, big size, strong. Acting more like bouncers. This is what rinks need today due to violence in some rinks. Most bars and night clubs already ahead of that curve but controversy continue on that part for bars. One being in the news very recently and will not get into that.
Mr. Fritz owned the rink at the time. One makes me wonder... was he part of the Mr. Fritz and Mr. Flack duo from Ice Follies? Nah.. Just a thought. Haha.
When the rink closed, it became a camera store (remember those folks? All before your cell phones stole it all like computers stole all the typewriters). Anyway, one of the staff at the camera store eventually bought the place and he converted it to his current business, PRI Productions, an event planning company. What remains not just the building but the original wood floor that skaters skated! Sound similar to a fish shop did the same thing out in Phoenix, AZ where Rollerland was once held. Both of those businesses seemly want to preserve a history. If they want to replace, I recommend both of them to do this, Cut into 4 by 4 squares but be sure all studs are glued together tight and then have imprints of their respective rinks on those wood blocks and sell them to skaters who might want to keep as a memory or memorial or for a collector of skate floors but please not sell to USA because they will grind into wood chip to make sure no one can be competitor to that rink company. Please listen to that advice!
It is an amazing that the floor survived well at this former rink in Jacksonville because it is a hurricane prone state.
There is one more surprise for you fans. The present owner of PRI, he has all the skating rink memorabilia on his wall including things that appeared to be like a time capsule. You see, there was a hole above in the old mens' bathroom and when they were renovating ripping out old walls of former rink especially the bathrooms, there were many lost items likely stolen by other skaters who wanted money or ID. There were no money though but drivers licenses, social security cards, library cards, and many more. They all were in that wall when the thieves stole wallets, they would take money and then dump wallets down the hole and fill up with wallets. But also they dumped things too such as rink merchandise there.
Right now, the owner proudly display what he found behind that wall and it is in his office. Um.. I think you should contact the police, Randy. There are also many photos of family members or boyfriend-girlfriend there.. There is even a lighter! Oh no! Whew.. I am glad it did not catch the rink on fire with that lighter went down with the stuff. The photo will show you what were found at the old rink behind the walls. Yes, even a one of pair of rental skate! Should we start having bathroom ushers? With the way the world is going on today? Maybe we need an usher for every bathroom at the rinks. Hey, the State Fair 5 minutes from me even have bathroom ushers during the Fair! Still traditional! And smart! You should see how clean their bathrooms are even pre-COVID era.
They have a very good public and private transportation access in the area.
Wow, according to Realty Trac, they said there are 13.... yes, 13 bathrooms! Wow! Too many! Why the need to have 13 instead of 2 to 4 bathrooms?
Here is a skating fan name P. who wrote this to me about his experience at this wonderful skating rink. It is long so here it is --
I went there from 1967-68-to 1978 when it closed it was owned by a man named who we call Mr. Fritz, I believe it was a change in kids frame of mind, and Mr. Fritz was tiring and saw the change coming, it was definitely a sad day I remember walking out the door of the rink for the last time, lot’s of people cried that it was closing.
I went sometimes 3 days a week, Friday and Saturday nights, also Sunday afternoon, even Wednesday nights if I recall. I even recall a skate session 7pm till midnight, and then you’d pay $$ tto skate from midnight to 4-5am, that didn’t last long not many participants. (Wow! Midnight till 4/5 in the morning! It does sounds like all-night skating that some rinks still do. but this sounds like a bar/night club would do.)
Things I remember I had my own speed skates with wooden wheels that sounded so cool on the wooden floors on the turns !!!, Those house rental skates…wow trucks, or uneven wheels were death trap skates, whenbefore I had my own skates and using house skates I would trade them in 3-4 times before I found a pair that would actually roll straight…..lol.
I remember sometime they had a stage at the far end of the rink they would sometimes have live bands to play, other things I remember were they had put in Black Lights, which they would sometime cut out all the lights but the Black Lights and people with white T-shirts on and teeth would glow in the dark, I remember calls like All Skate, Girls Only Skate, Guys only skate and Couples only skate, they had a sign that would light up with what ever skate was called it was over the stage, it had at the base of the rink floor, like a rounded hump of continuous wood beam look like knotty pine and steel piped hand rails, during all girls skate the guys would stand on the outside of the rails with there hands out and the girls would tag the guys hands when they skated by, and the reverse when it was all guys skate , sometimes if the girls didn’t like a guy they would raise or pull their hand back, funny I don’t think I ever had that problem….I recall having 13 GF’s over my time there… sometimes 3 at a time…hehe, and trying to keep the others from knowing, they had big AC units that you could get behind and steal a kiss !!! (Ohhh, you are bad, P.! Three at a time!? Haha. I never had three at the same time. Never. And second of all, I only had 3 girlfriends whom I met all at different times at 2 rinks, man! First one was at Empire Skates East in 1978. Funny about that one.. I did not see her again till 1985 at an arcade in the mall when I was a Mall Rat there during the day everyone was working. She left me for no reason. Oh well. Now, the 2nd two ex girlfriends.. haha. One I met in same year, in 1985 before that one I dated whom I met at Empire Skates. The 2nd one I met was at Sports-O-Rama Roller Rink and we dated only two weeks because she really came from Indiana (I am from NYS) and never heard from her again. Third one was in 1987 at Sports-O-Rama again. Dated 3 months but broke up because she was not ready for relationship and needed to be alone for that moment. I let her go. but man, I met hundreds of females and the last one was in 1990s to join with me to have couple skating. Other rinks did not have it anymore since then. So.. haha. I met about 5 to 10 females each session. Couple skated two times a session. Sometimes once.)
As for stuff (rooms) inside it only had 2 bathrooms one on each side of the rink on the stage end of the rink, it had a small game room (two or three games at the most, the kind of pinball machines that for a quarter would give you 5 balls and you could shake them without “Tilting it”) an office and place to buy tickets to come in, a skate room, and of course a concession stand, where I would always buy a Reeses peanut cup before the race sessions ( I guess it gave me a sugar rush of energy ?) and if you won the race you’d get a free small coke, the race song was always “The Pony”, they also did skate Limbo and they’d play Chubby Checkers “Limbo Rock”, The Hokie Pokie song and people would stand in a circle in the middle of the rink and do as the song said, and the “Bunny Hop” song you’d skate around the rink and hop in that part of the song…wow talk about memories and reminiscing. 😊
Some of the things, I was a part of a short lived Skateland racing team, I was also Floor Guard with shirt that had floor guard printed on it and a whistle, I would also go around at the end of the night and pick up rental skates people would leave on the floor to take to the skate room, usually you’d have to leave something with a skate room attendant when you rented skates and return the skates to get your item back, your item would be put in a cubby hole with the same number on the heel of the skates.
Speaking of skates as I said a lot of my friends including me had racing skates with low boot type and light weight trucks with wooden wheels and real bearings and cones to (2) sets to hold the bearings on back and front side of the axle, you could buy those parts and wheels from the skate attendant, and work on your own skates, later they come out with precision bearings (enclosed bearings), and urethane wheels.. never did like those last two changes!
Thank you for the information 😃
P.
I am sure many of you guys did the same as he and I did with meeting many of the females, right? And some of you have cheated as well! Be honest here, skaters! Haha. You too females! You have cheated too. I saw one did and made out with a guy and to be honest, I liked her a lot and I think she knew that but after what she did, I dumped her.
I still wanted to know why the first one left me without telling me why.. Boohooo.. Haha.
The Interior.
Likely Maple floor. I do not know anything else but this former rink. No photographs.
The Exterior.
It is a long hung Gable warehouse-like building with Cinderblock walls. Currently it has windows on there but I believe it may have been there during the period the rink was in business.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Likely Maple, likely clear coated. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 30,168 SF. Built: 1950.
Demolished: Still standing. Became camera shop, now event planning company.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Truss Cinderblock-Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Gable, low hung.
Acres: 2.3279 Acres.
Operated: 1950 to 1978.
Reason for Closure: Owner was tiring and saw things were changing so best to get out ahead of the downward turn.
Wanted: Information regarding actual dates of open, closed, why closed, size of rink, size of building. Also photos.
Anyone has pictures and/or information please let me know at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Florida Times Union - Article about rink; Minimum Wage; Loop Net; Realty Trac;
Florida Times Union (full article);
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. God Matters. Jn 3:16.