Duluth News Tribune. The location where the rink was. On second floor.
Courtesy of Historical MN Hockey website. Of course you see it as ice rink but it was converted to roller rink during summer and for circus shows. You can verify this is second floor thanks to the windows you can see on the right is arched-curve frame of window matching to the 2nd floor seen in the first photo on top.
My, those light blubs! Most of them are in a set of circles. Those bulbs are not regular bulbs, they were inside those ball-shaped bulb housing. You recalled the 1960s and 1970s light balls or globes seen on the sides of the streets or inside the malls, schools, or parking lots or even maybe your home had those?
My, those light blubs! Most of them are in a set of circles. Those bulbs are not regular bulbs, they were inside those ball-shaped bulb housing. You recalled the 1960s and 1970s light balls or globes seen on the sides of the streets or inside the malls, schools, or parking lots or even maybe your home had those?
Courtesy of Historical MN Hockey. The illuminated map of where the club was at.
Courtesy of Historical MN Hockey. This was a tri-fold brochure for the club. Noticed on the right, bottom ad showed another skating rink, a competitor just kitty corner from The Curling Club! Wow! It is like the never ending McD and BK right near to each other anywhere.
The Curling Club 1338 London Road, Duluth, MN
Yes, Virginia, the roller skating rink was at The Curling Club in Duluth, Minnesota. It's beginning was in 1891 by a group of avid curlers.
To understand what curling is, curling is a sport where you use ice on the ground and a curler slides a smooth granite stone and there are curlers on same team use sweepers to sweep the stone all the way down to reach the target. It is related to bowling, bocce, and shuffleboard. This game is played on a long rectangular court similar concept to bowling with alley and Shuffleboard court and bocce court have. The goal is to win with highest point. Each end has a target-like which is called house. You have to reach of the center of the house. Like a dart you throw toward the center or a person using a gun to shoot at the center of the target. This sports requires entire team to make the stone arrive where it should be. To understand better, please look here at this site - Curling. It has excellent video explaining this little known but big on Olympics sport.
The building was a multi story brick facility on the shores of Lake Superior. 12 curling sheets on the ground level and an arena type venue on the second level. Winters saw ice hockey and figure skating and summers that level was turned into a roller rink. Martin Udeson, father of Harold, rented that space from the club to operate the roller rink. Harold and his wife Shirley lived in an apartment in the rear of the facility with views of the lake. At no time did the Udeson family own the Curling Club facility.
Each summer, [The Curling Club] also hosted the Shrine Circus in the upstairs arena area while the performers, work crews and animals occupied our ground floor curling area. The main entrance to the club was a large open vestibule with an arcing circular stairway on each side. It was interesting to watch the animal handlers bring elephants, big cats, horses, monkeys, etc. up the right staircase to perform and down the left one when finished.
In the mid 60's the Federal Highway Administration obtained our property through eminent domain to complete the tunnels in Duluth as the terminus of Interstate 35. [The Curling Club] moved to current location in 1976 and we rent from the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
[We] would like to share photos but have none as they were lost when our building was destroyed by fire in the mid 70's.
-- The Curling Club
Jim Van Orsdol was related to family members who lived and owned the club at one time. Jim's parents owned the Van's Rink and others owned other rinks including the Marshall Rink.
The Interior.
It was on second floor that the roller skating rink was held the same spot with the circus performed It was reinforced Concrete but it did not say what floor material for skating. Likely wood. The skating floor was 90' x 190' and the 190 feet was exactly the same as width of the building but they would have perhaps U-shaped layout seating arrangement for patrons to watch skating and watch the circus perform. I do not know because information especially photographs were gone in a fire. If anyone has captured photographs of the rink, please by all means provide us photographs and we will post it.
They had U-shaped or full oval platforms of benches to watch a game. They had ball shaped housings for all light bulbs which made it a wow factor inside. Ice during winter, roller rink during summer.
The Exterior.
Mixed Hip classical complex that was 190 feet by 279 feet long. The 190 feet is exactly the same width for the skating rink as it is to the building wall to wall.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 90' X 190'. Floor: Reinforced Concrete, likely wood for skating. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 190' X 279'. Built: 1912 to 1913. Demolished: June 3, 1984 possible arson. Building already abandoned as they already moved to new facility in 1960s. Total demolished for new Interstate 35.
Type of Building: Reinforced Concrete and steel, Free-Span Steel Truss Concrete walled, 2 story campus - like Building.
Roof: Hip, Mixed.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1914 to 1960s.
Reason for Closure: Relocated, ended skating, focused on Curling.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Duluth News Tribune (you cannot read article unless you are a subscriber so try this) --
Duluth News Tribune PDF; Vintage MN Hockey - The Curling Club; Jim Van Orsdol.
Date of issue: 28 January 2021.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.
To understand what curling is, curling is a sport where you use ice on the ground and a curler slides a smooth granite stone and there are curlers on same team use sweepers to sweep the stone all the way down to reach the target. It is related to bowling, bocce, and shuffleboard. This game is played on a long rectangular court similar concept to bowling with alley and Shuffleboard court and bocce court have. The goal is to win with highest point. Each end has a target-like which is called house. You have to reach of the center of the house. Like a dart you throw toward the center or a person using a gun to shoot at the center of the target. This sports requires entire team to make the stone arrive where it should be. To understand better, please look here at this site - Curling. It has excellent video explaining this little known but big on Olympics sport.
The building was a multi story brick facility on the shores of Lake Superior. 12 curling sheets on the ground level and an arena type venue on the second level. Winters saw ice hockey and figure skating and summers that level was turned into a roller rink. Martin Udeson, father of Harold, rented that space from the club to operate the roller rink. Harold and his wife Shirley lived in an apartment in the rear of the facility with views of the lake. At no time did the Udeson family own the Curling Club facility.
Each summer, [The Curling Club] also hosted the Shrine Circus in the upstairs arena area while the performers, work crews and animals occupied our ground floor curling area. The main entrance to the club was a large open vestibule with an arcing circular stairway on each side. It was interesting to watch the animal handlers bring elephants, big cats, horses, monkeys, etc. up the right staircase to perform and down the left one when finished.
In the mid 60's the Federal Highway Administration obtained our property through eminent domain to complete the tunnels in Duluth as the terminus of Interstate 35. [The Curling Club] moved to current location in 1976 and we rent from the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
[We] would like to share photos but have none as they were lost when our building was destroyed by fire in the mid 70's.
-- The Curling Club
Jim Van Orsdol was related to family members who lived and owned the club at one time. Jim's parents owned the Van's Rink and others owned other rinks including the Marshall Rink.
The Interior.
It was on second floor that the roller skating rink was held the same spot with the circus performed It was reinforced Concrete but it did not say what floor material for skating. Likely wood. The skating floor was 90' x 190' and the 190 feet was exactly the same as width of the building but they would have perhaps U-shaped layout seating arrangement for patrons to watch skating and watch the circus perform. I do not know because information especially photographs were gone in a fire. If anyone has captured photographs of the rink, please by all means provide us photographs and we will post it.
They had U-shaped or full oval platforms of benches to watch a game. They had ball shaped housings for all light bulbs which made it a wow factor inside. Ice during winter, roller rink during summer.
The Exterior.
Mixed Hip classical complex that was 190 feet by 279 feet long. The 190 feet is exactly the same width for the skating rink as it is to the building wall to wall.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 90' X 190'. Floor: Reinforced Concrete, likely wood for skating. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: 190' X 279'. Built: 1912 to 1913. Demolished: June 3, 1984 possible arson. Building already abandoned as they already moved to new facility in 1960s. Total demolished for new Interstate 35.
Type of Building: Reinforced Concrete and steel, Free-Span Steel Truss Concrete walled, 2 story campus - like Building.
Roof: Hip, Mixed.
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1914 to 1960s.
Reason for Closure: Relocated, ended skating, focused on Curling.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources: Duluth News Tribune (you cannot read article unless you are a subscriber so try this) --
Duluth News Tribune PDF; Vintage MN Hockey - The Curling Club; Jim Van Orsdol.
Date of issue: 28 January 2021.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.