Both views of both buildings. The original The Gables in that white building with small gas station and lighthouse. The road there was altered and looks very ready to be a museum.. not. it was torn down in 2017! Real big disappointment! No shouting for "Save the light house, save the light house?" Oh well. The bottom photo showed also the location where the rink used to be. In that bigger building on the left of that bottom photo. See that part on top photo. That place is now an auction house.
An Ad for The Gables Ballroom, then the two stickers, Sanford's The Gables and the Stinson's Rollaway. Qwwaacckk! Donald Duck is having a ball on skates! Looking for Daisy, Uncle Donna? Better take your three nephews and head out to California. Why? Sorry I did not see her here, she is out in California! Hahaha. By the way, ask Uncle Scrooge for a pretty penny on your way out there. Haha.
The Gables Roller Rink 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA aka
Sandford's The Gables 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
Stinson's Rollaway 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
The Rainbow Roller Rink 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
Sandford's The Gables 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
Stinson's Rollaway 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
The Rainbow Roller Rink 241 Greenfield Rd, South Deerfield, MA
Originally the place as everyone knew as The Gables. It went through many transactions or translation of business throughout the 20th Century and even early 21st Century.
It had its own charm. There was three separate buildings the time. It was a restaurant then roller rinks then back to restaurants then a training school and now an auction house. It was one of those "corny" roadside attraction or Americana type of place. They had a Tudor style building for each plus a lighthouse. It was a scaled down light house to show as an Americana theme like you would find on Route 20 from Boston to Oregon or Route 66-- the Mother Road from Chicago to San Monica Pier in Los Angles region. Any of the old back road highways would have those such attractions to attract drivers of long distance before those major interstate highways were built and that killed the fun side of traveling.
Charles Sanford was the original owner of the Gables in 1920s.
For the historical beginning of the place, it was built as a gas station and lunch house which were very common throughout long distance roads such as Route 20 cross America or Route 66, the Mother Road, as well as Route 5 which also parallel with Route 20 as matter of fact. When I was pre-teen and teenager, I lived just off of Route 5 in Fayetteville, NY and would walk along Route 5 to go to Fayetteville Mall as a Mall Rat. Well, literally right down the road from where I lived, this place was known as The Gables. It was very unique corny cute gas station with lunch house. Looking from the road, the gas station was on the left side and so was the light house by it. The lunch house was the main attraction English Tudor style house. Many lunch houses were very much like that design. Huddle House comes to mind if you want to compare. Huddle House was one of the first chain restaurants in America long before White Castle did with the burger chain. Huddle House was like a lunch house with a house-like.
Well, the Gables were in similar position with a British Tudor style where many long distance travelers would stop and eat. This is one of many forerunner of superhighways travel stops along the highways we have today such as Interstate 90, 80, 81, 95, 10, 75, etc. But quite a bit of gas stations and lunch houses everywhere at the time because driving was a little slower in first half century of 20th Century before the Post-War automobiles and better technology to make highways that made possible for us to drive above 60 MPH.
Now, the little cottage and the light house was the gas station. They had a nautical theme for the gas station. On the same property was the lunchhouse which was larger than the gas station cottage style building. It was owned and operated by Charles M. Savage in the year 1930. Then in 1931, a new building was built next door on same property which was bigger than the gas station-lunchhouse. Strangely it was built to house indoor mini golf which was extremely rare to have a mini golf course indoors in 1930s! They would have likely be the first as from my understanding about the history of mini-golf. First one was in 1920s outdoors in Lake George, NY (have seen that one, real tiny!)
Instead the building was opened for Ballroom dancing which was very popular during the first 50 years of the 20th Century everywhere. This was common that ballrooms were converted into a roller rink. Also Ballrooms were also known to use as roller rinks at same time. (This I do not understand why roller rinks are not learning the history of such ballrooms dancing and have as a rink at the same time and night clubs to be some as a night club or ballroom dancing and still operate as a rink for modern day. Seemly rinks reject anything else. No, please, allow that to happen once again. You will be surprised.
In 1950s, the Gables added roller skating so that was the real beginning. The 1950s at this unique place. But it was short lived as by 1970s, it became an auction house which continue to present day.
And yes, there was a restaurant along with the building. Sure does confuse to some but it was operational in around the same time. The dance hall/roller skating in same building as the small restaurant. Both were small for sure.
The restaurant operated by William Wade then by 1936, it was sold to Edward J. Chicky. And the building grew bigger in the late 1930s with the new left wing extension which was becoming more familiar to the modern day view of the building. It became The Gable Food Shop.
Then a few owners. Then in 1941, Guido Zanone then in 1946, Frank and Veronica Shlosser owned it and changed quite a bit. They also built a new bigger restaurant cross the street in 1955 in a Colonial style restaurant that can hold 350 guests and was popular as a wedding and group venue. That venue is no longer a restaurant though. Was up for sale.
Quite clearly all three buildings were connected one to another. You will see on Google Map to understand where I am coming from.
The rink closed in1970s. Today that big building where the rink was at south of the original lunch house still stands but the lunch house and gas station with light house long since has been demolished. Now some storage facility. The bigger restaurant building the Shlosser build still stands but no longer a restaurant.
The old small restaurant and gas station became an antique shop or two.
Sadly in October 2017, the old gas station with lighthouse and the original The Gable building has been demolished while the ballroom/rink building has been auction house. The Colonial style restaurant building is now offices.
Charles Sanford owned the Sanford's The Gables or known as The Gables from 1931 to 1950. It was Fredrick R. Stinson who bought it from Charles Sanford to operate Stinson's Rollaway from 1950 to late 1950s. The next owner was Bill Figgie who ran The Rainbow Roller Rink from the late 1950s to round 1968 when he sold the organ so likely that is when he was closing up the rink. DJ Shea may have also owned the Gables after Charles OR before that.
Charles Sanford also owned Sanford's at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Massachusetts and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Sanford Roller Rink. That rink in Florida became Gold Coast Roller Rink which also closed.
The Interior.
For the rink/ballroom, I do not have any photos of that part. Unfortunately.
The dance hall-roller rink had the Wurlitzer Opus 2095. After it was manufactured at the factory, it left on January 31, 1931, and was installed at the Lawler Theatre in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It was the last Style 150 (2 manuals and 5 ranks) that Wurlitzer built. Like many small-town movie theatres in the 1950s and 1960s, the Lawler was closed and was demolition. Then they moved the organ to the Rainbow Roller Rink where it was rarely used.
Bill Figgie sold it to Ben Hall, a noted theater historian and film critic. Ben with some of his friends' help, they removed it in 1968 and installed it in his New York City duplex. Hall died in 1971 and the organ was once again "orphaned". The Hall estate donated the organ to a place in California which fell through when arrived and was shipped back to New York City where it was installed at a cinema until they renovated and split the theaters into two so they removed the organ and placed it in storage.
When the Good Samaritan Hospital and an investor were restoring the old Lafayette Theatre, they were contacted by Dave Kopp, then chairman of NYTOS, about the possibility of installing the organ. They agreed that the Lafayette Theatre was an ideal place for the organ. Work began in November 1990, after countless hours of labor by a volunteer crew and nearly $20,000 in donated funds, the organ was restored. Wurlitzer Opus 2095 played for the first time in its new home in December 1992. It has been entertaining the weekend audiences at the Lafayette Theatre in the grand tradition of the American Theatre Organ.
The Exterior.
It had its own charm. There was three separate buildings the time. It was a restaurant then roller rinks then back to restaurants then a training school and now an auction house. It was one of those "corny" roadside attraction or Americana type of place. They had a Tudor style building for each plus a lighthouse. It was a scaled down light house to show as an Americana theme like you would find on Route 20 from Boston to Oregon or Route 66-- the Mother Road from Chicago to San Monica Pier in Los Angles region. Any of the old back road highways would have those such attractions to attract drivers of long distance before those major interstate highways were built and that killed the fun side of traveling.
The main building where the rink was, it was in that bigger building next door where the auction house is presently. This was where the skating rink and dance hall was. It was large compared to the original. It was attempting to match the style of the original small lunch house but more modern and larger which separated from the original. Yes, of course, Tudor style. There are no photos of interior though.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Wood. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Demolished: Still standing (large building) October 2017 (Original The Gables).
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel(?) Truss Cinderblock(?)-Walled Tudor style barnhouse - like Building.
Roof: Gable with Vallar. (They added the back so that makes it a Cross-Gable)
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1931 to c. 1968.
The Gables Roller Rink: 1931 to 1950.
Sandford's The Gables: 1931 to 1950.
Stinson's Rollaway: 1950 to later 1950s
The Rainbow Roller Rink: Later 1950s to c.1968.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
The Gables Roller Rink: N/A.
Sandford's The Gables: N/A.
Stinson's Rollaway: N/A.
The Rainbow Roller Rink: N/A.
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: Restaurant through History - The Gables; Wikipedia -The Wurlitzer Opus 2095 Style 150;
Google Map;
Date of issue: 07 January 2021.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.
It had its own charm. There was three separate buildings the time. It was a restaurant then roller rinks then back to restaurants then a training school and now an auction house. It was one of those "corny" roadside attraction or Americana type of place. They had a Tudor style building for each plus a lighthouse. It was a scaled down light house to show as an Americana theme like you would find on Route 20 from Boston to Oregon or Route 66-- the Mother Road from Chicago to San Monica Pier in Los Angles region. Any of the old back road highways would have those such attractions to attract drivers of long distance before those major interstate highways were built and that killed the fun side of traveling.
Charles Sanford was the original owner of the Gables in 1920s.
For the historical beginning of the place, it was built as a gas station and lunch house which were very common throughout long distance roads such as Route 20 cross America or Route 66, the Mother Road, as well as Route 5 which also parallel with Route 20 as matter of fact. When I was pre-teen and teenager, I lived just off of Route 5 in Fayetteville, NY and would walk along Route 5 to go to Fayetteville Mall as a Mall Rat. Well, literally right down the road from where I lived, this place was known as The Gables. It was very unique corny cute gas station with lunch house. Looking from the road, the gas station was on the left side and so was the light house by it. The lunch house was the main attraction English Tudor style house. Many lunch houses were very much like that design. Huddle House comes to mind if you want to compare. Huddle House was one of the first chain restaurants in America long before White Castle did with the burger chain. Huddle House was like a lunch house with a house-like.
Well, the Gables were in similar position with a British Tudor style where many long distance travelers would stop and eat. This is one of many forerunner of superhighways travel stops along the highways we have today such as Interstate 90, 80, 81, 95, 10, 75, etc. But quite a bit of gas stations and lunch houses everywhere at the time because driving was a little slower in first half century of 20th Century before the Post-War automobiles and better technology to make highways that made possible for us to drive above 60 MPH.
Now, the little cottage and the light house was the gas station. They had a nautical theme for the gas station. On the same property was the lunchhouse which was larger than the gas station cottage style building. It was owned and operated by Charles M. Savage in the year 1930. Then in 1931, a new building was built next door on same property which was bigger than the gas station-lunchhouse. Strangely it was built to house indoor mini golf which was extremely rare to have a mini golf course indoors in 1930s! They would have likely be the first as from my understanding about the history of mini-golf. First one was in 1920s outdoors in Lake George, NY (have seen that one, real tiny!)
Instead the building was opened for Ballroom dancing which was very popular during the first 50 years of the 20th Century everywhere. This was common that ballrooms were converted into a roller rink. Also Ballrooms were also known to use as roller rinks at same time. (This I do not understand why roller rinks are not learning the history of such ballrooms dancing and have as a rink at the same time and night clubs to be some as a night club or ballroom dancing and still operate as a rink for modern day. Seemly rinks reject anything else. No, please, allow that to happen once again. You will be surprised.
In 1950s, the Gables added roller skating so that was the real beginning. The 1950s at this unique place. But it was short lived as by 1970s, it became an auction house which continue to present day.
And yes, there was a restaurant along with the building. Sure does confuse to some but it was operational in around the same time. The dance hall/roller skating in same building as the small restaurant. Both were small for sure.
The restaurant operated by William Wade then by 1936, it was sold to Edward J. Chicky. And the building grew bigger in the late 1930s with the new left wing extension which was becoming more familiar to the modern day view of the building. It became The Gable Food Shop.
Then a few owners. Then in 1941, Guido Zanone then in 1946, Frank and Veronica Shlosser owned it and changed quite a bit. They also built a new bigger restaurant cross the street in 1955 in a Colonial style restaurant that can hold 350 guests and was popular as a wedding and group venue. That venue is no longer a restaurant though. Was up for sale.
Quite clearly all three buildings were connected one to another. You will see on Google Map to understand where I am coming from.
The rink closed in1970s. Today that big building where the rink was at south of the original lunch house still stands but the lunch house and gas station with light house long since has been demolished. Now some storage facility. The bigger restaurant building the Shlosser build still stands but no longer a restaurant.
The old small restaurant and gas station became an antique shop or two.
Sadly in October 2017, the old gas station with lighthouse and the original The Gable building has been demolished while the ballroom/rink building has been auction house. The Colonial style restaurant building is now offices.
Charles Sanford owned the Sanford's The Gables or known as The Gables from 1931 to 1950. It was Fredrick R. Stinson who bought it from Charles Sanford to operate Stinson's Rollaway from 1950 to late 1950s. The next owner was Bill Figgie who ran The Rainbow Roller Rink from the late 1950s to round 1968 when he sold the organ so likely that is when he was closing up the rink. DJ Shea may have also owned the Gables after Charles OR before that.
Charles Sanford also owned Sanford's at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Massachusetts and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Sanford Roller Rink. That rink in Florida became Gold Coast Roller Rink which also closed.
The Interior.
For the rink/ballroom, I do not have any photos of that part. Unfortunately.
The dance hall-roller rink had the Wurlitzer Opus 2095. After it was manufactured at the factory, it left on January 31, 1931, and was installed at the Lawler Theatre in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It was the last Style 150 (2 manuals and 5 ranks) that Wurlitzer built. Like many small-town movie theatres in the 1950s and 1960s, the Lawler was closed and was demolition. Then they moved the organ to the Rainbow Roller Rink where it was rarely used.
Bill Figgie sold it to Ben Hall, a noted theater historian and film critic. Ben with some of his friends' help, they removed it in 1968 and installed it in his New York City duplex. Hall died in 1971 and the organ was once again "orphaned". The Hall estate donated the organ to a place in California which fell through when arrived and was shipped back to New York City where it was installed at a cinema until they renovated and split the theaters into two so they removed the organ and placed it in storage.
When the Good Samaritan Hospital and an investor were restoring the old Lafayette Theatre, they were contacted by Dave Kopp, then chairman of NYTOS, about the possibility of installing the organ. They agreed that the Lafayette Theatre was an ideal place for the organ. Work began in November 1990, after countless hours of labor by a volunteer crew and nearly $20,000 in donated funds, the organ was restored. Wurlitzer Opus 2095 played for the first time in its new home in December 1992. It has been entertaining the weekend audiences at the Lafayette Theatre in the grand tradition of the American Theatre Organ.
The Exterior.
It had its own charm. There was three separate buildings the time. It was a restaurant then roller rinks then back to restaurants then a training school and now an auction house. It was one of those "corny" roadside attraction or Americana type of place. They had a Tudor style building for each plus a lighthouse. It was a scaled down light house to show as an Americana theme like you would find on Route 20 from Boston to Oregon or Route 66-- the Mother Road from Chicago to San Monica Pier in Los Angles region. Any of the old back road highways would have those such attractions to attract drivers of long distance before those major interstate highways were built and that killed the fun side of traveling.
The main building where the rink was, it was in that bigger building next door where the auction house is presently. This was where the skating rink and dance hall was. It was large compared to the original. It was attempting to match the style of the original small lunch house but more modern and larger which separated from the original. Yes, of course, Tudor style. There are no photos of interior though.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Wood. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Demolished: Still standing (large building) October 2017 (Original The Gables).
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel(?) Truss Cinderblock(?)-Walled Tudor style barnhouse - like Building.
Roof: Gable with Vallar. (They added the back so that makes it a Cross-Gable)
Acres: N/A.
Operated: 1931 to c. 1968.
The Gables Roller Rink: 1931 to 1950.
Sandford's The Gables: 1931 to 1950.
Stinson's Rollaway: 1950 to later 1950s
The Rainbow Roller Rink: Later 1950s to c.1968.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
The Gables Roller Rink: N/A.
Sandford's The Gables: N/A.
Stinson's Rollaway: N/A.
The Rainbow Roller Rink: N/A.
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: Restaurant through History - The Gables; Wikipedia -The Wurlitzer Opus 2095 Style 150;
Google Map;
Date of issue: 07 January 2021.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:16.