The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Modernism mix with old. Very interesting concept but a tryst in this style. The roof is Gabrel and it usually not a good mix with Modernism. But good attempt at creatism. Courtesy of Susan Miller Collection.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Pro Shop of yesteryear. And a very nice one with Pine themed wood cabinets, walls, giving you homely feel. Courtesy of Susan Miller Collection.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Wow, was that all of the choice of soda? And many soda machines! Hmm, all appeared to be Coca Cola. Hmm! Ok, can I have some pretzels please? Haha. This is very clean modern design for a snack bar. With panels on the walls and ceiling as well. Just like any diners you went back then (many still have those)! Courtesy of Susan Miller Collection.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Modernism on the outside but all the interior showed Mid-Century style Western with all the knotty Pines wood panels and posts. Both were popular styles in 1940s and 1950s thanks to popular Western movies and TV shows. Can you name them all? Ha, quite a bit of list I tell ya. Courtesy of Susan Miller Collection.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Raised funds for fighting Polio. Courtesy of Billboard 8 June 1946, page 81 and 83. Copyrighted by Rink-History for edited for fitting on website.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Raised funds for fighting Polio. Courtesy of Billboard 4 September 1948.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Raised funds for fighting Polio. Courtesy of The Pittsburgh Press 15 January 1953.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. More on fund raising the old fashioned way before crowd funding online. Skate-a-thon was one way they did that. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette 12 January 1954.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. More on fund raising the old fashioned way before crowd funding online. Skate-a-thon was one way they did that. Courtesy of The Pittsburgh Press 15 January 1954.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Hyatt Rhulman was operating the rink when he died. His estate took care of the rink and attempted to sell. But failed to keep his beloved rink as a rink as his final wishes. Sad. Source: Billboard 23 January 1954, Page 48.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Obituary for the operator of The Lex. Courtesy of Skating News February 1954.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Reunion part 1. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette 5 October 1994.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. The reunion. Part 2. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette 5 October 1994.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA. Official program of the 1951 Pennsylvania Roller Skating Championship. Courtesy of Rink-History.
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA
The Lexington Roller Rink 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA (a.k.a.)
The Lexington Roller Rink 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA (a.k.a.)
The Lexington Roller Palace 33 Larimer Ave, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was operated from 1936 to 1958. It was beyond the owner's life when he passed away in 1953. And his estate that ran until 1958. The same year it was closed because no one wanted to buy it. He wanted the rink still operational beyond his untimely death at young age. .
That operator was Hyatt D. Ruhlman and his estate, Hyatt D. Ruhlman Estate operated for the following two years till they gave up. Hyatt's wife died previously.
The Interior.
The interior was quite Rustic of the 1950s style. They had that style far back as 1936 when they first opened but it does feel 1950s to me. Walls, cabinets, display cases,.. all rustic Knotty Pines. It was trendy. But the snack bar was quite modern sort of Art Deco but more of Moderne style. However, not quite yet Streamline Moderne. It did represents Art Deco. Even back splashboards were noted that brought very diner feel.
The rink floor has to be Hardwood but it is not known because the postcard does not do justice well. Even some modern film cannot capture the floor as wood. Digital does better but not fully yet as I can see online.
I know it has to be wood.
Of course, this facility was most modern for its time.
The Exterior.
It is quite modern with a mixture of past. The windows and some of the styles on the walls had popouts squares and rectanglaur forms to frame windows. It had curved look. It is quite modern. Not Mid-Century but really advanced roughly about 40 or more years ahead of time.
However, with the roof, it clashes the style. If it was flat roof appearance, Then it would have Modernist Minimalist style or Cubism. Yes, those styles were already established in 1920s and 1930s and even 1940s on. Contemporaries like Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse, as well as Salvador Dali. It has that evident on the exterior of the rink. Rare to see this style for a rink. I am not sure about others but hey, this is it. This separates from Googie Architecture that is more common found in California on restaurants, hotels, and drive-ins. This is quite interesting.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Likely Hardwood Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1936. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Demolished c. 1958.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks - Walled Arena - like Modernist Building.
Roof: Gambrel.
Acres: N/A.
Architect: N/A.
Contractor: N/A.
Interior Designer: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Air Hockey Tables: N/A.
Foosball Table: N/A.
Basketball Speed: 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.
Swimming Pool: None.
Jungle Gym Playground: None.
Skate Park: None.
Theater (movie/stage): None.
Dance Center: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1936 to 1958
Reason for Closure: Owner died. The estate attempted to sell the rink, no one wanted so they closed but it was burned down anyway before 26 April 1960.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Also send me any updates such as reopening, sold, name changes, or whatsoever occurred with this rink or any rinks. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Rink-History©. Before you email, please state this rink name AND THE CITY AND STATE (or COUNTRY) so I can know where or what rink you are talking about. Thank you. We welcome both active and defunct rinks.
Sources:
Susan Miller Collection - Postcards/pictures.
Press Reader - Large number of rinks listed with information.
Facebook - video about the rink.
All other sources are found in photo gallery above.
Date of issue: 26 June 2023.
Updated:
For office use only: 15.
Worth to visit:
None. It was demolished to make way for housing.
DISCLAIMER:
International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© (formerly known as 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.
Dead Rinks is now International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© because many former names have become new names at the same rinks that are still active and due to much confusion, We have decided that International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© fits better for all rinks including defunct, closed, inactive, rebooted, and rinks that are still active today. For short on this site, it is International Roller Skating Rinks History© Bear with us as we change the entire site page by page each day. 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. Since we are rebooted to allow alive rinks, active rinks, we welcome those active rinks as well. It will be described.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© are not the property of International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group and/or International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved become property of International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© 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: Disclaimer.
© Copyrighted by International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation©, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 17. Deut. 32:7.
That operator was Hyatt D. Ruhlman and his estate, Hyatt D. Ruhlman Estate operated for the following two years till they gave up. Hyatt's wife died previously.
The Interior.
The interior was quite Rustic of the 1950s style. They had that style far back as 1936 when they first opened but it does feel 1950s to me. Walls, cabinets, display cases,.. all rustic Knotty Pines. It was trendy. But the snack bar was quite modern sort of Art Deco but more of Moderne style. However, not quite yet Streamline Moderne. It did represents Art Deco. Even back splashboards were noted that brought very diner feel.
The rink floor has to be Hardwood but it is not known because the postcard does not do justice well. Even some modern film cannot capture the floor as wood. Digital does better but not fully yet as I can see online.
I know it has to be wood.
Of course, this facility was most modern for its time.
The Exterior.
It is quite modern with a mixture of past. The windows and some of the styles on the walls had popouts squares and rectanglaur forms to frame windows. It had curved look. It is quite modern. Not Mid-Century but really advanced roughly about 40 or more years ahead of time.
However, with the roof, it clashes the style. If it was flat roof appearance, Then it would have Modernist Minimalist style or Cubism. Yes, those styles were already established in 1920s and 1930s and even 1940s on. Contemporaries like Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse, as well as Salvador Dali. It has that evident on the exterior of the rink. Rare to see this style for a rink. I am not sure about others but hey, this is it. This separates from Googie Architecture that is more common found in California on restaurants, hotels, and drive-ins. This is quite interesting.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Likely Hardwood Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: 1936. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Demolished c. 1958.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Cinderblocks - Walled Arena - like Modernist Building.
Roof: Gambrel.
Acres: N/A.
Architect: N/A.
Contractor: N/A.
Interior Designer: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Air Hockey Tables: N/A.
Foosball Table: N/A.
Basketball Speed: 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.
Swimming Pool: None.
Jungle Gym Playground: None.
Skate Park: None.
Theater (movie/stage): None.
Dance Center: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- 1936 to 1958
Reason for Closure: Owner died. The estate attempted to sell the rink, no one wanted so they closed but it was burned down anyway before 26 April 1960.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Also send me any updates such as reopening, sold, name changes, or whatsoever occurred with this rink or any rinks. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Rink-History©. Before you email, please state this rink name AND THE CITY AND STATE (or COUNTRY) so I can know where or what rink you are talking about. Thank you. We welcome both active and defunct rinks.
Sources:
Susan Miller Collection - Postcards/pictures.
Press Reader - Large number of rinks listed with information.
Facebook - video about the rink.
All other sources are found in photo gallery above.
Date of issue: 26 June 2023.
Updated:
For office use only: 15.
Worth to visit:
None. It was demolished to make way for housing.
DISCLAIMER:
International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© (formerly known as 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.
Dead Rinks is now International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© because many former names have become new names at the same rinks that are still active and due to much confusion, We have decided that International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© fits better for all rinks including defunct, closed, inactive, rebooted, and rinks that are still active today. For short on this site, it is International Roller Skating Rinks History© Bear with us as we change the entire site page by page each day. 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. Since we are rebooted to allow alive rinks, active rinks, we welcome those active rinks as well. It will be described.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© are not the property of International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group and/or International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved become property of International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation© 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: Disclaimer.
© Copyrighted by International Roller Skating Rinks History Foundation©, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 17. Deut. 32:7.