Seabrook Skating Center 9915 Lanham Severn Road, Lanham, MD
Wheel-A-While 9915 Lanham Severn Road Lanham, MD (Official name as Wheel-Awhile, Inc.)
Lanham Skate Center 9915 Lanham Severn Road, Lanham, MD (Current)
Wheel-A-While 9915 Lanham Severn Road Lanham, MD (Official name as Wheel-Awhile, Inc.)
Lanham Skate Center 9915 Lanham Severn Road, Lanham, MD (Current)
First in 1984, it was Seabrook Skating Center then somewhere sometime it was Wheel-A-While and now, Lanham Skate Center with the exact copy-and-build rink as Calvert, Clinton, among other rinks with this calibrator.
The design which is typical with exposed external steel truss support for this Gabled roof warehouse-like building. I do not know the original color but as Lanham Skating Rink, it is currently American Patriotic Red and Patriotic Blue. Unfortunately, I do not have much information as Wheel-A-While. But I can with Lanham Skating Rink. One problem, no opening, no closing, nothing!
UPDATE! -- 01 July 2022.
1. Wheel-A-While (WAW), legal entity was actually Wheel Awhile, Inc, but all flyers and etc. had two hyphens, Hence: Wheel-A-While..with an acronym of WAW, notice the similarity to America On Wheels known as AOW, That is due to the fact Jack and Nancy Beckers were top rate professionals for Pat Aluise at AOW, Bladensburg, two towns removed from Seabrook,
2. Seabrook was almost simultaneously opening when Bladensburg went to the grave in a humongous fire on Tuesday, 16 February 1971. Construction started, by court records I researched on Seabrook in June 1969, with some delay by litigation and I only assumed it opened about a year later +- in mid-late 1970, or early 1971 as WAW first rink. I worked personally as [Floor Guard] and [Assistant Manager] and hired by Jack himself while stationed at Ft. Meade, MD. (Army weekdays, and roller rink guy weekends and all my time off.) My understanding was Jack Becker put everything he had into the build out, Blood, Sweat, and for sure Tears, but it got built.
3. So understand this Wheel-A-While (WAW) and Seabrook roller rink was one and the same, 100% for sure, one and the same, thru the turn of the century or thereabouts. The corporation Jack and Nancy Becker developed was WAW, and each rink would be the name of the town followed by the word's "roller rink". Now you see the similarity between the names as they appear for AOW and WAW. Jack was smart, and Nancy smarter, and learned from the very best in the industry, AOW.
4. Now the error: The building you elude to in you para starting: One problem, was this: When I started working for WAW in 1973, (for sure because I was in Vietnam all of 72, and went to [Maryland] upon my return and to work for WAW, and play Army) a Italian Sausage Maker and Wholesaler. I think at some point in the mid 1970's the man who did the sausage and owned the building and property next to the then new roller rink Jack built, retired or passed, and WAW, as it was then growing to its 7+ rinks needed an office and print shop (Jack originally worked as a pressman for [National] Geographic in DC.) I got transferred from Ft. Meade to Louisiana around late 1974 and came back to the area several times as my then wife was from Bladensburg, and visited the then [manager] (Dave Brown, not to be confused w/ the other Brown's father and son team of Alexandria and Rockville) at the rink, and then to see Jack and Nancy at the office, and normally off to lunch as we picked each others brains. The Becker's always gracious and bought, TY, May Jack R.I.P. I can always remember both jack and Nancy both saying to me: "What do you think" Smart, free advice is what it is, FREE, always listen and then decide to use it or not later
5. Jack designed his rinks w/o office space as his thoughts were, and he told me this once, Gimbals' does what Macy's does, and Wheel-A-While does what America on Wheels does. See the parallel. Even the pay scales were similar between the two. Two very, very smart men on the same road of live: Marvin Facher and Jack Becker Jack had a TWO very smart other design concepts I will tell you about in my next writing, but one flaw in another design concept. (Are there any renderings you have?)
I hope this clarifies the location issue relative to Seabrook, and more info to follow in my next writing
Hey thank you!
The Interior.
Currently the rink is Maple and it is dark. However, from photos I seen the rink itself truly needs to be sanded and recoated with clear thick polyurethane coat or replace the floor if they have not yet done because it was opened in 1984 which dates about 40 years.
It has many original features such as steel pipe rails around the rink. The interior colors are almost a matching to Patriotic Red but the blue is Cloud Blue with White trims.
The Exterior.
Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building with Gabled roof.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Dark Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Stil standing!
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- February 1971 to present.
Seabrook Skating Center: February 1971 to N/A
Wheel-A-While: N/A
Lanham Skate Center: N/A to present.
Reason for Closure:
Seabrook Skating Center: N/A
Wheel-A-While: N/A
Lanham Skate Center: STILL OPERATIONAL!
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Facebook (Lanham) (Rink is still active, check it out when you can go skating!)
Yelp
Yelp 2
Lanham Rink - website.
Four Square - Lanham Skating.
Email - Richard J. (01 July 2022)
Yellow Pages - Wheel A While. Reported as closed.
Date of issue: 2019.
Updated: 01 July 2022.
For office use only:
Worth to visit:
Go skating today at the Lanham Rink!
DISCLAIMER:
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.
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.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks 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: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
Sources: Facebook (Lanham), Yelp, Yelp 2, Lanham rink website,
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved.
The design which is typical with exposed external steel truss support for this Gabled roof warehouse-like building. I do not know the original color but as Lanham Skating Rink, it is currently American Patriotic Red and Patriotic Blue. Unfortunately, I do not have much information as Wheel-A-While. But I can with Lanham Skating Rink. One problem, no opening, no closing, nothing!
UPDATE! -- 01 July 2022.
1. Wheel-A-While (WAW), legal entity was actually Wheel Awhile, Inc, but all flyers and etc. had two hyphens, Hence: Wheel-A-While..with an acronym of WAW, notice the similarity to America On Wheels known as AOW, That is due to the fact Jack and Nancy Beckers were top rate professionals for Pat Aluise at AOW, Bladensburg, two towns removed from Seabrook,
2. Seabrook was almost simultaneously opening when Bladensburg went to the grave in a humongous fire on Tuesday, 16 February 1971. Construction started, by court records I researched on Seabrook in June 1969, with some delay by litigation and I only assumed it opened about a year later +- in mid-late 1970, or early 1971 as WAW first rink. I worked personally as [Floor Guard] and [Assistant Manager] and hired by Jack himself while stationed at Ft. Meade, MD. (Army weekdays, and roller rink guy weekends and all my time off.) My understanding was Jack Becker put everything he had into the build out, Blood, Sweat, and for sure Tears, but it got built.
3. So understand this Wheel-A-While (WAW) and Seabrook roller rink was one and the same, 100% for sure, one and the same, thru the turn of the century or thereabouts. The corporation Jack and Nancy Becker developed was WAW, and each rink would be the name of the town followed by the word's "roller rink". Now you see the similarity between the names as they appear for AOW and WAW. Jack was smart, and Nancy smarter, and learned from the very best in the industry, AOW.
4. Now the error: The building you elude to in you para starting: One problem, was this: When I started working for WAW in 1973, (for sure because I was in Vietnam all of 72, and went to [Maryland] upon my return and to work for WAW, and play Army) a Italian Sausage Maker and Wholesaler. I think at some point in the mid 1970's the man who did the sausage and owned the building and property next to the then new roller rink Jack built, retired or passed, and WAW, as it was then growing to its 7+ rinks needed an office and print shop (Jack originally worked as a pressman for [National] Geographic in DC.) I got transferred from Ft. Meade to Louisiana around late 1974 and came back to the area several times as my then wife was from Bladensburg, and visited the then [manager] (Dave Brown, not to be confused w/ the other Brown's father and son team of Alexandria and Rockville) at the rink, and then to see Jack and Nancy at the office, and normally off to lunch as we picked each others brains. The Becker's always gracious and bought, TY, May Jack R.I.P. I can always remember both jack and Nancy both saying to me: "What do you think" Smart, free advice is what it is, FREE, always listen and then decide to use it or not later
5. Jack designed his rinks w/o office space as his thoughts were, and he told me this once, Gimbals' does what Macy's does, and Wheel-A-While does what America on Wheels does. See the parallel. Even the pay scales were similar between the two. Two very, very smart men on the same road of live: Marvin Facher and Jack Becker Jack had a TWO very smart other design concepts I will tell you about in my next writing, but one flaw in another design concept. (Are there any renderings you have?)
I hope this clarifies the location issue relative to Seabrook, and more info to follow in my next writing
Hey thank you!
The Interior.
Currently the rink is Maple and it is dark. However, from photos I seen the rink itself truly needs to be sanded and recoated with clear thick polyurethane coat or replace the floor if they have not yet done because it was opened in 1984 which dates about 40 years.
It has many original features such as steel pipe rails around the rink. The interior colors are almost a matching to Patriotic Red but the blue is Cloud Blue with White trims.
The Exterior.
Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building with Gabled roof.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Dark Maple. Floor Layout: N/A.
Building Size: N/A. Built: N/A. Renovations: N/A. Demolished: Stil standing!
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Steel - Walled Warehouse - like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: N/A.
Organ: N/A.
Operated: (Overall)-- February 1971 to present.
Seabrook Skating Center: February 1971 to N/A
Wheel-A-While: N/A
Lanham Skate Center: N/A to present.
Reason for Closure:
Seabrook Skating Center: N/A
Wheel-A-While: N/A
Lanham Skate Center: STILL OPERATIONAL!
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Facebook (Lanham) (Rink is still active, check it out when you can go skating!)
Yelp
Yelp 2
Lanham Rink - website.
Four Square - Lanham Skating.
Email - Richard J. (01 July 2022)
Yellow Pages - Wheel A While. Reported as closed.
Date of issue: 2019.
Updated: 01 July 2022.
For office use only:
Worth to visit:
Go skating today at the Lanham Rink!
DISCLAIMER:
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.
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.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks 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: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
Sources: Facebook (Lanham), Yelp, Yelp 2, Lanham rink website,
© 2019-2020 Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved.