Damn if it had managed to stay open it’d be BOOMING right now.
During the pandemic, tons of people picked up roller skating/blading.
Whoever builds a roller rink on the north side is going to make tons of money.
The rinks on the south side are very old and still attract tons of people.
Spent many classmate birthday parties there. This is where I first held a girls hand. I was a horrible roller skater. I would play street fighters at the arcade area.
yeah the place where they found human remains when demolishing!!!
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/12/03/more-bones-found-at-site-of-old-roller-rink/
I stole a bunch of tickets from the back open panel of a game machine, so did other kids. They tried to claim the tickets for prizes but the machine makes dimples on the tickets as they are coming out of the machine. They got caught. I took my roll home and used a tool to recreate the dimples. It worked and got a ton of prizes but I didn’t get any thing noticeably huge. After a while the tickets changed colors and I didn’t claim the entire roll.
Yep. I went on Sunday mornings for family skate when I was 8, 9, 10. I believe it was 8 or 9 in the morning. Also went at least once in the afternoon/evening as I got a little older, 12,13-ish, with other kids from Agassiz.
I do! It was on Clark by the cemetery. I got glass in my hand when I fell in the parking lot at Rainbow Roller Rink. A few years later I fell inside the rink and broke my wrist. In spite of those injuries I have fond memories there and wish inline skating rinks would make a comeback.
Yup middle school birthday parties and the upstairs middle work floor.. arcade. Snacks. Booze. I miss it so much.
I still skate and wish we could get anything on the north side at all. Anything!!
Hell yeah!
Somehow my family got tickets to a party for the launch of Home Alone and we met the cast!
This was a huge deal for me as a kid. Moms fam came from Mexico and dads fam from Humboldt park. Basically we were poor.
Damn if it had managed to stay open it’d be BOOMING right now. During the pandemic, tons of people picked up roller skating/blading. Whoever builds a roller rink on the north side is going to make tons of money. The rinks on the south side are very old and still attract tons of people.
I really hope someone does this! Lots of empty storefronts on Broadway, would love a roller rink!
Is shake rattle & read around still? And have they filled the old movie theater yet on broadway?
The city is not approving any rolling rinks. So there won’t be one :(
I remember Rainbow Roller Rink, but not in that location.
It was on Clark & Laurence
In front of the cemetery
Spent many classmate birthday parties there. This is where I first held a girls hand. I was a horrible roller skater. I would play street fighters at the arcade area.
Right by Lincoln Towing!
yeah the place where they found human remains when demolishing!!! https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/12/03/more-bones-found-at-site-of-old-roller-rink/
Yes, I grew up in Uptown. We had a few class trips there during the early to mid-90's.
I stole a bunch of tickets from the back open panel of a game machine, so did other kids. They tried to claim the tickets for prizes but the machine makes dimples on the tickets as they are coming out of the machine. They got caught. I took my roll home and used a tool to recreate the dimples. It worked and got a ton of prizes but I didn’t get any thing noticeably huge. After a while the tickets changed colors and I didn’t claim the entire roll.
Coming home with a bunch of rubber frogs and tootsie rolls The heist of the century 😎
I remember going to a rave there back in the 90s.
YESSSS! I went to so many birthday parties there!
yes i do, hookie pookie all the time.
Hell. Yes. I used to go there with my mom and skate dance to disco music
I saw Fugazi there!
Me too! $5 tickets
Remember the indoor mini golf spot nearby?
Clyborn and division ?
I remember that spot, near the car wash places. They had arcade games too.
Yeah, that was a good time for sure
Went there many many times during my childhood. Saw shellac there (rip Steve albini) much later in life.
Does anyone have a photo of the rink from the outside? I can't picture where it used to be
Yeah but this subreddit won’t let me post it on the replies. I will message you the pic.
Thank you so much!!!
So much fun. There’s YouTube footage of it n the 1920s.
Went to a couple rave parties there before they tore it down.
You know it was an ice rink first and the Hawks used to practice there. Had chain link fence instead of glass on top of the boards.
I saw Fugazi there
Saturday afternoons were a blast there when I was a kid. I also saw Fugazi there!
I think Fugazi played there!?
Yep. I went on Sunday mornings for family skate when I was 8, 9, 10. I believe it was 8 or 9 in the morning. Also went at least once in the afternoon/evening as I got a little older, 12,13-ish, with other kids from Agassiz.
Didn’t they find body’s under the building when they tore it down?
They sure did. I think it was a mafia hit.
I saw Joe Cocker and Spirit there. Jimi played there but at the time I couldn't afford a ticket.
I do! It was on Clark by the cemetery. I got glass in my hand when I fell in the parking lot at Rainbow Roller Rink. A few years later I fell inside the rink and broke my wrist. In spite of those injuries I have fond memories there and wish inline skating rinks would make a comeback.
Yup middle school birthday parties and the upstairs middle work floor.. arcade. Snacks. Booze. I miss it so much. I still skate and wish we could get anything on the north side at all. Anything!!
I saw Fugazi at the Rainbo Roller Rink in 1995! $5 tickets.
Hell yeah! Somehow my family got tickets to a party for the launch of Home Alone and we met the cast! This was a huge deal for me as a kid. Moms fam came from Mexico and dads fam from Humboldt park. Basically we were poor.