Rolling Stop: 10 Abandoned Roller Skating Rinks

Bayshore is No More

abandoned Bayshore Roller Skating Rink Long Island NY(images via: Ryan Gribbin (RTGgator))

The Bayshore Roller Skating Rink situated just off Long Island’s Sunrise Highway holds fond memories for locals growing up in golden age of roller skating: the 1960’s through the 1980’s, or before the introduction and subsequent popularity of skate-anywhere inline roller skates.

abandoned Bayshore Roller Skating Rink Long Island NY(images via: Ryan Gribbin (RTGgator))

Demolished in May of 2009, the abandoned Bayshore Roller Skating Rink was a magnet for graffiti artists who took advantage of its wide, tall exterior walls and relative isolation from traffic and onlookers post-closing. Kudos to Flickr user RTGgator for photographically documenting some of the Bayshore Roller Skating Rink’s more noteworthy unauthorized decorative modifications before the wrecker’s ball reduced everything to rubble.

For Goodness Skates

abandoned Stone Hill Inn roller skating rink(image via: Future Impaired)

The Stone Hill Inn isn’t the only abandoned Poconos resort to have a fully stocked roller skating rink though we could be wrong. “Laces out, Dan, laces out!!”

Hold On To Your Dream

Dream Roller Rink Chincoteague Virginia(images via: Cary Scott and Literature & Libation)

The Dream Roller Rink near Chincoteague, Virginia was originally built in 1940 with the aim of providing entertainment for personnel from nearby Chincoteague Naval Air Station. The latter closed in 1959, however, beginning a downward financial spiral for both the roller rink and its accompanying drive-in movie theater. The roller rink finally closed in 1998; it was then bought and revived in 2008 only to shut down within mere months due to a property dispute. The above images date from 2008 (top) and 2012… the speed of decay is astonishing! It’s likely to get even worse: time is about the only thing that rolls on at The Dream Roller Rink.