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Tuesday 18 August 2015

Ice Rink

The world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, The Glaciarium opened in a tent in a small building just off the Kings Road in Chelsea, London, on January 7, 1876.

The Glaciarium moved two months later to a permanent venue at 379 Kings Road, where a rink measuring 40 by 24 feet was established. It contained special galleries for spectators and a French artist decorated its walls with Swiss alpine and forest scenes.


The first artificially frozen rink in the United States was installed in the old Madison Square Garden, New York City, in 1879, and covered an area of 6,000 square feet.

The Schenley Park Casino, Pittsburgh’s first multi-purpose arena opened on May 29, 1895. The Casino was the first place in Pittsburgh where organized ice hockey was played. The arena's artificial ice surface was the first of its kind in North America. The facility offered public skating sessions, which were held only on weekdays. The five cent admission included steel skate frames that were strapped over a person’s winter footwear. On December 17, 1896 an ammonia pipe in the icemaking department began leaking. Firefighters believed the gas mixed with grease and created an explosion resulting in a fire that destroyed the building.

     Schenley Park Casino - Public skating event at the Casino Wikipedia 
     
A Japanese skating rink once put 5,000 dead fishes in their ice to give their customers the enjoyment of skating over a frozen ocean. The attraction was closed immediately after a public uproar.

Many ice rinks consist of, or are found on, open bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, canals, and sometimes rivers; these can only be used in the winter in climates where the surface would freeze thickly enough to support human weight.

The longest ice skating trail can be found in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada, on Lake Windermere Whiteway. The naturally frozen trail measures 18.63 miles. 

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