 The rink's exterior, 2018 | |
  Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink Location in Portland | |
| Address | 7805 Southeast Oaks Park Way [1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°28′25″N122°39′44″W / 45.47372°N 122.66218°W |
| Type | Roller rink |
| Opened | 1905 |
The Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink is a roller rink at Oaks Amusement Park, in Portland, Oregon's Sellwood neighborhood, in the United States.
The rink opened in 1905, [2] and represents the long and rich story of a roller skating rink that survived the civil strife of the 1950-60s, development overtures and the musical whims of generations to become a rink gifted for perpetuity. Today, the Oaks Skating Rink remains America's largest and oldest under the umbrella of the Oaks Park Association, a nonprofit organization that manages both the rink and park attractions. [3]
During the Great Depression, admission prices were reduced so families could better afford skating. Additionally the park owner, Edward Bollinger, started the Junior Roller Skating Club which skated on Sunday afternoons. This led to the largest number of active roller skaters ever at Oaks Park Skating Rink. [4]
Built in a flood plain, in 1948, water damage from the same flood that destroyed Vanport required five months to repair. During rebuilding, engineers installed iron barrels under the rink floor so it could float above flooding waters in the future. The rink flooded again in the Christmas flood of 1964 but it suffered some damage because workers could not immediately access the rink due to 8 feet (2.4 m) of flooding waters in the park. A day later and after four hours of effort, they severed the floor supports to allow it to float. [5] [6]
Dale and Jeanne Pritchard were longtime instructors at the rink. [7]
The rink has served as a location for several films and TV shows including Grimm , Portlandia , Leverage , [8] Breaking In and Untraceable .[ citation needed ] In addition, the rink also appeared in Free Willy as the exterior to the tank where Willy was held captive. [9]
In 2017, Damian Lillard and Adidas released a version of his "Dame 4" shoe, called "Glow in the Park", which was inspired by the rink. [10] [11]
Today, the Oaks Rink carries the tagline "Skaters Paradise" to accompany its 100 x 200 square foot (20,000 sq ft skating surface) Michigan maple floor and the last live Wurlitzer pipe organ to operate in a U.S. roller rink. [3]
From 1905 until an organ was installed, a live orchestra played from the balcony above the skating rink. [12]
In 1922, a William Woods (a local builder) theatre organ was installed. It began as a 2/5: two manuals and five ranks (rows of 61 pipes of similar timbre, each one a different size and pitch) and eventually became a 4/18. It was moved to a military base's roller rink in 1955; as of 2003 it was in a private home in Newport, Oregon. [12] Some parts may have been retained at Oaks Park. [13]
The current pipe organ was originally installed in 1926 [12] at Portland's Broadway Theater, but had fallen into disuse since the early 1930s with the popularity of sound films. It was relocated to Oaks Park skating rink in 1955.[ citation needed ]
The organ is described by Oregon Public Broadcasting's April Bauer as "an impossible-looking hulk the size of a semi truck, hanging about twenty feet above the rink floor". [13] Keith Fortune has served as the rink's organist and "unofficial curator". [14]
The rink is the world's only location where visitors can skate to music provided by a live pipe organ, as of 2009. [14]
The roller rink has an annex, separate from the main rink, in a detached building roughly 200 feet east (and behind) the public rink. The oval flat track is used by the Rose City Rollers (women's roller derby) for practice and some tournaments. [15] [16]
Knoebels Amusement Resort is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is the United States's largest free-admission park. The park has more than 60 rides including three wooden roller coasters, three steel roller coasters, a 1913 carousel, and two haunted house dark rides.
Oaks Park is a small amusement park located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in May 1905, it is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country.
Playland, often called Rye Playland and also known as Playland Amusement Park, is an amusement park located in Rye, New York, along the Long Island Sound. Built in 1928, the 280-acre (110 ha) park is owned by the Westchester County government. Beginning in 2018 the park has been operated under contract by Standard Amusements.
A theatre organ is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies.
The Lafayette Theatre is a nationally acclaimed movie palace located in downtown Suffern, New York, built in 1923. Its primary function is first-run movies, but it also houses special events like its popular weekly Big Screen Classics film shows. It is also notable for housing a Wurlitzer theatre organ, which is played before Big Screen Classics shows.
The Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, was a producer of theater pipe organs during the age of silent movies.
The Capitol Theater was located at 542 State Street in Salem, Oregon, United States. Part of the Bligh Building, it was built in the 1920s for vaudeville. During its heyday, it housed a Wurlitzer pipe organ, which is now in private ownership in Washington. The theater was demolished in 2000, but the retail portion of the building, now known as the Pacific Building, still stands.
Leo A. Seltzer is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in 1958.
Bushkill Park is an amusement park located in Easton, Pennsylvania, generally geared toward younger audiences. The facility operated continuously from 1902 to 2004 and during the summer of 2006, and was then closed until January 2017 when the roller skating rink and the rest of the park reopened. Bushkill Park ranks among the oldest amusement parks in the nation.
The Rose City Rollers is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Portland, Oregon, operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Established in 2004, the Rose City Rollers consists of a recreational program, four adult local home teams, and two all-star travel teams that represent the league in competition with others as well as junior skaters on six home teams with a travel team for Rose Petals (7–12) and a travel team for Rosebuds (12–17). Rose City's all-star travel team "Wheels of Justice" won the WFTDA Championships in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
The Robert Morton Organ Company was an American producer of theater pipe organs and church organs, located in Van Nuys, California. Robert Morton was the number two volume producer of theatre organs, building approximately half as many organs as the industry leader Wurlitzer. The name Robert Morton was derived not from any person in the company, but rather from the name of company president Harold J. Werner's son, Robert Morton Werner.
A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located in an indoor or outdoor facility. Most skating center facilities range anywhere from under 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) to more than 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2).
Fullerton is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The area is often considered part of Nottingham, despite being part of Overlea. Fullerton residents have either 21236 or 21206 as their ZIP code.
Martin Ellis is an American church, concert and theatre organist. He is currently the organist for Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon. He was Principal Organist and Assistant Music Director at North United Methodist Church, and Senior Staff Pianist/Organist, Staff Arranger and Orchestrator for the Indianapolis Children's Choir and Youth Chorale in Indianapolis, Indiana until August, 2014. He works with Gresham High School's Theatre Arts Department as their resident piano accompanist.
The Oregon Theatre, or Oregon Theater, was an adult movie theater in the Richmond neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. The theater was completed in 1925 and originally housed a Wurlitzer pipe organ and vaudeville stage. It would later screen Hollywood, art-house, and Spanish-language films. The building was acquired by the Maizels family in 1967 and became an adult cinema in the 1970s. It continued to operate as the city's longest running pornographic cinema and remained owned by a member of the Maizels family until 13 February 2020, when it went into foreclosure. It closed in early March 2020.
The Organ Grinder Restaurant was a Portland, Oregon pizzeria in operation from 1973 to 1996. At one point it housed the largest theater pipe organ of its type in the world.
Adrenaline Peak is a steel roller coaster at Oaks Amusement Park, just south of Portland, Oregon. The ride replaced the Pinfari Looping Thunder coaster in the park's South End, which closed after the 2017 season. The coaster was manufactured by Gerstlauer and is one of their Euro-Fighter coasters, containing three inversions and a vertical lift hill.
The Senate Theater is a theater in Detroit, Michigan, known for its "Mighty Wurlitzer" pipe organ, originally installed at the Fisher Theater. The Senate opened in 1926, deteriorated substantially after its closure in the 1950s, and reopened in 1964 under the ownership and volunteer operation of the Detroit Theatre Organ Society. The Senate continues to present organ performances, classic films, and private events.
Knowing that few families could afford admission to the skating rink at Oaks Park, park owner Edward Bollinger reduced prices at the rink and started the Junior Roller Skating Club on Sunday afternoons. Revenue increased as more children ventured to the skating rink and Oaks Park witnessed the largest group of active roller skaters ever.
The current Theatre Organ is a 4-manual, 18-rank Wurlitzer from the Broadway Theatre, Portland. It was built for the theatre in 1926 and moved to The Oaks in 1955.
The first organ at The Oaks was a 2-manual, 5-rank William Woods (a local builder), which was expanded to a 4-manual, 13-rank instrument, which is now in a Newport, Oregon in the home of member Arthur Allen. Prior to the Woods organ, a live orchestra played from above the rink floor.
The Wurlitzer has had the Dulciana removed and replaced with a Gamba, and a Robert-Morton Post Horn was added. The relays are all original.
Fire code and zoning rules at their current home, The Hangar at Oaks Park, are forcing the roller derby club to find a new home ... by July 1.
The "Rose City Rollers" team has used a large structure east of the skating rink adjacent to Oaks Park Way, a building which organizers call the "Hanger", as their practice hall and competition venue for the last ten years.
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