Glacier Palace Winter Garden | |
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Location | 613 N. Van Ness Ave Los Angeles, California, 90004 |
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Coordinates | 34°04′56″N118°18′57″W / 34.0822504°N 118.3158343°W |
Capacity | 6,500 |
Surface | 220 x 100 ft. |
Construction | |
Opened | 1928 |
Closed | May 16, 1963 |
Demolished | 1963 (fire) |
Tenants | |
UCLA Bruins men's ice hockey (1934–1938) USC Trojans men's ice hockey (1934–1938) |
The Polar Palace in Los Angeles, California was an indoor, artificial ice rink. Primarily used as a figure skating rink, the building was also used for ice hockey and carnival shows throughout the years. [1]
Plans for the "Glacier Palace" began as far back as March 1925, however, less than a year later the Palais de Glace opened a few blocks away from the proposed site. Despite the competition, the second venue was built and opened its doors in 1928. The venue was larger, both in its ice surface (220 by 100 ft.) and seating capacity (6,500 vs. 4,500). However, rather than compete for the same events, the Glacier Palace was used mostly as a figure skating rink, leaving ice hockey to the other site. Those plans were changed in 1934 when the Palais de Glace burned down and the existing ice hockey teams moved to since-renamed Polar Palace. [2]
During this time, Sonja Henie began holding ice shows at the Polar Palace which helped launch her film career. [3] Once the Tropical Ice Gardens opened in 1938, the ice hockey teams left. With much more ice time now available and Henie helping to popularize ice shows, the Ice Follies arrived for the first time in May 14 of that year while the Ice Capades were not far behind.
The rink played host to those shows, as well as several figure skating championships, for many years. Despite being remodeled in 1960, the building was starting to show its age and most of the events were moved over to the newer and larger Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
On May 16, 1963, at approximately 3:00 am local time, old wiring in the rink's coffee shop caught fire. The flames spread quickly and soon the entire building was ablaze. One of the Palace guards, who lived across the street, rushed to the building when the alarm was raised but by then it was already too late. It took 90 firefighters from 15 companies just to contain the conflagration but when everything was said and done, the Polar Palace was gone. [4]
Afterwards, the rink's trustees decided against rebuilding, allowing the Polar Palace to fade into history.
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. She is one of only two skaters to defend a ladies' singles Olympic title, the other being Katarina Witt, and her six European titles have only been matched by Witt.
The Philadelphia Arena was an auditorium used mainly for sporting events located at 46th and Market Streets in West Philadelphia.
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The Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a trolley barn, before becoming a multi-purpose arena. The Gardens opened three years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. Over the years, the Gardens was the home arena of several of Pittsburgh's historic sports teams, such as ice hockey's Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Hornets. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which was the first ice hockey league to openly hire and trade players, played all of its games at the Gardens. The arena was also the first hockey rink to ever use glass above the dasher boards. Developed locally by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Herculite glass was first tested in Pittsburgh. Most rinks were using wire mesh before the shatterproof glass was invented. Finally, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America, played at the Gardens from 1946 to 1947.
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The St. Nicholas Rink, also called the St. Nicholas Arena, was an indoor ice rink, and later a boxing arena in New York City from 1896 until 1962. The rink was one of the earliest indoor ice rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in North America, enabling a longer season for skating sports. It was demolished in the 1980s.
Wilhelm Henie was a Norwegian sportsman and furrier. He was track cycling World Champion in 1894, and competed at the European Speed Skating Championships in 1896. Henie was coach and manager for his daughter Sonja, who became a famous international figure skating champion and later a major American film star.
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Sochi Olympic Park is an Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia. It situated in the urban-type settlement of Sirius in Imeretinsky Valley, on the coast of the Black Sea. The Olympic Park houses the main Olympic Stadium used for the Games' ceremonies, and the venues that were used for indoor sports such as hockey, figure skating, curling, and speed skating. It also houses training facilities, the Olympic Village, the international broadcasting centre, and other amenities. The park was designed so that all of the venues would be accessible within walking distance of each other. The venues are situated around a water basin containing a fountain known as "The Waters of the Olympic Park".
Patinoire Axel Vega, commonly known as Patinoire de Mériadeck after the eponymous Mériadeck quarter, is a multi-purpose arena located in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Today primarily used as an ice rink, it is the home of professional ice hockey team Boxers de Bordeaux. Between 1981 and 2017, it doubled as the agglomeration's main concert venue, and hosted many artists of national and international stature.
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It was inaugurated in 2009, and is popularly known as Patinoire de la Capelette after the Marseille quarter it sits in, la Capelette.
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The Palais de Glace in Los Angeles, California was an indoor, artificial ice rink. The venue was the first artificial ice rink in Southern California and served the community until it was destroyed by fire in 1934.
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