Citizen.com - Laconia NH, Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Sanford ME

Then ... and now: Build a roller skating rink in 1883

By Warren D. Huse

Saturday, June 14, 2008

in this photo (L2007.31.1), from the historical collections of the Laconia Public Library, the old tenement building at the corner of Davis Place and Union Avenue is seen around 1888. Built 125 years ago this month, the structure -- known as 'The Casino' -- was originally erected as a roller skating rink, as that pastime had reached the proportions of a fad locally in 1883. After a few years, however, the enthusiasm for skating diminished and the building was converted to tenements. In 1893, the structure was moved further down Davis Place (to the left) to make room for construction of a two story wooden factory building at the corner of Union Avenue by the Casino Building Co., which put that building up on speculation. Its first tenant was the Waverly Shoe Co. and, later, the George D. Mayo Co., manufacturer of knitting machinery, and, still later, Scott & Williams Inc., which relocated here from Philadelphia in 1910. (S&W laid off its entire workforce and went into liquidation in 1981.)

LACONIA — A revival of the roller skating business "on a grander scale than ever," was reported by The Laconia Democrat, 125 years ago this week.

"Some half dozen gentlemen of this place and Lake Village," the 1883 account continued, "have the opinion that a skating rink will prove a profitable investment and therefore concluded to risk the experiment of erecting one this season."

They "have procured a lot near Jewett brook, close to the line of the street railway and have staked out the ground for a building 100x45 feet, designed expressly for those who delight in roller skating."

The hall "will be seventeen feet in height, abundantly supplied with air and light, and affording a skating surface fully twice that of Folsom Hall."

The floor "will be laid in birch, the boards being laid at angles toward the centre at each end of the hall, thus avoiding the necessity of skating 'across the grain' when going round the hall."

Special pains "will be taken to ensure as perfect a skating surface as possible so as to afford the best advantages for enjoying this popular sport."

Scott and Williams tore down the Waverly Shoe Co. Building in 1930 to construct the four story steel and concrete building on the site of the old casino. At the time, the old casino building was razed. A four-story ell, fronting on Union Avenue, was built in 1966 and town down in 2005. Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo

Spectators "will be accommodated in convenient galleries running the entire length of the building, approached by easy stairways from the right and left of the main entrance. The plan also embraces an office with convenient and (easily) accessible retiring rooms."

Work of putting in the foundation "will begin at once. Messrs. Berry & Drury have contracted to erect the buiding, which is expected to be completed by the middle of the summer season or before."

The enterprise "is in good hands and promises to be carried forward in a manner every way creditable to the place. Its location will make it easy of access from both villages (Laconia and Lakeport), and, unless the noble army of roller skaters disband as suddenly as they were recruited, there is certain to be lively times when the Laconia Skating Rink opens."