Fiesta Roller Rink (Closed)
San Gabriel, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here is the Fiesta Roller Rink, located in
San Gabriel. Although this alley received a paint job in the last couple
of years, apparently it wasn't enough. The Fiesta rink was shut down and became a furniture store.
Fiesta Roller Rink closed in 2003, ending more than half a century of skating at the address. The interior was subsequently remodeled for other uses, and by 2010 the building housed an airsoft store and warehouse. The city’s 2021 historic context statement documented the former rink building as still standing, though no longer used for skating.
Rollerland Skating Rink Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Imagine a roller skate on steroids. That’s the impression given by the sign for Rollerland Skating Rink, with its exaggerated skate looking ready to take off down the street. Why settle for ordinary lettering when the advertisement itself can suggest a little speed? This one promises a good time before you’ve even picked up your rental skates.
UPDATE: The location and later history of this particular Rollerland have not been established. Its reported closure and sign removal therefore remain unconfirmed. For now, the photograph preserves a skate that looks far too lively to stay parked for long. 10-26
Skate Junction (Demolished)
West Covina, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The eye-catching sign for Skate Junction marked a familiar skating stop in West Covina. There was a little name confusion to go with the wheels: the building off Glendora Avenue still said Roller City, while Skate Junction was the place. Whatever name longtime customers used, the sign pointed toward another evening of music, friends, and trips around the floor. You didn’t need to be wearing skates to appreciate the advertisement out front. 05-99
Opened in 1978 at 901 W. Service Avenue, Skate Junction became a neighborhood destination for birthday parties, family outings, and open skating sessions. For beginners, the evening might involve staying close to the rail. More confident skaters could make it look easy, gliding past while everyone else concentrated on remaining upright. Getting comfortable on eight wheels was part of the fun, even if the first few laps came with an unexpected meeting with the floor.
For local families, a trip to the rink offered an evening out without traveling far from home. Birthday celebrations and weekends with friends gave customers plenty of reasons to return. The Roller City lettering lingering on the building added another layer to the place, keeping an older name in view while Skate Junction made memories of its own.
Skate Junction (Demolished)
West Covina, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
UPDATE: Skate Junction closed and was demolished, taking the rink and its roadside sign out of West Covina’s landscape. The exact closing and demolition dates remain uncertain, but former customers still remember the place under both names. There’s no longer a skating floor waiting behind the entrance, but this photograph brings back the familiar sign that once announced a little fun off Glendora Avenue. 10-26
Sherman Square Entertainment Center (Demolished)
Sherman Oaks, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The immense sign for Sherman Square Entertainment Center made sure this Valley recreation spot got noticed. It’s the kind of advertisement that could become a landmark even for people who never ventured inside. For customers, it pointed toward an evening of entertainment; for everyone else, it was a familiar piece of the drive along Sherman Way.
Located in Reseda, rather than Sherman Oaks as originally listed here, Sherman Square offered more than one kind of gathering place during its lifetime. Roller hockey became part of its story, and contributor Faith Farberman remembered playing bingo there with her mother. The building held different memories for different generations.
UPDATE: I played Bingo at Sherman Square with my mom in its latter years. They had a roller hockey league there for a while, but alas progress has taken its toll on the old rink. I am not sure of the exact time of Sherman's demise.
Walgreen's now stands in the place of some fine memories with my mom. Many thanks to Faith Farberman for update. 11-07
UPDATE: Sherman Square closed in 2001, according to the Valley Relics Museum. The rink and its towering sign were subsequently demolished, with a Walgreens replacing the old entertainment site. Faith’s 2007 recollection preserves the personal side of that change: a familiar place to spend time with her mom had become another vanished Valley landmark. 10-26
Skateland (Demolished)
Whittier, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The rooftop sign for Skateland caught the eye of motorists heading along Whittier Boulevard near Five Points. It advertised the sort of place where an ordinary evening could turn into music, rental skates, and a few more laps than you planned. The rink briefly closed and reopened, giving customers another chance to return before its final shutdown.
Skateland’s last chapter involved a problem beyond changing entertainment tastes. Contamination associated with the neighboring Omega Chemical Superfund site brought environmental concerns to the property. The trouble was beneath the surface, where polluted soil and groundwater could send vapors into occupied buildings.
UPDATE: According to the Whittier Daily News, the Skateland in Whittier has closed for good and likely will be demolished as part of a federally mandated environmental cleanup project. Per the Skateland Whittier website, Skateland is closed as of October 1, 2006. According to the EPA Superfund cleanup website, the EPA issued a "removal order to handle the vapor intrusion found at the Skateland business next door to the (Omega) site." It appears this vapor is from contaminated soil and groundwater at the site. Many thanks to Sal and Ralph Garcia for notifying us of the closure. 01-07
UPDATE: The Skateland was demolished earlier in 2007 and is now a vacant dirt lot. 11-07
UPDATE: Skateland closed permanently on October 1, 2006, and was demolished in 2007. The old rooftop sign disappeared with the building. What had been a familiar destination for Whittier skaters became a cleared lot, leaving photographs to bring back the entrance and its promise of another evening on wheels. 10-26
Ontario Ice Skating Center Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Looking for relief from an Inland Empire summer? The sign for Ontario Ice Skating Center points toward a much cooler way to spend the day. Along West Holt Boulevard, the simple announcement of ice skating offers a welcome change from the pavement outside. Of course, staying cool and staying upright are two different challenges.
The rink at 1225 W. Holt Boulevard has introduced generations of customers to the ice. Its programs include public skating, lessons, figure skating, and hockey, giving beginners and experienced skaters their own reasons to lace up. The center describes itself as Southern California’s second-oldest ice facility.
UPDATE: Ontario Ice Skating Center continues to operate and publish skating and lesson information through its website. Unlike many of the vanished roller rinks in this collection, this skating destination is still welcoming customers. The present condition of the photographed roadside sign has not been separately confirmed, but there is still ice waiting inside. 10-26
Skate-O-Rama (Closed)
Downey, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The classic lettering at Skate-O-Rama in Downey recalls the days when skating rinks knew how to dress up a building. The name promises a little movement, and the sign carries that feeling out to the street. You didn’t have to skate to appreciate this one.
Established by champion skater Jerry Nista in 1957, the rink at 12310 Woodruff Avenue became a local recreation spot. By the early 1990s, roller hockey was also part of the action.
UPDATE: Skate-O-Rama closed, and its distinctive lettering was removed. The exact closing date remains unconfirmed, but this photograph preserves the name when the building still advertised an evening on wheels. 10-26
Skate Junction (Demolished)
Skate Junction (Demolished)
Sherman Square Entertainment Center (Demolished)
Skateland (Demolished)
Ontario Ice Skating Center
Skate-O-Rama (Closed)
