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- Streatham Ice Rink was opened
on 26th February 1931. Queens Ice Rink (opened 1930) is
the only older rink in the UK that is still open.
- The building was designed by
Robert Cromie, a renowned designer of cinemas in the
1930s. The facade was built in reconstructed Portland
stone and black faience. The interior decor was very
unusual - "a kind of kaleidoscopic scheme ... in a series
of interwoven patterns, each based upon some ordinary
motif in everyday life, such as a viaduct, tower,
battleship, tree, gramophone record, waves and the
like"
- Advantage was taken of the
sloping site to place the ice surface at a lower level
than the entrance hall. The ice surface was 210 ft. long
by 100 ft. wide (larger than the current international
standard size of 60m x 30m).
- 3000 people attended the
opening. The headline in the local paper was "Don't go to
Switerland: Come to Streatham". Ice skating was no longer
restricted to the wealthy who could take holidays in the
Alps. There were three public sessions daily with an
entrance charge of 2/6 for adults, with half price for
children under 16.
- In the months following the
opening there were many events at the Rink, including
carnivals, ice hockey internationals and the NSA 1-mile
Amateur British Racing Championships.
- Prominent in the exhibitions
was Mr Phil Taylor, speed skater, stilt-skater, barrel
jumper and showman. He taught his daugher, Megan Taylor,
who went on to become World Champion in 1938.
- Three of the current
international compulsory dances - the Viennese Waltz,
Blues and Rocker Foxtrot - had their first performance at
Streatham in 1934.
- In 1935 the film "Car of
Dreams" starring John Mills was partially filmed at the
Rink.
- All the English rinks closed
soon after the outbreak of World War II. Streatham was
requisitioned for food storage and remained closed until
1946.
- In 1951 the ice surface was
reduced to make room for 800 extra seats.
- Jeanette Altwegg, Olympic
figure skating champion, trained at Streatham for 5 years
in the 1950s.
- In 1962 the rink was taken over
by Mecca, who spend £100,000 on improvements and
opened it as the fourth Silver Blades Rink.
- Jacqueline Harbord, twice World
Professional Ladies Champion (1963-4) trained at
Streatham.
- Diane Towler and Bernard Ford
trained part-time at Streatham, on their way to becoming
four times World Ice Dance Champions (1966-69). Diane
Towler MBE is now senior coach at Streatham.
- In 1967 two penguins from
Chessington Zoo paid a visit. There is a mute film clip
at
Penguin
clip
- In 1979 the rink closed after
ice-making machinery broke down. There was a local
campaign to save the rink. It re-opened in 1980 after
£1m repairs and refurbishment.
- In 1990 the rink was sold to
Laws Estates.
- In 2001 Tesco bought the site
and the long saga over the redevelopment began.
- In the 2004 British
Championships, 4 Streatham-based couples competed and did
very well. In the Seniors Pippa Towler-Green and Philip
Poole won the bronze medal, with Candice Towler-Green and
James Phillipson finishing 4th . In the Juniors Emma
Murphy and Harry Souter won Bronze, and Talia Barrington
and Darren Powell came 4th.
- In the 2005 British
Championships, Pippa Towler-Green and Phillip Poole won
the Senior Ice Dance silver medal, earning the right to
compete in the 2006 European Championships. For the
2006/7 season they acheived the same placing, earning
their place in the 2007 European Championships in
Warsaw.
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