An Ice Rink Glides into Old Oakland

By C.J. Hirschfield

Last Friday I witnessed something in Old Oakland that I'd never seen in our city: dozens of kids, teens, and adults gliding, laughing, and occasionally stumbling around an outdoor ice rink.

Magic? No – just the latest creative idea born of creativity and civic determination. It was the grand opening of the Old Oakland Holiday Ice Rink – Oakland’s first outdoor ice rink in 63 years – in a space formerly occupied by a parking lot.

Skating in the Old Oakland Holiday Ice Rink. Photo: Visit Oakland

Gene Anderson, author of Legendary Locals of Oakland and everyone’s go-to guy on Oakland history, told us that “from what I've seen, temporary outdoor rinks didn't come to the Bay Area until the 1950s.” A 1955 in the Oakland Tribune with the headline “New Ice Rink in Park All Ready for ‘Gay Blades’” boasted about the 35-by-40-foot rink in Eastshore Park, at the junction of Grand, Lakeshore, and MacArthur, near where SplashPad Park is now.

In 1963, another outdoor holiday skating rink was located in the Kaiser Rooftop Garden, offering a free “Santa on Ice” show but no public skating. Underwritten by The White House and Joseph Magnin department stores as well as by Kaiser Center, Inc., the shows were presented five times a day.

A confident young skater takes to the ice in Old Oakland. Photo: Oakland Central

There were plans all the way back in 1916 to build an outdoor ice rink in Idora Park, a long-gone amusement park on Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal district. An article in the Oakland Tribune back then announced plans to construct a pool that would be converted into an ice rink after the summer season ended, so that people “could enjoy the novel sport of ice skating.” Seventy-five thousand dollars – quite a bit of money at the time – would be spent on the project. There is, however, no indication that the rink was ever built.

So let’s just say it’s been a long dry (or warm) spell.

Enter Oakland Central, which was created to promote and support local businesses by attracting patrons to shops and restaurants throughout Oakland’s downtown and to help visitors navigate all of the great amenities Downtown Oakland has to offer.

The rink is their latest project, and it brings a delightful family tradition back to Oakland, but with an urban flair that is pure Oaktown.

"Bobby the Seal" skate aids are available for novice skaters. Photo: Oakland Central

Public spaces are vital to the health and happiness of a community. In fact, there’s a  word, “placemaking,” that sums up how public spaces work. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration and potential to create public spaces that promote people’s well-being.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to activate neighborhoods in downtown Oakland,” says Andrew Jones, Oakland Central’s program director, who had been thinking that a rink would be a great attraction for the holidays. Andrew says that the “stars aligned” to make the rink happen. Alameda’s South Shore Center, which had hosted a rink for a number of years, had development plans that prevented a rink from being offered this year. Andrew jumped at the opportunity to pick up the slack.

Skating under the stars. Photo: Visit Oakland

At the grand opening last week, there were families of all ages, wonderful skating music and tons of good cheer. You can discover it for yourself through January 6; it’s open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. The average price per person is $18, which includes skates. There is live music (R&B, soul and more) as well as top-flight D.J.s, plus food and drink and Museum of Children’s Arts activities for the kids. For details on the performers, visit the Oakland Central website. 

And whether you call this placemaking or pop-up, it definitely spells community to me.

_

C.J. Hirschfield has served for 16 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.