Park Lane Rink
| Park Lane Rink | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | Mayfair, London, England |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Closed | April 11, 1934 |
| Owner | |
| Tenants | Grosvenor House Canadians (1931-1934) |
| Capacity | 1,500 (500 seated) |
| Dimensions | 171 ft x 71 ft |
The Park Lane Rink was an ice rink in London, England.[1] It was situated in the basement of the Grosvenor House Hotel.
Grosvenor House was the first hotel in London at that time to have a separate bathroom and entrance lobby for each bedroom, and running iced water in every bathroom. When the hotel first opened it was also the headquarters of the International Sportsmen’s Club. Its facilities included Turkish baths, a swimming pool, squash courts and a gymnasium.
The hotel has a pedestrian entrance on Park Lane in Mayfair but this is not the 'main/courtyard' entrance which is actually on Park Street. The official address of the hotel is 86-90 Park Lane. It is an outpost of London's largest cluster of luxury hotels, which is centred on Hyde Park Corner.
The Great Room (which is a separate room to the Ballroom) at the Grosvenor House is the venue of many prominent awards evenings, charity balls and the like and is often seen on British television. Since the 1930s, the Great Room has hosted the world's oldest charitable ball, the Royal Caledonian Ball, and it is one of the largest ballrooms in Europe, with a maximum capacity of 2,000 seated (200 10-person tables) or 1,100 theatre style.
Although now not used as such, the Great Room was originally built as an ice-rink and much of the machinery lies dormant under the current flooring. In 1933, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, learnt to skate at the hotel at just seven years of age. Sonja Henie, Cecilia Colledge, and other famous skaters frequently displayed their skill. International ice hockey matches were played there, and the rink was home to the Grosvenor House Canadians from 1931-1934.
Anticipating competition from other ice rinks, in 1935 the rink was converted into a banquet hall measuring 1,902 square metres (20,454 square feet). It has hosted parties, galas, awards ceremonies, dinners and balls to mark most significant national events and celebrations. The ballroom also has a bar known as the "rink bar".
References
- ↑ Harris, Martin C. (2005). Homes of British Ice Hockey.
External links
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