The Oldest Roller Skating Rink In Texas Is In Danger

The oldest roller skating rink in Texas may not be around to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Roller skating rinks are the last traces of a bygone era, only around 400 or so still exist. That's WAAYYY down from 11.5 million in 2017 which was also way down from the decades prior.

The oldest rinks in El Paso are long gone. One was at Fairbanks and Rushing and it shut down around '02-'04 if I recall correctly. Before that, my Dad showed me once where another, also in the northeast, had been.

It was on Dyer, between Hercules and Titanic. The original shell is still there, although it's been moved back farther from Dyer. It was empty forever, except for the rink, its  refrigeration equipment, some seats and a ton of roller skates.

After that, it was an indoor flea market for many years before they moved it to its current site. I think it's an auto shop now while the one on Rushing is a Harmony school. There are a few multi purpose sites around the 915 that offer roller skating these days but no old school, full on roller rinks.

Where Is The Oldest Skating Rink In Texas?

The citizens of Cedar Park, Texas, (near Dallas), are trying to save the Cedar Hill Roller Rink for future skaters and hoping to get it to its 100th anniversary in 2049. It opened in 1956 and decor from that era, along with things acquired since, give the rink a cool, nostalgic vibe.

Repairs and upgrades, to the tune of around $30K, are what may finally bring Cedar Hill's roll to a stop. To try and save it, the owner has set up a GoFundMe page. Last I checked, they were short about $29K.

Apparently, roller rinks are still a million dollar a year industry though. Here's how to start a roller skating rink ... if you're so inclined.