Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society

[FigureSpins]

The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society (PSCHS) is one of the oldest figure skating clubs in the United States, celebrating their 175th anniversary in October 2024!  The current building dates back to 1937 and has been renovated several times.  They're hosting a capitol campaign to make improvements to the roof and ice surface.  (The roof definitely needs work and they have to replace their cooling system because it's out of code.)  I was in Philly for a conference earlier this month, so I took the long way home by way of D'Allessandros Steaks and PSCHS. 

The main parking lot was a good size and convenient to the entrance. On the way home, I discovered an additional lot on the other side of the building, so there's plenty of parking.  You just have to walk around if there's a big event.  It's in a residential neighborhood, so there could also be on-street parking.
 
The facility inside was humble and down-to-earth, very much geared towards figure skating.  The building itself has two dramatic features: a round-top roof runs the length of the building, with skylights all along the top.  The outer walls have glass block sections and there's a stunning end wall with big windows.  Plenty of light with the lights off, despite the cloudy day.

When you enter through the outside door, you're in the ice rink.  The office is to your right, but it's small.  There's a small walking area and a few pipe-fitted railings around the ice surface, but no walls or on-ice hockey markings.  I didn't have time to skate, but the ice looked smooth and level. (Better than my home rink, which has a lot of hills and valleys these days, along with deep grooves around every hockey circle from the players and wanna-be's grinding the ice with the tail of their blades.)

[FigureSpins]

There's a harness line across the far end of the rink, near the windowed outside wall.  There are metal bleachers on the long side of the rink, wooden benches on the other. It reminds me of Sky Rink when it was on the sixteenth floor of Lerner Building in Manhattan and Fritz Dietl's rink in Washington, NJ. The benches, doors, stalls were made by hand from wood and painted regularly.  Everything worked, but definitely well-worn.

The ladies room was small (two stalls) but very clean and everything worked, including the residential faucet on the sink.  It was clean and bright thanks to the big window with a cast-iron radiator underneath.  No graffiti, but the wooden dividers could stand to be sanded and repainted.  I didn't check out the locker room because people were coming and going, so I didn't want to be a creepy stranger.

The snack bar itself was closed when I went, but some of the coaches were hanging out, waiting for skating students.)  The snack bar many trophies and awards on display and there were bulletin boards with reminders and information for members.  Plus, a collection of vintage ice skates and strap-on blades. 

There are enclosed areas on the second floor above the snack bar.  One had windows so you could watch the skating.  A few of the windows opened, so you could hear the music or cool off the room.  There's a gallery with memorabilia and skating art up there, with a beautiful skating mural over a brick fireplace. The fireplace is a work of art, with a PSCHS cast iron back plate.

It is off the beaten path, meaning the I-95 corridor, but I'm glad I checked it out.  Hopefully, I'll get to skate there sometime.

[AlbaNY]

The facility inside was humble and down-to-earth, very much geared towards figure skating.  The building itself has two dramatic features: a round-top roof runs the length of the building, with skylights all along the top.  The outer walls have glass block sections and there's a stunning end wall with big windows.  Plenty of light with the lights off, despite the cloudy day.

That sounds really pretty! 

Thanks for the review.  I keep meaning to for a list of over two dozen rinks, and this might spur me to finally bother. 

[Query]

I visited there a few times many years ago. They claim to be "America's first skating club". (Not if Canada is "American": https://bootsandblades.ca/history/age-of-discovery mentions a club in Saint John, from 1833.)

They said they had a friendly ice dance group - they didn't only dance with their official partners and coaches, unlike most DC area ice dancers. A lot of figure skating sessions. The sessions I attended weren't busy - but that is a really long time ago.

They were a bit pricey, and by their current website, still are. Not a rink for poor people.

Current website still says "iPods, iPhones, headsets, walkmans, and external wireless/wired speakers are not allowed on any session." I wonder if they enforce that. I see them on the ice at virtually every rink I skate at. Odd that it says nothing about other types of phones and tablets.

Odd that a skating club merged with a "Humane Society". I don't remember any pets at the facility. Did you see any?

Close to the University of Delaware, with its own ice rinks (and a supposedly very good pro shop; many competitive figure skaters attend the University, and its staff has published articles about skating injuries and boots); and to a lot of other ice rinks - see my page. E.g., Ice Line and Iceworks both have 4 full size indoor ice surfaces, which making them ideal for figure skating competitions, but also for hockey (). The University of Pennsylvania has its own rink.

Dr. Jonathon P. Contompasis is well known podiatrist who treats a lot of ice skaters around nearby Wilmington.

Also close to various dances associated with the Royal Country Dance Society, which I joined during college. And to Longwood Gardens, which is very impressive if you are into gardens. It is close to a number of small liberal arts colleges, including one I attended. And to Arden, Delaware, a beautiful but now quite pricey "single tax colony" founded by Georgian Socialists (socialism for the rich; it has a nice swimming pool at the Arden club, which is now a major social & folk dance center, and runs the annual "Arden Fair" with a flea market but also sells a lot of arts & crafts), where my mom partly grew up and loved. And to Hershey, Pennsylvania, where families go to learn about and sample chocolate. And to other interesting things.

[LunarSkater]

That sounds like a gorgeous facility! I hope they are able to raise the funds to maintain the facility.

Current website still says "iPods, iPhones, headsets, walkmans, and external wireless/wired speakers are not allowed on any session." I wonder if they enforce that. I see them on the ice at virtually every rink I skate at. Odd that it says nothing about other types of phones and tablets.

It doesn't seem strange to me - that's the rule at my club. We have club ice, we can enforce it. The rink management doesn't care about it on public. It's also the official rules for competition practice ice for USFS events. That rule exists very much for skater safety.