Before there was Wollman Rink or Gottesman Rink (formerly Lasker Rink), people have been ice skating in Central Park since 1858.
Even before Central Park was completed in the 1870’s, the area known as the "skating pond" on the original Greensward Plan (The Lake) was opened to the public.
Once it opened, the cost of skates dropped to 25 cents and became available for all to rent, so everyone could enjoy the sport. Prior to that time owning ice skates was very expensive, and they were owned primarily by the wealthy.
Due to the novelty of ice skating, more people visited the park in the winter than during the summer months in the first decade the Park opened. There's a well-known photo of ice skaters on the lake with the Dakota in the background, taken around 1890, decades after skating first opened here.
Wollman Rink is located on an area that was once part of the Pond, located at the 59th street entrance. Prior to the construction of Wollman Rink, from the 1930’s to 1950, the Parks Department would create a temporary ice hockey area on the Pond when weather permitted.
What most people do not realize, is that all of the bodies of water in Central Park are man made and can be drained or filled as necessary. Then and still now, the water is connected to the City’s water system. Each year, in order to ensure proper skating conditions, the Lake and the Pond were drained to a level to assist in the freezing of the ice.
Grab your skates and go have some fun this season! Share your photos with us on IG @centralparkny.