Ice skaters on the Midway Plaisance Rink. Photo by David Silverman.
“Sports of Winter,” Chicago Tribune, January 8, 1888.
Today, Chicagoans can skate outdoors at seven refrigerated rinks in various neighborhoods as well as the Skating Ribbon in Maggie Daley Park. (There are also two indoor rinks.) But, those of us old enough to remember the city thirty years ago or earlier know that historically, our winters were a lot colder, and outdoor ice skating was much more common. In fact, generations of Chicagoans grew up skating on frozen lagoons and flooded athletic fields or pursuing other winter activities in parks and Forest Preserves throughout the city. This month’s blog shows how things have changed in wintertime in Chicago.
During the late 19th century, Chicagoans could skate on frozen lagoons in all of the large parks. (At that time, these included Lincoln, Washington, Jackson, Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas Parks.) An article published on January 8, 1888 reported that “with cold weather now well settled the season of winter sports” was underway and the “lakes in the different parks are thronged days and evenings with skaters.”
Skating in Lincoln Park, ca. 1900. Chicago Public Library Special Collections, Chicago Park District Archives, Photos.
Curling in Washington Park, ca. 1900. Post card.
In Lincoln Park, skaters could choose between two frozen ponds. During the winter of 1892, the Chicago Tribune estimated that on a single day, there were as many as 1,000 skaters on Lincoln Park’s South Pond and about 500 on the North Pond.
Curling, a Scottish sport that uses brooms and stones on the ice—was another winter activity that some Chicagoans enjoyed at this time. The Chicago Curling Club often competed against clubs from the suburbs and a Milwaukee Club. The local curling clubs played on the frozen lagoons in Washington and Jackson Parks.
Boys sledding on the Midway Plaisance toboggan slide, 1906. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum, DN-0004461
For years, Washington and Lincoln Parks were the only locations that had temporary toboggan slides during wintertime. As the city’s population and number of parks grew in the early 1900s, additional temporary toboggan slides were erected. Around 1905 or 1906, park administrators built ten wooden toboggan structures in various locations throughout the city, including the Midway Plaisance. There were estimates that as many as 100,000 children enjoyed bobsledding on the temporary slides each winter.
Ski Slide in Humboldt Park, 1907. Chicago Public Library Special Collections, Chicago Park District Archives, Photos.
In February of 1907, the West Park Commissioners erected a 50-foot-tall ski slide in Humboldt Park. The Chicago Tribune reported that the structure was built to accommodate many Norwegian immigrants in the area who were devotees of the sport of “ski running.” Harold Hansen, a member of Chicago’s Nor Ski Club, had the honor of making the first run down the structure.
Skating Races at Wrightwood Playground, Annual Report of the Special Park Commission for the Year Ending 1913
By 1910, the City’s Special Park Commission oversaw dozens of small parks and playgrounds throughout the city. These municipal parks provided recreational opportunities in neighborhoods that weren’t served by the South, West, and Lincoln Park Commissions. To provide ice skating opportunities in these areas, the Special Park Commission flooded the athletic fields in many of its small parks and playgrounds. Skates were provided to children who couldn’t afford to buy their own. Of course, these skating rinks could only be used on days when it was cold enough for the ice to stay firm. The City reported that there were a total of 57 days of skating during the winter of 1911-1912, and 41 days of skating during the 1912-1913 season.
Silver Skates Competition in Humboldt Park, 1917. Chicago Public Library Special Collections, Chicago Park District Archives, Photos.
During that era, speed skating was gaining rapid popularity, and there were competitions in various parks throughout the city. The Chicago Tribune sponsored the first annual Silver Skates Derby on Humboldt Park’s frozen lagoon on January 28, 1917. The newspaper reported that “128 of the fastest skaters in the central west” competed in the Silver Skates competition and a crowd of 30,000 spectators gathered to watch the event. The winner, 19-year-old Art Staff, completed the two-mile race in 5 minutes and 42 seconds, just one fifth of a second slower than the world’s amateur record holder. He received first prize—a pair of skates with a solid silver blades—made by the Nestor Johnson company of Chicago.
Silver Skates Competition in Garfield Park, 1937. Chicago Public Library Special Collections, Chicago Park District Archives, Photos.
Participant in the Chicago Daily News Mardi Gras Ice Skating Carnival, 1929.
The Chicago Tribune’s Silver Skates event was moved to Garfield Park in the early 1920s. The competition was held annually until 1974. (To honor the centennial, a commemorative Silver Skates event took place in the suburbs in 2017.)
Perhaps to compete with the Tribune, the Chicago Daily News began sponsoring an annual outdoor Mari Gras Skating Carnival in Garfield Park in the early 1920s. According to the Chicago Recreation Survey of 1937, this annual winter festival “attracted crowds varying from 5,000 in subzero weather to 50,000 people when weather conditions were more favorable.”
Chicago Daily News Mardi Gras Ice Skating Carnival in Garfield Park, 1929.
“Ideal Skating Weather Draws Crowd of 5,000 to Midway Plaisance,” Chicago Tribune, December 27, 1926.
Apparently, the unpredictability of the weather eventually prompted the sponsors to relocate the annual carnival to an “artificial” ice rink at the Chicago Stadium. The Mardi Gras event turned into a full blown “extravaganza” in 1934, when it featured Olympic champion Sonja Henie.
There is no doubt that historically, the Midway Plaisance was the most popular location in Chicago for outdoor skating. For decades, the long sunken lawn in the center of the Midway was flooded annually for skating. The South Park Commissioners estimated that as many as 160,000 ice skaters used the Midway Plaisance’s frozen central lawn during the winter of 1923.
Father, daughter, and dog on Midway Plaisance, 1992. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf7-05698.
Zamboni grooming the ice on the Midway Plaisance rink. Photo by David Silverman.
The ice skating tradition on the Midway Plaisance continued until the mid-1990s. By then, winters weren’t consistently cold enough to keep the ice from thawing. In the late 1990s, the Chicago Park District undertook a $6 million project to build several refrigerated ice rinks throughout the city. This included an Olympic sized rink in the center of the Midway Plaisance. The Midway rink is used for in-line skating in the summertime.
As I am writing this blog in late-February, most of the outdoor ice skating rinks in Chicago have just closed for the season. But if reading this has given you the ice skating bug, you still have time. You can skate at Millennium Park through March 8th, and the Skating Ribbon at Maggie Daley Park through March 15th! (With the caveat- weather permitting at both.)