Wollman Rink
Encyclopedia
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
in the southern part of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The rink was opened in 1949 with funds donated by Kate Wollman (December 5, 1869-October 15, 1955) who donated $600,000 for the rink to commemorate her entire family from Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
). Historically, the rink has been open for ice skating from October to April and in the summer seasons is transformed into a venue for other purposes.
The rink had for many years been the venue for a series of outdoor summer rock concerts. The first summer music festival at the rink opened on July 1, 1966 and was sponsored by Rheingold Beer
Rheingold Beer
Rheingold Beer, introduced in 1883, is a New York beer that held 35 percent of the state's beer market from 1950 to 1960. The company was sold by the founding Liebmann family in 1963...
. The Rheingold Central Park Music Festival also took place during the summer of 1967. The next summer, Schaefer Beer
Schaefer Beer
Schaefer Beer is a brand of American beer. Schaefer Beer was first produced in 1842 by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company. The name "Schaefer" is derived from the last name of founding brothers Frederick and Maximiliam Schaefer....
took over sponsorship. The first annual Schaefer Music Festival
Schaefer Music Festival
The Schaefer Music Festival was a music festival which had been held in the summers between 1968 and 1976 at the Wollman Skating Rink in New York City's Central Park. The series had been sponsored by F. & M...
opened on June 27, 1968 and continued each
summer through the summer of 1976. The following summer, Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
became the sponsor, and the first Dr Pepper Music Festival opened on July 6, 1977 and ran annually through the summer of 1980. The concert series subsequently moved to a pier on the west side of Manhattan.
Wollman Rink no longer hosts concerts, but in the summer it contains the Victorian Gardens Amusement Park.
Wollman Rink has been featured in several movies, including Love Story
Love Story (1970 film)
Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal and based on his novel Love Story. It was directed by Arthur Hiller. The film, well known as a tragedy, is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute , and was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story...
and Serendipity
Serendipity (film)
Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
.
The rink was closed in 1980 for an announced 2 1/2 years of renovations. When the work was not completed by 1986, Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
persuaded Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
to let him complete the work and he completed the renovations in four months to have it open by the end of the year. Koch initially objected to the proposal but public pressure prompted him to reverse his position.
Wollman Rink is currently operated by the Trump organization
Trump Organization
The Trump Organization is a limited liability corporation conglomerate based in Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York. The organization owns, operates, and develops hotels, resorts, residential towers, and golf courses in different countries, as well as owning several pieces of high-end real estate in...
, and is today known as the Trump Wollman Skating Rink. Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
operated the rink from 1987 to 1991. From 1991 to 2001 George Makkos from The Makkos Organization of M&T Pretzel, operated Wollman Rink. Since 2001, Wollman Rink has been operated by a joint venture between Trump Organization and Rink Management Services of Mechanicsville, Virginia
Mechanicsville, Virginia
Mechanicsville is the name of four places in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America:*Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Loudoun County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Rockbridge County, Virginia...
. The Trump name is prominently displayed on the walls of the rink as well as on the Zamboni
Ice resurfacer
An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...
that maintains the rink. Operation of the Lasker Rink
Lasker Rink
Lasker Rink is located in the northern part of Central Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just south of the 110th Street entrance between 106th and 108th Street. It opened in 1966 and lies between Harlem Meer and the East Drive....
on the north edge of Central Park is also handled by the group.
In 1961 Kate's estate donated funds for Wollman Rink in Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
which closed in 2010.
Kate's brother was William J. Wollman who operated the W.J. Wollman & Co stock exchange firm originally in Kansas City and later in New York. After he died in 1937 she helped administer his estate. Among her other philanthropies was paying for the schooling of great nephew Henry Wollman Bloch
Henry W. Bloch
Henry Wollman Bloch is the co-founder and the chairman emeritus of H&R Block.Henry and his brother, Richard Bloch, founded H&R Block in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri.-Personal life:Bloch was born in Kansas City...
, founder of H&R Block
H&R Block
H&R Block is a tax preparation company in the United States, claiming more than 22 million customers worldwide, with offices in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The Kansas City-based company also offers banking, personal finance and business consulting services.Founded in 1955 by brothers...
.