Searching for photos & videos of the old USA rink...

[sk8r_jean]

Hey Old School Sk8rs,

I’m searching for photos & videos of the old USA rink in Jackson Heights, Queens. AND I would also love to know if there is another USA rink somewhere in the country with the exact same interior layout.

This rink was special on so many levels. It opened during the peak of the roller disco era, in ‘77, then quickly became a hub for the early hip hop movement – attracting the best b-boys (and girls) of the day to its dance floor to “battle it out”, and even having the distinction of being the location of the first nationally televised coverage of breakdancing – when the then popular series THAT’S INCREDIBLE showed up to film the phenomena in its early days.

The rink eventually closed its doors some time after the mid-eighties, but not before leaving an indelible impression on the childhood and early adolescence of so many Queens & NYC skaters.

I had heard that the documentary Style Wars had some footage of b-boy dance battles at USA, so I finally tracked it down, but it doesn’t show the actual rink, since the dance floor in the concession area was understandably the main focus.

So if there is anyone out there with photos or video of the rink and its skaters, please send me a link. Or if there’s anyone out there from the rink AT ALL, I’d love to hear from you. - Speedy, John-Boy, Max, Willie (and his Newtown HS pals), Joey, Dereck (from the Woodside Projects), Dereck from Lefrack City (aka Mr. Pop), Liz/Gichi, the Corona Girls - Lisa, Audra, Mercedes, and little bro’ PeeWee (who liked to borrow my Royals), and the fabulous skate bros’ Ruben & Pepe (who we all admired from afar)...are any of y’all out there...and still rollin’??? - The only person I found at The Roxy on my last NYC visit two years ago was Gerard – aka "Rod" – the master of the Queens couples only skate technique himself...who has only gotten better with time, btw! Well, and my gal pal Laurie, who I convinced to get out there with me again...after she’d been away from the sport for 20 years. I myself only got back into skating in 2002, after an 18 year absence, and after finally convincing my husband to give it a try.

ANYWAY, here’s a description of the rink, partly for nostalgia, and just in case anyone happens to know of another USA rink that is modeled like it...and still open.

When you walked in there was a well-lit entry area that contained a pro shop (just behind the cashier), with the skate rental area to the right, against the back wall. There were also lockers, carpeted seating blocks, and the rest rooms in that area as well. Then as you approached the rink, through a short narrow passageway, the lights were always pleasantly dimmed. Standing in front of the donut shaped wonder that was the rink and the enormous concession area that it encircled, you could either hit the skate floor, turn right or left to another area with more lockers and carpeted seating blocks, or take the BRIDGE/SKYWALK directly to the concession area, and end up right next to the dance floor. This bridge was very useful if you just wanted to dance, or watch, instead of skate – or if the rink was super-crowded, as it so often was, and you wanted to get to or from the concession area without having to skate around the rink.

THE SKATE FLOOR ITSELF WAS AMAZING – by far the best I've ever skated on. It was wide, long, donut shaped, and made of EXTREMELY smooth and very light colored wood, that barely looked coated, but it must have been because it was somehow resistant to skid marks and never showed signs of wear, age or damage. It also made this really cool rolling echo sound as skaters glided across its surface.

Then there was the donut whole itself — the super-sized concession area that contained its own dance floor, with an overlooking mirrored DJ TOWER (kinda’ like a mini Seattle Space Needle) on one side; plenty of wide open space in the middle for skaters to gather after entering the concession area from its opposite openings to/from the skate floor; followed by rows and rows of booths next to a very large snack bar on the opposite end.

Last but not least there was DJ "Baby J" – who brought the beats that made the whole place jump. From the disco hits of the early years to the pop and R&B hits of that day, to the b-boy battle tunes like IT'S JUST BEGUN, to the soulful couples only slow jams like the The Gap Band’s YEARNING FOR YOUR LOVE.

...Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I’m transported back to those very special times, and I can hear the tune that always signaled the end of every session – the all too short but very memorable BRAZILIAN RHYME (Interlude) by Earth Wind & Fire ....bah dee dah...bah dee dah...bah dee dah dee dah dee dah...dee dah dee dah...bah-dah buh-buh-bah – Oops, sorry about that...I was just daydreamin’ there for a sec'!

Anyway, if anyone from USA back in the day finds this message, now or in the future, please post any links you might have to photos or videos of the rink...or just send me a message to say “hi”.

ALSO if anyone happens to know if there’s another USA rink just like the one I’ve described above, please let me know!

...It’s a long shot, I know, but I figured it's worth a try.

Thanks!
Jean