The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-20
THE EXCELSIOR RINK.
The Queen OF the North and the West-.-
One OF the Most Complete Roller
Skating Kinks in EX.
istenee.

parativcly new attraction, yet
it IS safe to say that never be>
fore in the history oss American
sports has anything caught one with the
genuine tcnaeity of roller skating. For it
is sport in the pure and indebted mean
| ing of the term. When the roller skating
rink was inaugurated in this city couple
of years ago it was sterling quality, but
an unknown quantity. The latter was
quickly acquired by the ambitious and
| enthusiastic devotees of the roller. ami
soon the craze for gliding around on the
that the managers of the rink mad
more business than they could conven-
ientIy attend to- This state of affairs has
continued to exist and in fact increase un-
til the present time, but now we are hapN
fence of lack of room and other accOms
modations is about to be done away with
Mr.. f. H. Collins, who has been iden~
tilted with the Armory rink for some
time seeing the necessity Of a more COM
plete arrangement for patrons concluded
to meet the demand, and for him to think
was to act, and at once he set about to
| build one of the finest Kinks in the west.
! lie first selected IL fine lot on the corner
of Fifth avenue and Sixteenth street and
then he went to work on his plans for the
building. Mr.. Collins is an architect of
no little ability as the subsequent descrip>
ton of the Excelsior rink will show.
maturing his plans he set about erecting
the building.
The lot which Mr.. Collins had secured
was S9y170 feet in size, and he concluded
to build 4 rink of that size. Immediately
men were set to work and soon u fine
structure was. under way Today the
carpentering was completed, and in fact
all the other workmen are about through.
An ARGUS reporter took a look through
the rink in company with Mr. E. II. Col
Inns, the proprietor and manager The
arrangement of the Excelsior rink is most
complete The vast floor is of cement,
Us smooth as glass and very hard. 1t will
aiGon! skaters the very best opportunity
TO enjoy themselves to the utmost. Not
solitary obstacle mars the surface Of the
rink. The roof of the building is sup,
| ported by heavy timbers which are braced
by iron rods. This plan is original with
Mr.. Collins. The disagrecabe noise so
noticeable at most Kinks is done away
with by this superq cement floor. An
other feature of the floor is that no chalk
is used upon it, as is absolutely ncccS~
I sarv on wooden floors Chalk is q mus
sanec. If & person falls, he, or she
as the case may be, arises with clothing
covered with the stuff, and then the air is
full OF it most of the time. This ObnoX>
ious drawback to roller skating has been,
as stated before obviatcd by the
cement floor in the Excelsior rink. The
arrangement for lighting the rink is most
complete Twenty electric lamps, which
shed brilliant light, will be placed over
the floor Of the rink and ut either end Of
the building, and also on each side will
be placed large electric lamps. Around
/ the rink is 4 raised space which contains
seats for auditors. The arrangement of
these seats is after the fashion of an opera
house parquct each succeeding row is a
trillc higher than the preceding one
! Thus each occupant OF Chair may have
an unobstructed view of the skaters on
the rink AT convenient places around
the rink are steps leading to the audito>
rum. In the rink proper there are sta
tiOnary seats close to the sides upon
which tired skaters may rest at their
pleasure. Another feature of these sta>
tionary seats is that they furnish q resting
place for the skaters in case
that an order to clear the floor
is issued. In all other Kinks in this vicin
| itV and in fact elsewhere the skaters must
stand up and huddle together while the
exhibition is giycr, and ten chances to
one they are frequently in the way of the
skater and bother him or Ler. This new
departure where all may sit down and
rest and at the same time witness the OK
hbilion is another evidence of the fore
sight Of MIR Collins, The gallery is sit
Uatcd in the cast end of the
building and commands a full and splen>
did view of the entire rink. 1t is to be
finely furnished and will be a
splendid observatory for people who
like 10 sec others enjoy themselves in
skating. At the opposite end of the hall
from the gallery, or in other words, at the
west end, is the band stand. 1t is neat
little elevation approached by stairway.
Here the band, which will be present upon
every occasion, will add zest to the en-
joyment of the skaters by sweet strains
of music. Also at the west end of the
rink is the oil room where skaters may go
to have their skates oiled. In this room
at all times there will be an experienced
person who thoroughly understands the
art of oiling roller skates quickly and we'll
Here is another feature that shows the
careful forethought of Mr.. Collins. In
many Kinks the oiling is done in one cor
ner of the rink. Other skaters who come
ALONG are liable to collide with the person
who is having skates oiled, and if they
are ladies their skirts are frequently the
sufferers from contact with the OIL In the
Excelsior rink all this is prevented by the