Skateland Collage Collection

Cover Image:
 Collage of photos showing people at the New Skateland Arena roller skating rink in Buffalo, N.Y. Includes primarily children and teenagers alone and in groups. Date ranges from late 1970s to early 2000s. Collage displayed in the Main Rink and Locker area
Collages of photos like this one adorned the walls of the entire building, showing patrons over the skating rink’s long history. This collage was displayed in the Main Rink and Locker area. - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:
93
Dates of Original:
1970s - 2000

Historical Context

In the summer of 2018, Daemen College gratefully accepted a large collection of photo collages from Skateland, a roller rink owned and operated on Buffalo’s East Side. Kiddy Skateland would later be renamed “New Skateland” and featured colorful murals on the outside of the building. From the 70s until the 2000s, the proprietors of Kiddy Skateland took photos of patrons and displayed them in massive collages on the walls of the rink. Most of the photos are from patrons in the building, but there are a good deal of photos and portraits from outside the venue. There were two skating rinks at Kiddy Skateland, one for all and one exclusively for children. Some of the collages are from the Vermillion Room, a bar located above the skate rink. The photo collages in this collection provide a window to the East Side community by showing years of community members celebrating birthdays or simply having fun skating around the rink.

Scope of Collection

Collection consists of scans of large collages featuring mostly film photographs of Skateland patrons.

Special Content:

Visit skateland.daemen.edu for curated close ups of the collages and oral histories from those who remember Skateland