Winter isn't just about huddling up with a cup of cocoa next to a fireplace in a snow-covered rural retreat (though today, the coldest in decades for many parts of the US at least, that's probably what you want to do). But those more adventurous souls might want to take advantage of the crisp air and partake in the time-honored tradition of ice skating. The first organized ice skating club was the Edinburgh Skating Club, established in the 1740s, though the sport as we know it dates back to 13th or 14th century Holland. Artificial ice skating rinks were introduced in the 1840s, when the English tried to preserve the ice using hog's lard and salt. (Fortunately, we have slightly more advanced technology today.) With Tod Williams and Billie Tsien's much-heralded Lakeside Skating Rink now open for business at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, we thought we'd dig into our database to mine other examples of skating-rink architecture. From Lakeside's sustainable, outdoor digs, to a contemporary state-of-the-art Olympic venue, to Eero Saarinen's modernist "Yale Whale" masterpiece, here are 10 skating rinks that will have you sharpening your blades for the rest of the season. Photo: prospectpark.org Lakeside ...
Winter isn't just about huddling up with a cup of cocoa next to a fireplace in a snow-covered rural retreat (though today, the coldest in decades for many parts of the US at least, that's probably what you want to do). But those more adventurous souls might want to take advantage of the crisp air and partake in the time-honored tradition of ice skating. The first organized ice skating club was the Edinburgh Skating Club, established in the 1740s, though the sport as we know it dates back to 13th or 14th century Holland. Artificial ice skating rinks were introduced in the 1840s, when the English tried to preserve the ice using hog's lard and salt. (Fortunately, we have slightly more advanced technology today.) With Tod Williams and Billie Tsien's much-heralded Lakeside Skating Rink now open for business at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, we thought we'd dig into our database to mine other examples of skating-rink architecture. From Lakeside's sustainable, outdoor digs, to a contemporary state-of-the-art Olympic venue, to Eero Saarinen's modernist "Yale Whale" masterpiece, here are 10 skating rinks that will have you sharpening your blades for the rest of the season. Photo: prospectpark.org Lakeside ...