Ice Ice Baby
Okay, so the picture on the right is actually Central Park’s Wollman Rink in New York City but we can dream, can’t we?
Just when we thought there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in Hell, Atlanta’s very own Piedmont Park is getting its first ever, ice skating rink, slated to open November 22.
Located at 500 10th Street in Midtown, “The Rink” will reside in Park Tavern’s Garden Tent and will be complete with modern amenities for day and night skating, including the tent which is heated, a state of the art sound system, and rink-side dining.
The Piedmont Garden Tent offers views of Piedmont Park and the Midtown skyline surrounded by beautiful landscaping, white silk lining, and crystal chandeliers.
The Rink will be available for birthday parties, private corporate holiday functions and even marriage proposals.
Conveniently, Park Tavern’s addition of The Rink coincides nicely with the construction that is well underway for Piedmont Park’s 53-acre expansion (read about Piedmont Park’s expansion here).
Tickets are only available online and can be purchased by clicking here.
The Rink at Park Tavern
500 10th Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
Photo credit: © Morton Beebe/CORBIS
32 Responses
Does Centennial Olympic Park’s rink not count as “in-town”? This year will be their 13th year.
susy, good call! we’ve updated accordingly.
Susy,
I think the point is that the new Piedmont Park rink will be a permanent rink, where the Centennial Olympic Park one is temporary…
christine, thanks for your comment. however, ‘the rink’ will be seasonal, operating november 22 – february 2011. the draw is that ‘the rink’ will be at piedmont park!
–cjs
I’d rather skate at Centennial. Piedmont is awesome but I think a rink works better surrounded by buildings than out in an open field, not to mention all of the activities and events around Centennial during the holiday season. I do however, wish they would upgrade the facility just a bit.
“The Rink” will reside in Park Tavern’s Garden Tent…
huh? does that mean it’s going to be in PT’s patio area and not actually on piedmont park grassy area outside the PT’s fences? my bathtub is bigger than their patio.
As a displaced New Yorker, an ice skating rink in a park (as in the Wolfman Rink in Central Park in the middle of Manhattan) is amazing, especially, no matter whether you live in the 5 boroughs or even the ‘burbs, you can so easily walk or take mass transit to get there. Too bad that is not the case in a city like Atlanta. Hopefully the select residents of Midtown East Atlanta and Virginia Highland will enjoy the amenity in a public park that receives some of it’s financial support from the taxes of the ENTIRE City of Atlanta. Centennial Park is much more available and accessible to more of the citizens of the city.
This will not be the 1st ice skating rink in Piedmont Park. For many years after becoming a city park in 1904, Lake Clara Mear would freeze over. The Atlanta History Center Archives has many pictures of people ice skating at Piedmont Park.
As a docent of the Park, I’m very happy to see ice skating returning!
patrick, thanks for that flashback in atlanta history! very interesting. we had no idea!
–cjs
It sounds like so much fun, but I really hope they are going to offer lessons.
Patrick:
I don’t think there is anyone still alive, and if so…anyone of that age that uses the internet that can remember the original ice skating. I am sure if you have an other useless facts, the ATL would love to hear.
Hey Patrick, thanks for the bit of Atlanta history. It’s great to learn about how it was and especially to see before/after photos of Atlanta. And Pedro, how friggin ignorant and sad that you think the history of Atlanta and the park in particular is a bunch of “useless facts”. I mean if the people who did it aren’t still alive it must not be worth mentioning right – go back OTP where you belong.
Very disappointing. With family in town for Thanksgiving, thought this would be a nice outing. Annoying from the start – had to pay $5 at automated ticket booth to park in dirt/gravel lot. Machine took incredibly long, cars backed up, and eventually people just started going through exit lane. So we ended up paying while others just drove in.
Rink was a joke – tiny and amateurish. Could not fit the 200 skaters it claimed unless lined up like sardines. Totally embarrassed, I left and went to Centennial Park where the rink was bigger, less expensive and much nicer atmosphere.
They must do something about the parking situation. They stated there was nothing they could do because it’s managed by a private company. That really doesn’t matter because it affects the overall experience. I won’t go again and definitely won’t park in that lot (but I love Park Tavern for other events!).
After having been to Centennial’s Ice Rink, I much prefer this modtown location by far! The music was amazing, the staff was very gracious, it was less crowded, it had an ADULT crowd, and it wasn’t so cold due to the heating system and the fact that it’s indoors.
Love it!
The skating rink at Piedmont Park is not that great of a deal actually. The Rink is far too small, crowded, and poorly maintained. Each session is only 4 hrs, but you can’t skate the last hour of the session since they groom it again. But the grooming is awful; there’s no zamboni because the rink is too small for one. They have to manually pick up the lose crushed ice, and they don’t do a very good job. So when they drop more water, the resulting surface is very rough. Within 3 minutes of the start of a session, the surface is just awful and it will get worse until the session is over. 90% of the skaters are beginners, and they’re all over the place. Even the guy working there admitted it was bad, but there was nothing he could do about it. If you’re a Groupon holder, they only honor the groupon if they have room, but you have to go down there to find out.
I look forward to testing out the ice rink! I’ve been looking for some winter activities in Atl. So glad to hear about this. Will check back with my feedback after I go.
Saw Centennial’s rink last week too. Looks like not much to choose from intown. Better to make the hike to the Cooler in Alpharetta. The Centennial Park and Piedmont Park locations are terrible.
I took a group today and was very disappointed. It’s only okay if you have very minimal expectations. very minimal. pros: heated & music cons: tiny tiny tiny tiny (not even as big as a school blacktop), horrible ice, parking, long line for skates (each person has to complete a waiver & no one can think to pass them out until its your turn — so it takes forever to get your skates (not kidding), the skates themselves, no lockers — so put your items down at your own risk, and there are no signs anywhere to direct you to the location IF you park & try to find it on your own but are unfamiliar with the park landscape.
It’s worth $5 max (not $15)..however, the big steal is the cost of the snacks…$8 for a cup of hot chocolate, $10 and $15 for other items.
The attempt was nice — but, I will definitely not go back. Stick with indoor ice skating — as there really isn’t anything “outdoor” about it. THANKFULLY, though — there is access to The Park Tavern’s bathroom.