Rideau Skating Rink

The Rideau Skating Rink was an indoor skating and curling facility located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Consisting of a curling rink and a skating rink, it was one of the first indoor rinks in Canada. The Rideau Rink was scheduled to open on January 10, 1889, but unseasonably mild weather postponed the grand opening to February 1. It opened in January 25, 1889 for select V.I.P's although this was a misunderstanding and should not have denied entry to season ticket holders. It was located on Theodore Street, (now Laurier Avenue) at Waller Street, at the present location of the Arts Hall of the University of Ottawa, near the Rideau Canal.Besides curling and recreational skating, the rink was also used for ice hockey and figure skating. It was the site of the first recorded organized women's ice hockey game on March 8, 1889. It was also the site of the first Ontario men's ice hockey championship game on March 7, 1891.HistorySkating was popular in the 1880s in Ottawa. Ottawans would skate on the Rideau and Ottawa rivers and the Rideau Canal, and at covered rinks such as the Royal and Dey's Rink. As in Montreal, costume skating carnivals were highlights of the social scene.By 1887, the Royal Rink had been converted into a roller rink and the demand for ice time on the Dey's Rink was greater than the rink could supply. Due to the lack of ice time available, the Ottawa Hockey Club became dormant. Local investors, together with the Capital Skating Club decided to build a new rink, finer than Montreal's Victoria Skating Rink. The new rink was also to be used for curling, so the enterprise became known as the Rideau Skating and Curling Club. The project was sponsored by Lord Stanley, the Governor-General, who took shares in the project.