WASHINGTON — For more than three decades roller skating was a thriving pastime for D.C.'s Black residents. Nowhere was as popular as the National Roller-Skating Rink in Adams Morgan. But that all changed when the rink abruptly closed its doors in 1992. Now, there's an effort underway to inspire the next generation of skaters, and keep the history of skating in D.C. rolling.
"It was one of the most enjoyable times in my childhood when we would come skating," said D.C. resident Natalie Jones-Morris.
The thump of the pipe organ, the massive maple dancefloor and the curve of the domed ceiling are all things that made the roller skating rink so special. Roller skating historian Tasha Klusmann said D.C.'s unique flair showed up at the rink.
"The smoothness of D.C. showed up in the skate style," she said.
The official name was National Roller Skating Rink, but to the locals, it was just Kalorama Skating Rink. It was a gathering place from the '50s to the '80s that could hold up to 2,000 people for recreational, speed and competitive skating.
Klusmann, a longtime skater herself, has spent the last 20 years collecting memorabilia and documenting the stories of local skate elders.
"I feel like they would tell us more, not just about skating, but the city we live in," Klussman said.
Built in what was a working-class Black neighborhood in 1947, the rink was opened to white patronage only. That changed in 1957.
"By 1957, it had transitioned. As D.C. was becoming Chocolate City, the rink sort of became that as well," Klusmann said.
That opened the doors to legends like "Honey Boy" Williams, and skating clubs with colorful names like The Magnificent 7, The Cavalier Rollers, The Viking Wheelers, and the first African-American roller skating club in D.C., The Supreme Wheelers. That club was cofounded by one of the rink's first Black employees, Willie Monroe, after it integrated.
"They started traditions that have become part of skate history in D.C. and not just skate culture in D.C.
By the '70s, the old pipe organ had gone quiet.
"The music went from organ to that quiet storm-type music," Kusmann said.
Two decades later, the the rink abruptly closed. It was the last to close in D.C.
"The story is that the skates are still sitting in there, and they just kind of closed off the doors and put drywall over it," Klusmann said with a laugh. "So we would love to do a treasure hunt if someone would allow us to do that."
These days, the Art Deco-style building is a designated architectural landmark and home to a grocery store and apartments. But for those who remember an era gone by, the sounds and sights of the rink are everlasting.
"The sound of the organ, how it would rev up, it was in your head," said Jones-Morris. "You'll never forget it."
Klusmann is trying to keep that memory alive as well. Her research has been fundamental in the making of the National African American Roller Skating Archive at Howard University. If you would like to share your story, click here.
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