Peek Inside This Abandoned Historic Skating Rink In Buffalo, New York

The people of Western New York know intimately how great a place this is to live and work. Sometimes, when you're just trying to get through the daily grind, it's quite easy to forget that fact.

However, if you take a minute and pause, you'll quickly find that throughout the history of Western New York, some awesome examples of construction and architecture dot every corner of the region. Almost every corner in the 716 seems to have amazing structures constructed by some of the greatest minds. Names like Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Louise Blanchard Bethune, H.H. Richardson, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, and Elbert Hubbard are extremely common.

There are tons of examples around that are architecturally significant and still survive today. Many of those examples have fallen into serious disrepair but are on the verge of new life, like the former Sattler's Theatre on Broadway and the former Women and Children's Hospital on Bryant; others are, perhaps, less architecturally significant but sit abandoned and need some help, like the old Wonderbread Factory. And sometimes, you have a building that served many generations of Buffalnians, offering fun and entertainment for years, that after years of service, is on the verge of being lost to history.

That seems to be what's happening to the New Skateland complex on East Ferry Street in Buffalo.

What's Happening With New Skateland?

Like many folks who grew up in Buffalo, I spent many years having fun inside the sprawling building at 33 E. Ferry Street on the edge of Buffalo's Cold Springs Neighborhood.

From the Vermillion Room, where you had to go up to get down, to the large and small rinks inside New Skateland, Trunnis Goggins and his family have gone out of their way to make sure people in Buffalo have a place to have fun since the early 1960s.

Unfortunately, in the years since Goggins passed away, the New Skateland complex has struggled to stay afloat. Susan Ann Goggins, the widow of Trunnis, had continued to operate New Skateland as Kiddie Skateland; however, the complex has been closed since at least 2020.

Peek Inside The Abandoned New Skateland

I was scrolling through TikTok and came across a video posted by TikTok User @Oxidize93. They had found themselves inside New Skateland. They explored much of the sprawling complex, and during their explorations, you can see the condition of the skating rink.

Like lots of folks from all around the Buffalo area, I have very fond memories of this place, from partying on the 2nd floor to skating and DJing on the first floor.

You can see what they saw in this video they posted on YouTube:

Warning

The information shared here is meant for entertainment and educational purposes only. Under no circumstances should you enter this property. Doing so risks bodily harm and/or arrest and prosecution for trespassing on private property. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do not attempt to investigate the inside of abandoned buildings without proper knowledge, experience, and legal authorization.