 1870 skating carnival in Victoria Rink in honour of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. Hundreds of skaters, some in costume, some in military dress skate inside the arena, which is decorated with evergreen boughs and flags. | |
 | |
| Location | Montreal, Québec, Canada |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°29′53″N 73°34′21″W / 45.4980°N 73.5724°W |
| Surface | natural ice |
| Opened | December 24, 1862 |
| Closed | 1925 |
The Victoria Skating Rink was an indoor ice skating rink located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1862, it was described at the start of the twentieth century to be "one of the finest covered rinks in the world".[1] The building was used during winter seasons for pleasure skating, ice hockey and skating sports on a natural ice rink. In summer months, the building was used for various events, including musical performances and horticultural shows. It was the first building in Canada to be electrified.
The rink hosted the first-ever recorded organized indoor ice hockey match on March 3, 1875.[2] The ice surface dimensions were confined to the distance between Drummond and Stanley Streets- which came to define the standard for today's North American ice hockey rinks.[2] It was also the location of the first Stanley Cup playoff games in 1894 and the location of the founding of the first championship ice hockey league, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1886. Frederick Stanley, the donor of the Stanley Cup, witnessed his first ice hockey game there in 1889. In 1896, telegraph wires were connected at the Rink to do simultaneous score-by-score description of a Stanley Cup challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg, Manitoba teams, a first of its kind.
The rink was also notable for its role in the development of figure skating in Canada. It held some of the first competitions in the sport in Canada. During its existence, it was the home of two important clubs, the Victoria Skating Club and the Earl Grey Skating Club. It was the home rink of Louis Rubenstein, considered one of the first world champions of the sport, and also an important organizer.
The rink was located in central Montreal between Drummond Street and Stanley Street, immediately north of Dorchester Boulevard (presently René Lévesque Boulevard). It was located one block to the west of Dominion Square (today's Dorchester Square), where the Montreal Winter Carnivals of the 19th century were held. Surpassed by other facilities, including the Montreal Forum, the rink was sold in 1925 and today the site is occupied by a parking garage.
- ^ N.M. Hinshelwood (1905). Montreal and vicinity: being a history of the old town, a pictorial record of the modern city, its sports and pastimes, and an illustrated description of many charming summer resorts around. DesBarats. p. 89.
- ^ a b McKinley, p. 7