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TBT Rockford: Inglaterra Ballroom

TBT Rockford: Inglaterra Ballroom
Rockford Buzz

Rockford Buzz

Posted On: May 19, 2016

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Designed by local architect and author Wybe J. Van der Meer with the Ross P. Beckstrom Company as general contractors the Inglaterra Ballroom opened in 1918 as a "dime a dance" hall. Owned by Charles O. Brenig, Ross P. Beckstrom and Shell R. Smith, the building was eighty two feet six inches wide by one hundred fifty six feet deep and was located at 115 North Second Street. In the period of time between World War I and World War II, people flocked to the Inglaterra Ballroom to dance to the music played by Big Bands led by notable band leaders such as the likes of Lawrence Welk, Laurie’s Orchestra and Jimmy Dorsey. The large hall was also home to many exhibitions. The Inglaterra shared the downtown dance business with the Winter Garden at 120 South Second Street, a nickel a dance hall, and Waltzingers which was a dine-dance-floorshow establishment at 112 West State Street.

In 1934 Charles Scandroli and Clarence Pierce would take over ownership of the Inglaterra Ballroom and convert it into a dining and dancing establishment named the Casa Loma. In the 1930's a national roller skating craze started to emerge, in 1938 the business was purchased by Otto M. Fuchs.

Fuchs extensively remodeled the building and changed the focus from dancing to roller skating. The Inglaterra Ballroom would be renamed to the Ing Roller Skating Palace, which became a year-round-six-day-a-week mainstay. The Ing featured a 72 by 128 foot main skating rink and a smaller beginner’s rink. For many years it stood as a popular place for people to go and was a hangout most weekend nights. Fuchs would sell the business in the late 1950's it was sold again to David and Katherine Machek who purchased the business in 1963 and operated it for the next thirty years. In 1993 they would sell it to Chuck Rankin of Chicago. Eventually the focus would once again change back to dancing for a few years before the property was sold to a nearby auto dealership and demolished in 2005 ending over 87 years of entertainment and recreation in Rockford.


Throwback Thursday Rockford edition is made possible by our friends over at Rockford Reminisce! They do an awesome job of researching and bringing readers some awesome historical facts and stories about our great city!

With their help, we are bringing you some historical highlights every Thursday morning for #TBTRockford!

Enjoy this week’s installment of TBT Rockford featuring the Inglaterra Ballroom!

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