Ice skating in New York a cool holiday attraction | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Ice skating in New York a cool holiday attraction | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Sunday, December 28, 2008

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Ice skating in New York a cool holiday attraction

By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ice skaters soak up the atmosphere at the Rockefeller Center ice rink in New York. Since it first opened on Christmas Day in 1936, the rink has attracted more than a quarter million people each year.

ANDREW HARRER | Bloomberg News Service

IF YOU GO ...

Rockefeller Center ice rink: Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, 212-332-7654, www.therinkatrockcenter.com; $19 admission, $9 rental.

Bryant Park Ice rink: Sixth Avenue at 41st Street, 866-221-5157, www.thepondatbryantpark.com; free, $12 rental.

WHERE: Manhattan on ice.

In Manhattan, the magic of the holiday season is frozen in ice — and time. The city's many skating rinks capture a more innocent age, when kids believed in Santa, not gift cards.

"It's a romantic idea to skate in New York, to look up and see the Christmas tree and have the snow falling down," said Peter Eurich, a vice president of the Skating Club of New York, the country's second-oldest organization of its kind (established in 1863). "It's definitely New York, and it's definitely an attraction."

The Rink at Rockefeller Center was unveiled on Christmas Day 1936, replacing a shopping concourse. The 122-by-59-foot frozen ring sits in a sunken plaza and is watched over by a gilded statue of the fire-snatching Prometheus and the city's tallest Christmas tree, a 72-foot Norway spruce. Manhattan's busiest rink attracts more than 250,000 skaters per year, and the wait can stretch for hours. Closes in April.

NEARBY: Tour the sets of favorite programs ("Today," "Saturday Night Live," etc.) on an NBC Studio Tour; Rockefeller Center tours also offered. Lovebirds can purchase the Engagements on Ice package (from $200), which includes private time on the ice, favorite couple-y song and champagne. Take in the view 70 stories high at the Top of the Rock Observation Deck. Eat within eyeshot of the rink at the Sea Grill or Rock Center Cafe, both of which feature wraparound windows.

Bryant Park ice rink, now in its fourth season, the Pond at Bryant Park is Manhattan's only free skating rink. The 17,000-square-foot facility is a small oasis in midtown, with a smattering of tables and chairs around the edges, a 51-foot balsam fir covered in 30,000 lights, and the Empire State Building peeking overhead. Closes Jan. 25.

NEARBY: The new Celsius lounge serves Canuck comfort food and cocktails, such as the croque-monsieur Canadian (with Canadian bacon, of course), macaroni and cheese gratin with Canadian cheddar, and the Maple Leaf Cosmopolitan. Sit indoors on low, swank couches or outside on a two-tiered terrace warmed by heat lamps. For lighter fare, grab a nibble at the Ice Bites Cafe in the Skating Pavilion, which also includes the Pond Shop. ... Take a free lesson through Citi Coaching Sessions, held 9 to 11 a.m. Friday-Sunday.

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