View Full Version : Comet Skating Club



Pete
02-07-2012, 09:18 PM
It was at 5800 NW 36th for decades and is still a skating rink called Roll-A-Way with most of the cool old sign still intact:

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/sketches/picfile/2888/R147411005001tA.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/cometsafeway.jpg

Tritone
02-07-2012, 10:14 PM
Our Saturday hangout in junior high (late 60s); glad to see it's still there in some incarnation.

Pete
02-07-2012, 10:19 PM
Actually, I think Roll-A-Way has now closed, too. But at least the building and sign are still there.

Comet had a pretty long and successful run; I would guess about 25 years.

Bill Robertson
02-08-2012, 08:52 AM
I spent many days there in the late 60s, early 70s. Had a blast skating.

BBatesokc
02-08-2012, 09:10 AM
My hangout too in the late 70's and early 80's. We'd run next door to the What-A-Burger or across the street to the 7-11 to get food. Even sneak a puff on a cigarette in the tiny alley between the Comet and the building next door.

BlackmoreRulz
02-09-2012, 06:00 PM
Wasn't the skating rink on Linwood just south of NW 10th also called Comet??

MikeOKC
02-09-2012, 06:35 PM
Wasn't the skating rink on Linwood just south of NW 10th also called Comet??

That was the Rocket.

http://i.pbase.com/o6/27/79027/1/114195195.TnQrgpm7.OKOklahomaCityRocketSkatingClub .jpg

GaryOKC6
02-09-2012, 09:39 PM
The Rocket was on Lynnwood and had a wooden floor. The comet on 36th & MacArthur had the concrete floor. If you had the speed skates with the wide wooden wheels they would really hum on the wooden floor at the Rocket.

metro
02-10-2012, 06:42 AM
Actually, I think Roll-A-Way has now closed, too. But at least the building and sign are still there.

Comet had a pretty long and successful run; I would guess about 25 years.
Pretty sure it's still open, not sure the current name though. I drive by it every now and then. Having went to Bethany, our school skate nights were there until they moved it to Yukon due to crime in the general area of the rink. It's definitely a lot rougher neighborhood than it used to be. The apartments behind there sure don't help.

Bigrayok
02-10-2012, 03:13 PM
It is called Galaxy now.

Bigray in Ok

UnclePete
02-10-2012, 07:37 PM
Even though we went to the Rocket and to the Comet quite often, we generally went to Joyland on SE 29th Street (between Del City and Midwest City) because it was closer to home (Nicoma Park-Choctaw). BTW, does anyone remember an ice skating rink on the East side? I am thinking it was East of Lincoln Blvd.

metro
02-11-2012, 08:54 AM
Big ray is right, I drove by last night, it's Galaxy. I took a pic and will post soon.

Pete
02-11-2012, 09:22 AM
Skate Galaxy has a website: http://skategalaxyokc.com/.

And it looks like they have done a nice job renovating/updating the place. Here's a photo of the brand new rink floor:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/cometnow.jpg

Tritone
02-11-2012, 08:06 PM
Looks nice. So it's a swimming pool now? Okay, I jest; sure looks like one.

ChoctawNDNGirl
02-11-2012, 10:10 PM
I remember Rocket having those "humps" or mini hills on their wooden floor.. Anyone else remember that ?? ... I was a Comet girl myself..... I remember some kid named Scott Wainscott that was like the floor ref or whatever they were called, that would blow his whistle if you were going too fast, the wrong way or whatever..... And couples skating to Dream Weaver...... hahahah !!!!

rcjunkie
02-12-2012, 05:52 PM
I remember Rocket having those "humps" or mini hills on their wooden floor.. Anyone else remember that ?? ... I was a Comet girl myself..... I remember some kid named Scott Wainscott that was like the floor ref or whatever they were called, that would blow his whistle if you were going too fast, the wrong way or whatever..... And couples skating to Dream Weaver...... hahahah !!!!

You must be thinking of some other place, I skated the Rocket at least once a week for 5--6 years and they never had humps or mini hills. The Skate Center on S. Western did, but not the Rocket.

BlackmoreRulz
02-12-2012, 06:20 PM
We went skating at some church downtown once, mid to late 60's early 70's, seems like it was on the third floor. Want to say it was near the 10th & Walker area. Anyone have a clue?

Prunepicker
02-12-2012, 06:41 PM
We went skating at some church downtown once, mid to late 60's
early 70's, seems like it was on the third floor. Want to say it was near
the 10th & Walker area. Anyone have a clue?
Could it have been the unitarian church on N.W. 13th & N. Walker?
There's a large room upstairs that may have been large enough to
skate in.

Prunepicker
02-12-2012, 06:58 PM
I remember Rocket having those "humps" or mini hills on their wooden
floor. Anyone else remember that?
That was Moore's Skate-O-Rama on S. Western. They had a bicycle
shop, too.

FRISKY
02-13-2012, 01:06 AM
That was Moore's Skate-O-Rama on S. Western. They had a bicycle
shop, too.They also had an outside skate area on the north end of the building.

In 1970 I bought a custom made 10-speed bicycle ($295) from Moore's Wheel-O-Rama.

FRISKY
02-13-2012, 01:26 AM
I remember Rocket having those "humps" or mini hills on their wooden floor.. Anyone else remember that ?? ... I was a Comet girl myself..... I remember some kid named Scott Wainscott that was like the floor ref or whatever they were called, that would blow his whistle if you were going too fast, the wrong way or whatever..... And couples skating to Dream Weaver...... hahahah !!!!I also thought the Rocket had "bumps" at the south end of the skate floor...that were removed at some point.

Remember the Fast skate, Hokey-Pokey and Shoot-the-duck?

rcjunkie
02-13-2012, 04:44 AM
We went skating at some church downtown once, mid to late 60's early 70's, seems like it was on the third floor. Want to say it was near the 10th & Walker area. Anyone have a clue?

Olivet Baptist Church. NW 10th just W. of Western.

BBatesokc
02-13-2012, 07:53 AM
I also thought the Rocket had "bumps" at the south end of the skate floor...that were removed at some point.

Remember the Fast skate, Hokey-Pokey and Shoot-the-duck?

and an "All Skate" and "Ladies Choice couples skate"

metro
02-13-2012, 10:49 AM
Sorry for poor quality, I took at night on my cell phone while in the car. But you can clearly see Galaxy is still open, although not the best area of town anymore. Pretty Ghetto around this area now.

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/galaxy.jpg

Pete
02-13-2012, 11:06 AM
Love that they are using the vintage sign, which still looks cool.

They've spent a lot of money to update the place and I hope it's successful.

Okcbld
02-13-2012, 05:22 PM
Comet was built and has been owned since new by the Lippert family which also owns one of OKC's bigger commercial construction companies, Lippert Brothers Construction. I used to walk their Friday nights back in the early 70's.

metro
02-27-2012, 12:35 PM
Article in today's Oklahoman.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-skaters-catch-the-rhythm/article/3652661

Pete
02-27-2012, 01:53 PM
Very cool!

I'm considering having part of my class reunion (PC '78) there. Maybe just a Saturday afternoon thing for people and their kids and grandkids.

AT_R
04-05-2012, 08:48 AM
Ah, memories of the 70's and the Comet. This thread just took me back to days of long ago!

Prunepicker
04-06-2012, 08:23 PM
Here's something that may be of interest of Comet history buffs.
From February 24, 1962.

http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/1962/02/24/25/Img/Ar0250211.png

Prunepicker
04-06-2012, 08:38 PM
Here's an article from October 1, 1965. The last word of the
article is error.

http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/1965/10/01/35/Img/Ar0350000.png

http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/1965/10/01/35/Img/Ar0350001.png
http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/1965/10/01/35/Img/Ar0350002.png

http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/1965/10/01/35/Img/Ar0350002.png

Chickenlisa
04-08-2012, 12:33 AM
We had a school skate night at the Galaxy last week and it was great. New paint and carpet, refinished skating surface, and best of all, brand new skates!

RadicalModerate
04-09-2012, 08:26 AM
If I'm not mistaken, the tenth word of the article is also error.
(Unless, of course, "egementary" schools existed back in the 60s.)

Tritone
04-09-2012, 08:21 PM
Actually, "egementary" schools were early alternative education programs. Good eye.

Willb
09-26-2013, 11:10 AM
My sister learned to roller skate there, when she was in girl scouts in the early '70's

soonergeezer
08-07-2014, 03:04 PM
Comet was built and has been owned since new by the Lippert family which also owns one of OKC's bigger commercial construction companies, Lippert Brothers Construction. I used to walk their Friday nights back in the early 70's.
Lippert's still own the property, they just lease it to the guy that runs it now.

Pete
08-13-2018, 08:54 AM
I went to a birthday party for my niece at what is now Skate Galaxy and found that they have done a nice renovation there.

I had not been in that building for well over 40 years. Nice to see it still be used by new generations.

Even took a few turns on the floor for old time's sake!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/skategalaxy081218.jpg

Midtowner
08-13-2018, 02:59 PM
I thought they had a church in there or something now??? It looks exactly the same. I think the ceiling may be new.

Uptowner
08-13-2018, 03:15 PM
Damn, Pete! You outta date! Go on Sunday nights, it’s adults only. You’ll catch me there at least once a month.

Urbanized
08-13-2018, 04:50 PM
...Even took a few turns on the floor for old time's sake! ...
Did you do the limbo? Or better yet, did you race around skating fancy and backwards with your shirt off, mullet flowing and a Goody comb in your back pocket?

Pete
08-13-2018, 04:55 PM
Did you do the limbo? Or better yet, did you race around skating fancy and backwards with your shirt off, mullet flowing and a Goody comb in your back pocket?

No, I just stood there looking awesome in my Keep on Truckin' t-shirt and waited for Ladies Choice.

Urbanized
08-13-2018, 04:59 PM
Awwwwwwww yeeaaaaahhhhhh

Here's one for the ladies....

Uptowner
08-14-2018, 04:26 AM
They also host roller derby if you get tired of doing the same thing all the time. Calendar is on their website.