The First Five Years

Reception was warm on the part of the Providence inhabitants from all neighborhoods. According to one Providence Journal article from 1998, "People who say that haven't been to downtown Providence in years are now coming to ice skate." Young people also enjoy the opportunity of a fun job outdoors, rink employees the chance of a visit by the Mayor or a former Brown President, while some enthusiastic young people use the opportunity to propose to the loved one to the tune of a song in stock at the skating rink. Still there are others who enjoy yet another aspect of the skating rink, namely the fact that it managed to chance the reputation of downtown. As predicted by one writer of the Providence Journal in Nov. 1998, the outdoor rink turned the downtown not only into a more fun area, but also into a safer area.

The rink has also been geared to attract Rhode Islanders from places other than Providence, as well as tourists from all over. During opening weekend, people came from all over Rhode Island, as well as from Massachusetts and New York. Six hundred skaters tested the ice before 2 p.m. on the first Saturday after its opening of November 24, 1998.

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