The Last Song

For the rinks that played their final song.

Every rink here closed for good after years of skating. Each story is told from sources, and you can add your own memory.

The empty maple skating floor at World on Wheels under dark trusses and bright panel lights, with the neon World On Wheels sign glowing on the far wall — Shared by Juda

Four men in matching pink outfits and white gloves skate in step on a rink floor while a crowd watches from the edge — Photo: Los Angeles Magazine

1981 to 2020

World on Wheels

Mid-City, Los Angeles

Where Los Angeles hip-hop learned to skate.

World on Wheels opened in 1981 on Venice Boulevard in Mid-City Los Angeles and grew into the heart of the city’s Black indoor skating scene, built on hip-hop and R&B. It hosted KDAY broadcasts and earned a shout-out in Snoop Dogg’s “The Way Life Used to Be.”

It closed in June 2013 after its owner filed for bankruptcy. In July 2017 it reopened with investment from rapper Nipsey Hussle and promoter Tommy Karas.

It closed again in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rink also appears in the HBO documentary United Skates.

Sources

CBS Local, 2013-06-23: closing after three decades
Los Angeles Times, 2017-06-29: reopening
Los Angeles Magazine: The Roller Rink That Incubated L.A. Hip-Hop Is Back
Los Angeles Times, 2021-01-06: its future after 2020

A group of skaters pose together on the patterned carpet at Holiday Skate Center, under a sunset and palm tree mural — Shared by Juda, who started skating here

1973 to 2026

Holiday Skate Center

Orange, California

Fifty-three years on Wayfield Street.

Holiday Skate Center opened in 1973 at 175 N. Wayfield Street in Orange: a 19,015 square foot rink on a 1.5 acre site.

Its final sessions were on August 2, 2026. The lease ended June 30 and the property owner chose not to renew it. A proposed 46-townhome project would need the site rezoned from commercial to residential, and a community petition opposed it.

This is not Holiday Skating Center in Victorville, which is open.

Sources

Orange County Business Journal, 2026-08-03: housing plan forces skating rink closure
Orange Review: Keeping Holiday Skate Center

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