Skating at the Two-OH-Two
Submitted by Fred Messenger, reprinted from
RSG May 2007 
Skating at the Two-OH-Two
Submitted by Fred Messenger, reprinted from RSG May 2007
The 202nd Armory Rink of Chicago, was a facility Bill and Joe Laurey managed for many years. A letter was submitted for the museum newsletter and printed in the Historical Skating Overview , Issue NO. 12, December 1984. This letter was received from Honorary Member Larry Lavieri, concerning his experiences at the old 202. Oh what fun to go back in time!
“In 1936, I first set foot in a roller rink, the Two-OH-Two, which was actually the drill floor of the 202nd Artillery Armory in Chicago, located at Broadway and Thorndale. The Armory was rented as a roller rink to a man named Fred Leisner, and managed by Bill Henning and Joe Laurey. Saying it was the biggest rink in the country doesn’t tell the half of it. It was common practice for the Illinois National Guard (who owned the building) to park trucks and gun carriages along the South and West walls on the drill floor. However, the floor was so large that the skaters had more than enough room—and then some!
The story in you newsletter mentioned that as many as 2,000 skaters were on the floor at one time. This must have referred to the time the Immaculata (girls) High School held their skating party at the two-OH-Two. I was told the girls sold about 1,500 tickets, and then just to be sure they had nice boys to skate with, they sold another 1,500 tickets at St. George’s (boys) High School. If there were only 2,000 skaters there that night, including the regular patrons, somebody counted the crowd with the idea of tricking the tax collectors. (Note: until the late 1950s, roller skating rinks were liable for Federal Excise Tax on all admissions, a penalty eliminated by the work of the RSROA’s Legislative Affairs Committee.) The figure I heard for that evening was nearer to 4,000 skaters, and must have bee close to the truth.
I was also present at a wedding that took place at the Two-OH-Two. This was during the dark days of the Depression, and the couple that married needed a cut of the box office receipts to get a start in life. Of course the entire wedding party, as well as the spectators, were on skates. This I believe was in 1938!
I originally began skating a few months prior to the organization of the RSROA. I was fortunate to meet Bob Irwin and other serious skaters at the Two-OH-Two at this time, with the result that I was encouraged to really learn to skate properly, rather than going with the “goof off” skating style then prevalent in most rinks. In 1939, the RSROA emblem was hung over the door of the Two-OH-Two although there was really no attempt to teach international style of skating or the “new” dances. It was probably at least a year and a half later that the Two-OH-Two was forces to close as a roller rink because the Selective Service Act made the drill floor a necessity for the 202nd Artillery Batallion of the Illinois National Guard. During the time this rink was open, it was a most enjoyable place to skate, being patronized by very considerate skaters. The Two-OH-Two had the best behaved skaters of the hundreds of rinks I’ve visited in my lifetime.”