A song of ice, fire, and… Buicks? Albuquerque’s Ice Arena

A while back, I came across an old photo on Reddit showing an aerial view looking west along Central Avenue. Something that immediately caught my attention was the large building in the lower right labeled "BUICK"—this building is still there, but I certainly didn't know anything about it ever being used as a car dealership. Many years ago it used to have a bowling sign on the roof, so I'd always assumed it was an old bowling alley. This turned out not to be true; the bowling alley was actually next door. What I found is that the building was used as a Buick dealership at one time, but that was only a short chapter in what has to be one of the strangest histories of any building in the city. This is the story of the Albuquerque Ice Arena.

The mystery begins: notice the large building at the extreme lower right labeled "BUICK". This view is looking west along Central from about San Mateo, c. 1960. Via Reddit.

Bowling? Author's photo, 2003.

On November 26, 1948, a full-page ad appeared in the Albuquerque Journal promising "Thrills! Spills! Action!" That night, for the first time ever, Albuquerque would experience the "Fastest Game on Earth"—ice hockey.¹ Two thousand curious onlookers turned up to watch Colorado College deliver a 14-1 thrashing to the semi-pro Beechcraft Flyers from Wichita, complete with a couple of fights in the final period to "enliven proceedings" according to the next day's paper.² The occasion for this moment in local sports history was the grand opening of the city's newest entertainment venue, a place so unlike anything that had come before, it didn't even need a real name. It was simply the Ice Arena.

Ice-Hockey! Announcing the grand opening of the Ice Arena, 1948. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

The Ice Arena was the brainchild of a guy named Willis C. "Bill" Snelson (1908-1984).³ The internet doesn't have an abundance of biographical information about him, but I did find out that he grew up on a farm outside the small town of Grady in eastern New Mexico and ran a bakery in Clovis in the 1930s.⁴ At some point he clearly became interested in ice rinks, because that was what he spent the entire rest of his career doing. At the time the Ice Arena opened, there were only about 60 indoor ice rinks in the United States, and Snelson was the first person daring (or some might say crazy) enough to build one in New Mexico.⁵ As the Albuquerque Journal wrote in 1955, “the idea of skating in New Mexico seemed about as incongruous as skiing in the Sahara Desert.” ⁶ But Snelson was willing to try it anyway, and as we will see, he was not someone who gave up easily.

Bill Snelson in 1949. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

The Ice Arena under construction, September 1948. Albuquerque Progress via Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library.

At first, Snelson stuck firmly to ice-related activities: skating, hockey, and ice shows like the Ice Cycles, which was a version of the Ice Capades that toured in smaller cities. As a big hockey fan, he hoped to popularize the sport in Albuquerque, and for a while it seemed like he was succeeding: teams formed at the local high schools, and an amateur league was established.^7,8 By 1955, it was reported that hockey was really taking off in the city, even though "a large number of its patrons have only a hazy idea of how the game is played."⁶ But people eventually lost interest, just as they lost interest in the many short-lived teams that have popped up more recently, like the Renegades, Mustangs, Scorpions, and Six-Guns. The big ice shows continued to draw large crowds, but they were only in town a few nights a year. Snelson would have to try something different.

A game between local amateur hockey teams at the Ice Arena, 1949. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

Fortunately, the Ice Arena wasn't just a skating rink, it was also one of the city's largest indoor venues (ice or otherwise), with 3,500 seats and standing room for over 1,000 more. This gave Snelson plenty of room to branch out into other forms of entertainment. He started with boxing matches,⁹ then teamed up with local promoter Mike London to host wrestling as well.¹⁰ London's wrestling matches, featuring performers like Elephant Boy, Canadian Angel, and Mildred Burke ("the pin-up girl who pins 'em down")¹¹ drew big crowds and were even televised on KOB-TV.¹² Eventually the arena would host everything from circuses and rodeos to big band concerts, galas, and even a convention of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Mike London (left) and Bill Snelson (right) prepare for the Ice Arena’s first wrestling show, 1951. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

Things seemed to be going well, and then… disaster. Early on the morning of October 1, 1953, the Ice Arena caught fire, completely destroying the roof of the building along with everything inside: "ice skates, sound system, ice-making machines, furniture, a grand piano, machinery and other equipment." Most of London's wrestling equipment was also destroyed. According to the fire department, the structure had burned so completely that it was not possible to identify the cause of the blaze. The loss was valued at over $300,000 and was not fully covered by insurance, leaving Snelson unsure if he would be able to rebuild.¹³

The arena burns, 1953. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

Once the flames had died down, though, it turned out that the building's cinder-block exterior was still salvageable.¹⁴ By early the following year, Snelson hatched a plan to repair the building and lease it to D&D Buick, who would open "one of the most remarkable car dealerships in the Southwest", with "showrooms, offices, parts department, paint and body shop, service department, customer waiting room, lubrication and wash facilities all under one gigantic roof."^15,16 The dealership's grand opening was attended by 5,000 people, which somewhat bizarrely is more than double the number who turned out to see the city's first hockey game, but then again attendees were being offered the chance to win a trip to Mexico or a blender!^16,17 It later turned into Darwin Buick and then Dan Ely Buick before moving to a new location in 1964.

D&D Buick moving announcement, 1954. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

Advertisement for Darwin Buick, 1955. Albuquerque Journal via Newspapers.com.

This was all well and good, but Bill Snelson still really wanted an ice arena, and he had no intention of giving up. He had taken a bit of a financial hit, though, so this time around he recruited a partner: local real estate man (and former operator of the Liberty Cafe) Gus Bruskas. Just eight months after the fire, the pair announced construction of a new, bigger arena, which would be located at 5100 Lomas NE, just four blocks north of the old one.¹⁸ The architect of the 4,000-seat arena was Willard C. Kruger, better known for designing the New Mexico State Capitol. (The original Ice Arena had a notable architect too, A. W. Boehning, whose son Joe Boehning designed the Pit).¹

Ice Arena II under construction, October, 1954. Albuquerque Progress via Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library.

Ice Arena II, as I'll call it (officially it was still just the Ice Arena), picked right up where the original left off, hosting as its first engagement the Ice Cycles of 1955. This featured (among other things) "a tribute to the 75th anniversary of the invention of the incandescent light" which I’m sure was a sight to behold.¹⁹ Unfortunately, the new arena ran into problems right away. First there were issues with parking (not enough had been provided), and traffic jams when events let out.²⁰ Snelson perhaps saw the writing on the wall and sold his share of the business to Bruskas in 1955.⁶ Later that year Bruskas and Mike London had a bitter falling out which resulted in London moving his popular wrestling shows to a new venue and launching a lawsuit against the Ice Arena.^21,22 

Due to the management's (apparently rather lax) attitude toward safety, there was other legal trouble too, including injury lawsuits due to errant hockey pucks, wrestlers landing on audience members, and slippery walkways.^23,24,25 The victim in the wrestling suit, one Mrs. Brakefield, alleged that "she was at the Ice Arena the night of May 9 when Cecil (Buffalo Bill) Wilson picked up James (Bad Boy) Hines and threw him out of the ring onto her as she sat in a folding chair at ringside. The complaint added that Buffalo Bill then jumped out of the ring and again threw Bad Boy onto Mrs. Brakefield and that after she had been knocked to the floor both wrestlers threw themselves on her while she was prone on the floor 'jointly causing her to become unconscious.'" (You can't make this stuff up.) The arena closed in 1960 and was subsequently converted into a huge department store, the aptly named Giant Store,²⁶ but that too was short-lived. In 1964, just ten years after it was built, the whole thing was razed to make room for a new Safeway.²⁷

Ice Arena II remodeled as a department store, 1960. Albuquerque Journal via Newspaper Archive.

Aerial photos of the Ice Arena II site: 1959 (left) and 2018 (right). CABQ Maps - Historical Aerials.

Strangely, the most notable legacy of Ice Arena II was not the building itself, but its connection to a different and much more iconic piece of history: the Zamboni. Today, of course, these ice resurfacing machines are a venerable and beloved presence at ice rinks around the world, but in 1954, when Snelson bought one for his new arena, it was a niche product barely anyone had heard of. It's possible he became acquainted with the machine when Sonja Henie's Ice Revue came to town in 1953,²⁸ as the former Olympian was one of Zamboni's first customers.²⁹ In any case, the factory-refurbished unit that Snelson ordered, which had previously toured with the Ice Capades, duly cleared the ice for the duration of Ice Arena II's brief existence.

When the arena closed in 1960, the Zamboni and other rink equipment were sold to the Los Alamos Skating Association for $1500. After a productive career in Los Alamos, the machine had to be sent back to the factory for restoration after it was damaged in a fire in 1973. (This is underselling the story a bit; in reality, the Zamboni was dramatically rescued by driving it out of a burning garage in a scene straight out of an action movie). When it arrived for repairs, it was discovered that it was actually Zamboni No. 4, only the fourth one ever sold. The machine was fully restored and is now on display in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota.³⁰ (Here's a blog with some good photos of it.)

Zamboni No. 4 after being damaged in the Los Alamos fire. Via Zamboni Company.

After bailing from the Ice Arena II debacle, Snelson spent some time in Arizona and opened that state's first indoor ice rink too, in 1956.³¹ But clearly he had not given up on Albuquerque. When Dan Ely Buick vacated the original Ice Arena in 1964, Snelson was left with three things: a city with no ice rink, an empty, ice-rink-sized building, and years of experience owning and managing ice rinks. It was not hard for him to put these pieces together. In 1965 he announced that the old building would be turned back into an ice rink, which he named Iceland like the one in Phoenix. Unlike the previous iterations, Iceland had only 400 seats for spectators and was more focused on public skating and other activities like "youth hockey, figure skating, group skating parties and adult hockey".^32,33 As alluded to previously, there was also an adjacent bowling alley.

Iceland in the 1980s. Albuquerque Journal via Newspaper Archive.

Iceland was successful for a while, but eventually closed in 1984.⁵ Even though it was only open for 19 years, it was still the longest lasting out of the three Ice Arena iterations by a considerable margin. The bowling alley held out a little longer, until about 1993, with the former ice rink at some point being converted to an indoor soccer field.³⁴ The arena was then vacant for several years and its future seemed extremely doubtful, but in 2007 it was resurrected as an indoor karting track.³⁵ It has gone from ice to cars to ice and now back to cars. What next? I’m not sure, but I hope the building can be preserved and its remarkable history told for future generations.

Resurrected as Albuquerque Indoor Karting. Author’s photo, 2018.

Sources

1. "Ice-Hockey!" (advertisement). Albuquerque Journal, November 26, 1948. Via Newspapers.com.

2. "Colorado College Whips Wichita Flyers, 14-1, in Local Hockey Premiere." Albuquerque Journal, November 27, 1948. Via Newspapers.com.

3. "Willis Calvin Snelson." Via MyHeritage Family Trees.

4. "City Bakery Has Modern Plant." Clovis News-Journal, October 30, 1938. Via Newspapers.com.

5. Dyroff, Bill. "Ice Skaters Still Optimistic After Rink Closing."
Albuquerque Journal, April 8, 1984. Via Newspapers.com.

6. Peterson, Howard. "Hockey Popularity Soars, But Rules Confuse the Fans." Albuquerque Journal, January 23, 1955. Via Newspapers.com.

7. "Amateur Hockey League Planned." Albuquerque Journal, October 31, 1950. Via Newspapers.com.

8. "Saturday Ice Game Opens Loop Play." Albuquerque Journal, January 4, 1952. Via Newspapers.com.

9. "Sept. 20 Fights To Help Chest." Albuquerque Journal, September 9, 1949. Via Newspapers.com.

10. "Weekly Wrestling Programs Slated for Arena This Winter." Albuquerque Journal, September 9, 1949. Via Newspapers.com.

11. "Burke Defends Fem Title Against Major at Arena." Albuquerque Journal, January 12, 1953. Via Newspapers.com.

12. "Destruction of Ice Arena Orphans Wrestling; TV Squabble Follows." Albuquerque Journal, October 2, 1953. Via Newspapers.com.

13. "$300,000 Ice Arena Fire Leaves No Trace of Cause, Chief Reports." Albuquerque Journal, October 2, 1953. Via Newspapers.com.

14. "Two New Arena Projects Planned." Albuquerque Journal, November 4, 1953. Via Newspapers.com.

15. "Arena to House Buick Firm Here." Albuquerque Journal, February 3, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

16. "Begins Tomorrow! D&D Buick's Grand Opening" (advertisement). Albuquerque Journal, August 5, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

17. "Car Agency Open House Attracts 5000 People." Albuquerque Journal, August 8, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

18. "Building of New Ice Arena Here Begins Next Week." Albuquerque Journal, June 19, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

19. "New Ice Cycles To Mark Opening Of Arena Here." Albuquerque Journal, October 13, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

20. "Ice Arena Asked To Ease Parking." Albuquerque Journal, December 22, 1954. Via Newspapers.com.

21. "London's Wrestling Lease Cancelled at Ice Arena." Albuquerque Journal, July 22, 1955. Via Newspapers.com.

22. "$615,900 Action Filed by London Against Arena." Albuquerque Journal, July 27, 1955. Via Newspapers.com.

23. "Hockey Puck Injury Brings Ice Arena Suit." Albuquerque Journal, May 22, 1956. Via Newspapers.com.

24. "Wrestlers Sued By Spectator." Albuquerque Journal, December 21, 1956. Via Newspapers.com.

25. "Couple File Suit Against Ice Arena." Albuquerque Journal, June 28, 1957. Via Newspapers.com.

26. "76-Department Self-Service Store Readied." Albuquerque Journal, September 27, 1960. Via Newspapers.com.

27. "Structure Being Razed For New Safeway Store." Albuquerque Journal, January 10, 1964. Via Newspapers.com.

28. "Sonja Henie Ice Show Plays Here Five Days." Albuquerque Journal, January 7, 1953. Via Newspapers.com.

29. "The Zamboni Story." Zamboni Company.

30. "The Odyssey Of No. 4." Zamboni Company.

31. "1st Indoor Ice Skating Arena In Arizona Will Open Sept. 1." Arizona Republic, August 26, 1956. Via Newspapers.com.

32. "New Ice Arena Will Open Here." Albuquerque Journal, January 5, 1965. Via Newspapers.com.

33. Dyroff, Bill. "Iceland Arena Set To Reopen." Albuquerque Journal, November 7, 1982. Via Newspapers.com.

34. "For Sale/Unusual Business Opportunity" (advertisement). Albuquerque Journal, April 19, 1993. Via Newspapers.com.

 35. Mayfield, Dan. "Free wheelin': Go-kart racers find themselves craving more motorsports competition." Albuquerque Journal, December 7, 2007. Via Newspapers.com.