A Place Where Everybody Dared To Go

It's not often you get to participate in seeing off an institution

that has begun to take in its final breaths. Sometimes these places

are sold into new management with new uses in mind,

others destroyed by disaster or a bad business sense.

In the case of the Del Monte Gardens skating arena in

Monterey, California you might say it was fashion

that brought it down.

In its heyday, the arena was the place to go on a Friday night by

the teens of the period. As time progressed it began to lose

its luster as an activity and the crowds dwindled.

It saw a new resurgence as a play land for young families

and as an exciting site for birthday parties.

Unfortunately, time caught up with the Gardens and leases

were lost. The owners held a much different future in mind

for the locale and will soon make way for a new market and

parking lot. It was nice to catch the closing sessions the

weekend before the final closing with a camera

in both video and stills.

 It was nice to catch the closing sessions the

weekend before the final closing with a camera
in both video and stills.

A great remix of the  
Olivia Newton-John/ELO song,

'Xanadu' (Souldrifter's Movie Edit Mix) 
soundtracks the film.