Remembering the Tiffany’s Skate Inns of Spokane, Kent, and Puyallup – Roller Rinks of a Bygone Era

The primary focus of this article is on the Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn where I was a Ladies’ Singles competitive skater. The article also includes references to the other two rinks—the Kent Tiffany’s Skate Inn and Skate Tiffany’s rink in Puyallup. All three rinks were designed and financed by Richard F. Robertson, a former Spokane resident.

He was an enterprising Pacific Northwest businessman and commercial developer based in Kirkland, Washington. His primary legacy was rooted in regional family entertainment that he developed in the late 1960s. His projects were personal business ventures. An example of which was choosing to name all of the rinks after his new born daughter, Tiffany.

He did not just build standard roller skating rinks. He designed state-of-the art, grand multi-use recreational centers. The rinks included high-end features with custom theatrical stage lighting, professional sound systems, dressing rooms, and the ultimate in specialized hardwood floors. They were referred to as “rotunda” floors. In roller skating rink terminology, “rotunda” refers to the specific orientation of the wood boards, not a round building or room in architectural terms.

There was a process involved in constructing the curved (rotunda) roller skating floors of the Tiffany’s Skate Inn rinks. They were built by laying premium tongue-and-groove boards in a continuous, curved oval layout over a cushioned, multi-layered floating subfloor. The boards were steamed and bent to form the tight, sweeping curves of the corners to follow the natural grain of the wood and flow of the skaters. The process ensured the skaters would roll with the grain of the wood for maximum speed and smoothness. The wood floors also had a slight flex or “bounce” to them to help cushion skaters when they fell compared to modern plastic floors.

Several of the images in this article of the Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn have the Skate Tiffany’s Puyallup branding on them. These images were courtesy of Dennis King, Jr., who owned the Puyallup rink.

Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn

Tiffany’s Skate Inn opened in Spokane in October, 1968. The rink had a sleek, ultra-modern appearance which was an uncommon building style for a skating rink. It was touted as “the finest roller skating center in the United States”.

The rink was unusual for its size with soaring, high un-pillared ceilings. The ceilings conveyed a bright, open and airy feel, not the typical dark warehouse-style of common rinks.

The rink was located at 708 W. Boone Avenue. It had a covered driveway entrance to drop off skaters and plenty of parking. It was right across the street from the Coliseum; the Spokane Arena is now in its place.

The rink cost $700,000 to build and was 30,000 square feet in size. It had the largest wood floor of the Tiffany’s rinks and was as large as the Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink in Portland, Oregon.

The curved (rotunda) floor was 100 x 200 feet in size (20,000 square-foot skating surface made of maple wood). Because the floor was so large, it could easily accommodate large groups of public session skaters at any given time. The floor itself cost approximately $300,000 to build.

In the center of the rink suspended from the ceiling was a beautiful mirrored ball. When the rink lights were dimmed, the prisms projected moving splashes of vibrant blues, greens, and reds across the floor and the walls.

The rink also had a pro shop, skate rental and repair shop, an enclosed booth with modern sound equipment, and a snack bar and entertainment area that included a pool table and pinball machines.

Top Tier Management Talent and Instructors Recruited

To ensure his investments succeeded, Richard Robertson recruited top-tier talent. For the Spokane rink, he hired Jerry and Joan Peltier who were from the Seattle area to manage daily operations and establish local skating teams.

They were highly regarded, certified professional skating instructors and coaches who competed at the national level. Roller skating had been a way of life for Jerry since 1949; he even met Joan while roller skating.

Jerry was very community minded. He integrated the rink in several local activities. Such activities included: the March of Dimes, Easter Seal Society, and the Spokane Lilac Parades. Examples of these activities are included later in this article.

Public Sessions and Skating Advancement

The rink was open for public skating sessions during the week and private parties on Tuesdays that offered a mix of activities. Three of the more popular activities included: couples skate, the Hokey Pokey, and fast skate. The fast skate was promoted, as Tiffany’s had a speed skating team and actively recruited new members.

There were also opportunities to become involved in figure skating which included Ladies’ and Men’s Singles, Figures, and Dance skating. There were group lessons given on Saturday mornings starting at the beginner level as well as more advanced levels. The lessons were given to encourage skater development.

Tiffany’s also recruited dance and figure skaters to join the team and represent the rink in area competitions. There were private lessons available so that the instructors could work one-on-one with the skaters for improvement. There were also practice times after the public sessions which enabled skaters to work on their skating skills.

The rink had speed, dance, and figure skating coaches who focused on preparing the skaters for upcoming competitions.

The Thursday night sessions had organ music for dance skaters to practice their pattern dances. It was also an opportunity for the session skaters to observe dance skating to encourage them to become involved.

The organ music varied in style to accommodate common pattern dances categories such as waltzes, tangos, foxtrots, and marches. Within the categories, there are various types such as: the Continental Waltz, Argentine Tango, Olympic Foxtrot, and Skaters March.

Life’s Lessons Learned through Competitive Skating

Competitive skating builds character and teaches life lessons. Such life lessons include: when you fall, you get up and keep going (resilience); developing self-confidence through accepting yourself and your abilities; how to keep calm under competitive pressure and stress; accepting your mistakes and learning from them, how to deal with difficult people; and living with sore, pulled muscles.

Tiffany’s Skate Inn Selected as a Local Concert Venue

In March, 1970, the Spokane City Council passed an ordinance to ban outdoor rock concerts and amplified music in city parks in reaction to the Woodstock festival in New York in 1969. City authorities worried about the lewdness, excessive noise, and drugs that could accompany those “hip type” events.

After the ordinance, the local Jaycees moved dances from Shadle Park that were held on Saturday nights to Tiffany’s Skate Inn as a local concert venue. The rink was an obvious choice for special event concerts and dances. It had a huge floor, stage, dressing rooms, and a great sound system. The rink also had a reputation as a clean, orderly recreation venue. There were rink rules of conduct in place that the public had to abide by when either skating or attending a concert.

There were a variety of artists at the Tiffany’s Skate Inn dances. Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts in which she sang her hit, “Angel of the Morning”, and the Box Tops who had a string of Top 40 hits through the 1960s including “The letter”. Those were some examples to name a few.

Tiffany’s Supported the March of Dimes in Various Ways

Telethons

The rink also hosted special events such as the March of Dimes telethons in 1970 and 1971. The telethons were local marathon television broadcasts and usually held over a weekend. Typically, they would begin on Saturday morning and end on Sunday afternoon. They united communities in the spirit of giving to help prevent birth defects.

Donations were taken by phones set up at the rink and by the public dropping off donations. A prominent running totals board was displayed to track viewer phone pledges live on the air. Local schools, businesses, and volunteer groups also competed with rival pledges.

Popular celebrities would participate in the telethons to bring attention to their importance and to help raise donations. Former Miss America 1959, Mary Ann Mobley, attended along with her film director husband, Gary Collins. There was also Mary Sue Wilcox, United States Ladies’ Roller Skating Champion 1967 and 1969; singer, Merrilee Rush; Nancy Kay Peterson, Miss Washington 1970; and Colleen McCarty, Miss Spokane 1971.

A March of Dimes telethon broadcast at Tiffany’s in Spokane was in January, 1970, and raised almost $2,300. A letter was sent by the director to the manager of the rink, Jerry Peltier, afterwards. It was to thank him for the long hours the young people on his staff worked and for the rink’s generous donation. The local director also wrote, “We like the strict discipline maintained at the Skate Inn and appreciate the ‘no foolishness’ rules of your establishment”.

Dances and Skate Parties

There were also donations gathered from the dances that were held such as one in April, 1969, in which $2,029 was raised. Skate parties also raised donations such as the one held in April, 1969, which contributed $300.

Walk-a-Thons

Tiffany’s also supported a March of Dimes Walk-a-Thon in 1973. The course was a 20-mile loop through northwest Spokane. Some 2,200 participants either walked or jogged.

They left the Coliseum at 8 a.m. following a route that was along the north side of the Spokane River and finished at Tiffany’s Skate Inn. Approximately $40,000 was raised. The donations went toward medical scholarships, a birth defects clinic at the University of Washington, and for national birth defects research.

Tiffany’s Supported the Easter Seal Society

In October, 1974, a 15-mile hike from Tiffany’s Skate Inn to Riverside State Park and back was held. It raised about $10,000 for the Easter Seal Society to support services for disabled children. The average time it took the participants to complete the 15-mile hike was seven and a half hours.

Tiffany’s Supported the Scouting Program

Tiffany’s offered a program that met the requirements for Scouts to receive their merit badges for roller skating. Tiffany’s began offering the program when they opened in 1968. Over 2,000 Scouts received their merit badges during the period of time Tiffany’s was actively involved in the program.

Tiffany’s Supported a “Dine Out Spokane” Program

Tiffany’s participated in a “Dine Out Spokane” program to help the community beat the high cost of living. For $7.50, participants would receive $75 in services. A membership booklet of coupons was mailed which was good for a year on meals and entertainment.

Tiffany’s Enters Skating Floats in Parades

As a good way to promote the rink and participate in community events, Tiffany’s Skate Inn entered floats in the annual parades. A float was entered in the Spokane Torchlight Parade that was held on May 16, 1969, which won first place in the Commercial Division.

Tiffany’s also won first place in the Commercial Division at the Torchlight parade on May 14, 1971, for its entry of a huge green caterpillar. Tiffany’s participated again in 1972 with a float that had demonstrations of dance and figure skaters.

A Retrospect on The Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn Closure in 1975

Sadly, the Tiffany’s Skate Inn rink closed in 1975 and was torn down in March, 2023. The fond memories made there will keep it alive in our hearts.

The rink will always be remembered for its stunning architecture and world-class hardwood skating floor. It really lived up to its reputation as “the finest roller skating center in the United States”. That type of a rink would never be built today.

The rules of conduct at the rink which the Peltier’s enforced taught the young people how to appropriately conduct themselves in public. The competitive skating opportunities also played a part in the development of the young people in the community who participated in them. The management of the rink was also a good example to other small businesses of the importance of being involved in the community.

The Tiffany’s Skate Inn Trilogy

The three rinks Richard Robertson built shared similar large-scale layouts but each had its own unique character and final ending. As the Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn rink has been covered in this article, the following information is on the Kent and Puyallup rinks.

Kent, Washington, Tiffany’s Skate Inn

The first rink that was built by Richard Robertson was in Kent, Washington, in 1967. The floor was also made of maple in a rotunda shape. The exact dimensions of the floor could not be found. The address of the rink was 19639 84th Avenue South in Kent.

The building served as a skating rink until approximately 1986 when it became the Omni Nightclub (also referred to as the Omni Dance Club) with a teenage focus. The dance club closed in approximately January 1993. The building has since been used for other purposes such as an event center because of its large floor.

Puyallup, Washington, Skate Tiffany’s

The Puyallup rink was the third one in the trilogy that was built in 1969. The address was 1113 North Meridian. It had a maple wood rotunda floor that measured approximately 90 x 180 feet.

I have fond memories of competing in dance and figure skating competitions at the rink. They were held on weekends in which skaters from rinks all over the state of Washington attended. I competed in the Ladies’ Singles events. The competitions were an opportunity for me to perform my jumps and spins. I could then see how my skating compared to other skaters in order to know what I needed to work on.

Dennis King Jr. took ownership of the rink in 2013 when his father, Dennis King Sr. passed away. Dennis King Jr. kept the retro charm while adding modern amenities such as multi-colored lantern lighting and flat-screen monitors.

Sadly, the rink suffered a fire on September 8, 2020. The fire was believed to have started in a mechanical/electrical closet following a power outage. The building is for sale being marketed for redevelopment.

The Three Grand Rinks Shown Together

Images of the three grand rinks are shown here in the order in which they were built:

Kent Tiffany’s Skate Inn: the first rink built in 1967.

Spokane Tiffany’s Skate Inn: the second rink built in 1968.

Puyallup Skate Tiffany’s: the third rink built in 1969.

Closing Remarks

Even though the Tiffany’s rinks have passed into memory, their spirit endures in the lives they touched across the Pacific Northwest. Their soaring ceilings, gleaming maple floors, and mirrored balls are gone, but the feeling of belonging they offered remains deeply held by those who once glided across their surfaces.

Remembering Tiffany’s Skate Inns—Spokane, Kent, and Puyallup—is more than recalling three rinks. They were rinks in which the simple joy of skating brought people together, where friendships were forged, and young people learned lessons for life. Their stories still warm the heart and preserve the glow of a bygone era that will always be cherished.