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Re “Does Ice Rink Merit Designated Historic Status”
Shannon Takahashi, whose family was the face of the Culver City Ice Arena until last winter, is rallying friends and supporters to participate in this evening’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting at City Hall.
Urging former rink patrons and fans to rally in the Courtyard of City Hall between 5 o’clock and 6, Ms. Takahashi is hoping to create sufficient impetus to reopen the 52-year-old rink. It has been dark for 5 ½ months, traceable to a variety of disputes.
The single action item on the Council agenda is consideration of a Cultural Affairs Commission recommendation to grant special historical status to the slumbering, currently closed rink.
If the Council concurs – that is by no means assured – Ms. Takahashi hopes that would muscularize her message that the Ice Arena not only is worth saving, but must be preserved.
Over the weekend, she fired off a 250-word Save the Rink email to friends of the rink (reproduced below), and Ms. Takahashi is hoping that property owner Michael Karagozian is listening.
She encouraged fellow believers to contact all five Council members, underscoring the need for them to embrace Cultural Affairs’ recommendation of the rink as a “Significant” historical landmark. She included every member’s email address and telephone number.
Ms. Takahashi told the newspaper on Sunday that “it is vital that the Council agree with Cultural Affairs’ intention of keeping the (signature) ice skater sign and the building itself.”
She said Mr. Karagozian has said “it is not economically feasible for him to keep the property as a rink. We don’t agree with that. But, obviously, it is his property.
“I understand that he has turned down offers from two different companies that want to keep the building as a rink.
“I think he is more looking to develop it (in a different direction) rather than keeping it as history.”
Mr. Karagozian’s parents owned the property in 1962 when the Culver City Ice Arena was established, and it has been in the family ever since.
Dear Friends, Fans and Fellow Skaters,
URGENT: NEED TO CONTACT OUR CULVER CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
On May 13, 2014, the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission voted UNANIMOUSLY to recommend that the City Council declare our rink a City Cultural Resource with the Cultural Resource Designation of “Significant.”
Unless City Council retains this precise designation we have virtually no chance of regaining our treasured rink. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE CONTACT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE CLEAR ON THE VALUE THAT THIS CULTURAL RESOURCE, OUR TREASURED CULVER CITY ICE ARENA, PROVIDES US. We need to call, email, and relay in person how incredibly important our rink is to its city!
COUNCIL WILL BE VOTING THIS COMING MONDAY, JULY 28TH AT 7PM.
We need to show our biggest presence yet! PLEASE contact every single one of the Culver City Council Members and request their support! We have reason to believe that not all are in favor of preserving our invaluable history. As elected officials who are chosen to represent our community, they need to know the strength of our commitment. It is incumbent upon our council members in gaining the significant Historical Designation of Culver City Ice Arena. All numbers and email addresses are listed below.
WE NEED OUR RINK BACK!!!!
*****Please join us for this MOST IMPORTANT RALLY YET, before the meeting at 5pm, in front of City Hall. Free parking is under the building at 9770 Culver Blvd. Entrance on Duquesne.*****
SAVE CULVER ICE!!!!!!!!
Ms. Takahashi may be contacted at plurshannon@earthlink.net
