December 20, 2006
ice skating in Austin
The Beau and I went to Northcross Mall the other day to take some photos of the ice-skating rink, with the idea that they might be used on the Responsible Growth for Northcross website. It turned out that RG4N didn't need the photos, but it was a fun trip anyway and I'm glad I had the chance to capture the old Northcross skating rink in pictures. (We've walked there before, but never took photos.)
It was a Saturday afternoon and the rink was full of kids and grownups who were enjoying the chance to ice skate in a city where the rare presence of ice on the ground is treated as a calamity. We also saw a number of people seated at tables next to the ice rink, playing games of some kind. (I can't remember if it was chess or bingo or what.) For a mall that's considered "dead" it was certainly lively.
It took a few minutes for us to realize the one thing that did show the demise of Northcross Mall: It was early December and we didn't see a single holiday decoration. Usually shopping mall interiors have garlands of green stuff, trees, special lights, and maybe a Santa setup. None of the stores in the mall displayed any holiday decor either, or at least nothing we could see from the mall interior. Since the stores and the skating rink will move to a different building next year, and the current mall building is planned for demolition, I assume that no one thought that festive decorations were worth the effort. It didn't matter, however -- the rink was as festive a holiday decoration as anyone might want, as you can see from these photos.
