One of the few activities open to both men and women in the 19th century city, ice skating was hugely popular.
“Skating in a moral and social point, is particularly suited to our republican ideas as a people,” stated the handbook published by the Brooklyn Skating Rink Association for the 1868-1869 season.
Above, skating at Brooklyn’s Union Pond in 1863, once in the town of Williamsburgh on Marcy Avenue.
“The millionaire and the mechanic, the lady of fashion and those of humbler rank, all meet together to enjoy this fascinating and beautiful exercise.”
How democratic ice skating was is not exactly clear. Ice was plentiful, but you needed the money to buy or rent skates.
And the fashionable attire worn by ladies on the ice, as seen in this Winslow Homer painting from 1861, was not cheap.
These sleighs and the handsome teams that pulled them were costly as well, afforded by only the richest New Yorkers.
This Currier & Ives lithograph shows the skaters and the sleighs, sharing a snowy Central Park in what looks like the 1860s.
Tags: 19th century New York City, Currier and Ives ice skating, Ice Skating 19th century, ice skating Brooklyn, ice skating Central Park, Union Pond Williamsburgh Brooklyn, Winslow Homer ice skating
Ephemeral New York 
February 18, 2015 at 9:12 pm |
Are you familiar with the Ladies Pond in Central Park? I only learned about this just recently. Wasn’t all that successful, to the ladies’ credit. Gotta love those Victorians!
February 18, 2015 at 11:49 pm |
I recently saw a short segment about the beginnings of the Central Park ice skating rink. The host said it was so popular because it was the first type of “sanctioned” exercise for women. Ice skating opened the door to other sports for women.
January 5, 2017 at 8:11 am |
[…] is it about skating that captivated so many New York City illustrators and painters during the 19th and early 20th […]
March 5, 2018 at 7:32 am |
[…] the 1860s, New Yorkers were crazy about ice skating, and there were plenty of daytime and moonlit places to hit the ice, including Central Park and […]
March 5, 2018 at 7:47 am |
[…] the 1860s, New Yorkers were crazy about ice skating, and there were plenty of daytime and moonlit places to hit the ice, including Central Park and […]
March 5, 2018 at 9:38 am |
[…] the 1860s, New Yorkers were crazy about ice skating, and there were plenty of daytime and moonlit places to hit the ice, including Central Park and […]
March 5, 2018 at 1:54 pm |
[…] the 1860s, New Yorkers were crazy about ice skating, and there were plenty of daytime and moonlit places to hit the ice, including Central Park and […]
January 11, 2021 at 3:23 am |
[…] seen paintings and illustrations of 19th century New Yorkers ice skating in Central Park and on the ponds of Brooklyn. But this Currier & Ives lithograph (after a painting by Charles Parsons) might be the […]
September 20, 2021 at 3:32 am |
[…] Perhaps Homer isn’t capturing just the carriage parade but the various ways Gotham’s wealthy and their horses used new park. Take the woman in the foreground, for example. Thanks to the carriage drive, riding was now socially acceptable for ladies, according to Morris. […]