blogger mom

One night every year at Christmas time when I was a little girl we would pick up my grandparents and take them downtown with us to see the lights and the nativity. These are some of my favorite Christmas memories. This was before City Center, back when we would do our Christmas shopping at the downtown Lazarus, sit on Santa's lap, and go to the secret santa shop to buy gifts for our family. Downtown Columbus was a special place at Christmas when I was little. So, I was really excited to get the following email forwarded to me from a friend today:

DOWNTOWN DELIVERS HOLIDAY ON ICE

Ferris wheel, rink to entice revelers

Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2005

By Debbie Gebolys

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The hot issue * Will you come Downtown to see the new skating rink and Ferris wheel this holiday season? Comment at www.dispatch.com
An outdoor skating rink and a 75-foot Ferris wheel are the seasonal trimmings that boosters hope will add to the holiday feel Downtown this year. One went so far as to mention Rockefeller Center in the same breath. The Ferris wheel will be erected next to the rink in the westbound lanes of E. State Street between the Statehouse and Columbus City Center. The attractions will operate from Nov. 15 through New Year's Day, as Downtown boosters hope to draw holiday revelers. The Statehouse itself will be aglow, thanks to a $40,000 electrical upgrade paid for by businesses adjacent to Capitol Square and other contributors. A 40-by-120-foot rink is to span the sidewalk and westbound lanes of State across from Fifth Third Center. It's the first rink Downtown in two decades. Strands of colored lights above the rink and white lights on the frame of the Ferris wheel should help attract holiday visitors, boosters said. Music from the rink, where hot chocolate and other refreshments will be offered, will add to the seasonal flavor, they said. "What we needed was an infusion of activity and attention Downtown," said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, which organized the attractions. "We wanted to begin a new tradition for families to make Downtown a part of their holiday plans." At the Statehouse last year, overloaded circuits shorted out several times and left the square with fewer holiday lights than overseers wanted. Bill Carleton, executive director of Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, said turning up the lights this year will coincide with extended hours at the cafe and gift shop in the Statehouse basement. Docent-led tours of the building will be offered Friday and Saturday nights, he added. The Downtown holiday festivities are to begin with the Statehouse tree-lighting ceremony Nov. 15. For the third year, Downtown arts and cultural attractions will promote the festivities and give ticket buyers coupons for reduced admissions to the skating rink and Ferris wheel. City Center also is participating, sending Santa to the rink for visits and photos with children. Skating and Ferris wheel rides are "a nice icing on the cake, in addition to going shopping or to a show," Ricksecker said. Downtown last had an outdoor ice rink in 1986. A block south at Town and S. High streets, the Centrum lasted seven years. Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. built the rink with federal, city and donated money as its first Downtown project. Meant to be a companion to the then-unbuilt Columbus City Center, the rink lost money every year it operated. Capitol South demolished the Centrum to make room for a possible fourth department store at the mall and sold the land to mall owners. The site remains a grassy space adjacent to the mall. The Centrum, more than twice as large as the State Street rink, attracted 60,000 skaters in its first four months of operation. Ricksecker would like to see 17,500 skaters and 35,000 Ferris wheel riders during the six weeks of operation. Rink General Manager Pat Murphy said the rink will be roughly half the size of the Columbus Blue Jackets rink at Nationwide Arena. "For what we plan to use it for, it's a pretty good size," Murphy said. "It could fit 120 people comfortably." Lessons will be offered. "It's going to be a unique experience," Murphy said. "There are very few opportunities outside any more, and there's going to be a festive atmosphere with decorations and music, kind of like a Rockefeller Center. "I'm excited about it," he said. If you go An ice rink and Ferris wheel on E. State Street between S. 3rd and S. High streets will be open from Nov. 15 through Jan. 1. Traffic on State Street will be restricted. Hours 4-10 p.m. most weekdays; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. school vacation days, weekends and New Year's Day; noon-6 p.m. Thanksgiving and Christmas Admission Ice rink $6.50, skate rental $2; Ferris wheel $3