Streatham’s iconic ice arena, designed by Robert Cromie, opened on 26 February 1931 with a capacity for 1,000 skaters. It was home to the Streatham Redskins (now Redhawks) hockey team.
During WWII, the site was a food store, then reopened as Silver Blades with the Bali Hai cocktail club in 1962. The rink hosted concerts by major bands and served both elite and local skaters, including Jeanette Altwegg, Diane Towler, Bernard Ford, Rebecca Clarke, Theodore Alexander, Jayne Torvill, and Christopher Dean.
The arena closed in December 2011, was demolished, and replaced in November 2013 by a complex featuring an ice rink, leisure centre, Olympic pool, and Tesco Xtra supermarket. Beth Tweddle MBE, the Dancing on Ice Champion and Olympic medallist officially open Streatham’s new Ice and Leisure centre on December 10th.
