Ice Skating Rink Opens At Washington Gallery

The rink’s sleek, modern design creates open vistas throughout the parklike setting and offers skaters–both novice and skilled–a truly unique Washington, DC experience.

During the opening weekend in mid-November, visitors who purchase ice time, rent skates, or rent a locker will receive a coupon for a free cup of hot chocolate from the Pavilion Café. For the young and the young at heart, free crayons and placemats with the picture of a skating scene in the Gallery’s collection will be available at the cash registers inside the Café.

The added experience of viewing intriguing works of 20th-century sculpture by renowned artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Miró, Scott Burton, Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, and others, enhances the time spent on and off the ice. The skating surface is approximately 135 feet long and 90 feet wide and can accommodate more than 200 skaters at once.

A state-of-the-art music system, with 24 speakers installed on light poles around the rink, provides uniform sound to skaters, diners, and spectators without distracting other visitors to the Sculpture Garden. At night, lights encircling the rink illuminate the ice, adding to the skating experience and contributing to the festive atmosphere. Thirty-two banners on poles that encircle the ice-skating rink represent a cross-section of the broad range of portraiture in the Gallery’s collection in the East and West Buildings. The Pavilion Café offers a variety of affordable food and beverages for visitors of all ages. -- www.nga.gov