Barrett Paving bought the land shortly after the theater and skating rink closed for good in 2015. The concrete company plans to put a mining site there, said Jim Meckstroth, a local regional manager for Barrett Paving.
Betty Danks of Fairborn was at the roller rink on Monday to say goodbye.
Danks and her husband, Bill, got married at the rink in 1994. They went to movies at the drive-in theater when they were dating.
“I just loved that rink,” 68-year-old Danks said. “The disco ball was going, and my sons skated me down the aisle. It was perfect for us.”
Danks said she has been skating since she was 13 and taught all of her children to skate.
MORE: Missing a pig? Call Fairborn police.
“Skating is something you can do forever,” Danks said. “I still skate with my adult children.”
Danks said she thought she was prepared for the demolition of the roller rink, but she was not.
“It feels like a death,” Danks said. “It’s going to be heartbreaking driving past and to see nothing there.”
Danks recalled New Year’s Eves spent at the Skyborn rink, birthday parties, lessons and meeting many friends there.
“I just keep thinking about being in that rink,” Danks said. “I spent almost my entire life at Skyborn. I’ve lost a part of my heart.”
The theater and skate rink are on the border of Fairborn and Bath Twp.
Bath Twp. trustees rezoned the area in 2018.
Bath Twp. Zoning Inspector Jim Miller said the land is now zoned for mineral extraction and storage.
Miller said a local curling club was looking to lease the roller rink from Barrett, but the gravel company’s corporate offices didn’t want to lease the property, so that never came to fruition.
The drive-in theater showed X-rated movies at one time, Bath Twp. and Fairborn city officials said.
The roller rink opened in 1956.
Meckstroth said the company will be giving the Skyborn sign that is visible off of Ohio 235 to the Fairborn Historical Society.
RELATED: Rezoning means what’s left of Skyborn Drive-In, Skateland will disappear
About the Author
