News & Politics

No Ice Rink in Shaw This Winter

Rendering of what could have been. Image courtesy Lake Shaw Ice Rink.

Today’s “snowstorm” was a giant bust, but with temperatures forecasted to remain in the 30s all week, at least it’s still prime weather for ice skating. But residents of Shaw in Northwest DC are going to have to lug their skates across town to another neighborhood’s rink.

The Lake Shaw Ice Rink, planned by community activist Lee Granados, couldn’t get enough funding to make its targeted opening of mid-December. Granados had planned to build her rink at Old City Farm and Guild, a nonprofit garden store that operates out of the otherwise unused Shaw Junior High School on Rhode Island Ave., NW.

Granados now hopes to have her rink going next winter. In the mean time, she tells the Washington Post she still plans to have winter sports-themed events at Old City Farm to coincide with the Winter Olympics in February. Just none of the ice sports, apparently.

Even without the Shaw rink, there are still plenty of spots around Washington for eager skaters to carve up the ice.

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.