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New York City and roller skating have a long history. In 1863, inventor and East Village furniture store owner James Leonard Plimpton filed the first American patent for a skate with square wheels. Plimpton, who struggled with weak ankles, loved skating but hated the loss of balance; his innovation consisted of four wide, spaced wheels that allowed even novice skaters to achieve stability. Plimpton’s skates were a hit, and he turned his shop into one of the city’s first roller skating rinks, which became a must-visit. Since then, many trendy rinks have sprung up in New York City—like the Empire Roller Skating Center in Brooklyn, the Roxy in Manhattan, and Skate Key in the Bronx—but most are now closed.
Photograph by Landon Nordeman for The New Yorker
Still, Plympton's legacy lives on at Xanadu , a dynamic roller rink-nightclub-music venue that opened last summer in Bushwick. The venue has built a loyal following for its bright, disco-lit parties, with DJs spinning on skate nights, and an emphasis on education: Every Sunday and Wednesday, Xanadu hosts a class for beginners of all levels called “Skaterobics.” Get skating.—Rachel Syme
About the city
Broadway
Death in 1911 was just the beginning for Elmer McCurdy, the real-life inspiration for Dead Outlaw , the lush rock musical created by David Yazbeck, Eric Dell Penna, and writer Itamar Moses. The hard-bitten McCurdy (Andrew Durand) rises from failed train robber to the coroner's desk to his posthumous career as an amusement park prop, his long, strange story told with palpable optimism by Jeb Brown and a superb honky-tonk band. American Pastimes Unfold Through McCurdy: The Stories of Jesse J
Sourse: newyorker.com
