Wonderland Roller Arena

Wonderland Roller Arena

Wonderland Roller Arena, located at 5090 N. Blackstone Ave., Fresno, circa 1950. Color lithographic postcard published by Willats Printing of San Francisco. Owners Frank and Josephine Torcaso opened the first Wonderland in May 1949, at 5310 N. Blackstone Ave. Built at a cost of $30,000 and featuring a knotty pine interior, it was destroyed by fire in 1954. The Wonderland shown in the postcard image was built for $100,000 following the earlier structure’s demise. The new building included a restaurant, snack bar and swimming pool. A note on the card’s verso states the rink was host to the “1955 California State and Southwest Pacific Coast Regional Championships.” Apartments were built over the rink in 1960, and the rink was relocated to a site on Belmont Avenue in 1972. The building later housed Bill’s Furniture and Appliances. TorNino’s, a banquet facility opened by Chet Torcaso in the mid-1980s, now occupies part of the site, along with an antique consortium and restaurant.

Willats Printing - S.F.

ca. 1955

Copyright status unknown. This work may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, its reproduction may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. This work is accessible for purposes of education and research. Transmission or reproduction of works protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

1 postcard : color ; 8.9 x 14 cm.

en

Still Image

FPC_00265