Ice, ice baby

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It may be the dead of winter, but the Midway’s ice-skating rink is a lively spot. The ice becomes particularly busy after 5 p.m., when students get out of class and workers emerge from offices. Youngsters show up a few hours earlier. “Once the school kids get here, they’re here to stay,” observed a Park District employee last week while manning the skate-rental desk ($4-$5 a pair). “This is their after-school activity. On the weekend, people are here all the time.”

Out on the ice, bundled-up grade-school children chased each other the length of the rink, while couples holding hands steered careful circles around the outer wall. Adult beginners practiced crossovers and forward swizzles. Some parents watched rink-side, while others stayed by the fireplace inside the window-walled warming house.

Situated between Ellis and University avenues, the rink is open through February 28. Its hours are:
Sunday through Thursday, noon–7 p.m.
Friday, noon–4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–7 p.m.
Saturday, 1 p.m.–9 p.m.

L.G.

Photos: Skaters fly by the warming house (top); the campus skyline glows from the rink (bottom).

January 29, 2007