Carlin's Iceland was an indoor artificial ice arena in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, that was part of a city

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, known as Carlin's Park. It opened in December 1931, and was Baltimore's first indoor rink. The building was converted from a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

, to an ice surface measuring 85 × 120 ft (26 × 36.5 m), and seating for 1,200 people. In the first winter of operation, Iceland hosted school teams, before it was expanded for the following season. The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the

Eastern Amateur Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

played at Carlin's from 1932 to 1942. In its renovated setup, Iceland held 3,000 spectators, hosted annual winter carnivals, and once hosted a

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

show. Subsequent hockey teams to play at Iceland include, the

United States Coast Guard Cutters The United States Coast Guard Cutters were a senior amateur ice hockey team operated by the United States Coast Guard Yard on Curtis Bay, Baltimore. The team played in the Eastern Hockey League, Eastern Amateur Hockey League for parts of two s ...

from 1942 to 1944, and the Baltimore Blades/Baltimore Clippers from 1944 to 1949 in the EAHL, and a revived

Baltimore Clippers The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were members of the American Hockey League from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season i ...

team from 1954 to 1956, in the EHL. Carlin's Iceland burned down on January 23, 1956, when an explosion ignited the building, causing an estimated $175,000 in damages. Baltimore had 12 games remaining in its schedule at the time.

References

1931 establishments in Maryland Defunct ice hockey venues in the United States Eastern Hockey League Event venues established in 1931 Ice hockey venues in Maryland Indoor arenas in Maryland Sports venues completed in 1931 Sports venues in Baltimore {{icehockey-venue-stub