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The Empire Roller Disco was a 30,000-square-foot roller rink located at 200 Empire Blvd. in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
In 1941, the Swanson family opened the Empire Roller Skating Center in a former garage across the street from Ebbets Field. [1][2] By the 1940s, the rink (renamed as the Brooklyn Rollerdome) hosted skate and beauty contests in addition to regular skate sessions.[3] In 1956, Henry and Hector Abrami became the new owners and operators.[4][5] In the 1970s, the rink became the Empire Roller Disco, transitioning from an organ to a sound system operated by a disc jockey designed by audio engineer Richard Long (also the designer of the sound systems for the Warehouse, Paradise Garage, Club Zanzibar).[6] Gloria Abrami McCarthy operated the rink from 1980-1998. From 1998-2007, United Skates of America operated the rink.[5] In April 2007, Empire Roller Disco closed permanently.[7][1]
Empire is often credited as the birthplace of roller disco. Roller skater Bill Butler “The Godfather of Roller Disco" is credited with introducing and popularizing the roller skating dance styles of jamming known as "roller rocking" and "Brooklyn Bounce" at Empire in the late 1950s to the 1980s.[8][9][10][11]
Celebrities such as Prince, Grace Jones, Madonna, and Olivia Newton-John visited Empire to skate.[9][12] In 1979, Cher hosted the Billboard Magazine Disco Forum skate party at Empire Roller Disco.[13]
Skate DJs at Empire popularized roller skating to R&B, disco, and hip hop. Notable skate DJ Big Bob (Robert Clayton) worked at Empire for over 20 years.[14][9][6]
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