Here’s some good news, the ice skating rink will no longer be demolished! After it was decided that the ice skating rink was to be demolished to make way for Al Shaheed Park phase 3, the demolition was canceled thanks to the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).
The NCCAL determined that the Ice Skating Rink was a national landmark due to it’s historical and cultural value and so cannot be demolished. Al Shaheed Park phase 3 construction will continue without the demolition of the rink.
Thanks Mishal! Photo above by Zeri Crafts
13 replies on “The Ice Skating Rink Won’t Get Demolished!”
Now that just tells you the 80s generation are finally reaching some game-changing job positions.
+1
How wasn’t that the plan to begin with. A huge park like this should have a skating rink. Its makes perfect sense.
Exactly!
Common sense prevails for once!
A giant win for historical preservation!
Loving Kuwait right now.
Finally, some good news.
I am happy to hear these great news. However, the NCCAL should have also fought for the preservation of Bait Lothan. I know that it was not owned by the government, but it should have been saved. It was a local landmark and the birth place of the 12th Amir of Kuwait.
Wow .. thanks for keeping Kuwait OLD.
Ok, great….but does anyone even go there? Its dark and scary inside that place.
Everyone wants to be nostalgic but whose is paying for upkeep (actually not much upkeep) and AC and lord knows how much to keep that ice frozen for a few patrons?? They should have blasted it with dynamite for phase 3.
I’m sure there is still some old squat toilet in Mubarkia, shall we try to preserve it from being demolished because of a fond memory of taking a crap there when we were kids?
Shall we also demolish the Kuwait Towers since less people go there? What about the Dickson House cuz people rarely go there as well?
I believe Kuwait towers are water tanks with one that has an observation deck, so they serve a purpose. Last time I went it had a lot of people visiting. It also had some upkeep with a remodel on the observation floor.
Im not a fan of the food at Bait Dickson, oh you refer to the museum. Well that’s a museum, a bit different than maintaining an ice skating rink with all its costs due to nostalgia. I say keep it if generates income for operations, or keep the building facade and convert the interior.
My point is that an important location doesn’t need to have Avenues traffic to stay open. Museums are empty and need maintenance but doesn’t mean we should shut them down or demolish them. You also don’t have any figures on the ice skating rink so neither you nor I can tell if it gets busy or not or if it generates enough money to maintain itself. But it’s Kuwait anyway with a small population so most things need government support to stay afloat. I don’t mind changing the interior and keeping the facade, but we don’t want to risk them turning it into a mall 😅
BUT maybe they large rink stays while the small one turns into a skate park, that could be cool.
Are there plans to properly renovate and restore it? I also really hope they bring back the arcade in there. Now that would be a treat.