‘Bringing the Alps to the City’: Early Indoor Winter Sports Events in the Modern City of the Twentieth Century

Abstract There is a close link between urbanisation and the rise of sports. However, one usually does not associate winter sports with cities. By the late 1880s winter sports, especially skiing, had become popular in European and American mountain regions. During that time some winter sports activities were introduced, mainly for entertainment, to urban areas. The big ice palaces in Russia and North America, where ice skating events were the main focus, are amongst the best examples. It was some decades later that even skiing and other winter sports were transferred to various metropolises of the world. Sources show that in 1927 a first indoor ski palace on artificial snow was opened in Vienna; a few years later similar winter sport spectacles took place in Paris and London; Boston and New York followed shortly after. Parallel to this phenomenon the film industry, which developed at about the same time, also helped spread the white sport to urban consciousness. This paper focuses on the establishment of urban winter sports events. The German sociologist Gerhard Schulze's theory on the Erlebnisgesellschaft shall be the theoretical frame. Keywords: winter carnivalski palaceindoor winter sports eventsEuropeNorth America Erlebnisgesellschaft Acknowledgements I would like to thank E. John B. Allen and Ingrid Wicken for their support in finding sources. I am also grateful to Ginny Dittrich who brushed up my English. Notes 1. Riess, City Games. XX. 2. Allen, The Culture and Sport of Skiing. 3. See the work by Clemens, 'Vom Outdoor-zum Inddor-Sport'. 4. Gabbert, Winter Carnival, 27. 5. This film archive can be found under http://www.britishpathe.com 6. Nielsen, Sport und Großstadt, 332. 7. Allen, The Culture and Sport of Skiing, 84–8; 90ff.; Allen, From Skisport to Skiing, 104–9; Gex de, The Art of Skiing, 6. 8. Warren Miller is a famous American sport film producer. His winter sport movies are worldwide known. 9. Moulton, 'Films Role in Poplarizing', 1. 10. Fry, The Story of Modern Skiing, 277–8; Allen, The Culture and Sport of Skiing, 262–64; http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Fanck (accessed August 24, 2011); Moulton, 'Films Role in Popularizing', 1. 11. There are several publications that take up this topic. Among them Rase, Skiing in Arts and Design, 2009; deGex, The Art of Skiing, 2006; FIS, Skisport in der Bildenden Kunst, 2005. 12. See Gex de, The Art of Skiing, 6. For an overview on skiing and art see the works of Jenny de Gex (2006), Karin Rase (2009) and FIS (2005). In all these publications many examples of vintage posters and other art works can be found. 13. Nielsen, Sport und Großstadt, 52. 14. Gabbert, Winter Carnival, 28 15. Morrow, 'Frozen Festivals', 175. 16. For more details on this Winter Carnival in Montreal, see Morrow, 'Frozen Festivals'. 17. See Hofmann, 'Sport and Leisure Activities'. 18. See Abbot, 'Cold Cash and Ice Palaces', 167; 184. 19. See for women's ski jumping Vertinsky, Jette, & Hofmann, "'Skierinas' in the Olympics", 31–5. 20. Allen, From Skiing to Skisport, 146. 21. Allen, 'Millions of Flakes of Fun', 86–8. 22. Kanaly 1936/37, 'Winter Sport Who Gives Garden its Severest Test', 3. 'Second Annual National Winter Sports Exposition and Ski Tournament', Official Programme, 1936, 9–10, 27. 23. 'Second Annual National Winter Sports Exposition and Ski Tournament', Official Programme, 1936, 9. 24. Adler 2003, 'The Battle of Fifth Avenue', 18 and Garden-Arena Sport News, 1938. 25. Kanaly, 'Winter Sport Who Gives Garden', 27. 26. Allen, From Skiing to Skisport, 169; Adler, 'The Battle of Fifth Avenue', 17–8. 27. Allen, Skiing to Skisport, 169. 28. Adler, 'The Battle of Fifth Avenue', 18. 29. In Winter Sports Show, International Ski Meet, Madison Square Garden, 1936, 7. 30. New York Post, December 12, 1937, 30. 31. New York Times, December 7, 1937. 32. McNally, 'Construction Feat', 23. McNally also gives details on how much snow was produced and how much surface was covered: 'The snow for the hill and Arena is manufactured by special high speed ice crushing machines, which blow it out through nozzles with a flaky fineness. With five such machines having a capacity of 24,000 pounds each hour – two mounted high up on each side of the hill and three mounted on trucks below – 30,000 square feet of hill and arena surfaces was covered with snow to a depth of six or more inches. A total 960,000 pounds of ice will be used. … This large area of snow and the two ice skating sports – 30 ft. x 50 ft. each – have to be renewed between shows by force of sixty men to keep the surfaces in perfect condition (…)' 33. Kniskern, 'Sportlight', 25. 34. New York Times, December 8, 1937. Among them Alex Taylor & Co, Alpine Sporting Goods Company, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy & Co, German Railroads Information, Norwegian American Line, Canada Pacific Railroad, Finnish Export Association, Swedish Chamber of Commerce (New York Times, December 8, 1937, 34). 35. In Winter Sports Show, International Ski Meet, Madison Square Garden, 35. 36. New York Times, December 7–12, 1937. For more information on Kolstad, see Hofmann, 'The "Floating Baroness"'. 37. New York Herald, December 10, 1937, 25. 38. McNally, 'Construction Feat', 23. 39. A picture in the 1937 programme shows the ski run and jump. It also presents all the flags of the participating nations. For Germany, the Nazi flag with the swastika is hanging next to the ski run. 40. For an overview see Allen, The Culture and Sport of Skiing. 41. Allen, Historical Dictionary of Skiing, 166–7. 42. Deutscher Skiverband, DSV Jahrbuch, 19–20. 43. Clemens, 'Vom Outdoor-zum Inddor-Sport', 56. 44. See Kitzbühler Nachrichten, Nr. 49, Jg. 4, December 3, 1927, 1. Strangely enough one can hardly find any details on the occurrence in the Austrian newspapers. 45. According to the Intellectual Property Exchange (IPEXL), Ayscough had a United Kingdom Patent (GB218667) since 1928 on making snow. His method was '… crushed washing soda or similar crystals mixed with a filling material such as sawdust or wood pulp in the proportion of 65 per cent crystal, 28 per cent fillers, and the remainder water. In order to increase the resemblance to snow, powdered mica or similar material may be sprinkled on to the surface which may be sprayed from time to time with a solution of soda and soap to which is added green colouring matter. A foundation of fibre or matting is used, having a pile into which is first rubbed a finely powdered dry soda or crystal; the sawdust or pulp is then sprayed with a saponaceous spray and the crystal particles, graded if necessary, are mixed with it and the whole is spread over the foundation. The filling material is first bleached if not white. The temperature is kept comparatively low in order that the crystals may not powder and when not in use the surface is covered with damp cloths. The surface may be first moistened with a coloured solution.' (see http://patent.ipexl.com/GB/GB285998.html (accessed August 26, 2011)). 46. 'Kitzbühel im Nordwestbahnschnee? Skilauf auf Soda', Illustriertes Sportblatt, December 3, 1927, 10. 47. Klien, 'The Lost Ski Areas', 2011; Nendwich, 'Indoor Winter Nostalgie', XX. 48. www.britishoathe.com/record.php?id=4561. 49. 'Skiing Robe – Indoor Ski Trails' Mechanics and Handicraft, May, 1938, 48. 50. November 26, 1938, an article in Daily Mirror; and see http://www.britishoathe.com/record.php?id=20995 (accessed August 26, 2011). 51. Hofmann, 'The Floating Baroness'. 52. Clemens, 'Vom Outddor-zum Indoor-Sport', 57 53. Ermel, 'Skipionier Heinz Ermel', 76. 54. Translated from the German original, that can be found in Ermel 'Skipionier Heinz Ermel', 76. 55. In 1967, Ermel built another brush-matting hall on the Stuttgart fairgrounds at the Killesberg. It could be used by over 40 skiers at the same time. One year later, he built a brush-matting jump in Stuttgart as well. However, it was used for only a short period, see Ermel, 'Skipionier Heinz Ermel', 76. 56. Heinemann, Einführung in die Soziologie, 189. 57. Schulze, Die Erlebnisgesellschaft, 428. 58. Schulze, Die Erlebnisgesellschaft, 54. 59. Schulze, Die Erlebnisgesellschaft, 1996, 78. 60. Schulze, Die Erlebnisgesellschaft, VII. 61. Similarly, this can be observed with swimming pools that became more and more attractive in the 1920s and 1930s, especially in Europe. Also many were turned into indoor pools. See the contribution by Daphne Bolz on this topic in this issue. 62. Allen, From Skiing to Skisport, 147f. 63. See Clemens, 'Vom Outdoor-zum Indoor-Sport'. 64. Horne and Whannel, Understanding the Olympics, 150. 65. Klien, 'The Lost Ski Areas'. 66. Scherler characterises gliding as a special type of movement, sensuous experience, bodily mode of being, surrender to movement, balance, control of speed and direction; see Scherler, 'Gleiten', 4–9.

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.