Pastor Dan Craman talks about the City Mission’s clothing warehouse on Cheltingham Avenue, once a popular skating rink during World War II. (Photo by Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
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Cheltingham Avenue in the Hungry Hill section of Schenectady isn’t much of a destination these days, but on a cold January night in 1946 the Royal Roller Skating Rink on the south side of the city was definitely the place to be. A City Mission warehouse and storage facility for the past 11 years, the building was a popular skating rink during World War II. But on that Thursday night, Jan. 10, nearly 65 years ago, it was turned into a raucous sports arena. A standing-room-only crowd of 2,500 boxing fans squeezed into the place to watch Schenectadian Marty Servo take on Stanley “Baby” Sims in a 10-round welterweight fight.