In 1957, Van Nuys Iceland was born in the hands of a Howard Craker who was passionate not only about the entrepreneurial perks, but about the sport itself.Howard Craker was born in 1909 and spent most of his life promoting ice skating in the United States. As his love for the art grew, so did Craker’s fascination with every aspect of the ice skating.

Numerous figure skating greats have, at some point, called Iceland Ice Skating Center home. Frank Carroll, one of the greatest American skating coaches, taught his term through the 1970s, and claimed students like Linda Fratianne (who mastered the double axel, triple toe loop, and triple salchow at Iceland) and the late Cristopher Bowman (who at five years old, learned to skate at the rink, and at 40 years old, in the last days of his life, continued to privately coach at the rink). Along with champions like iconic Sonja Henie, Brian Boitano, and current coach Vladimir Kovalev, Iceland has housed its fair share of World Champions, Olympic defenders, and revolutionaries in the figure skating industry.

Inspired by its predecessors and now-legendary patrons, the Company has undertaken to improve on the historic ice skating rink and preserve it for the future generations of ice skaters. Among the major milestones has been the acquisition of the building, which has housed the rink since 1957.