HAMMOND | The Roller Dome Skating Rink, a social hub for generations of Calumet Region teenagers, will close its doors forever after one last waltz tonight.

Built in 1952, the cavernous hall at 730 Gostlin St. has been there through the post-war baby boom, from disco to hip hop, but the time has come to say goodbye.

"I'm the last one left, and it's just more than I can handle anymore," said Pamela Mitchell, whose family has owned the Roller Dome for the past 36 years.

Mitchell grew up skating at the Roller Dome with her father, Lester, who worked at the nearby Ford assembly plant in Hegewisch.

They took lessons together, learning the fox trot, tango and waltz, all set to the Wurlitzer stylings of the ever-present live organist.

The owner, Joe Wolak, would pull her aside, Mitchell said, and suggest she convince her dad to buy the place.

In 1972, shortly after she graduated from Hammond High School, her father did buy the place, expanding the building to its current form, installing a new floor, and dumping the organ in favor of 45 rpm records.

"Dad had just two years until retirement from Ford," Mitchell said. "He gave that all up for the Roller Dome." His timing was good -- roller skating achieved a nationwide renaissance in the late 1970s, and the Roller Dome once again became a home away from home to a new generation.

Lester Mitchell had a huge heart, his daughter said, and took a special pleasure in hosting parties for orphaned and neglected children from the Carmelite Home.

After her father's death in 1987, it was Pamela Mitchell's turn, and after a protracted court battle with her stepmother, the Roller Dome was hers.

She upgraded the decor, and added a DJ booth with a compact disc player, but as the years went by, popular tastes began changing again.

"New types of inline skates took roller skating outdoors," Mitchell said, "And it hurt the rinks."

Economic changes in the area have also left less money in people's pockets for entertainment, Mitchell said, and the struggle to keep the Roller Dome open has just become too much.

She has a potential buyer for the property, she said, who will not be operating it as a rink, so there will "definitely be no more skating after Sunday."

A lot of people have a lot of good memories from the Roller Dome, Mitchell said.

"I just want everybody to have the chance to come back in and reflect on those memories."