For the next eight decades, the utilitarian barn on the banks of the Charles River was one of the centers of American figure skating, training Button and fellow Olympic champion Tenley Albright, Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie and scores of U.S. champions.

Once again, figure skaters representing the past, present and future of the sport perished in a catastrophic plane crash.

The Skating Club of Boston lost two coaches, two young skaters and their two mothers in the deadly crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in Washington, D.C.