Photo du Jour 516
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Builder of Oakland's Fox Theater Once Imprisoned For 'White Slavery'
(By Travis Jensen)
The S.F. Skate Club, a youth skateboarding program dedicated to providing children with skateboarding lessons and mentoring, hosted an art show last Friday in Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s office at City Hall. The show featured a series of hand-painted skateboard decks by local youth skateboarders, ages 8 to 13. Although none of the artwork was for sale, the club was hoping the show would help raise awareness about the need for a skateboard park in Golden Gate Park, near Stanyan and Waller streets.
Supervisor Mirkarimi originally drafted the legislation for a new skateboarding facility in Golden Gate Park; due to concerns from surrounding businesses and neighbors about the kind of crowd the park might attract, however, planning has since been put on hold. Skate park supporters feel the concerns are ironic, because the proposed Upper Haight location is a neighborhood that prides itself on diversity.
San Francisco currently has one skate park, which is basically an empty swimming pool in a remote corner of Crocker-Amazon Park. Built in 2001; the park is rarely ever skated because of its old-fashioned design and out-of-the-way location. A second park is scheduled to open this Saturday, June 28 in Potrero Del Sol at 25th and Utah streets. (Continued after the jump.)
Mirkarimi delivered a speech at the crowded opening reception Friday evening stating that he would continue to push towards breaking ground on a new skate park in the proposed Golden Gate Park location.
The S.F. Skate Club art show is scheduled to run through July 18. Hours are M-F, 10:00a.m.-6:00p.m. San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244, 415-554-7630.
For info on the S.F. Skate Club: (415) 430-7091, or http://web.mac.com/sfskateclub. Click HERE for story and video about the club.
Writer Travis Jensen lives in San Francisco and is the author of "Left-Handed Stories" and co-editor of "No Comply: Skateboarding Speaks on Authority". He is also a regular contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. For more on Travis, visit www.travisjensensf.com.
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I think a problem with a skate park is that it implies folks can SAFELY skate there ... how much will the insurance cost for that lawsuit waiting to happen when little Jimmy breaks his arm? Will bicyclists stay off the skate ramps or have assigned days or will they just try not to hit one another?
Nice artwork on the boards, by the way. :)
i think this city -- a city in CA -- needs more than one skate park. three at the very least.
rincon: partake of the google, there are zillions of city-built parks in california that use a fancy new concept called 'skate at your own risk.' what you think is the problem, isn't, though it's obvious you have never even watched skateboarding to know how people keep from running into each other (HINT: they take turns).
i have to wonder if your vitriol exists here only because it's summer and you've already succeeded in shutting down every public school's football, baseball, wrestling and lacrosse programs.
yeah Trav!! joining the ranks of the elite SF bloggers. congrats, mayne!!
now if you could only convince Eve B. to let me in that Herb Caen room at The Chron of 5th, all would be well in the world.