Since 2002, skateboarders, both local and from afar, have come together to build a truly unique skatepark under the 110 freeway at Channel Street in the town of San Pedro. Building on the examples of Burnside Skatepark in Oregon, FDR Park in Philly, and Washington Street Skatepark in San Diego, skateboarders in this Los Angeles Harbor district took matters into their own hands after trying for years to get the local powers that be to build a community skatepark. Out of frustration, they set their eyes on an underused, out of the way, eyesore of a spot under the Harbor freeway, right across the street from the bustling shipping terminals of the Port of LA.  At first the construction was very low-key and small,  a little quarter-pipe topped with pool blocks and a pump-bump to get some speed over the very rough asphalt surface.

The assumption was that this little skate-spot would only last  a few days or a week before Cal-Trans workers came in and wiped it out.  The intention was to build something quick and get the most out of it while it lasted.  No one involved was expecting anything more....

        But the funny thing is, the wrecking crews never showed up.  Cal Trans vehicles or cops would pull into the adjacent parking lot, and the renegade skater/builders would stiffen up, expecting the the worst, but it was always a false alarm. Turns out, the work crews and the cops pretty much used the parking lot as a place to chill and eat lunch away from the watchful eye of Big Brother.  So, the skaters kept skating, and building...

    By the time a year had passed, the little hidden skate spot had grown both in area and in the number of people using it. The tight knit world of skateboarding brought skaters from out of town to check the place out

and lots and lots of kids from the surrounding neighborhoods eventually sniffed the place out too.   It was about this time that we witnessed for the first time what is an everyday occurrence down at the skatepark these days:  Parents pulling the mini-van into the parking lot, dropping off their kids, and splitting.  Mind you, this is not a public park or playground, but an empty lot under an urban freeway, complete with homeless people, drug addicts, trash, and a general image of shadyness.  We were blown away by the general acceptance of the place by the community and as a result the construction and skating continued.

    Despite a couple of bumps in the road (port officials and cops being the bumps)

the park moved into 2004 with it’s first bowl in construction.  This year brought huge strides in both the building and the organization of the skatepark.  The round bowl that still exists today was finished during ’04 along with the tight vert wall on the railroad side known affectionately as the “gnarwhal”. 

Plans were being hatched for a new section around the freeway barrier towards Channel Street and it was quickly becoming evident that a good chunk of the original 2002-2003 park would have to be demolished and rebuilt for the park to flow correctly.  As a result, in December of ’04 the skaters, along with some help from Simich Construction, destroyed some of their hard work to make way for a bigger, better Channel Street Park. 

      As part of an agreement with the local City Council office and the Port of LA, the existing skatepark and surrounding area were fenced off from the rail line running next to it, and the skaters were asked to incorporate as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.  The creation of the San Pedro Skatepark Association (SPSA) in 2004 would prove to be a smart move that helped the skatepark survive.  Now donations would be tax deductible for the donors and the builders of  the Channel Street park had an official organization to operate within.  Within months of it’s beginnings, the SPSA received a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation for $5000.00, and an in-kind donation of a huge amount of rebar from Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals, located right in the Port of LA.  Donations continue to steadily come in to this day.

        2005-2006 saw a huge amount of construction under the 110 freeway,

with the completion of the square bowl, its boot shaped shallow end, and the reconstruction of the middle section all taking place during these two years.  The square bowl was a major success due largely to the addition of experienced builders from both the immediate area and from out of town.  Sage Bolyard from Dreamland Skateparks, Chris and Melissa from Airspeed Skateparks, and a healthy crew from the Washington Street park down south all converged on the site around Easter of ’05 and helped the local crew make the seven foot deep square bowl a reality.  The bowl is steep, topped with pool coping and sports a rather gnarly cinder block extension.

Concrete forms placed, rebar tied and 24 yards of concrete poured and finished in the span of a single weekend.  Quite a feat indeed.

       Perhaps one of the more interesting features of the Channel Street park is the rideable doorway that was built into the new improved middle section around the beginning of 2006.  The idea was just that, an idea, until Bill Sargeant took it upon himself to design a concrete form that would hold up the arch that creates the passageway from the parking lot to the skatepark.

There were many doubters, but in the end Bill’s idea was a success, and it stands as one of the more challenging and therefore fun sections of the park. 

   So, by the end of 2006 The Channel Street park was whole again, and yet the skaters itched for ever more terrain.  2007 brought the beginnings of yet another section, out from under the freeway and stretching toward the intersection of Channel and John S. Gibson.  With a huge amount of concrete donated by Podium Distribution (DVS shoes and Matix clothes) and JYG construction, this newest section seems destined to be yet another success for the skaters under the freeway in Pedro.  Here, in the first months of 2008, nearly half of this new area has been poured, with the final area virtually begging to be built.  For more than six years, the spot that San Pedro skaters have given up their blood, sweat, money and sanity for seems to be on the verge of being finished, at least in terms of skateable area. 

   

All of this volunteer work completed during these years would not have been possible were it not for the monetary and in-kind contributions the SPSA received from fundraisers , benefit concerts and just straight donations handed to the builders from skaters visiting the park.  This generosity inspired  the project from the beginning and it continues to do so to this day.  Thanks for the support and as always, come down and skate San Pedro’s own DIY Skatepark.